06-15-2010, 04:45 PM | #31 | |
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Anyways, I've had a reply from Smashwords asking me to detail the problem, and I have sent a reply. They seem to be taking it seriously, that's for sure. @Dixiegal: Yeah, I get your point - the most important thing is getting a decent story out there. However, it's still no excuse to offer a slack-looking ebook to a paying customer - I think they have a right to a reasonably well-formatted ebook; it certainly won't do Smashwords any favours with regards to the .mobi format if it all looks a bit slapdash. |
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06-15-2010, 04:53 PM | #32 | |
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Another thing I ran across and I'm not sure if it's by design or if it's Smashwords. Your book has no em dashes instead it has a regular dash/hyphen with a space on either side of it. Ultimately not a super huge deal I suppose. I'm probably a lot pickier than most people. I know plenty of people who are fine with reading plain txt files. |
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06-15-2010, 05:23 PM | #33 |
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^^Of course - the copyright info! Thanks for reminding me!
The hyphen thing - a matter of taste. I've always preferred a single hyphen rather than two side by side (I guess that's what you're referring to, isn't it?) Anyways, that's all from me today. Been busy, busy, busy and had a pretty heavy-duty speed-work session with my jogging club, so I'm beat. Once again, thanks for all your help! |
06-15-2010, 05:44 PM | #34 | |
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http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/dashes.asp |
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06-16-2010, 04:54 AM | #35 |
frumious Bandersnatch
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You could use either an em-dash with no spaces around, or an en-dash with spaces around (I've seen both styles in printed books), but not a hyphen. That's, of course, if you want to use proper typography, with curled quotes and all, and not a typewriter style
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06-16-2010, 06:32 AM | #36 |
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Lol - never even heard of an em-dash before. But I know what you mean - seen 'em. But an extra 1-2mm on a hyphen is far too finicky, as far as I'm concerned. Sorry guys - my hyphens stay as they are!
Anyways - it looks like I'll be uploading a standalone Kindle version (available through Amazon) sometime soon. After looking into it, the process seems pretty straightforward through Amazon's DTP, and I'll be virtually guaranteed a decent .mobi version. The only annoyance is that I apparently can't run any free promotions! So it looks as if I'll have to run a limited offer of 99 cents for a while - however, I'm planning on having the period run quite a bit longer than the Smashwords one, which should sweeten the deal, I hope. |
06-16-2010, 07:13 AM | #37 |
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One of the reasons I go for the RTF from Smashwords is so that I can do a search and replace for hyphens, single and double quotes so that they can be changed to what they should be.
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06-16-2010, 12:35 PM | #38 |
neilmarr
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***The hyphen thing - a matter of taste. I've always preferred a single hyphen rather than two side by side***
A double hyphen, AJ, is merely print code for an en dash. It should not remain at publication and is just sloppy. Neil |
06-16-2010, 04:04 PM | #39 |
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^^I've actually seen the double hyphen in some print books, believe it or not!
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06-17-2010, 04:59 AM | #40 |
frumious Bandersnatch
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