POD to ebook?

[Tiamat]

I'm confused, I see the forest but can't pick out the tree. And on top of that I can't tell mirrored from actual. I wrote and compiled a regular book and published it last summer. Now before the snow melts I need to make it into an ebook and want to sell it myself via my web site, solo. I typed it in 2007 Word and then into PDF and now available as POD. I don't know HTML , never had the memory to recall unrelated characters... & my first was a 286. When I look around I see Calibre and would rather lean toward Adobe x,y,&z and am having problems if it is end user or developer. If a conversion doesn't work I'd be willing to copy and paste it together in some program that will put it in HTML. There are 200 black and white images... Putting it together the first time wasn't easy. Also, there are no 'chapters', why is this navigation thing so important? There are larger text between books and stories that I could use as 'chapters'... I would think this would be easy if I could get some sense of direction. I've already got Adobe Digital Editions and Sigil on the desk top... What do I need to learn? Or do first? Adobe InDesign? Adobe would be the way to go, no? Because Calibre won't cover as many readers? Isn't that what a lot of the talk is? That it is hard to read the book on all these devices? Maybe I should just ask how do I start going about this? I've watched a number of videos and they just seem to skip the beginning and just jump right in like everyone is on the same page. Or if the program is for readers or authors and lots of names without descriptions. What if I re-type the whole 150,000 words in one continuous line with pictures between would that get it put into a generic version so that all reader can see it properly? I don't want to do that, but just thought that would help convey my confusion.

[eschwartz]

To start with, you say you started with MS Word, yes? Ignore the PDF, it is useless anyway.

So, you have two options to convert that DOCX into an EPUB.

• calibre's Editor can directly import DOCX, and save as EPUB: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/edit...ormats-as-epub
• @Toxaris' Word add-in: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=213372

Now you have an EPUB, with the best automatic conversion you can get, it is time to tweak your book to look better. A god place to start is Pablo's EPub Tutorial.
(Note: calibre's Editor is a drop-in replacement for Sigil, since it does pretty much the same thing in a slightly different way. The experienced ebook maker will probably have a preference between the two, based on the available plugins and personal workflow.)


If you have any specific questions about achieving a particular effect, feel free to ask away.

[BetterRed]

- the PDF is the worst place to start, starting with the DOCX is the best, also much better than RTF and Filtered HTML.

Clarification - the calibre book editor and the Sigil Book editor can co-exist on the same system and you can use both on the same epub - although not at the same time

I do any typographical editing in Sigil mainly because I was already familiar with it when calibre's editor was released, but there are things for which I specifically use the calibre book editor - such as its Links report.

You'll get much better conversion if you use Word's Named Styles feature, rather than inline styling. And avoid using spaces and tabs for horizontal spacing and blank lines vertical spacing. I search the DOCX for things like ^t, ^p^p etc, before I save it - any I find I can normally remove because they're "typo's", occasionally they serve a useful purpose - e..g tabs in a numbered list (after the number).

I find the spell checker in the Sigil editor a useful adjunct to the one in Word, the calibre editor's spellchecker is very similar to Sigil's.

Finally - Toxaris' Word add-on does a lot more besides conversion to ePUB, it's worth having even if you don't use that feature - in particular its Search&Replace and DialogueChecker are invaluable to me.

Added : I forgot, for 'Simple books' I do the conversion from DOCX to ePUB via the calibre Conversion process, for 'Complex books' I use the calibre book editor import DOCX feature. Simple and Complex are subjective assessments - Simple is Novel/Essay-like, Complex is the rest. I use Conversion for Simple because I can do it in bulk either via the calibre library manager or via the command line, whereas the calibre book editor import DOCX feature is a one-at-a-time operation. Most of the 'books' I deal with are Simple.

BR

[Tiamat]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

To start with, you say you started with MS Word, yes? Ignore the PDF, it is useless anyway.

So, you have two options to convert that DOCX into an EPUB.

• calibre's Editor can directly import DOCX, and save as EPUB: http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/edit...ormats-as-epub
• @Toxaris' Word add-in: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=213372

Now you have an EPUB, with the best automatic conversion you can get, it is time to tweak your book to look better. A god place to start is Pablo's EPub Tutorial.
(Note: calibre's Editor is a drop-in replacement for Sigil, since it does pretty much the same thing in a slightly different way. The experienced ebook maker will probably have a preference between the two, based on the available plugins and personal workflow.)


If you have any specific questions about achieving a particular effect, feel free to ask away.

Yes, in MS Word 2007, but I was winging it and it wasn't set up correctly and learned on the way, so it probably has lots of problems. What about the Adobe part? I haven't tried to run it into Calibre or anything yet to just see how it might turn out. Is there any problems moving the programs via flash drive because the computer I did it all on is not online. Even though it seems okay on this computer, in 2010(?) Word, not sure haven't 'paged' through it and checked. I'm worried it will look like a train wreck the first try.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Tiamat

Yes, in MS Word 2007, but I was winging it and it wasn't set up correctly and learned on the way, so it probably has lots of problems.

Obviously it is best to set up correctly the first time (named styles rock )

But since you don't have that NOW, you will just have to work with what you have.
It may or may not be easier to sit down and restyle everything in Word first, rather than in calibre/Sigil -- I don't know.

No use crying over spilled milk.

What about the Adobe part?

Adobe InDesign costs money and hides what you are doing behind only-partly-working magic. My advice is to not trust WYSIWYG editing for the formatting and cleanup stage of your publication workflow.

I haven't tried to run it into Calibre or anything yet to just see how it might turn out. Is there any problems moving the programs via flash drive because the computer I did it all on is not online.

Moving stuff via flashdrive is not a problem. In fact, http://PortableApps.com has portable versions of both calibre and Sigil, and I've used both with no ill effects.

Even though it seems okay on this computer, in 2010(?) Word, not sure haven't 'paged' through it and checked. I'm worried it will look like a train wreck the first try.

Well, if you keep worrying, you will never get anything done.
I will forgive you if you aren't perfect on your first try the important thing is to experiment until you figure out how to do it well.

Again -- use Pablo's tutorial, and get the hang of how an EPUB is put together behind the scenes. It is easier than you might think (most of HTML is really geared towards multimedia websites and is not applicable to EPUB, and can be safely ignored).

Start off with the automatically-converted EPUB that the Editor opens (or that Toxaris' addin creates).
See how well that looks.
Then see how much you feel comfortable tweaking yourself. Chances are the EPUB you start off with looks decent enough for a first attempt anyway (though the purist in me would obsessively consolidate styles and nitty-gritty structural elements).

[eschwartz]

Random example -- I just got a free copy of one of Brandon Sanderson's unpublished drafts, Aether of Night. (Not being an author myself, I mostly mess around with other peoples' work. )

No styles used anywhere, No chapter breaks or table of contents, just straight typing into Word, delivered as a DOCX.

Reduced to plain text, I was able to easily whip it into shape.
I used some regular expressions to strip out useless classes that were only setting some base CSS for paragraph elements (this is not critically important).
I took each "Chapter xxxx" and wrapped it in <h1> headers, then split along each one.
I replaced the ### scenebreaks with a slight variation on Pablo's simple scenebreak code.
Used the ToC tool to generate a ToC, added a generic cover image, and it looks fine on my ereader.

I didn't bother with making an About The Author or copyright page , presumably you have some sort of template derived from Word for that, but anyway, see how

[DaleDe]

Starting with the DOC file (DOCX) is certainly the way to go. If you want it in one step then I would suggest Atlantis Word Processor as described in our wiki. It has a built in Save that can create an ePub. It is forgiving if you don't name your paragraph styles (nameing them is still better) and will assemble them for you by collecting the same formatting under one CSS style. It also provides features like adding a cover, setting margins, etc.

Dale

[Tiamat]

eschwartz - I'm starting to see an outline even though faint. Distracting snow storm and company, I go from machinery to keyboard then trouble shooting back to hammer and research. Where is the Editor? LOL Through the browser? One video seems to go through EI MS , I have this computer on Monzilla and the 2007 Word one I assume IE and off line. I had trouble with opening the WD in a different version of Word before (outside source) so I'm not sure if I should do it from other than the original computer. Although daunting it hopefully will work out if I get a bit of definition on stupid questions. From looking into what your saying it looks easy if you know a little bit of context. Not to confuse things but this video looks interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9570SbZ350 I've just started to try to understand, but looks possible. Got Calibre also now. Slow, but working on it, keep the comments going I can use all the help I can get.

[Tiamat]

Seems like just giving the Word Document to Calibre works very well even though I have been learning all this other stuff. There are only a couple of pictures that could use some help because they have subtitles and they are all bunched together. The main problem now is I can't find and open it on a real Paperwhite Kindle, it says it is in there when connected via a USB. Must be something simple.

[Tiamat]

Right click and send to device memory ! What is this? Tough Love? So, if I wanted to re-do it in html I'd start with something like wordpad and go for it... Were do the pictures image information come from? Would I have to find them all? I did see something listing all of them somewhere. This other way seems to work, first time I tryed it on a Kindle Fire the pictures didn't show up, maybe it needs the newer format? So, I would convert the book to every format, right? And then figure out how to collect credit cards and a download device for the customer... Any direction on that one? Free-er the better. My site is on Google sites and I have PayPal and automatic setup with the bank, but can't seem to figure out all the kinds of credit cards. Maybe it cost alot to do it that way? And i should just deal with Google and PayPal for awhile?

[dickloraine]

Are you sure that you want to sell directly? Besides all the problems you can get with setting up payments, collecting taxes, handling customers, sending them the right file and what knows, your book would be only found via your website. You won't have even the little bit discoverability amazon or smashword provides. And customers are more likely to use the retailer they know, instead of giving you their credit card infos.

[Toxaris]

Also, please ensure that the book is alright first. That means testing on various devices and font-sizes.

[Tiamat]

It is on a Paper White at the moment and I set it at the smallest font. There are a couple of Kindle Fires around that are next and I think there is a Knook I can borrow, is that enough? I have no idea how the card numbers work, I would assume I would never see the whole number. I thought it worked on emails to download it. I use to work for the Just Ice system and reading Amazon's open ended contract reminds me of the huge contract I had to sign for the system, I can't sue and have to give 30 days notice and they can sue up to $10 million and throw me out in an instant. Plus they can give away books all they want, put them in share sites all they want, take 30-70%, and can change the rules all they want. That's my way or the highway. It has been up on that site as a real book for 8 months and they don't seem to draw in anyone, there are a lot of books out there. I'm trying to keep my $7 a book, if I can sell it myself that's how much it will cost. Now it cost $7 to print, $7 for the retailer, and $7 for me, that's as fair as I could set it up. I didn't realize most of the world doesn't have postal service. My math is a bit rusty, but if they get 70% the book would still be $20 as an ebook to get $7. Yeah, that's right. Sounds like I need to give it a try. So, what do I need to know, ole wise ones? Unless, ya'll know how to get a fair deal from that retailer. Oh, they want to set the price also.

[HarryT]

Trust me: nobody is going to spend $20 on an eBook from an unknown author; that's a ridiculously high price. I'm not surprised you're not selling any in paper form if that's the price you're charging!

[Tiamat]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Trust me: nobody is going to spend $20 on an eBook from an unknown author; that's a ridiculously high price. I'm not surprised you're not selling any in paper form if that's the price you're charging!

Seven Dollars. Doesn't seem much to me for a scientific one of a kind book. It costs $20 for a printed book and they recommend 55%+ just for someone to do the transaction. Seems a bit steep to me, it took years and years to research and put together the concept. I have never read a book yet, out of hundreds, that retailed for under $10. In a figure of speech. Lots of the 125 year old books only cost $5 back then and maybe a couple of paperbacks. I don't understand the concept of $1 books and Amazon wants 70 cents out of it? I would doubt if they hold onto the $ for 30 days... Yeah, make interest off of everyone's money that must be a good kick back. That's like those employers that only pay you every two weeks or more. I use to have to wait months to get paid as a contractor. They want everything now and then drag their feet to pay you. Why not just tell me how to waste my time setting it up and then I'll find out the hard way? Hey, what could happen, I'll fail and have to succumb to highway robbery and practically give it away and be bound by an open ended contract (You do know what that means don't you?) and being electronic and people's attitude that will just download it for free. Oh, but I can write 10 more and then I'll deserve to profit after becoming a career author that millions read. I just want to give it a whirl, ya'll are no fun.