Kindle format for ebookers?

[kr236rk]

Hi,

New here Am in the process of putting an ebook together. Have found the Lulu site user-friendly for self-publishing yet am quite a fan of Amazon UK and so lean towards picking up a Kindle

BUT

Kindle doesn't handle Lulu EPUB reader files, although I saw somewhere that EPUBs can be converted for Kindle in 'Calibre' software.

Anyway, if I was to start out differently, and wanted to publish an ebook in Kindle MOBI format, how would I do that please? Is there for example, a MOBI site which can take you through the ebook steps for Kindle?

Thanks,

Ric

[kevinp]

I'm sure it would be much more difficult to try to figure out the mobi format than it would be to use Calibre. Have you even looked at Calibre? Just import your epub and click two buttons to make a mobi version. It's super easy and Calibre is a great program. A lot of work has gone into it and it's still FREE.

[JSWolf]

The best way to do it is to create an ePub version of your book. Make it look good and then use Kindlegen to convert it and Kindle Previewer to view the conversion to see how it came out.

[kr236rk]

That's great guys, thanks

Am half way down the road to an EPUB ebook & I understand that there are ways to have this read on a Kindle But it also means I wouldn't be able to host it on Amazon

Can an author have two separate versions of an ebook in circulation at the same time, for example, an EPUB and a MOBI version, both identical but in the two different formats please?

Thanks,

Ric

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The best way to do it is to create an ePub version of your book. Make it look good and then use Kindlegen to convert it and Kindle Previewer to view the conversion to see how it came out.

What is Kindlegen please?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kr236rk

Can an author have two separate versions of an ebook in circulation at the same time, for example, an EPUB and a MOBI version, both identical but in the two different formats please?

Not only "can", but that's the normal practice. Almost all books are published as Mobi and ePub.

Create your book as ePub, then use "Kindlegen" to convert it to Kindle format.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by kr236rk

Can an author have two separate versions of an ebook in circulation at the same time, for example, an EPUB and a MOBI version, both identical but in the two different formats please?

Of course. Most authors do this and some offer additional formats as well.

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by kevinp

I'm sure it would be much more difficult to try to figure out the mobi format than it would be to use Calibre. Have you even looked at Calibre? Just import your epub and click two buttons to make a mobi version. It's super easy and Calibre is a great program. A lot of work has gone into it and it's still FREE.

Thanks yes I picked up on the free status of the Calibre download, but to have my ebook on Amazon I would need a MOBI version at the outset?

EPUB publishing looks great - have tried snippets of the book + jpegs, all in Word [docx] & they upload nicely. Kindle-MOBI prefers Word docs converted to html I read, which looks daunting - am html phobic but apparently a direct upload of Word to MOBI will sometimes work. But it all looks a bit MOBI-iffy to me at the moment, so I will probably press ahead with the EPUB.

The thing is though I use Amazon UK all the time so it would be a shame not to be able to offer my ebook there if I can get it over all the hurdles in epublishing?

Thanks,

Ric

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kr236rk

Thanks yes I picked up on the free status of the Calibre download, but to have my ebook on Amazon I would need a MOBI version at the outset?

You need a Mobi version for Amazon but - as I said in my previous post - you can create it with Kindlegen. DON'T use Calibre to create a Mobi book for sale on Amazon.

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not only "can", but that's the normal practice. Almost all books are published as Mobi and ePub.

Create your book as ePub, then use "Kindlegen" to convert it to Kindle format.

Oh wow - that sounds brill - haven't caught up with Kindlegen yet in fact I only really came to grips with the idea of epublishing about a fortnight ago: this is all looking very exciting!

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Of course. Most authors do this and some offer additional formats as well.

That's great news, thanks! - have questions following on from this (copyright/isbn) but I guess I better create a new thread?

Ric

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You need a Mobi version for Amazon but - as I said in my previous post - you can create it with Kindlegen. DON'T use Calibre to create a Mobi book for sale on Amazon.

That is extremely useful & helpful information: thank you!

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You need a Mobi version for Amazon but - as I said in my previous post - you can create it with Kindlegen. DON'T use Calibre to create a Mobi book for sale on Amazon.

Hi,

How do you open Kindlegen please?

When I downloaded it, it selected a Sony audio program to open with, which of course couldn't open it. Then I tried Windows, Adobe, then Google Chrome but nothing seems to open (unzip) it?

At the moment when you select 'Open' the file just duplicates itself without opening.

Am running Windows7, 64 bit.

Thanks,

Ric

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by kr236rk

How do you open Kindlegen please?

It's a command line program, you run it from the Windows command prompt.

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

It's a command line program, you run it from the Windows command prompt.

OK thanks - what is the command code prompt please?

Ric

ps. note also please that right-clicking on the Kindlegen icon does not yield 'unzip' option, only 'open' which has no effect. Presumably if I cannot unzip Kindlegen it will not make it any further onto my hard drive to enable command prompt to recognise it thus: c:\KindleGen\kindlegen ?