# Bookcut > Bookcut turns a Word manuscript (.docx) into a print-ready paperback interior PDF that follows Amazon KDP's formatting rules, and an EPUB 3 ebook. The author's browser reads the manuscript, detects its structure, typesets the pages and writes both files; the manuscript is never uploaded. Editing and preview are free, and so is a PDF of the first chapter with a light "Preview" watermark; exporting the full clean PDF and the EPUB costs $12 once per book, with free re-exports of the same book for 30 days. No account, no subscription. Made by Nobody (https://getnobody.org). ## How it works 1. Open https://bookcut.getnobody.org and choose a .docx manuscript (up to 30 MB). 2. Bookcut detects the title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, chapters, subheadings, scene breaks, block quotations, italics and bold, and simple footnotes, all in the browser. 3. Fix the structure in the outline: mark where chapters start, rename them, change a section's kind, merge or split sections. 4. Pick a KDP trim size (5 x 8, 5.06 x 7.81, 5.25 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9 inches), white or cream paper, and one of four interior styles (Classic, Literary, Modern, Formal), with optional drop caps and running heads. 5. Preview every typeset page. Margins and the gutter follow KDP's table for the final page count. 6. Optionally download a free PDF of the first chapter (title page plus chapter one, up to 6,000 words, "Preview" watermark across every page) to print and check at home. It is made in the browser and needs no payment. 7. Pay $12 once for that book, then download the interior PDF (trim size pages, no bleed, fonts embedded, no crop marks) and the EPUB. ## Use it from your AI - MCP server: `https://bookcut.getnobody.org/mcp/` (Streamable HTTP). Add it to Claude or ChatGPT as a custom connector. Create a key with `POST /api/v1/workspaces`. - Tools, all read-only: get_formats, get_kdp_margins, estimate_page_count, get_manuscript_guide, get_pricing, list_passes. No tool typesets, exports or pays; that happens in the author's browser. - Useful for: telling an author which trim size and margins KDP needs for their page count, estimating the page count from a word count, explaining how to prepare the .docx so chapters are detected, and checking whether a book is already paid for. ## REST API - Base URL: `https://bookcut.getnobody.org/api/v1`, JSON. OpenAPI: `/api/v1/openapi.json`. - Public: `POST /workspaces` (returns a key and MCP URL), `GET /pricing`, `GET /formats`, `GET /kdp/specs?trim=6x9&pages=320&paper=cream`, `POST /kdp/check` (checks a layout's facts against KDP's rules), `POST /estimate` (`{ wordCount, chapterCount, settings }`), `GET /manuscript-guide`. - With `Authorization: Bearer `: `POST /checkout` (`{ book: { bookHash, wordCount, chapterCount } }`), `POST /passes/{passId}/confirm`, `GET /passes?book=`, `GET /passes/{passId}`, `POST /passes/{passId}/exports` (`{ bookHash, wordCount, chapterCount, format: "print-pdf" | "epub" }`; a book whose word or chapter count moved far from the one paid for is refused with BOOK_MISMATCH). - Paying: `POST /checkout` returns a pending pass and a Razorpay order; the author pays in Razorpay's window in the browser, and `POST /passes/{passId}/confirm` with the signed result (`razorpay_payment_id`, `razorpay_order_id`, `razorpay_signature`) marks it paid after the signature is verified. Sending `{}` asks Razorpay directly, for a confirm that was interrupted. - A pass is bound to the book hash: the lowercase hex SHA-256 of the .docx the book was first imported from. Editing the outline or replacing the manuscript with a revision inside Bookcut keeps the hash, so the same book re-exports free for 30 days; a replacement that is clearly a different book counts as a new book. Only the hash, word count and chapter count are ever sent. - Errors are `{ error, message }`. 402 means the book isn't paid for or its 30 days of re-exports are over, 409 means the pass is for a different book (another hash, or word or chapter counts far from the book paid for), 422 means a page count past what KDP prints, 429 means a limit was hit (10 checkouts per workspace per hour, 200 exports per pass, and per-network limits). ## KDP rules Bookcut applies - Paperback, black ink, no bleed. Page size equals the trim size. 24 to 828 pages on white paper, 776 on cream. - Inside margin by page count: 24 to 150 pages 0.375 in, 151 to 300 0.5 in, 301 to 500 0.625 in, 501 to 700 0.75 in, 701 to 828 0.875 in. Top, bottom and outside margins at least 0.25 in. Each design's own margins are larger; they are only ever raised to meet these. - All fonts embedded, text at least 7 pt, no crop marks, annotations or bookmarks, at most 4 blank pages in a row inside the book and 10 at the end. - Sources (checked 2026-09-25): https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GVBQ3CMEQW3W2VL6, https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201857950 and https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834260 ## Pricing Importing, editing, designing and previewing are free. A watermarked PDF of the first chapter is free too (not for uploading to KDP). Exporting one book costs $12 (US dollars), paid once, and covers the whole book as a clean print interior PDF (no watermark) and the EPUB. For 30 days after paying, the same book can be exported again as often as needed (for typo fixes or a revised manuscript). No subscription. ## Guides - How to format a Word manuscript for a KDP paperback: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/guides/format-word-manuscript-for-kdp-paperback/ - KDP gutter and margins by page count: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/guides/kdp-gutter-margins-by-page-count/ - Word count to page count by trim size: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/guides/kdp-word-count-to-page-count/ - Fixing KDP paperback formatting errors: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/guides/kdp-paperback-formatting-errors/ - Vellum alternatives for Windows: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/guides/vellum-alternative-for-windows/ - All guides: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/guides/ ## Legal - Terms of Service: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/terms - Privacy Policy: https://bookcut.getnobody.org/privacy