Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
***the PDF is sometimes used as for the print version and then the PDF is given out to the eBook department to create the various versions from. And we all know that a novel length PDF cannot be converted to any other format without errors. So, then we get shoddy proofreading of this PDF conversion and it goes out with errors.***
Right you are, Jon. In my technical innocence when we decided to run conversions through Smashwords and elsewhere and also produce our own ePubs, I thought our print-ready PDFs would do the job admirably. I was soon put right by my technical partner. It's actually a matter of going back to the (Word) source material from which the PDF was produced and starting over.
Even then, we've had reports of odd errors here and there (from kind readers), which will mean re-proofing all formats of 100 titles when we have time. Meantime, we immediately correct a specific conversion-generated slip when it's pointed out. Not ideal, I know, but it's the best we can do short-term with such a small team.
This is an interesting thread, by the way. Thanks. Cheers. Neil
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Starting from a Word document has it's own set of issues. The CSS used by Word when you save as HTML is a mess. The best way to do it actually is to do it as a plain text file like Project Gutenberg does. with markup for bold and italics. That way, you just slap <p></p> around the paragraphs and add in your classes for as needed. makes it very easy to then do the CSS and convert to various formats. It's not hard and it would work just fine.