05-09-2011, 11:08 AM | #1 |
Member
Posts: 15
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle
|
Software recommendations for making Kindle book
Hi everyone. I am going to be making a eBook of a text book a friend wrote. I worked on it for about 10 hours this weekend and didn't get very far. Unfortunately, he has the book in PDF format which doesn't convert to Kindle very well. I have found a way to extract the Text from the PDFs but haven't found a good way of formatting the book for the Kindle.
I tired MS Word but I know it generates junky HTML code so I didn't waste much time on that. I've downloaded Jutoh, Sigil but have found it doesn't work very well for the book I'm trying to make. I find the biggest problem is formatting for the Kindle, page breaks don't work very well, sentences are on different pages when viewing in Kindle for PC then they are in the WYSIWIG editor. I have read the Wiki on this site, and although it has helped some I am still really frustrated with trying to make a Kindle book. Can anyone recommend a good software package/WYSIWIG program that I can format this book in? If not, can you provide either a good web-site or thread that has more information on this? I'm surprised how hard formatting a book for Kindle can be and how little Amazon has for support/reference material. Thanks. |
05-09-2011, 11:20 AM | #2 |
Addict
Posts: 248
Karma: 100148
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Germany, Munich
Device: Kindle 3 & DX Graphite, PocketBook 302 & Pro 603
|
You get good results with mobipocket creator, but you need HTML first - I found kompoZer to be a good editor, you get WYSIWIG and plain HTML editor on one.
There are some special HTML codes Mobipocket uses to create pagebreaks etc. If you need more help, I can provide links etc. later on... |
05-09-2011, 11:21 AM | #3 | |
Feral Underclass
Posts: 3,622
Karma: 26821535
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Yorkshire, tha noz
Device: 2nd hand paperback
|
Quote:
< m b p : p a g e b r e a k / > in the html, but that is about the extent of your control. |
|
05-09-2011, 11:23 AM | #4 |
Member
Posts: 15
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle
|
Thanks for the information. Wow, this can be frustrating!!! I'll keep hacking away and try to find a way that works.
|
05-09-2011, 11:28 AM | #5 |
Wizard
Posts: 3,025
Karma: 11196738
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Piper College
Device: Samsung A21
|
bear4hunter is correct you should get good results there. Another place to look is Open Office.org. Open Office is a free competition to Microsoft Office and is quite a bit better then Microsoft and is getting better than that. Open Office does quite well at generating HTML and PDF.
|
05-09-2011, 11:56 AM | #6 |
Connoisseur
Posts: 64
Karma: 69964
Join Date: Dec 2007
Device: Kindle
|
How elaborately do you intend to format the thing? If it's just a bunch-'o-text, you could dump it into any text editor, do whatever minor cleanup you want, then run it through MobiPocket Creator and be done with it.
Keep in mind if you're creating flowable text, WYSIWYG no longer has any real meaning. The user can change font size on all Kindles, and screen orientation on the newer ones. What-they-see-is-not-what-you-made. |
05-09-2011, 12:06 PM | #7 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 19,832
Karma: 11844413
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Tampa, FL USA
Device: Kindle Touch
|
Quote:
BOb |
|
05-09-2011, 12:07 PM | #8 |
Addict
Posts: 248
Karma: 100148
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Germany, Munich
Device: Kindle 3 & DX Graphite, PocketBook 302 & Pro 603
|
|
05-09-2011, 12:14 PM | #9 | |
Member
Posts: 15
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle
|
Quote:
|
|
05-09-2011, 12:15 PM | #10 |
Member
Posts: 15
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle
|
I know the book layout was done with Quark. I'm not sure what program he wrote the text in. He is on a Mac so I don't know if he used Word or something else.
|
05-09-2011, 12:16 PM | #11 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 19,832
Karma: 11844413
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Tampa, FL USA
Device: Kindle Touch
|
Quote:
BOb |
|
05-09-2011, 12:25 PM | #12 |
Bookaholic
Posts: 14,391
Karma: 54969924
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Minnesota
Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +
|
If you can get access to the Quark file(s) and a copy of Quark 9 (maybe the 30 trial would work), it has an export to ePub function. Not sure how good the resultant ePub is, but it has to be better than something exported from a PDF. Once a good ePub is made (using Sigil to edit if necessary, or hand editing) using KindleGen/Kindle Previewer should get you a nice mobi file for use on the Kindle.
|
05-09-2011, 04:22 PM | #13 |
Member
Posts: 15
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle
|
Thank you for all of the suggestions. I have decided just to export the Text from the PDF, then edit the entire thing by hand in HTML format with Notepad++. So far, it seems to be working pretty good, tedious, but at least it works good. Thanks for the help!
|
11-06-2013, 02:17 AM | #14 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,306
Karma: 43993832
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Monroe Wisconsin
Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)
|
PDF to Epub is a good program. It can convert PDF files to epub, HTML or Kindle files.
|
11-06-2013, 06:17 AM | #15 |
Addict
Posts: 293
Karma: 1250000
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: UK
Device: Kobo Libra, iPadAir2, PRS600, iPhone 6, iPod, Palm TX
|
Have a look at the Atlantis Word Processor or at Jutoh or at Sigil. Prepare the book as an ePub first and get it looking right. Then convert it to mobi for Kindle using Jutoh or Calibre. I use Jutoh every month to convert a journal into the various ebook formats.
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Free book (Kindle) - Making Waves [Christian Historical Romance] | ATDrake | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 0 | 05-01-2011 03:26 AM |
Natural Healing Book Recommendations for Kindle? | katrinarobin | Reading Recommendations | 11 | 12-17-2010 12:38 PM |
Making ADE my default reader software | Maur | Reading and Management | 1 | 09-20-2010 10:54 AM |
Free Book (Kindle) - The Truth About Making Smart Decisions | koland | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 0 | 08-30-2010 09:37 AM |
E-Book publishing software, any recommendations? | M T McGuire | Writers' Corner | 13 | 07-02-2010 02:05 PM |