Converting PD Books to Kindle Help

doc_mart · 11-25-2009, 08:55 AM

Hey all,
I am new to the forum. I LOVE it here.

I was scanning the free or nearly free book lists for the Kindle via amazon. I am an academic in a liberal arts field. I was noticing that there are few Public Domain books available for the Kindle via Amazon.

I was thinking about reformatting some PD content for the Kindle and then making it available for free or nearly free via amazon. This is no "get rich quick" greedy move. I imagine the texts I format would bring little customers and probably not make enough to cover my time.

I have not converted a book to Kindle. I am wondering if someone has or can point me to a resource for this. Particularly the very basics: making the texts linkable etc.

I have researched PD usage for courses I teach as I have of used etexts to save students some cash, but I am wondering what the laws are for reformatting for sale if anyone has experience with this I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

ensyed · 11-25-2009, 09:20 AM

I find Stanza to be very easy to use. Its free software you can download.
Just open the document in Stanza and then click on Export as (under file menu)... and it gives you many options including Amazon Kindle.

U need to have downloaded and saved the PD document to your computer first.
HTH

HarryT · 11-25-2009, 09:24 AM

Have you looked at the book collection available here at MR? We have many, many thousands of excellently formatted public domain texts that you can download for free.

doc_mart · 11-25-2009, 09:30 AM

Hey harry... yes, the book list is quite nice and a great resource. Yet, the list is still missing a lot of books from my field that would be helpful. How does one reformat and submit for the mobileread list? Perhaps this is what I should do especially as i see Amazon is no longer taking PD submissions at this time.

My primary interest is to serve the ereader community by getting these important pieces out for use.

HarryT · 11-25-2009, 09:37 AM

Personally I use a tool called "BookDesigner" to create the book in HTML, and then "MobiPocket Creator" to convert it to MobiPocket format. Both are free.

It is not a trivial task to create a nicely-formatted book. I generally reckon on perhaps 2-3h work for the book itself, and anything up to several hundred hours to properly proof-read it, if the text is not in a good state.

My personal "project" here at MR has been attempting to create "definitive" eBook editions of the complete works of Charles Dickens. All the books are now available here and, after about 2 years, roughly half have been thoroughly proof-read. It generally takes me 1-2 months, at an hour or two a night, to proof-read one of Dickens' novels.

doc_mart · 11-25-2009, 09:44 AM

Very nice project indeed! My field is philosophy and have some interest in the philosophy of "God" in the early modern philosophers and their roots in ME philosophy.

I find it funny there are a lot of EXPENSIVE pd texts for kindle out there that, frankly, are not well formatted.

What is your text source (if I may ask)? I have used Proj. Gut. for ereaders in my courses, but the text is often a real mess.

HarryT · 11-25-2009, 10:00 AM

The original text is generally from PG, but I proof-read against good printed editions. For my Dickens books, I have a complete set of hardbacks; the "Oxford Illustrated Dickens", that I proof against.

11-25-2009, 08:55 AM	#1
doc_mart Member Posts: 18 Karma: 64 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle II	Converting PD Books to Kindle Help Hey all, I am new to the forum. I LOVE it here. I was scanning the free or nearly free book lists for the Kindle via amazon. I am an academic in a liberal arts field. I was noticing that there are few Public Domain books available for the Kindle via Amazon. I was thinking about reformatting some PD content for the Kindle and then making it available for free or nearly free via amazon. This is no "get rich quick" greedy move. I imagine the texts I format would bring little customers and probably not make enough to cover my time. I have not converted a book to Kindle. I am wondering if someone has or can point me to a resource for this. Particularly the very basics: making the texts linkable etc. I have researched PD usage for courses I teach as I have of used etexts to save students some cash, but I am wondering what the laws are for reformatting for sale if anyone has experience with this I would appreciate it. Thanks.

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11-25-2009, 09:20 AM	#2
ensyed Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 12 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle 2	I find Stanza to be very easy to use. Its free software you can download. Just open the document in Stanza and then click on Export as (under file menu)... and it gives you many options including Amazon Kindle. U need to have downloaded and saved the PD document to your computer first. HTH

11-25-2009, 09:24 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Have you looked at the book collection available here at MR? We have many, many thousands of excellently formatted public domain texts that you can download for free.

11-25-2009, 09:30 AM	#4
doc_mart Member Posts: 18 Karma: 64 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle II	Hey harry... yes, the book list is quite nice and a great resource. Yet, the list is still missing a lot of books from my field that would be helpful. How does one reformat and submit for the mobileread list? Perhaps this is what I should do especially as i see Amazon is no longer taking PD submissions at this time. My primary interest is to serve the ereader community by getting these important pieces out for use.

11-25-2009, 09:37 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Personally I use a tool called "BookDesigner" to create the book in HTML, and then "MobiPocket Creator" to convert it to MobiPocket format. Both are free. It is not a trivial task to create a nicely-formatted book. I generally reckon on perhaps 2-3h work for the book itself, and anything up to several hundred hours to properly proof-read it, if the text is not in a good state. My personal "project" here at MR has been attempting to create "definitive" eBook editions of the complete works of Charles Dickens. All the books are now available here and, after about 2 years, roughly half have been thoroughly proof-read. It generally takes me 1-2 months, at an hour or two a night, to proof-read one of Dickens' novels.

11-25-2009, 09:44 AM	#6
doc_mart Member Posts: 18 Karma: 64 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Kindle II	Very nice project indeed! My field is philosophy and have some interest in the philosophy of "God" in the early modern philosophers and their roots in ME philosophy. I find it funny there are a lot of EXPENSIVE pd texts for kindle out there that, frankly, are not well formatted. What is your text source (if I may ask)? I have used Proj. Gut. for ereaders in my courses, but the text is often a real mess.

11-25-2009, 10:00 AM	#7
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 original text is generally from PG, but I proof-read against good printed editions. For my Dickens books, I have a complete set of hardbacks; the "Oxford Illustrated Dickens", that I proof against.

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