Quote:
Originally Posted by Notjohn
Oh, absolutely none! I'm sure it comes out the same in the end. But I am a belts-plus-suspenders formatter. The usual routine is to drag the epub onto Kindle Previewer to convert it, then examine the result in the Kindle, Fire, and other emulators, then upload the converted book file to the KDP. I fear the possibility that something could go wrong in the upload, and also I have a perhaps pathetic hope that the KDP boffins have a more sophisticated or powerful Meatgrinder on their end than I do with my downloaded Kindle Previewer (or Kindlegen, which I believe is much the same).
Hitch assures me that I am far too nervous, but that workflow (epub to KDP to downloaded *.mobi file to Kindle Previewer) has worked well for me.
|
No...
I told you last year that you could convert ePUBs to MOBI files, an idea that you learned to embrace so well that you put it in the "How to make your Kindle book" you've started selling on Amazon this year, and on your related website.
Then I told you that KP is precisely the same exact program as KindleGen, just in GUI form,and precisely the same program that is running at the KDP. There isn't a magic "extra program" at KDP. I've tested this repeatedly; the files you get from step 6 (or whatever it's numbered) are exactly the same file you get from Previewer. Same content in, same content out, whether it's KG, KP or KDP. (There are compression settings which can be altered on the command line for KG, but still...same in, same out.)
What you do not get, no matter what you do, is the final "for-sale" file, which absolutely has the possibility of being slightly different than what you uploaded, because Amazon can/does make small changes in what is called the PW (Publishing Workflow). The SRL, for example,
can and does change.
THAT is what I've said. I never said you were "nervous," and I've never told anyone who isn't a commercial bookmaker to try to upload an ePUB at the KDP. Nor would I. For an ePUB to succeed at the KDP requires some minor modifications, assuming someone is making a book that isn't completely vanilla or formatted like a Word file. It requires fallback coding for the K7 devices, among other things. That starts to move out of the sphere of a DIY bookmaker and is likely not anything that s/he wants to do.
When I was still posting at the KDP--a venue I've essentially given up even reading, much less posting--I always warned DIY'ers to download their preview file and review it on Previewer, as they are usually quite startled at the outcome of the "I uploaded a PDF/Word file..." efforts. While your efforts are certainly very QA-oriented, the extra step of uploading an ePUB to the KDP, downloading it, etc., is really make-work. You can see the same file, plus any warnings or errata, by the simple expedient of dropping the ePUB on Previewer, and then loading the resulting mobi as your publishing file.
Hitch