Format a book online free and make an EPUB in your browser
Fairy Godmother is a book formatting studio that runs on any computer with a browser. Import your manuscript, pick a professional theme and preview every typeset page, free, with no time limit. When your book is ready, export a store-ready EPUB and a print-ready PDF.
Honest pricing, up front: formatting and previewing are free forever. Exporting the finished files is a one-time £149 unlock. No subscription.
How to make an EPUB online in three steps
Import your manuscript
Drop in a Word document, PDF, EPUB, HTML or Markdown file. Fairy Godmother splits it into chapters automatically, and PDF imports are auto-cleaned: de-hyphenated, with page numbers and running heads stripped.
Choose a look
Pick one of 14 hand-tuned themes with drop caps, ornamental scene breaks and five chapter-heading styles. Title page, copyright, dedication, contents, also-by and about-the-author pages build themselves from your details.
Preview, then export
Watch a live preview across Kindle, iPad, phone and print as you work. Export a valid EPUB 3 with a preset for your store, plus a print-ready PDF, and upload them to KDP, Apple Books, Kobo or your printer.
What "free" actually means here
Plenty of "free book formatter" pages online turn out to be a locked demo, a watermark generator or a seven-day trial with a card form. So here is exactly how Fairy Godmother works. The studio itself is free: importing, chapter editing, all 14 themes, custom fonts, the theme editor, find and replace, and the full multi-device preview. You can format your entire novel from first page to last and read every typeset page without paying anything, with no time limit and no card details.
The one thing that costs money is the export button. Downloading your finished EPUB and print-ready PDF is a one-time £149 unlock. That is not a subscription; pay once and export your books whenever you like, including future books and revised editions. We charge at the end rather than the start because it means you only ever pay for a result you have already seen.
If you want a completely free end-to-end pipeline, tools like Calibre (a desktop program) or Kindle Create (Amazon only) can convert a manuscript to an ebook at no cost, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. What they do not give you is professional typesetting: matched theme designs, drop caps, ornaments, proper front matter, store-specific EPUB presets and a print interior with running heads and correct trim sizes, in the browser, with no install. That finish is what Fairy Godmother is for.
Works on the computer you already have
Because Fairy Godmother runs at fairy.everafterpress.co.uk in any modern browser, it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS and tablets. There is no installer, no minimum operating system and no Mac requirement (the big limitation of Vellum, covered in our Vellum alternative comparison). Your books are stored locally in your browser first, so the studio keeps working offline once loaded, and signing in syncs your bookshelf across devices.
What you get in the export
| Output | Details |
|---|---|
| EPUB 3 ebook | Valid EPUB 3 accepted by every major store, with presets tuned for Kindle (KDP), Apple Books, Kobo and Nook plus a generic preset. Optional embedded fonts. |
| Print-ready PDF | Typeset interior with running heads, page numbers, drop caps and scene-break ornaments, at your chosen trim size (including custom sizes). |
| Print cover wrap | A full back-spine-front cover PDF sized to your trim and page count, ready for your printer's requirements. |
| Word document | Export back to .docx whenever you need to hand the text to an editor. |
Compare it before you commit
If you are weighing up the paid formatters, we keep two honest comparison pages: Fairy Godmother as a Vellum alternative (Vellum is Mac only and costs up to about US$250) and Fairy Godmother as an Atticus alternative (Atticus is US$147 paid up front; we are free until export). Both pages state plainly where the other tool wins, because you will find out anyway.
Frequently asked questions
Can I format a book online for free?
Yes. Fairy Godmother lets you import your manuscript, format the entire book with 14 professional themes and preview every page on Kindle, phone, tablet and print layouts, all free in your browser with no time limit and no card. The only paid step is exporting the finished EPUB or PDF, which is a one-time £149 unlock with no subscription.
How do I make an EPUB online?
Open the Fairy Godmother studio at fairy.everafterpress.co.uk, import your manuscript (Word, PDF, EPUB, HTML or Markdown), pick a theme and fill in your book details. The tool builds chapters, table of contents and front and back matter automatically. When you export, you get a valid EPUB 3 file with presets for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and Nook, ready to upload to any store.
Will the EPUB work with Amazon KDP, Apple Books and Kobo?
Yes. Fairy Godmother exports valid EPUB 3 files, the format all major stores accept, with export presets tuned for Kindle (KDP), Apple Books, Kobo and Nook plus a generic preset for other stores or direct sales. You upload the file to each store's publishing dashboard yourself.
What file types can I import?
Word documents (.docx), PDFs, EPUBs, HTML and Markdown. PDF imports are automatically cleaned up: hyphenation is repaired and stray page numbers and running heads are stripped, so the text arrives as tidy chapters rather than a mess of line breaks.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks and tablets?
Yes. Fairy Godmother runs entirely in the browser, so it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS and tablets with nothing to install. Unlike Vellum, which is Mac only, there is no operating system requirement at all. Your work is stored locally in your browser first, and signing in syncs your bookshelf across devices.
Is there a subscription?
No. Formatting and previewing are free, and exporting is a single one-time £149 payment that covers both EPUB and print-ready PDF output. There is no monthly fee and no recurring charge.
Your manuscript, beautifully typeset, in the next ten minutes
Import it now and see every page for free. Pay only if you love the result.