Many authors assume an ebook is simply a digital copy of the print book. In practice, ebooks work very differently, and understanding that difference explains why some ebooks look polished while others feel broken.

Print pages are fixed; ebook text flows

In a printed book, every line sits in a fixed position on a fixed page. In most ebooks, text is reflowable: it rearranges itself to fit the reader's screen size, font choice, text size and line spacing. A paragraph that spans three lines on a tablet might take eight on a phone.

That flexibility is a feature. It lets readers make text comfortable for their eyes. But it means you cannot control exactly where a line breaks or what appears on each “page.”

Reflowable or fixed layout?

Most fiction and text-led non-fiction should be reflowable. It is supported everywhere and gives readers the best experience on small screens.

Fixed-layout ebooks keep the page exactly as designed, like a PDF. They suit books where layout carries meaning: children's picture books, cookbooks, comics, and heavily illustrated guides. The trade-off is that fixed-layout books can be harder to read on phones and are not supported identically by every store.

What good ebook formatting looks like

  • A working, linked table of contents and correct navigation in the reader's menu.
  • Consistent chapter headings that use proper heading structure.
  • Clear scene breaks that do not disappear when they fall at the bottom of a screen.
  • Images sized to load quickly and remain legible, with descriptive alternative text.
  • No forced fonts or sizes that override the reader's preferences without good reason.

Common mistakes

Using spaces and tabs for layout

Indenting paragraphs with tabs or centring text with spaces looks fine in a word processor but breaks unpredictably in ebooks. Use paragraph styles instead.

Blank lines as scene breaks

A blank line can vanish when it falls at a screen break, merging two scenes. Use a visible marker such as a centred ornament.

Tables and wide images

Complex tables often overflow small screens. Sometimes the best solution is to simplify the table, split it, or present the information as a list.

Skipping device testing

Ebooks render slightly differently on different devices and apps. Testing on several before publishing catches problems readers would otherwise find.

Start from the manuscript, not the print PDFConverting a print-ready PDF into an ebook usually produces messy results. A clean, styled manuscript file is a far better starting point.

The bottom line

Good ebook formatting is mostly invisible. Readers should be able to adjust the text however they like and still enjoy a clean, consistent reading experience from cover to final page.