Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
The reason the conversion from Word to ePub is so poor with Smashwords is that most of the authors have no clue about styles. They use Word incorrectly sso that when the .doc file is converted, the code is very much a mess. The same .doc file that's a mess on Shasmwords will be a mess converted with Calibre.
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All true. But also certain styles convert poorly / incorrectly when using .doc rather than .docx and Smashwords last time I looked don't accept docx. Even docx direct to azw isn't perfect. Going docx -> epub2 -> azw is perfect.
I found issues also with .doc uploaded to Amazon. The .docx was better, but they themselves told me to upload epub2. The epub2 uploaded is perfect when purchased as azw or kfx. The Amazon delivered mobi for a DXG is what you'd expect, but even that is wrong with .doc, specifically if the first paragraph after a heading or centred "break" has no indent and all the following body text paragraphs have an indent (but no inter-paragraph vertical margin), the first paragraph in mobi format (Amazon or Smashwords) or azw format (Amazon) is a different size font. Converting .docx with Calibre locally to epub2 avoids it. The mobi or azw has to be converted from epub2 in Calibre rather than the original .docx. Makes no difference using Calibre on Windows or Linux, MS Word (Windows only) or LO Writer (Windows or Linux). I'm told Smashwords uses Calibre.