Check a Nonfiction Export Package as One Matched Edition

An export package is ready for handoff when its manuscript, cover, metadata, and supporting records describe the same edition and can be traced to approved source files. Review the files together, not just one at a time. A correct PDF can still be the wrong PDF if it belongs to an earlier title, page count, or illustration revision.

Define the edition before collecting files

Write a compact edition record containing the format, language, title, subtitle, author name, edition designation where applicable, and the selected production settings. Include the identifier assigned to that edition if one is used. This record is the comparison target for the package. Without it, two individually plausible files can disagree and leave the person uploading them to guess which version is intended.

Consider a nonfiction guide whose final chapter gained a worksheet during review. The extra pages may change the interior page count, the cover calculation, the table of contents, and any description that lists included exercises. Before exporting, settle those dependencies in the source files. A note saying "use the newest version" is weaker than a manifest that names the actual approved manuscript and cover together.

Inspect representative content and every exceptional page

Begin with a complete page-by-page preview, then pay special attention to the elements most likely to behave differently from body text. Check chapter openings, tables, diagrams, callouts, footnotes, blank pages, and worksheets. A clean prose page does not demonstrate that a wide comparison table is readable or that an exercise leaves enough room for a reader to write.

For each unusual layout, compare the source and exported result at the intended reading size. Confirm that table labels remain attached to the correct values, captions identify the right figure, and a page break does not separate an instruction from the step it qualifies. If both print and ebook editions exist, review their behavior separately. Print pagination and ebook navigation solve different reading problems and should not share an unexamined approval.

Match the cover to the final interior

Use the actual production choices and final interior when preparing the print cover template. Keep the template inputs with the export record so the designer can reproduce the result. If the page count changes after cover approval, review whether the cover needs rebuilding using current KDP specifications. Do not resize an old cover by eye simply because the front panel appears to fit.

Compare the cover text with the title page and metadata worksheet character by character, including contributor names and edition wording. Check small text at its intended size and inspect the areas reserved by the current template. A beautiful front cover does not prove that the full print cover is usable. Save the editable design source alongside the final export, with enough information to identify its fonts, linked artwork, and template version.

Verify navigation, references, and image identity

Follow every table-of-contents entry and internal reference in the exported artifact. If the text says "see the checklist below," confirm that the reader encounters the intended checklist in that edition. Check page references after pagination stabilizes. In an ebook, test the navigation in an appropriate previewer rather than assuming that headings in the source document became working destinations automatically.

Use an illustration register to connect each placed image with its approved source, caption, alternative text where supported, and origin record. Similar file names are not enough when several versions of a diagram exist. Inspect image content as well as sharpness: labels, arrows, and values can be wrong in a visually crisp export. A regenerated figure should receive a fresh content review before replacing its approved predecessor.

Package the evidence needed for a repeatable handoff

Create a small manifest that lists final file names, formats, version identifiers, export dates, and the application settings that matter for rebuilding them. Separate upload files from editable source files so the recipient does not accidentally submit a working document. Include the metadata worksheet, the edition record, the illustration register, and a short list of checks performed. Explain any unresolved item directly instead of burying it in a general approval statement.

Open the package from its destination folder and verify that all required files are present. This catches missing linked assets and stale copies that remain invisible while working in the original project directory. Preserve the package as a checkpoint, then perform the current KDP upload and preview checks on those exact files. Local review supports the handoff; Amazon's submission flow still makes its own assessment of the uploaded book.