How to publish your first book

This is the full walk-through for publishing your first book on Chiify, from blank dashboard to live on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, and 410+ other retailers.

Step 1 — Click "New Book"

From your dashboard, click + New Book in the top right.

Step 2 — Upload your manuscript

You can upload any of:

• .docx (Microsoft Word, Google Docs export) — we auto-convert to EPUB.
• .epub — used as-is.
• .pdf — we accept it, but EPUB is far better for readers.

Drag your file into the upload box or click to browse. Files up to 50MB are fine; over 50MB email [email protected] and we'll handle it manually.

Step 3 — Add metadata

Required fields (retailers reject books missing any of these):

• Title — exact, including capitalization.
• Author name(s) — primary author plus any co-authors.
• Description — 250–4000 characters. Used as the book's marketing copy on every retailer.
• Language — primary language of the book. We support 100+ languages.
• Category — pick at least one BISAC subject heading. Two or three is ideal.
• Keywords — up to 7 keywords that describe your book. Retailers use these for search.
• Price — in USD. We auto-convert to local currencies for each retailer's market.

Optional but recommended:

• Subtitle
• Series name and number
• Publication date (defaults to "as soon as approved")
• Rights territory (defaults to "World")

Step 4 — Upload your cover

Specs:

• Format — JPG or PNG
• Dimensions — 1600×2560px minimum, 2:3 aspect ratio
• DPI — 300 ideally
• No transparency

Free cover designs are available in Studio → Cover Templates if you don't have one yet.

Step 5 — Choose your retailers

By default we ship to every retailer in our network. You can deselect any you don't want — common reasons:

• You're in KDP Select on Amazon (then deselect Amazon).
• You only want certain regions.
• A retailer doesn't accept your category.

Step 6 — Click "Publish"

Once you click Publish:

• We run validation (metadata, EPUB structure, cover specs).
• If anything fails, we'll show specific errors so you can fix them.
• If everything passes, the book is queued for distribution.

Step 7 — Wait for retailer go-live

Retailer go-live times vary:

• Amazon Kindle: usually 12–24 hours
• Apple Books: 24–48 hours
• Kobo: 24 hours
• Google Play: 3–5 days
• OverDrive (libraries): 3–7 days
• All others: 1–7 days

You can monitor live status from the book's page in your Library.

Step 8 — Promote

Once live, you'll see retailer URLs in your dashboard. Use those for your marketing. Read How to promote your book for ideas.