A Format

Marketing Agency eBook Format Spec for KDP and Direct Sale

The exact word count, trim size, file format, and front/back matter spec agency owners need to publish a case-study-driven eBook on KDP and sell it direct.

Marketing agencies sit on more book material than most publishers. Case studies, proprietary frameworks, pitch decks that already prove results. The gap is never the content, it's not knowing what format actually works for KDP and direct sale at the same time. Word count, trim size, file type, front matter. Get those wrong and you either get rejected on Amazon or hand a client a PDF that looks like a slide deck. This page lays out the exact production spec Quari Press uses to take an agency's expertise and turn it into a book that sells on Amazon and closes deals in a pitch meeting. No guesswork, no formatting rabbit holes, just the numbers that work.

Why agencies need a different spec than novelists

A marketing agency book is a business asset first and a book second. It needs to read clean on a Kindle, print well as a leave-behind for prospects, and hold up when a client flips through it during a sales call. That means shorter chapters than a typical nonfiction title, more white space, and a structure built around frameworks instead of narrative arcs. The spec below accounts for both channels from the start instead of forcing a rewrite later.

KDP requirements that actually matter

Amazon's KDP platform has real technical limits, but most agency owners only hit trouble on a handful of them: trim size consistency between the interior and cover, a properly embedded font set, and a file format that converts cleanly to their reflowable EPUB pipeline. Skip the guesswork by building to spec from the first draft rather than fixing a rejected upload after the fact.

Direct sale changes the front and back matter

A book you sell directly, off your own site or in a pitch packet, carries more sales weight than a KDP listing page. That means the front matter needs a stronger positioning statement and the back matter needs a clear next step, a link to book a call, a QR code to your case study library, something that converts a reader into a lead. Build these into the file once so both versions stay in sync.

Case studies and proprietary frameworks need consistent formatting

Agencies often have ten different client decks with ten different visual styles. Before those become book chapters, every framework diagram, every before-and-after metric table, and every process graphic needs to follow one visual system. Inconsistent formatting is the fastest way to make a legitimate expertise book look like a stitched-together slide dump.

What Quari Press builds for you automatically

Quari Press applies this spec by default when you generate a business title in the agency category. Trim size, margins, front and back matter, and chapter structure are handled so you can focus on the actual content: the frameworks, the case studies, and the positioning that gets a prospect to say yes.

Format Spec

Trim size: 6 x 9 inches, consistent between interior file and cover
Word count: 15,000 to 35,000 words for a focused framework or case-study title
Back matter: Clear call to action with a booking link or QR code, plus a short case study index
Front matter: Title page, positioning statement, table of contents, and a short author/agency bio
Chapter length: 1,500 to 3,000 words per chapter, built around one framework or case study each
Image resolution: 300 DPI minimum for all charts, framework diagrams, and cover art
File format for KDP: Reflowable EPUB with embedded fonts, converted from a clean source manuscript
File format for direct sale: Print-ready PDF generated from the same source file as the EPUB

Key Takeaways

Build to one spec that works for both KDP upload and direct sale from a pitch meeting, not two separate files.
Trim size, embedded fonts, and file format are the three technical details that cause the most KDP rejections.
Front matter should sell your positioning, back matter should drive a specific next action like booking a call.
Every framework diagram and case study chart needs one consistent visual system before it goes in the book.
Anonymize client names and dollar figures unless you have explicit written permission to use them.
A focused agency title runs 15,000 to 35,000 words, short enough to read in one sitting, long enough to prove the framework works.

Questions Worth Asking

What word count does KDP expect for a business or marketing eBook?: Most agency titles land between 15,000 and 35,000 words. That is long enough to cover a real framework in depth and short enough that a busy prospect finishes it in one sitting.
Can I use the same file for KDP and a printed leave-behind?: Yes, if you build the interior at a standard trim size like 6x9 inches from the start. Quari Press generates both the reflowable EPUB for KDP and a print-ready PDF from the same source file.
Do case study screenshots and charts need special handling?: Yes. Screenshots from client dashboards need to be redrawn as clean vector graphics at book resolution, not pasted in at low DPI. This is one of the most common reasons agency-authored books look unfinished.
Should pricing or client names appear in a book meant for KDP?: Keep specific client names and dollar figures out unless you have written permission. Use anonymized ranges and results instead, and save the named case studies for the direct sale version if you have signed off from the client.
How long does it take to go from raw case study material to a finished file?: With existing case studies, decks, and a clear framework already in hand, most agency owners move from outline to a KDP-ready file in a few focused sessions on Quari Press.

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