Kindle Conversion Kills Images
 

I'm trying to get my first ePub published. It's an epub2, and my understanding is that it should work as is with an Apple iBooks reader, Nook and Kobo. But if I want it to work with Kindle, I have to convert it to the .mobi format.

So I opened it in Calibre and converted it to the mobi format.

It looks horrible, like the CSS isn't working the way it's supposed to. In addition, some images display, but most don't.

Is this a common problem? If I can't fix it, then I can just make a PDF version - Kindle can display PDF files, right?

Always upload epub2 to Amazon KDP.
Also "mobi" is only for ancient kindles.
Make sure Tablet is selected for target, not any kindle, to leave images alone.
To test locally with a real Kindle, use azw/KF8.
For Smashwords (only) you'd make a dual mobi that has old mobi and KF8 in it as Smashwords can't tell if someone has an ancient or newer Kindle.

You need to do more research before proceeding. Publishing a Kindle book by submitting to Amazon a MOBI file generated using calibre or a PDF file are among the two worst choices. It is possible to do that but the resulting book will have serious deficiencies.

Thanks for the tips The problem is that I can't sell this book via Amazon, which means I presumably can't use their converter.

I'm not sure what you mean by "tablet;" I don't see that choice. I do see the option to convert it to AZW3. I'll give that a try.

Thanks.

i thought that with Smahswords, you either upload a .doc file or an ePub file? So upload the ePub.

AZW3 is even worse; I can't even open it in Kindle. Does Amazon offer a conversion service you can use even if you aren't selling your book with them?

In Calibre, go to Preferences and find the Conversion section. Select Common Options and then Page setup (on the left side). Under Output profile, select Tablet. Under Input profile, select Default profile.On the right side, set all the margins to 0.0 pt.

But, do not convert using Calibre and then upload that. Upload the ePub and let Amazon do the conversion.

How do you plan to sell your eBook? What you plan to do will dictate what you do.

Those instructions worked like a charm. Thanks.

Since I can't sell it on Amazon, etc., I have no choice but sell it on my website. I might try a direct mailing to promote it. I'm also hoping to get it translated into Chinese.

Lots of hoops to jump through...

My understanding is that the most flexible of the MOBI types is the "triple" flavor that's produced by the KindleGen program, which I don't think Amazon continues to promote. Inside that MOBI container is 1) the ancient Mobipocket format, 2) one of the newer AZW formats, and 3) the original EPUB that was fed to KindleGen. When you run kindlegen.exe you can give it the flag/option -dont_append_source and then it won't include the original EPUB. Ancient Kindles will automatically use the ancient Mobipocket format while the newer Kindles will automatically use the AZW format.

Google can provide the amazon download page for KindleGen.

On Windows KindleGen is a DOS command; here's the .bat file I use to run it:

Why can't you sell it on Amazon?

I wanted to write a book exploring the conspiracy theories swirling around the coronavirus pandemic. If I had found evidence supporting the theory that it originated in China, my book would probably be a big hit.

Instead, I found evidence linking it to my backyard - Seattle - as well as Israel. Of course, saying anything bad about Israel makes you a you-know-what.

The amazing thing is that I can discuss my book more freely in communist China than I can in the U.S. When I tried to order T-shirts and business cards promoting my book from companies in the U.S. and Europe, my accounts were banned. So I ordered them from China.

So much for free speech. ;)

If you want to be dragged into the GUI era, Kindle Previewer's mobi output is a dual format mobi/azw3(KF8) with the source embedded.

Wow, Kindle Previewer works great; it even fixed an error that displays in the PDF version.

If I open an epub in Kindle Previewer, then I need to export it as a Books(*.mobi) file, right?

I downloaded KindleGen for Mac, but it won't open.

kindlegen is a command line tool.