Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Ah, I do see in in the upload new version interface, but it is NOT available on the "Publish a New Book" interface - the only mention of mobi there is as a choice to convert from doc.
|
Yes, but as soon as you upload the epub the Mobi option available!
I was originally using MS Word and Mobicreator. Before I'd even heard of epubs!
I used Calibre instead when I found it (before version 3.4x) and switched from Word to LO Writer (version 4.x?) on XP. I quickly found that odt -> Calibre -> epub wasn't quite right, MS Word "doc" was worse and that docx worked best. (Kovid confirms this).
I tried many epub tools and plugins inc. Writer2latex. I've used actual laTex for mathematical stuff.
I looked at Sigil, and it's very good if you want more complex ebooks than basic fiction needs. Or you want fancy stuff not automatic in docx to calibre to epub2.
I found mobi KF7 and azw3 KF8 worked best from epub2.
Amazon confirmed that epub2 upload works better than docx.
I find LO Writer 5.x and 6.x work better to make a docx than Word 2003 or Word 2007 (I also have Word 2.0a and Word XP/2002). BUT every time you open a doc or docx in LO Writer (or Open Office), it's converted! SO you can import ONCE, then fixup the page, character, paragraph, image styles and headings, THEN only edit in odt!
Do an extra Save As in docx, and as with Word (or PDFs), embed the fonts if Calibre is importing the docx on a different computer (should be no need on SAME computer) and set Calibre options:
0 Line height
Embed fonts
Subset fonts
Page: Tablet (so images are not resized)
Note the Wordprocessor doc should have Page Break before (with no page type specified) at Chapter heading style (or other item where you want a new HTML file, new page on ereader or TOC entry. I use a default page about the size of an ereader with no header, footer or page numbers.
There is some other stuff I do too. When everything is done correctly (wordprocessor and conversion settings) the epub is perfect and passes book check and epub check, and system NCX/TOC is perfect. No CSS or HTML editing.
I changed from Windows to Linux entirely in 2016.
Then I proof and annotate on a Kobo Libra (used to be Kindle) and read back the annotations and put them in a tab in KATE (Notepad++ is similar on Windows and I used to use it). Each project/series is a KATE session (previously Notepad++).
I used custom spell check dictionaries per project longer than I can remember in Word. These were easily migrated to LO Writer by editing one line in Notepad++ and saving in the LO dictionary directory (originally on Windows for a few years).
In 1995 I was editing with a Wordstar clone, using GST Publisher to make a draft, printing on an inkjet.
Oh, and only set line heights, headers, footers different page styles (front, body rear etc) and page numbers for PDF for paper POD.
The PDF export on LO Writer is fine.
There is a bug on last line of most versions of MS Word at the end of a chapter. The last line should be flushed left (or right in Hebrew & Arabic) even if paragraph style is Fully Justified. When you make the PDF (or sometimes epub) the last line is justified. MS official workaround is: At the last line of the last paragraph before a page break add a carriage return (extra press Enter) key. Then Back Space to delete it.
I do a bunch of regex in LO Writer after making sure all multiple spaces are one space:
[ ]$ (removes trailing space on paragraph)
^[ ] (Removes leading spaces)
^$ (Removes blank lines)
LO indents and top & bottom margins in paragraph styles map perfectly to CSS. So only ever one space, no tabs, no blank lines. Don't set line spacing or Register true except for paper.
I delete the docx format from Calibre once the epub is created. Then dual mobi is automatically from epub, which is ONLY to test on local kindles and for Smashwords, nothing else.