Future-proof vs Convertable---which is better to buy?

ficbot · 02-13-2010, 09:03 PM

In the past, I have been very wedded to buying my books at Fictionwise because I would accumulate large micropay rebates and need to spend them. I am being MUCH more conservative in my spending this year and this is no longer an issue quite as much, so I am wondering about buying from other sources.

When I bought from Fictionwise, it was in either multiformat, or in secure eReader, which liberates to plain old HTML. I find this converts very cleanly once it has been tidied up and I have had no issues reading it on every device I own. But the 'tidying up' is a fairly labour-intensive process. I find myself currently with a backlog of about 40 books to go through (from the Evanovich/Grafton sale where one could use micropay and still get the rebates!) and I am somewhat daunted at the thought of going through them all.

Meanwhile, I have an equally large pile of freebies from the Sony store in epub that I have decrypted, and it took literally seconds per book. At first, I was exporting those to HTML too because they didn't look right in the Calibre viewer, but then I tried one on the Kindle and it looked great. I guess the line breaks I was seeing where page breaks which the Kindle used to make it look like a real book. It was so much less work than exporting to HTML and tidying up, and the best part is that if any of the books have graphics or pictures or anything, they stay in and look nice whereas if I strip the book down to HTML they do not.

So now, I am wondering what to do from now on. If the book is 100% micropay I will absolutely buy it from Fictionwise and convert it, even if it is a ton of work. But if the micropay is not coming into play (no rebate, I do not have a credit to spend, the book is unavailable at FW etc.) maybe I have been short-sighted not to comparison shop and check out other retailers. Kobo and Sony are always sending me coupons. If the micropay is not at play, maybe it is okay to get deals from them too.

I do worry about future-proofing my collection though. It seems like so far at least, epub is converting fine to mobipocket. Do I need to keep the epub file, or will Calibre convert it back just as well? I guess I am stuck on the old days of plain text being the most universally readable and I am having trouble wrapping my head around investing in a new format and getting burned later. Is it 'safe' to buy secure epub and mobipocket, and then if I remove the decryption my book collection will be safe and readable and convertable down the road? Or should I stick with my 'HTML only' policy even if it means much more work and less professional-looking books? If a book is available in either choice (i.e. secure eReader which becomes HTMl or liberatble epub/mobipocket) and there is no external reason like a rebate to choose one or the other, which one should I choose?

DawnFalcon · 02-14-2010, 12:22 AM

I'd advise keeping the ePub file. Regardless of the specific conversion software you might have in future, ePub is a pretty standard wrapper from which you can extract the book in easily-convertible XHTML. And of course, it's a standard.

Bremen Cole · 02-14-2010, 12:44 AM

you are wise to think of the future. What I do is convert to epub..... save all files on an external drive as back up.... and save yet on another external drive that goes into a safe deposit box. I do the off site back up every three months. No big deal, but a major fail safe.

I choose ePub because it is becoming the standard and that means ease in converting it in the future with whatever software is available. So at least to me your plan is pretty good.

Just be aware that the flaver of the day will change, and be ready for it.

HarryT · 02-14-2010, 03:30 AM

Definitely keep the ePub. Information is "thrown away" when you convert from ePub to Mobi.

Pardoz · 02-14-2010, 06:15 AM

Epub is basically just XHTML in a zip file. Like ereader, mobi can be unpacked to get so-so HTML - I generally find unpacked .mobi files need less manual cleanup than unpacked .pdb files. If you're concerned about future-proofing, backup your original file, your disinfected copy of the file and (for .mobi/.lit/.pdb) a copy of the extracted HTML. That way you have the original if needed, a clean version if there's a problem with the DRM down the line, and the raw HTML, which should be readable for a very very long time, since it's basically plain text.

02-13-2010, 09:03 PM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Future-proof vs Convertable---which is better to buy? In the past, I have been very wedded to buying my books at Fictionwise because I would accumulate large micropay rebates and need to spend them. I am being MUCH more conservative in my spending this year and this is no longer an issue quite as much, so I am wondering about buying from other sources. When I bought from Fictionwise, it was in either multiformat, or in secure eReader, which liberates to plain old HTML. I find this converts very cleanly once it has been tidied up and I have had no issues reading it on every device I own. But the 'tidying up' is a fairly labour-intensive process. I find myself currently with a backlog of about 40 books to go through (from the Evanovich/Grafton sale where one could use micropay and still get the rebates!) and I am somewhat daunted at the thought of going through them all. Meanwhile, I have an equally large pile of freebies from the Sony store in epub that I have decrypted, and it took literally seconds per book. At first, I was exporting those to HTML too because they didn't look right in the Calibre viewer, but then I tried one on the Kindle and it looked great. I guess the line breaks I was seeing where page breaks which the Kindle used to make it look like a real book. It was so much less work than exporting to HTML and tidying up, and the best part is that if any of the books have graphics or pictures or anything, they stay in and look nice whereas if I strip the book down to HTML they do not. So now, I am wondering what to do from now on. If the book is 100% micropay I will absolutely buy it from Fictionwise and convert it, even if it is a ton of work. But if the micropay is not coming into play (no rebate, I do not have a credit to spend, the book is unavailable at FW etc.) maybe I have been short-sighted not to comparison shop and check out other retailers. Kobo and Sony are always sending me coupons. If the micropay is not at play, maybe it is okay to get deals from them too. I do worry about future-proofing my collection though. It seems like so far at least, epub is converting fine to mobipocket. Do I need to keep the epub file, or will Calibre convert it back just as well? I guess I am stuck on the old days of plain text being the most universally readable and I am having trouble wrapping my head around investing in a new format and getting burned later. Is it 'safe' to buy secure epub and mobipocket, and then if I remove the decryption my book collection will be safe and readable and convertable down the road? Or should I stick with my 'HTML only' policy even if it means much more work and less professional-looking books? If a book is available in either choice (i.e. secure eReader which becomes HTMl or liberatble epub/mobipocket) and there is no external reason like a rebate to choose one or the other, which one should I choose?

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02-14-2010, 12:22 AM	#2
DawnFalcon Banned Posts: 2,094 Karma: 2682 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: N/A	I'd advise keeping the ePub file. Regardless of the specific conversion software you might have in future, ePub is a pretty standard wrapper from which you can extract the book in easily-convertible XHTML. And of course, it's a standard.

02-14-2010, 12:44 AM	#3
Bremen Cole Wizard Posts: 1,115 Karma: 2718 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas Device: iPad	you are wise to think of the future. What I do is convert to epub..... save all files on an external drive as back up.... and save yet on another external drive that goes into a safe deposit box. I do the off site back up every three months. No big deal, but a major fail safe. I choose ePub because it is becoming the standard and that means ease in converting it in the future with whatever software is available. So at least to me your plan is pretty good. Just be aware that the flaver of the day will change, and be ready for it.

02-14-2010, 03:30 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Definitely keep the ePub. Information is "thrown away" when you convert from ePub to Mobi.

02-14-2010, 06:15 AM	#5
Pardoz Which side are you on? Posts: 370 Karma: 1964 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Variable, currently Czestochowa, Poland. Device: Kindle 2 Int'l	Epub is basically just XHTML in a zip file. Like ereader, mobi can be unpacked to get so-so HTML - I generally find unpacked .mobi files need less manual cleanup than unpacked .pdb files. If you're concerned about future-proofing, backup your original file, your disinfected copy of the file and (for .mobi/.lit/.pdb) a copy of the extracted HTML. That way you have the original if needed, a clean version if there's a problem with the DRM down the line, and the raw HTML, which should be readable for a very very long time, since it's basically plain text.

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