Some books cannot reflow. A picture book where the text sits inside the illustration, a comic panel sequence, a designed workbook — let any of those reflow and the layout falls apart on the first font-size change. Fixed layout keeps every page exactly as designed, and it is a genuinely different build from a standard EPUB.
What you receive
- A fixed-layout EPUB with one XHTML document per page or spread, sized to the source artwork.
- Reading order set deliberately for screen readers and for the store’s preview, since visual order and code order are not the same thing.
- Text as text wherever possible, so the book is searchable and accessible rather than a set of flat images.
- Zoom and pan metadata configured per page — important for a dense workbook where a reader must reach one line.
- A Kindle-compatible variant, since Amazon handles fixed layout differently from Apple.
How the build runs
- Collect the artwork at print resolution, one file per page, in reading order.
- Set the viewport from the page geometry, usually 2:3 or square for picture books.
- Overlay live text where the design allows it, keeping image text only for lettering inside illustrations.
- Validate and test on a phone, a tablet and a Kindle, checking that no spread is cropped.
The trade-offs you should know about
Fixed layout gives up the reader’s font control, which is acceptable for a picture book and irritating for a novel. It also makes file size grow quickly, so images are compressed carefully. And Amazon, Apple and Kobo each handle spreads slightly differently, which is why the book is built once and exported in two variants rather than uploaded identically everywhere and hoped over.
Accessibility, briefly
A picture book can be made readable by a screen reader if the text is real text in a logical order and every illustration carries a short alternative description. It takes an extra hour and it opens the book to schools and libraries that require it. For a children’s title in particular, that is worth more than the time it costs.
Comics, cookbooks and workbooks
The same build serves very different books. Comics need panel-by-panel reading order and a zoom path that starts on the whole page. Cookbooks need a table of contents that survives fixed layout and text that stays legible when the reader zooms into a method step. Workbooks need fillable space that does not shift. Each is a variant of the same technique rather than a different service, and the settings are chosen per book rather than copied from a template.
Pricing
| Tier | Scope | Price | Was | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 ebook | $70 | $80 | |
| Professional | 3 ebooks | $200 | $200 | |
| Bulk / Authority | 5 ebooks | $300 | $300 |
Frequent questions
Can you work from a PDF?
Yes, if it is the flattened artwork. A print PDF is a legitimate source for a fixed-layout build.
Will the text be selectable?
Where it is overlaid, yes. Lettering that is part of an illustration stays as image.
Does it work on older Kindles?
Partly. Fixed layout is best on tablets and phones; older e-ink devices render it poorly regardless of who builds it.
Build a fixed-layout book — send the page artwork and the trim size.