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Hi, Lee. Yes it's as simple as that. So far I've found everything comes out exactly as I expected.
I don't use centred chapter headings so can't comment on that. But I can't see it being an issue. There are a lot of controls to set things up as one wishes. I do as little as possible and it copes. It even managed some Russian crylic without trouble, unlike Word which tries to render it as squares!
I think if an old dope like me manages you should be able to master it.
Cheers, davidrory.
I don't use centred chapter headings so can't comment on that. But I can't see it being an issue. There are a lot of controls to set things up as one wishes. I do as little as possible and it copes. It even managed some Russian crylic without trouble, unlike Word which tries to render it as squares!
I think if an old dope like me manages you should be able to master it.
Cheers, davidrory.
David Rory wrote: "Hi, Lee. Yes it's as simple as that. So far I've found everything comes out exactly as I expected. I don't use centred chapter headings so can't comment on that. But I can't see it being an issue..."
Thanks, David, I'll give calibre a try on my next book.
I actually had more trouble formatting for print than I did for the e-pub. Jeezum fecking cheeto, it took me FOREVER and several bald patches I'm just now growing back. And even then, it's not perfect which is really bugging me. But, I had to walk away because I was ready to grab a hammer. For real.I used Mobi Creator for the e-version, and not only did it work great, it was so easy I about wet my pants. My next novel is due out Spring 2012, and I made a ton of notes so hopefully it will go a lot smoother.
You have to have ballz of steel for this job. Heh.
LOL Annetta. Yes, I'm not too concerned about the e-version. It seems there are enough good programmes out there to select from. It's the paper version...
Vered wrote: "LOL Annetta. Yes, I'm not too concerned about the e-version. It seems there are enough good programmes out there to select from. It's the paper version..."With Lulu it's easy. And with Create Space as well, I'm told.
http://selfpubauthors.wordpress.com/2...
It's getting the print version ready that bugged me up. So many things to remember! Spacing, margins, choosing the right font, page numbering, front matter, back matter...I published a collection of flash fiction last year, and struggled with that but figured with that experience under my belt, I was good to go.Not so much.
Unless you're publishing every week (or at least on a regular basis) it stands to reason the learning curve is going to be a little bit steeper than usual. Either that, or I'm a total idiot, which is always possible :) All I know is designing a book for print (which is much, much different than the e-version) is a lot more difficult than people think. It really is an art and takes a lot of effort to make it look professional.
Annetta wrote: "I actually had more trouble formatting for print than I did for the e-pub. Jeezum fecking cheeto, it took me FOREVER and several bald patches I'm just now growing back. And even then, it's not perf..."I agree there is a lot to keep in mind for print books, but you can see what you're doing/getting and you just have to plug away. I use Pages (for Mac). Pages has a setup for formatting right and left pages that is a big help. I'm not sure whether Word has the same capability.
Annetta and Lee. There is a template to download free on Lulu.com that makes laying out much simpler. It's for Word but might work on Pages too. They also supply a cover template.
One needs to register but no purchase is needed.
They have a spine size calculator. All the usual book sizes are catered for. It's well worth registering just to get these tools.
Regards, David.
PS. I am fortunate enough to be able to use Photoshop and Qwarkxpress for layout of covers and Word for the interior. I used to publish a magazine so am more used to these useful but expensive tools.
One needs to register but no purchase is needed.
They have a spine size calculator. All the usual book sizes are catered for. It's well worth registering just to get these tools.
Regards, David.
PS. I am fortunate enough to be able to use Photoshop and Qwarkxpress for layout of covers and Word for the interior. I used to publish a magazine so am more used to these useful but expensive tools.
Thanks, David, I will definitely check it out. That's really good information to have and I appreciate you sharing. :)
And until December 13 your copy is FREE on Lulu (except I uploaded 4 new books and could use only 1 coupon on my order - I didn't want to do 4 orders because of shipping expenses... oh, and I didn't notice so the book I uploaded in October had the same coupon and it expired...)PASTING OF LULU MAIL:
Order today and get your proof copy on us! Just enter the code below at checkout and we will credit you for the print cost of your book
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Your coupon is good for the next 14 days – so don't delay. Please make sure to type the promotion code in manually or be sure to cut and paste the code without any extra characters or spaces. This
offer excludes photo books, calendars, and eBooks as well as shipping and any applicable tax. Please note that this offer only pertains to the first
version of a new book, simply revising an existing book without changing its format does not count. What does that mean? If you are
a first-time author, the first copy of your book is free. If you are an existing author, you can publish your book in a new format (i.e.,
a paperback book into a hardcover) and the first copy of your newly formatted book will be free.
Code is only valid for one copy of the current version of your book, revisions are
excluded. This promotion runs from August 30 to December 13, 2011.
Hey David - I just wrote a couple hours ago" does Calibre allow you to include a book cover when you convert your Word document into Kindle compatible?". And then I decided to try it out myself. And so I am now editing my comment to say, "YES, it does!!!". I used Calibe (on a Mac) to put my PDF book cover with my Word.doc manuscript and then converted it to a Kindle book. When I tested it on my Kindle for Mac, it looks the same as the version I paid Kindle to convert for me. YAHOO!!! I'm super thrilled that the next book, I can do the e-version.Next step - Createspace formatting...
Thanks David!
Vered wrote: "Hey David - I just wrote a couple hours ago" does Calibre allow you to include a book cover when you convert your Word document into Kindle compatible?". And then I decided to try it out myself. A..."If I understand you, Vered, you put your cover (in PDF form which is what I use for the print version) with your Word.doc text and then used Calibre (on a Mac) to convert both to Kindle? So you had a cover that showed up on the Kindle when the book was downloaded: nice! However, the critical thing is have the cover on amazon with the ebook and you can do that by simply uploading a jpeg copy of the cover (which is what I do).
What I'm more interested in is that your using Calibre (on a Mac) for converting Word.doc text (that resides on a Mac) to .mobi for Kindle. What about formatting such a centering headings, page breaks and the like? Do you do any editing in Calibre? Or do you use a separate text editor?
Oops, sorry - I made a mistake in my excited description. I had a jpeg of the cover (not PDF). I did not attach that to the Word doc before using Calibre. What I did was download my document into Calibre. Then went into 'Edit metadata' and selected 'Browse' in the section on 'Change cover'. I selected my cover and imported into Calibre. Then Calibre crunched them both together. Then once they were together, I used Calibre to convert. So when I uploaded onto my Kindle device (which I tested after testing with Kindle for Mac), I had exactly what I wanted. I didn't use Calibre for any editing. Maybe you can, I haven't tried. I did all my editing in the Word version before converting. All the formatting (what little I had - bold and italic texts, centring, page breaks and other basic stuff like that) came out perfectly.
Ok, I can put away the meds now...
HI all, I'm away on holiday and only stopped by for a look. My beloved won't let me do lots of email here so no long answers. Can't add to what Vered has said except: I did have a small version of the cover as a page on WORD before converting to PDF then uploaded a Jpeg as well. You then need to click "ignore one page" when in Calibre otherwise it loads two.
I've had no problems with formats changing.
One thing: Do not. Repeat do not have page numbers in Word.
It mucks up the final Mobi or ePup document. Kindle renders the page numbers at the side of text and it looks dreadful.
No page numbers! Only on doc for Createspace printing.
Regards Davidrory
I've had no problems with formats changing.
One thing: Do not. Repeat do not have page numbers in Word.
It mucks up the final Mobi or ePup document. Kindle renders the page numbers at the side of text and it looks dreadful.
No page numbers! Only on doc for Createspace printing.
Regards Davidrory
I had included page numbers, and it didn't seem to have any impact at all. Kindle version didn't show them. Unless I inadvertently had an option clicked / not clicked on Calibre so that the page numbers were ignored... Hm, next time will watch more closely!Enjoy the holiday, David! It's good to unplug.
Thanks David and Vered. I will definitely give Calibre a try for my next Kindle book.
Mod
I will say - there are certain formats that convert better in Calibre than others - If you can upload an epub to Calibre, it makes the best mobi versions than any of the other formats. Just a tip! :)
Amy wrote: "Lee, I definitely recommend Calibre for anyone wanting to try formatting their own book - I have used it before, and with a bit of practice, you can get it to do all sorts of great things!I will..."
Thanks, Amy. I definitely have the ePub versions I want. I hear you saying I can just load them into Calibre and turn them into mobi for Kindle. Correct?
Mod
Amy wrote: "Yuppers! But ALWAYS check out the entire document. Sometimes they get a little temperamental when you convert them and they will do all sorts of weird things, but generally you upload them, enter..."Sounds good. I will definitely try this. Thanks much, Amy!
A couple questions: how do you convert a Word or HTML into ePub?Also, I had heard some vague rumour that Kindle ebooks now have to have Table of Contents (which doesn't make a lot of sense for most novels). Is that true, or was it just a nasty, baseless rumour?!!
Vered wrote: "A couple questions: how do you convert a Word or HTML into ePub?Also, I had heard some vague rumour that Kindle ebooks now have to have Table of Contents (which doesn't make a lot of sense for mo..."
you can use free software "calibre" - I usually import my word-saved-as-html or PDF into calibre and change them to mobi or epub.
Hi all, Calibre can auto -detect chapters and create a contents list at the begining or end of a document. I always disable that and put my own chapter headings in. If you do, you need to click "do not detect chapters' when formatting or you'll get two.
Calibre can convert a html to almost any eBook format. Mobi, for Kindle or EPub etc.
It is worth playing with it to learn what it can do. Please take the advice above from Amy and check the result carefully both in the Calibre reader and the final reader such as Kindle.
Regards Davidrory.
Calibre can convert a html to almost any eBook format. Mobi, for Kindle or EPub etc.
It is worth playing with it to learn what it can do. Please take the advice above from Amy and check the result carefully both in the Calibre reader and the final reader such as Kindle.
Regards Davidrory.
Vered, I think you have my email? I have a great pdf I'll send you - v detailed. The Table of contents is allegedly necessary in the KDP T&Cs I think but they don't enforce it. It's not a normal one but a toc.ncx file which basically allows you to tab through the book a chapter at a time. It's a pain to put in but I personally hate it when there isn't one and I have to guess "go to [insert location number]". Might be me just being unnecessarily picky though....!
JAC
J.A. wrote: "Vered, I think you have my email? I have a great pdf I'll send you - v detailed. The Table of contents is allegedly necessary in the KDP T&Cs I think but they don't enforce it. It's not a normal ..."
Thanks, JA - I'll go check for your email.
For Mac users, I'd recommend Pages to export DOC or EPUB files. While not free ($19.99), Pages can open and export DOC files, and it is a breeze to format with. My EPUB exports have all come out with no surprises, and the Tables of Content are simple to set up. For Kindle books, I let Amazon do the final conversion from EPUB to MOBI, of course, and so far, I'm very pleased.
H.S.,I have been going the same route with Pages to ePub to Mobi (KDP). Regarding the TOC, the chapter breaks convert but the TOC is readable only in Adobe Digital Editions. The TOC itself is lost in both the NOOK ePub version after upload and in the Kindle version after upload. Because some readers like to have a TOC and be able to skip around in the chapters, I'm considering using Calibre.
H.D. wrote: "This may be the wrong place for this kind of question but can someone please tell me how the heck to create a mobi file-- I know, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box but i downloaded the mobi s..."Someone else might have said this (I just read your post and started typing) but if you're trying to create a Kindle file for publishing with KDP, you need to download a real conversion program (at least that's what Amazon told me and that's how I did it). I guess Calibre would work, but I'm not sure if there would be any compatibility problems. If you go to KDPs FAQ it'll tell you which program to download (it's free).
Lee wrote: "H.S.,I have been going the same route with Pages to ePub to Mobi (KDP). Regarding the TOC, the chapter breaks convert but the TOC is readable only in Adobe Digital Editions."
You're quite right, Lee. I use the Chapter heading to highlight chapter numbers and that creates a table of contents that is very useable in my Kindle editions.
Samantha wrote: "H.D. wrote: "This may be the wrong place for this kind of question but can someone please tell me how the heck to create a mobi file-- I know, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box but i download..."Thx, Samantha! I didn't know that Amazon provides a conversion software. Good to know
Amazon does provide Mobi conversion software but it is very high geek - pros only.
LOL, Lee. And as I'm more a writer than a geek, I may just stay with Calibre, which does what I want.
I just learned about an open source platform called Booktype that will supposedly take a lot of the guesswork out of formatting. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks promising. There's also a print-on-demand option but only for Lulu.
Reviews are sought for our historical adventure-romance Fiji which is FREE to kindle users until Monday March 12 PST. Set in 19th Century Fiji, it is “a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth”.
In the mid-1800's, Fiji was a melting pot of cannibals, warring native tribes, sailors, traders, prostitutes, escaped convicts and all manner of foreign undesirables. It's in this hostile environment in our story that an innocent young Englishwoman and a worldly American adventurer find themselves. Despite their differences, there’s an undeniable chemistry between them. When their lives are suddenly endangered by marauding cannibals, they are forced to rely on each other for their very survival.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/
More reviews are welcomed for this mainly 5-star reviewed novel! Thanks.
Lance
Sterling wrote: "Reviews are sought for our historical adventure-romance Fiji which is FREE to kindle users until Monday March 12 PST. Set in 19th Century Fiji, it is “a spellbinding novel of ad..."
You're on my kindle. The best way to get reviews is to write reviews of other GR authors' books. I'm not suggesting trading reviews. I am advocating reading GR author books whose blurbs attract you and reviewing those that you like.
Hey Everyone, So my book is now a year and 2 months old, coming off a book signing and aside from pending reviews and a poem feature its promotion and publicity has died down. Does anyone have any thoughts of ideas or promotions I can do to help raise my books notability? I would like to take one last approach to sales going into the summer before i pull the plug on my publishing company. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Write the next one. Seriously. While as authors we should do our marketing, people aren't going to invest in an author with one book out there (I'm assuming that this is your first - if it isn't and you have 10 out there, then ignore this comment!).When you have 3 or 4 out there, that's the time to push more, because if someone LOVES the first one, they can immediately go out and buy the next. But if there's only one to start with, they'll forget you by the time you put out #2.
Justin,What Vered says, which is what I told you a couple of months ago before the book signing. WRITE THE NEXT GODDAMN BOOK!!!!! You can't expect readers to find you with only one book under your belt (and with a scam publisher)!
Go back to writing and stop whining! ;-)
Happy writing
Does anyone have any ideas for promoting other then writing another book? Maybe I don't want to write another book, maybe that's not really what I wish to do right now. Not everybody has the ability or options that others have..
Justin wrote: "Does anyone have any ideas for promoting other then writing another book? Maybe I don't want to write another book, maybe that's not really what I wish to do right now. Not everybody has the abilit..."
Having reviewers review your novel and post the review on several sites, Having bloggers blog about your book, doing author interviews and books signings...that kinda thing
Having reviewers review your novel and post the review on several sites, Having bloggers blog about your book, doing author interviews and books signings...that kinda thing
If by ability and options you mean 'lack of time' (the biggest limit to writing, especially if you have a full time job etc), then consider writing short stories and posting them for free or real cheap. That will attract attention to you, plus you can eventually compile the short stories into an anthology, or write them in such a way that they become novel #2.And decide what you really want: Do you want to 'be a writer' or do you want a one-book success story and move on to the next thing?
Generally, a one-book author tends not to get a lot of serious attention from readers (unless the book is really WOW and goes viral and all that - extremely rare). My focus for this year is to write and publish a few books, then re-look at marketing in a more serious way once I have a small stable of books to offer.
Hey guys :) I am trying to downlaod Calibre to convert my PDF to a format suitable for kindle, but when I tried downloading it, a message popped up and said that the software was harmful to my computer. Has anyone had any problems with Calibre? I am so paranoid about downloading stuff from the internet. Also, if anyone has the right website off hand for the right Calibre download, that would be amazing :) Thanks guys!
Jeanine wrote: "Hey guys :) I am trying to downlaod Calibre to convert my PDF to a format suitable for kindle, but when I tried downloading it, a message popped up and said that the software was harmful to my comp..."http://calibre-ebook.com/download
that's the link I downloaded it from. You can download the PORTABLE version and save it outside of your PC. I had to download the portable version first because I learned to use it on a borrowed laptop... :-) So if you're so paranoid, just download the portable version! :-D
Oh, and to have a good mobi file with calibre, save your word doc as HTML and then import it into calibre...
Hi - I use Calibre extensively, never had a problem. I think it's Calibre-net, but if you google "Calibre ebooks", you'll get the link.
Jeanine wrote: "Sweet! Thanks, guys :)"You're welcome! :-) But if you want those only to upload to KDP - I don't use Calibre at all, just upload the word.doc as HTML on KDP. I use Calibre for beta-readers who want mobi files! ;-)
Really, Barbara? KDP will take the HTML and convert it alright? How do you upload your book cover?
Creative Reviews
Books mentioned in this topic
The Macabre Masterpiece (other topics)Fiji (other topics)
Fiji (other topics)
The Abomination Assignment (other topics)
Impediments (other topics)
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David, thanks for the tip about Calibre. So you just load the Word web file into calibre and it does the conversion? Do titles and chapter headings come out centered as they were in the Word.doc?