Exporting Your Book

When you're happy with your book, export it from the File menu. Stet produces six formats from a single project — and the on-screen preview is what each one will actually produce.

Stet's E-ink preview showing the same children's book chapter — 'The Story Tree' — formatted with generous line spacing, a small unicorn illustration above the title, and reflowable body text suitable for Kindle and Kobo readers. — **Same chapter, different output.** Stet shows you each format on screen — Print, E-ink, and Tablet — so you can verify how your book lands in every place a reader might open it. The exported EPUB is what you've been previewing.

Export formats

The export sheet splits formats into two groups: Publish Files for uploading to retailers, and Document Copies for editor review or backup.

Publish files — for uploading to KDP, IngramSpark, or Draft2Digital:

Format	Best for
EPUB 3	Standard ebook distribution (Apple Books, Kobo, Draft2Digital)
EPUB 3 (Kindle)	An Amazon-tuned EPUB 3 variant for KDP
EPUB 2	Older platforms that still require EPUB 2
Print PDF	Print-on-demand and print-ready uploads

Document copies — word-processor copies for editor review or backup, not for retailer upload:

Format	Best for
RTF Document	A portable copy any word processor can open
Word Document	Editing in Word, then reimporting to merge changes back

EPUB 3

The current standard ebook format. Supported by all major ebook retailers and reading apps. For Amazon, choose the EPUB 3 (Kindle) variant, which is tuned for KDP.

Amazon KDP: upload as your ebook file
Apple Books: via iTunes Connect or Draft2Digital
Kobo: via Kobo Writing Life or Draft2Digital
Draft2Digital: distributes to most retailers
Barnes & Noble: via B&N Press

EPUB 3 supports embedded fonts, drop caps, footnotes, and template styling. Custom fonts you've set in Stet will be embedded and respected by Apple Books and Kobo.

EPUB 2

An older ebook format, included for compatibility with platforms that haven't fully adopted EPUB 3. Most retailers now prefer EPUB 3. Use EPUB 2 only if a specific platform requires it.

Print PDF

A print-ready PDF at your chosen trim size, with:

Running headers (book title on recto pages, author name on verso pages)
Page numbers (roman numerals for front matter, arabic for body)
No page numbers on chapter opening pages
Mirror margins with scaled gutter for binding
Correct typography for your chosen template

Upload this file directly to Amazon KDP Print or IngramSpark.

Make sure your trim size in Stet matches the trim size you select in your distributor's upload form.

Document copies (RTF & Word)

Word-processor copies of your manuscript for editor review or backup — not for retailer upload. RTF Document opens in virtually any word processor; Word Document (.docx) is for editing in Word.

When you export a Word Document and want to bring the edits back, use File → Reimport Manuscript. Stet merges your changes and keeps your template and settings intact.

How to export

Open the export sheet from the File menu. It lists every format, grouped into Publish Files and Document Copies, with EPUB 3 and Print PDF selected by default. Tick the ones you want, choose a destination, and export them in a single pass.

A save panel lets you rename and place the files; Stet remembers the last folder you exported to. After export, Finder opens automatically showing the results.

Distributor requirements

Amazon KDP (ebook)

Format: EPUB 3
No special requirements beyond a valid EPUB file
KDP will override your custom fonts with Kindle's own rendering

Amazon KDP Print

Format: Print PDF
Trim size must match what you select in KDP's setup form
Bleed: KDP does not require bleed for text-only books
Colour profile: RGB is fine for black-and-white text books

IngramSpark

Format: Print PDF
Requires PDF/X-1a compliance for some titles. Check IngramSpark's current requirements
Trim size must exactly match IngramSpark's list of supported sizes

Draft2Digital

Format: EPUB 3
Draft2Digital also accepts DOCX but EPUB gives you more control over formatting

Apple Books (direct)

Format: EPUB 3
Upload via iTunes Connect

After export

Once you've uploaded your files to a distributor, keep your .stet project safe. If you need to:

Fix a typo: double-click any page in the preview to edit the chapter directly. Or make the change in your original Word document, re-import, and re-export.
Update back matter: change the "Also By" page or calls to action, re-import, re-export, re-upload.
Change the template or trim size: update in Stet, re-export, re-upload. No need to touch the Word document.
Add a new format: re-open the export sheet, tick the format, and export.

Re-uploading to distributors is straightforward. KDP, IngramSpark, and Draft2Digital all support file replacement. New buyers get the updated file; existing buyers may need to re-download depending on the platform.