For authors and publishers

Publishing standard

Every ebook and audiobook on Wakaguku is checked against this standard before it goes on sale, so readers get books that are finished, clearly described and consistent from one title to the next.

Version wakaguku-standard-1 · Updated 5 October 2026

Book details

• RequiredTitle, author and language

  A title of up to 200 characters, the author’s name or pen name, and the language the book is written in.

• RequiredShort description: 20–300 characters

  Shown on book cards and when the book is shared. Write it as a one- or two-sentence hook.

• RequiredSynopsis: 150–4,000 characters

  Shown on the book’s page. Tell readers what the book is about without giving away the ending.

• SuggestionThe short description and synopsis say different things

  If they share a run of eight or more words, readers see the same lines twice on the book page.

• RequiredA valid ISBN, if you have one

  An ISBN is optional. If you enter one, it must be a valid ISBN-10 or ISBN-13. Leave the field empty until one is assigned; don’t type a placeholder.

Manuscript

• RequiredEvery section has a title and text

  No empty chapters or blank pages.

• RequiredNo placeholders

  No notes left for later, such as [TBD], [to be confirmed], [placeholder] or [insert photo], and no lorem ipsum, TODO or {{template}} fields, anywhere in the book or its details.

• RequiredNo draft or working-copy labels

  The book details, title page and other front matter mustn’t say things like “working copy”, “draft version”, “manuscript v2” or “do not distribute”. In the manuscript, only the pages before Chapter 1 are checked, so the same words inside your story are fine.

• RequiredA copyright notice near the start

  A copyright page in the opening pages of the book, for example:

  Copyright © 2026 Author Name. All rights reserved.

• SuggestionChapters are a consistent length

  Chapters under a quarter of your typical chapter length, or under 300 words, are listed so you can confirm they are finished.

• SuggestionSection titles are unique

  No two chapters or sections share a title.

• SuggestionQuotation marks are consistent

  Use one style throughout. Curly quotation marks and apostrophes (“ ” ‘ ’) are preferred over straight ones (" ').

How to lay out your book

1. Title page: the title, author and publisher, and nothing else.
2. Copyright page: the copyright line, rights statement, ISBN if you have one, edition, and credits for the cover designer and other contributors.
3. Optional: a dedication, epigraph or author’s note.
4. Chapters, titled the same way throughout, for example Chapter 1: The Child Beneath the Flag.
5. Back matter: acknowledgements, about the author, and other books by the author.

Leave out a table of contents with page numbers. Wakaguku builds the contents for you, and page numbers change with each reader’s text size.

Manuscript files

• Word (DOCX) is the best choice. Use the Heading 1 style for chapter titles so chapters are split correctly, and accept or reject all tracked changes first.
• EPUB and plain text (TXT, UTF-8) are also accepted. PDF works if its text can be selected; scanned pages and password-protected files can’t be read.
• Files can be up to 20 MB. Images, special layouts and footnote links inside the manuscript aren’t carried over, so check the text after it is imported.

Cover

These checks apply when you upload your own cover. Books that use a Wakaguku house illustration instead skip them.

• RequiredAt least 1,000 px wide, in portrait

  The height should be 1.4 to 1.8 times the width. PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to 5 MB.

• Suggestion1,600 × 2,560 px

  The recommended size. It stays sharp on large screens and meets what most ebook stores ask for.

Make sure the title can still be read when the cover is shown as a small thumbnail, use RGB colour, and don’t put prices, store badges or the word “free” on the cover.

Free preview

• SuggestionThe free preview isn’t the whole book

  You choose how many opening sections readers can try for free. If the preview includes every section, nobody needs to buy the book.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks need one recording for every chapter, in MP3, M4A, OGG or WAV, up to 30 MB each. Please also record to the usual audiobook specification:

• one file per chapter, with the chapter title read at the start;
• half a second to one second of silence (room tone) at the start, and one to five seconds at the end;
• loudness between −23 and −18 dB RMS, peaks no higher than −3 dB, and background noise below −60 dB;
• 44.1 kHz, at 192 kbps or higher for MP3, in mono or stereo, the same throughout.

What our reviewers confirm

Some things can only be checked by a person. Before approving a book, a Wakaguku reviewer confirms they have:

• read the manuscript and looked at the cover;
• checked that the publication, artwork and narration rights are in place;
• listened to the recordings, for audiobooks.

When the standard changes, the new rules apply the next time a book is submitted. Books already on sale aren’t taken down.

Questions about the standard? Email hello@wakaguku.com.