Problem with titles of books from Smashwords

carld · 07-22-2010, 06:30 PM

I've found that titles I download from Smashwords look alright on my computer, but when I copy them over to my Kindle the title comes up as "tmp_"followed by a long string of letters and numbers. I can correct them with Calibre, and the books themselves seem fine. But, I'm wondering if it's because I'm downloading in Firefox or some other reason?

ficbot · 07-22-2010, 07:44 PM

No; I have this too. All the Smashwords books I have ever downloaded have had very sloppy metadata (problems such as you describe, missing cover art I have to the website and download manually etc). I don't put anything on the Kindle until I have run it through Calibre and checked everything.

mitch13 · 07-22-2010, 11:12 PM

I agree with ficbot - I pass everything through Calibre. To keep a standard in my library I even pull Amazon books into Calibre, remove them from the Kindle Documents folder and, after checking through and either correcting or picking up covers I then transfer back to the Kindle. This way they end up in authors folders on the Kindle. These can't be seen from the Kindle but Windows Explorer can see them and makes it easy to check out books for an author.

"I'm not the village idiot but when he retires I'm next in line"
Goons

mitch13

carld · 07-22-2010, 11:19 PM

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to start doing the same. I guess I'll pull everything off my Kindle and go through and make sure they're all okay, then load them back up.

jasonfedelem · 07-23-2010, 07:18 PM

I have to run it thru Calibre too.

Shayne Parkinson · 07-24-2010, 05:57 PM

FYI, Smashwords have recently posted a way for authors to fix the problem with funky titles in the .mobi versions. I've tried the fix out, and it solved the problem.

Any Smashwords authors who haven't seen the fix: it's in the 12th July 2010 entry on this page http://www.smashwords.com/about/beta

Pushka · 07-24-2010, 07:23 PM

I use calibre for all books. One thing I dislike with Amazon is that they put 'the novel' at the end of some titles which makes them way too long, and it is redundant anyway!

SensualPoet · 07-24-2010, 09:15 PM

Does anyone use Smashwords (or Amazon) books as delivered?

Smashwords ePubs I have tried are distinctly sub-standard without any table of contents breaking the novel into two or three parts in the middle of a chapter. Given a choice, I will ALWAYS opt for the Kindle edition first.

HarryT · 07-25-2010, 01:51 PM

The problem with Smashwords is that it doesn't allow authors to upload their own correctly-formatted format-specific books; the author has to upload in Word format, and then all the different formats are created by SW's own format converter which is far from wonderful. It's a significant problem with the site.

AnemicOak · 07-25-2010, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Does anyone use Smashwords (or Amazon) books as delivered?

Not really. Most of the Amazon self pubbed stuff I've got has been good if not great formatting wise, but some has been horrible. Example, I thought it was great when Dana Stabenow brought out some of her older stuff through Amazon DTP, but the one book I've bought so far has neither paragraph indents nor spaces so stuff is run together. Now I prefer indents without spaces between the paragraphs, but would have settled for the latter as at least it's something to easily tell one paragraph to the next. Most Smashwords titles I've downloaded have needed work.

carld · 07-25-2010, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Does anyone use Smashwords (or Amazon) books as delivered?

Yes, I do. Other than correcting the titles on Smashword books, I don't do anything to my ebooks really.

Just thinking, do mean as a reader or author?

Lyndl · 07-26-2010, 12:02 AM

I'm glad I found this thread! I thought I'd done something wrong!

I usually run all my books though Calbre, but this was one I was downloading to demonstrate to a friend ( showing off ) Made me feel a bit silly when the gobbledegook appeared on the screen.

07-22-2010, 06:30 PM	#1
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Problem with titles of books from Smashwords I've found that titles I download from Smashwords look alright on my computer, but when I copy them over to my Kindle the title comes up as "tmp_"followed by a long string of letters and numbers. I can correct them with Calibre, and the books themselves seem fine. But, I'm wondering if it's because I'm downloading in Firefox or some other reason?

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07-22-2010, 07:44 PM	#2
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	No; I have this too. All the Smashwords books I have ever downloaded have had very sloppy metadata (problems such as you describe, missing cover art I have to the website and download manually etc). I don't put anything on the Kindle until I have run it through Calibre and checked everything.

07-22-2010, 11:12 PM	#3
mitch13 Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Queensland, Australia Device: Appraising the market	I agree with ficbot - I pass everything through Calibre. To keep a standard in my library I even pull Amazon books into Calibre, remove them from the Kindle Documents folder and, after checking through and either correcting or picking up covers I then transfer back to the Kindle. This way they end up in authors folders on the Kindle. These can't be seen from the Kindle but Windows Explorer can see them and makes it easy to check out books for an author. "I'm not the village idiot but when he retires I'm next in line" Goons mitch13

07-22-2010, 11:19 PM	#4
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to start doing the same. I guess I'll pull everything off my Kindle and go through and make sure they're all okay, then load them back up.

07-23-2010, 07:18 PM	#5
jasonfedelem Zealot Posts: 118 Karma: 202232 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Texas Device: Kindle Paperwhite Gen2	I have to run it thru Calibre too.

07-24-2010, 05:57 PM	#6
Shayne Parkinson Author Posts: 1,532 Karma: 5447804 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab	FYI, Smashwords have recently posted a way for authors to fix the problem with funky titles in the .mobi versions. I've tried the fix out, and it solved the problem. Any Smashwords authors who haven't seen the fix: it's in the 12th July 2010 entry on this page http://www.smashwords.com/about/beta

07-24-2010, 07:23 PM	#7
Pushka Wizard Posts: 1,119 Karma: 1019140 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Device: kindle, Ipad, Iphone, Nexus and PPW	I use calibre for all books. One thing I dislike with Amazon is that they put 'the novel' at the end of some titles which makes them way too long, and it is redundant anyway!

07-24-2010, 09:15 PM	#8
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Does anyone use Smashwords (or Amazon) books as delivered? Smashwords ePubs I have tried are distinctly sub-standard without any table of contents breaking the novel into two or three parts in the middle of a chapter. Given a choice, I will ALWAYS opt for the Kindle edition first.

07-25-2010, 01:51 PM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The problem with Smashwords is that it doesn't allow authors to upload their own correctly-formatted format-specific books; the author has to upload in Word format, and then all the different formats are created by SW's own format converter which is far from wonderful. It's a significant problem with the site.

07-26-2010, 12:02 AM	#12
Lyndl Member Posts: 18 Karma: 1132 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: W Aust Device: Kindle 2i, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle Touch, Kindle Paperwhite	I'm glad I found this thread! I thought I'd done something wrong! I usually run all my books though Calbre, but this was one I was downloading to demonstrate to a friend ( showing off ) Made me feel a bit silly when the gobbledegook appeared on the screen.

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