Book description formatter
Write your book description in plain text and get HTML for KDP's description box, with a live preview and a character count against KDP's limit.
**bold**, *italic* and ***both***. For a bullet list, start each line with a hyphen and a space, like - item. A blank line starts a new paragraph; a single line break stays a line break.
What KDP accepts in a description
KDP says: "Note that we have a limit of 4000 characters for the description." It also says the editor counts "all characters used, including any HTML tags": the word test is 4 characters, and bolded it is 11, "because we're counting the <b></b> HTML tags." The counter above counts the HTML in the same way.
KDP's help page lists these tags as supported: <p>, <br>, <b>, <em>, <i>, <u>, <h4> to <h6>, <ol>, <ul> and <li>. It adds that <h1>, <h2> and <h3> are not supported. This formatter writes only <p>, <br>, <b>, <i>, <ul> and <li>.
How the marks are read
Anything you type that looks like HTML, such as a < or an &, is written out as plain text, so it cannot become a tag. A * or ** without a partner is left as you typed it. Lists need every line of the block to start with a dash and a space. Before you rely on the result, paste one description into KDP's description box and check it there.
Sources (last verified 2026-09-29):
- KDP: Supported HTML in your book description: the 4000-character limit, that HTML tags count toward it, and the list of supported tags
These tools and guides are for information only. Check requirements with KDP, and ask a qualified professional about tax or legal questions. AuthorKit is not affiliated with Amazon.