MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Little firm with baby ebookers seeks brilliance

adieu · 08-20-2014, 08:10 PM

Hope I can get some help from the grizzled veterans here.

Our little company currently has three cruising guides for saltwater boaters in BC and Washington state. The PDF guides, which are updated annually, are offered for free download here. We use Abode CS5.5 software, including InDesign, with plans to upgrade to CC this fall.

We are working hard to research and expand our coverage of the Salish Sea, which these waters are now called. I write this on a gloomy day in Puget Sound from a boat anchored off Port Ludlow.

I know a lot about sailing; very little about creating ebooks.

But in the next year, we will release a single ebook, incorporating all our guides and new research. It will cover twice the sea area, anchorages and ports that our existing guides now include. We expect it will be about 350-400 pages, with no advertising or friends' artwork ;-).

Our plan is to create a fixed-layout epub, allowing us to gain distribution through various online services like ibookstore, Google Play, Kindle (with conversion) and others, charging a small fee.

Most people (we have had over 13,000 downloads this year) seem to use us on laptops, many on tablets and some on phones. But at home, before they set out, our users often plan their cruise on a desktop.

We don't have the resources to create guides in many different page sizes. If you were us, would you:

- build a guide that is somewhat shorter than the 768 x 1024-pixel page used by the ipad, so it would also view more easily on laptops, desktops and a few other devices?

- build a guide that is 1024 x 768 pixels (landscape, so it can be viewed on laptops and desktops, as well as on on tablets set not to rotate?

- do something else I have not thought of?

As for formats, what would you do to be seen on as many devices as possible?

I claim no expertise, but obvious services include ibookstore, which covers iOS devices and the latest OS X Macs, as well as Kindle and Google Play for mobile devices. If the conversion does not require many days without sleep, I would would also include Nooks.

How about PC's?

Would you:

- tell people who wish to view and use the guides on Windows computers to download from

Kindle and use the Kindle PC app?

- is there another solution? Programs like Calibre seem simple for users here, but cracking

DRM seems a lot to ask people who have just spent a few bucks to buy your ebook, even if they use Linux or Blackberry Playbooks (or is that only my relatives?).

What would you do? I would love to hear any solutions or ideas from others.

08-20-2014, 08:10 PM	#1
adieu Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 210 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: None	Little firm with baby ebookers seeks brilliance Hope I can get some help from the grizzled veterans here. Our little company currently has three cruising guides for saltwater boaters in BC and Washington state. The PDF guides, which are updated annually, are offered for free download here. We use Abode CS5.5 software, including InDesign, with plans to upgrade to CC this fall. We are working hard to research and expand our coverage of the Salish Sea, which these waters are now called. I write this on a gloomy day in Puget Sound from a boat anchored off Port Ludlow. I know a lot about sailing; very little about creating ebooks. But in the next year, we will release a single ebook, incorporating all our guides and new research. It will cover twice the sea area, anchorages and ports that our existing guides now include. We expect it will be about 350-400 pages, with no advertising or friends' artwork ;-). Our plan is to create a fixed-layout epub, allowing us to gain distribution through various online services like ibookstore, Google Play, Kindle (with conversion) and others, charging a small fee. Most people (we have had over 13,000 downloads this year) seem to use us on laptops, many on tablets and some on phones. But at home, before they set out, our users often plan their cruise on a desktop. We don't have the resources to create guides in many different page sizes. If you were us, would you: - build a guide that is somewhat shorter than the 768 x 1024-pixel page used by the ipad, so it would also view more easily on laptops, desktops and a few other devices? - build a guide that is 1024 x 768 pixels (landscape, so it can be viewed on laptops and desktops, as well as on on tablets set not to rotate? - do something else I have not thought of? As for formats, what would you do to be seen on as many devices as possible? I claim no expertise, but obvious services include ibookstore, which covers iOS devices and the latest OS X Macs, as well as Kindle and Google Play for mobile devices. If the conversion does not require many days without sleep, I would would also include Nooks. How about PC's? Would you: - tell people who wish to view and use the guides on Windows computers to download from Kindle and use the Kindle PC app? - is there another solution? Programs like Calibre seem simple for users here, but cracking DRM seems a lot to ask people who have just spent a few bucks to buy your ebook, even if they use Linux or Blackberry Playbooks (or is that only my relatives?). What would you do? I would love to hear any solutions or ideas from others.