MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Converting old multi-file .txt fanfic to Kindle

SlickRCBD · 03-27-2020, 10:37 PM

I've been reading fanfic off the internet for around 25 years, but only found a Kindle at Good Will a couple years ago.

A lot of the old classics used to be posted to websites one chapter per file, with a naming scheme of Title1.txt, Title2.txt, Title3.txt, etc. The last chapter might be TitleEpilogue.txt or TitleEpi.txt, or it might follow the number scheme.

Reading fics in this format on a Kindle is a pain as the chapters are often not that long.

It also makes using "copy title*.txt title.txt" to concatenate a story with more than 9 chapters difficult because DOS/Windows does not handle the lack of a trailing zero with number properly, and will put chapter 11 through 19 after chapter 1 before doing chapter 2, then chapter 21.

Does anybody know a way to convert the old-school fanfic format of one plain text file per chapter to a Kindle e-book format that lets the index and chapter navigation work?
I can't figure out a way to get Calibre to do this, and lack any other e-book creation tools.

I CAN concatenate the text files into one massive text file with a little work renaming the first 9 chapters, but the chapter navigation on a Kindle does not work. I can't figure out how to get Calibre to do it either and lack any other tools or knowledge of what tools to try.

Ideally, I'd like to know of a tool or plug-in for Calibre that I can point a the directory with the fanfic (I tend to stick stories in this format in their own folder), and it will automatically convert it into something the Kindle Keyboard (I know, it's old, but it only cost $10 and still does the job) can read.
I can easily convert an e-pub to such a format with Calibre, I just want something that works. I know little about e-book formats, just how to use Calibre to convert epub to mobi or to use Omnibuser, Fanficfare, or Fanfiction Downloader to download fanfics to read offline on the Kindle by treating it as a USB drive.

I don't care if it's .mobi or .azw, just as long as the Kindle Keyboard will read it and navigate it properly.

03-27-2020, 10:37 PM	#1
SlickRCBD Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Chicagoland Device: Kindle Keyboard	Converting old multi-file .txt fanfic to Kindle I've been reading fanfic off the internet for around 25 years, but only found a Kindle at Good Will a couple years ago. A lot of the old classics used to be posted to websites one chapter per file, with a naming scheme of Title1.txt, Title2.txt, Title3.txt, etc. The last chapter might be TitleEpilogue.txt or TitleEpi.txt, or it might follow the number scheme. Reading fics in this format on a Kindle is a pain as the chapters are often not that long. It also makes using "copy title*.txt title.txt" to concatenate a story with more than 9 chapters difficult because DOS/Windows does not handle the lack of a trailing zero with number properly, and will put chapter 11 through 19 after chapter 1 before doing chapter 2, then chapter 21. Does anybody know a way to convert the old-school fanfic format of one plain text file per chapter to a Kindle e-book format that lets the index and chapter navigation work? I can't figure out a way to get Calibre to do this, and lack any other e-book creation tools. I CAN concatenate the text files into one massive text file with a little work renaming the first 9 chapters, but the chapter navigation on a Kindle does not work. I can't figure out how to get Calibre to do it either and lack any other tools or knowledge of what tools to try. Ideally, I'd like to know of a tool or plug-in for Calibre that I can point a the directory with the fanfic (I tend to stick stories in this format in their own folder), and it will automatically convert it into something the Kindle Keyboard (I know, it's old, but it only cost $10 and still does the job) can read. I can easily convert an e-pub to such a format with Calibre, I just want something that works. I know little about e-book formats, just how to use Calibre to convert epub to mobi or to use Omnibuser, Fanficfare, or Fanfiction Downloader to download fanfics to read offline on the Kindle by treating it as a USB drive. I don't care if it's .mobi or .azw, just as long as the Kindle Keyboard will read it and navigate it properly.