UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
Agony Aunt
>
Help with Kindle Formatting for Mac
date
newest »
newest »
I'll link this in the morning thread.
Hello. thanks Patti. Where do I find tthe morning thread? (I'm so untechnical, sorry).
Are you using a template, for example from Createspace, Clodagh, or just a word doc? It might be easier to download the Createspace template (it's free) and work from that?
Thanks Will. No I'm not using a template. I'm now terrified to do anything different from what they are telling me. Though what they are telling me is utterly confusing. I still fail to see how I can have formatted wrongly when 98% of the formatting worked. The text format is now perfect. It's just the TOC and links that are the problem (they say.)
The morning thread is where we hang out and chat. It's great, gossipy fun.https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Are you formatting for Amazon? If you are, try this. Open an account at draft2digital.com - it's free - load the word document up. If it all comes out ok - they give you a list of chapters so you can check them - download the .mobi version and upload it to your kindle direct publishing account.If you're using Smashwords do the same thing but download the .epub. Load the word file and then when it's done, click on the page to upload your book and upload the ePub. I have a book with no obvious problems in the t.olc but I couldn't get chapter 1 to show up in the index. Eventually, that's how I got round it.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Cheers
MTM
Thank you all, Will, Patti and M.T. for your comments. I am too frightened to download anything else for this book. I'm sure that Smashwords etc. are great and will try them for the next one.As a copywriter I go mad at the poor quality of instructions. I have about six emails from Kindle. Each one has some of the necessary info but leaves essential bits out until I send another email.
The indiesum link Will says 'Under no circumstances add your TOC using Words TOC'. My latest email from Kindle tells me to do exactly the opposite.
I'm SO confused. Kindle then say to upload the TOC. They do not say I have to hyperlink, but in the next para they say 'if you would like to create an active TOC etc.'
I have beens struggleing with this all day and am unbelievabley stressed and frustrated. Add to this the fact that every time I download the previewer I get old versions of my book, even though I have just uploaded the new version and it actually said 'file successfully uploaded.
Does anyone know how you check which version is actually on Kindle (in draft). Does anyone know what they .... mean by 'active TOC'. I think I know but would have imagined that any TOC for Kindle would have to be active!!!!!!!!
Thank you all for help so far. Sorry to be a pain. Am now going to go and pour a glass of red wine so as not to smash the computer :)
I can clear a little confusion, Clodagh.A TOC is simply a list of chapters, with the relevant page numbers: nothing more.
An active TOC simply adds a hyperlink to allow a click through from the chapter list to the start of that chapter. It is in no way essential or a requirement, just an option for lazy kindle users.
I, personally, would advise you to treat Smashwords as a combination of madhouse and snake pit. I found their upload process to be marginally less comprehensible and clear than the OHMS text of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act. Their 'meatgrinder' is as user friendly and open to reason as a starving rottweiler.
Clodagh, I use a MAC and had to upload my debut e-novel The Governess without an active TOC for the simple reason that I couldn't make them in the RTF version. As you know MAC Pages does not work like Windows.What I have understood from your problem is that there are certain sections in your book whose hyperlinks (numbers in active table of contents and 'back to contents page') are not working that's why your document is giving errors.
All you have to do is a) Go back to Microsoft Windows document and create an active hyperlink by using their upper-tabs. b) Upload the book without active TOCs.
Best of luck and looking forward to seeing your book join the Amazon and GR family soon.
Maybe these will help without going on to a Windows. Take advice from these online forums on formatting on MAC:http://www.parallel-worlds.net/iMac2K...
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A...
Will wrote: "I can clear a little confusion, Clodagh.A TOC is simply a list of chapters, with the relevant page numbers: nothing more.
An active TOC simply adds a hyperlink to allow a click through from the ..."
Will wrote: "I can clear a little confusion, Clodagh.
A TOC is simply a list of chapters, with the relevant page numbers: nothing more.
An active TOC simply adds a hyperlink to allow a click through from the ..."
Thanks Will. That was really helpful. I now know that there are two types.. I have now hyperlinked the TOC and just have to do the chapters themselves.
Could you help me with something else? When I download the previewer it keep showing the old version of my book. How do I check that they have the latest one. I will have to upload this new version before I check.
Noorilhuda wrote: "Maybe these will help without going on to a Windows. Take advice from these online forums on formatting on MAC:http://www.parallel-worlds.net/iMac2K...
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId..."
Thank you for your suggestions, Noorihuda. I have looked at both but still am incredibly muddled.
There's a sneaky but effective way of seeing if you're viewing the latest version, Clodagh. I can't take credit for it though; it was Tim's idea. Just put the date 231114 somewhere on the front pages. I put it below the copyright text.
David wrote: "There's a sneaky but effective way of seeing if you're viewing the latest version, Clodagh. I can't take credit for it though; it was Tim's idea. Just put the date 231114 somewhere on the front pag..."Thanks David. That's a great idea.
Hi Will, David, NoorihundaI'm still tearing my hair out. Kindle have just finally answered my last email and are confusing me even more. They are saying that I can't see if the links are working until AFTER I publish. Surely that's wrong.
I would now be just happy if I could link the TOC at the start of the book with the one at the end which shows all the chapters. Can anyone help with that.
The more I read on forums, blogs etc. the more confused I get. Is it true that if I bookmark everything and just add the Word TOC that should work? When I tested before it didn't.
Sorry to be such a pain but my life is rushing away and I don't think this book will EVER be published.
Clodagh, if you just close everything down, then open your document and go to the first TOC and then click on any random chapter and the hyperlink works on your document, it should work after you upload the file. I can see no reason why it should not.
Will wrote: "Clodagh, if you just close everything down, then open your document and go to the first TOC and then click on any random chapter and the hyperlink works on your document, it should work after you u..."Thanks Will. I'll try that. By First TOC you mean the one at the very beginning of book? Anyway, I will try first and get back if problems. I appreciate your help, very much. At moment feel as if I've been consigned to outer darkness so beams of light i.e. you and all who are helping, are a lifeline.
Will wrote: "Clodagh, if you just close everything down, then open your document and go to the first TOC and then click on any random chapter and the hyperlink works on your document, it should work after you u..."Hi Will, I am nearly there. The hyperlinks on two chapters don't work on previewer but everything else does. Everything works on the original Word file. I'll live with that. However, I wanted to test for iOS but Apple doesn't support the aks (?) file any more and you have to download something that seems technical and complicated.
Do you have any advice about that. I'd be grateful.
I wouldn't go near a MAC with a bargepole, Clodagh.Apple make a great product, but they hate having it sullied by contact with any other system at all, so it becomes terribly unfriendly to anyone with my technical skills. I'd never be able to submit anything to anyone using a MAC.
This Windows laptop has let me format a complete novelfor all formats incl paperback in about 8 hours work from an initial Word doc, by contrast
Will wrote: "I wouldn't go near a MAC with a bargepole, Clodagh.Apple make a great product, but they hate having it sullied by contact with any other system at all, so it becomes terribly unfriendly to anyone..."
Thanks Will. Goodness - 8 hrs. Try 8 weeks or months! I'm wondering whether to even upload the X11 files as I can preview on the previewer.
I appreciate your help. I will throw the question wider, but may decide to just leave it. Enough checking :)
Hello everyone. Does anyone know if it is really necessary to download X11 in order to download Xvfb so as to check formatting on iOS. I seem to be able to do that using the normal downloadable previewer. Is there any reason to go into that extra complication. I using Word on Mac for my book. Thanks.
What you can of course decide to do, and this is a serious suggestion, is simply make the file live on Amazon, download a copy to a Kindle and see what it looks like: if it is horrid, scoot back to your KDP page and simply make the book unavailable again whilst you fix the issue?
Will wrote: "What you can of course decide to do, and this is a serious suggestion, is simply make the file live on Amazon, download a copy to a Kindle and see what it looks like: if it is horrid, scoot back to..."Thanks Will. Unfortunately I don't have a Kindle. I read my Kindle books on my iPad and iPhone. They are also on my computer. I planned to ask some friends to check it was OK but anything other that the links it would be a bit complicated.
I'm surprised in all this time that no one has mentioned Scrivener. It really is the dog's bollocks when it comes to producing novels. Lots of formatting options so it's true you can spend ages mucking about getting it to look how you want, but once you've done it and saved that layout as a preset, it really is click-click-done.It produces a mobi file, so you can check it in the Kindle Previewer before you upload (I've never had the final book be any different). ePub for iBooks? no problem. PDF, print-ready PDF for CreateSpace etc.
Probably too late for your current book, but worth considering in the future.
Tim wrote: "I'm surprised in all this time that no one has mentioned Scrivener. It really is the dog's bollocks when it comes to producing novels."Quite agree.
Tim wrote: "I'm surprised in all this time that no one has mentioned Scrivener. It really is the dog's bollocks when it comes to producing novels. Lots of formatting options so it's true you can spend ages muc..."Thanks Tim. And David too. I will look at Scrivener for next time. My second novel is ready to format now, so I'll take a look.
I'm going to publish The Eighteenth of November on Create Space too. Does Scrivener work for that?
I really appreciate the help everyone has given me.
David wrote: "Tim wrote: "I'm surprised in all this time that no one has mentioned Scrivener. It really is the dog's bollocks when it comes to producing novels."Quite agree."
Thanks David. I will look into Scrivener.
Tim wrote: "I'm surprised in all this time that no one has mentioned Scrivener. It really is the dog's bollocks when it comes to producing novels. Lots of formatting options so it's true you can spend ages muc..."Clodagh wrote: "Tim wrote: "I'm surprised in all this time that no one has mentioned Scrivener. It really is the dog's bollocks when it comes to producing novels. Lots of formatting options so it's true you can sp..."
OOPs. Sorry I see you mentioned PDF for Create Space too. Thanks.
Tim wrote: "And they have a month free trial too :)"Thanks Tim. I have checked the site - yes, not just free trial but calculated according to how often you use it. So you could use it over more than a month just until you had actually usedit for 30 days. That is refreshing.
My next book is already written using Word. Will be interested to see that can be used as is, or whether I will have to reformat it as you do for Kindle or some special Scrivener formatting. Will get the first book out of the way and then try. Thanks again.
Yes it's 30 actual days of usage, not simply a calendar month from when you start.I've imported books from Word several times. It's pretty straightforward although it does involve a bit of faffing, depending on how many chapters & scenes you have.
The power of Scrivener comes from having your text arranged just so. You need to create a folder in the binder (the window on the left) for each chapter. The title of the folder is the title of the chapter (if you're just using "Chapter 1, Chapter 2" etc, then don't set this in the title cos you get it automatically, ) That'll go into your TOC.
Inside each chapter folder you'll need a file for each scene.
Then it's a matter of splitting up your Word document and copying each bit into the appropriate slot. Chapter 1 copy paste. Chapter 2 copy paste etc. It's a bit of a faff, but it takes me less than half an hour to do a reasonably complex novel, and when it's done, it's done.
Here's a picture to show you what the layout looks like.
(Goodreads shrinks pictures in posts, but you can see the big version if you click on my name above and then the "More Photos" link)
I've colour coded my chapters and scenes according to the POV character. If you want to reorder things, swap chapters about or move a scene from chapter 1 to chapter 3 etc, it's just a matter of dragging it in the binder to where you want it to go.
Tim wrote: "Yes it's 30 actual days of usage, not simply a calendar month from when you start.I've imported books from Word several times. It's pretty straightforward although it does involve a bit of faffin..."
Such a clear helpful explanation - seems very straightforward . Even a bit of faffing will be nothing compared to the nightmare I've had with this first book. By scene I imagine you mean chapter? Thank you very much for going to so much trouble, Tim. Am so grateful.
No, scene as in a chapter is made up of a number of scenes...
Be that as it may, as they say, they have told me I must format it using Words Table of Contents. I am working on a Mac, and the link they gave me says I must hyperlink using bookmark and hyperlink, manually. That's what I did before.
I am utterly confused. When I try this method with the Word TOC it just doesn't work. Does anyone know what the answer is. The insist I must use the Word TOC, but they may not know I am on a Mac.
I write in utter frustration and would be so grateful for some help & advice. Thanks