So, sportsfans:
Another happy week in the world of eBookmaking. I have a RAVING client, who is irate about the service we've provided him. That's of no interest to anyone here but me, but, in terms of me kvetching, for a change, about Amazon, and why they cannot make up their damn minds and stop screwing those of us in the biz:
As some of you may remember, when Textbook Creator first came out, you built a .kpf file and you could build a "print replica" (herein, "PR") eBook that would work as a fixed-layout "mobi" (I'll get back to that nomenclature in a moment) that could be bought on eInks, as well as Fires.
Alrighty, well, fast-forward some amount of time. First, we determine that internal (not external) links no longer work in PR. At first, I thought it was a glitch, something we'd done on an eBook and it took months to get Amazon to focus on it, as they kept assuming (as we were handed along from one person to the next) that we were stupid, and that we meant external links on an iOS device, which, as we all know, haven't worked in what, 7 years now?
But finally, they 'fessed up--the internal links (TOCs, Indices, any internal links) just don't work, period, other than K4PC/K4Mac. Oh, joy. That was 6 months ago. They said that they were working on it, so...presumably, it would be fixed by now, right? (
NO is the answer, in case you foolishly thought it was yes, as I did.)
Then, I have a client that's read this Format Comparison Chart:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202101750 (scroll down if that opens at the top of the page) and decides that PR is just the thing he wants.
We discuss PR and I say, in my email to him, that PR only works on the "more advanced Kindle devices." I did not say "NOTHING BUT FIRES," because that's not quite accurate.
So, we make the file. First, he's unhappy because it doesn't "snap" to the page, in spread view, as does iBooks with FXLs made in spread mode, so he wants us to remake it in one-page up view. Then something else happened and we had to remake the index, a 2nd time...fine. I don't charge for any of this rework.
He takes the file and publishes it.
What happens? First thing, a friend of his buys it and said friend has an eInk, a PPW, and he can't read it, because
it's not allowed for his device. Add to that that the client buys it for his own device (K4iOS/iPad) and of course, now, the internal links do not work, EITHER.
So, he's irate. He writes to KDP and one of their CSR's sends him a canned email, telling him which devices it can work on, and HELPFULLY (NOT!) adds as a last paragraph:
Quote:
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If you want readers from paper-withe devices to see your book , you can publish your book with a MOBI file. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) lets you convert your content from several formats. However, for best results we recommend you upload your content in Microsoft Word, MOBI, or Zipped HTML format.
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(
BOLD emphasis added)
So, now, he's decided that I've ripped him off. That .kpf is some rogue format, akin to what happens if you buy Chinese car replacement parts, instead of Ford-issued parts, or whatever. I've explained repeatedly that it's an authorized Amazon format, yadda. But of course, he won't hear it. His position is, that because I said "MOBI" repeatedly (which I did--when you say "kpf" or "kcb" or whatever, to people, they typically get all worked up that you're giving them the "wrong" file!), but of course, you guys know me, it wasn't my intent to mislead him. I mean,
WHY would I do that?
So anyway--the latest and "greatest" (so to speak) on PR is, internal links do not work on anything, ANYTHING, but K4PC and K4Mac and they are no longer buyable on eInks. Apparently, I can only assume that Amazon has decided that the eInks, even the latest voyages, PPWs, etc., just don't have the brainpower (processing power) and all that to handle PR or other FXL eBooks.
So, if you deal with clients, and you haven't been minutely detailed about the limitations of PR,
you've been warned. Make sure you develop religion about saying "this doesn't work and that doesn't happen."
Hitch