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Originally Posted by Hitch
IF you use the DIY Amazon apps that exist today, and even some of the deprecated apps, Amazon limits it--not you. [...]
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Thanks for all that info on Kindle Create, Kindle Kid's Book Creator, Apple/Kobo FXL EPUB3s, etc.
You're pretty much the only one I know that KNOWS the ins-and-outs + deals with all that FXL stuff... and then actually spreads nuggets of knowledge about it over the years.
(Everything else is like pulling teeth... + complete Amazon marketing lies/quarter-truths.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
MOST readers have nothing in common, performance/functionality-wise, with the App Formerly Known as iBooks (Books Reader, the stupidest bloody name ever).
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Yep, and that's the thing too:
A two-page spread (or even image's layout in a book)... may not fit well inside the single-screen device.
It's like trying to squish a 7″×10″ (or 14″×20″) page into a 6″ screen—it just won't work! (Not to mention the horrible pinch/zooming we keep on mentioning.)—the two-page spread's text would just be... microscopic!
You may have to go back to the source document and tweak the size/placement of images/text to get a better visual in your FXL ebook.
Each one of these changes has to be tweaked/decided on... per page/device/store/book basis.
These FXL ebooks then need to be tested on the devices themselves, and, again, this is where professional knowledge comes into play.
A professional would preemptively make you
aware of these issues and/or
fix them before they become a larger problem. (Very bad user reviews, returned books, Kindle Quality Notices [KQNs].)
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Side Note: I wrote a lot about "professional knowledge" in:
Quote:
In the case of ebooks, a professional may:
- know lots of bugs/quirks of different devices.
If you're trying to do X (poetry/lyrics for example), they may code it in a way where it works better across all devices.
Or they may:
... so they'll make sure to NOT break that.
Ebooks are also NOT just "the surface", the underlying HTML+code is just as important.
For example, Text-to-Speech is extremely important, and if:
... things may go very wrong!
(So many of these automated "one-click" tools create busted code. Those ebooks may "look okay on the surface", but once you begin poking at it and flipping switches, things break.)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
What matters is what the publisher wants; if they end up learning a harder lesson, say, at Amazon with a KQN or the like, that's...that's different. It's not really our job, either here on MR or in my shop, to say "you CAN'T do that." I try to explain...but I don't hold interventions when they decide to go FXL. Just so you know. :-)
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Good ol' Tex just says:
"FXL? Nah. Bad idea." (And then I promote Booknook.biz!

)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
It is, to be fair, their choice to make.
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And they'll always get a strongly worded (few) paragraphs from me!