Alternate means to send Scrivener (Mac) output to a Kindle device? (ye old paragraph indent issue)

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
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Ever since Kindle switched to .epub format from .mobi, my old workaround for getting a compiled Scrivener (Mac) project to display correctly on Kindle for iOS/iPadOS* stopped working. Based on my reading the problem is a known issue within the Amazon ecosystem, but I’m hoping another Scrivener user has come up with a workaround for the problem.

Here’s my workflow, for a project in Scrivener 3.3.1 (15588) based on the Novel template.

  1. I choose File->Compile
  2. From the resulting dialogue window, I choose to compile for “Epub Ebook (.epub)” and verify the “Optimize for Kindle conversion” box is checked under settings.
  3. The resulting file opens in Kindle Previewer 3. Everything looks correct, including the first line of each paragraph being indented.
  4. I drag and drop the file to the “Send to Kindle” app and select the device I want it delivered to (an iPad).
  5. The document downloads into the Kindle for iPad app.
  6. Upon viewing in Kindle for iPad, the first line of each paragraph is no longer indented.

To the best of my knowledge I’m using the most up-to-date version of each piece of software involved (MacOS Ventura, Scrivener, Kindle Previewer, Send to Kindle, and the iPad Kindle app). Web searches have found numerous people saying Send to Kindle can’t be trusted to maintain formatting, especially the MacOS version, but they don’t provide a workaround for the problem.

Is anyone aware of an alternative to Send to Kindle for getting a document to Kindle on iPadOS, or something I can try to get the formatting of my Scrivener-created .epub file to survive the trip through Send to Kindle? Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

  • My old workaround was to compile to .epub from Scrivener, import the resulting file into the Calibre application, then convert to .mobi. That worked for several years, but Kindle now requires .epub. Exporting to a different format and then having Calibre convert to .epub hasn’t solved the problem.
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You’ve almost got it! Here are the main differences:

  1. Don’t use the “Optimize for Kindle…” setting. It’s kind of poorly worded, but at the same time better wording would be difficult as it’s describing a kind of strange thing. :slight_smile: Some online aggregators will work better with it enabled, when they create Amazon assets, but in most cases—including anything Amazon makes—you want a fully valid and standard ePub file instead.
  2. On step three, here is the method that you want to be using. At least, that worked historically. If that’s no longer working well, then I have no idea what the best way is to preview stuff on iOS!

(Oh and ignore the bit about using Mobi with KDP—ePub is best, that was written before this changed.)

As to whether that will send via the method you described, I don’t know. I’ve never tried that. I’ve used AirDrop or Files.app to send the file directly to the device and had the Kindle.app open it.