Whatever happened to Beekeeper's Apprentice?

[jgray]

There was talk about making it available in more useable formats, but it seems nothing has come of this. Having it only as PDF as well as requiring an email address to download it was a pure disaster.

[queentess]

You're preaching to the choir - I don't think you'll find anyone here who thought that promotion was well done.

[poohbear_nc]

I believe (on the previous thread on this topic) someone had emailed Laurie King - who had responded that efforts were underway to make all of this series available - not sure of promised formats.

[poohbear_nc]

Just checked on Amazon - apparently they are adding the books in reverse order - "The Moor" was just added - but as a Topaz!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Just checked on Amazon - apparently they are adding the books in reverse order - "The Moor" was just added - but as a Topaz!

First we get PDF and now Topaz. This is a backwards slide (IMHO).

[kacir]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I believe (on the previous thread on this topic) someone had emailed Laurie King ...

Quite a few people emailed ...

I have run the PDF through an OCR program and now the "ripped" text patiently awaits in my "to be read" queue.

[jgray]

I'm tired of trying to take a PDF and make something readable out of it. If authors want me to read their work, they're going to have to make it available in reflowable formats.This applies whether it is a free sample to get me interested in a series, or an ebook that I purchase. Offer PDF if you want, but don't make it the only format available.

There is enough material from other authors for me to read without having to put up with PDF. I've already skipped a few of the freebies because of PDF. Yes, I can spend hours converting, removing headers/footers, fixing broken lines, etc. I'm just not going to do it any more. I'm on strike against PDF ebooks.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by jgray

If authors want me to read their work, they're going to have to make it available in reflowable formats.This applies whether it is a free sample to get me interested in a series, or an ebook that I purchase.

I complained about a pdf-only freebie novel on another site that was offered to drum up business for a little-known author. I was basically told I was being "dramatic" and that I shouldn't complain because it's free.

Screw that, I'm with you on this one. If they want me to read their work, even if it's just a freebie because they're trying to draw me in, they'll have to offer it in formats other than pdf. I can convert anything else in a matter of seconds, but pdf is just too cumbersome and it usually doesn't convert well.

The unfortunate part is that I think many authors/publishers don't know what format(s) to offer. So when I see a pdf-only offering I usually make the suggestion on e-reader formats and point them to mobilereads in case they have questions or need help. Sometimes I get beat down for complaining, sometimes not.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by queentess

I was basically told I was being "dramatic" and that I shouldn't complain because it's free.

Well, I can imagine that when the author of Beekeepers Apprentice received the first email she thought that "there are some people that you can not please".
When she received a dozen such emails she sent somebody here to investigate.
Be polite, be patient, and let us know so we can write too ...

[columbus]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc;

I believe (on the previous thread on this topic) someone had emailed Laurie King - who had responded that efforts were underway to make all of this series available - not sure of promised formats.

Yes I emailed (along with others) and again them asking what was going on to which I had this reply a couple of weeks ago;


No news yet--our digital partners at Ingram are working hard to get the
books up asap. I will email you as soon as we hear anything.

Best,

Anna

Yet another hopeless out of touch publisher!!!!!!!!

[koland]

Yeah, I was looking forward to reading The Beekeeper's Apprentice on the Kindle, but I'll read it on paper instead. I'll probably skip some of John Hart's free books - when I tried to convert the PDF, it made a complete mess. Sure, I could have done a few hours work cleaning it up (every line seemed to have at least one word with extra spaces added, somtimes every single word had that happen), but why bother. I have lots more to read. None of it by John Hart, since I won't buy any others until I get that free one read, to decide if I like his books. So, the PDF has had the exact opposite of it's desired effect, blocking me from reading any of his books (and definitely not enticing me to buy the book on paper ... I just happened to have a paper copy of B.A. that I had not read yet).

On the other hand, at least their PDF's can be read offline. Perhaps they'll work on the DX (or another large format ereader) in the future. Some other authors put their books up as online reads only, forcing you to read at your desk only, or when online (not an option, frankly, for everyone, at least not all the time; hard as it is to believe, some of us use computers in areas where there is no internet access or don't want to read a book while tied to the network/phone cable).

[thibaulthalpern]

Originally Posted by jgray

I'm tired of trying to take a PDF and make something readable out of it. If authors want me to read their work, they're going to have to make it available in reflowable formats.This applies whether it is a free sample to get me interested in a series, or an ebook that I purchase. Offer PDF if you want, but don't make it the only format available.

There is enough material from other authors for me to read without having to put up with PDF. I've already skipped a few of the freebies because of PDF. Yes, I can spend hours converting, removing headers/footers, fixing broken lines, etc. I'm just not going to do it any more. I'm on strike against PDF ebooks.

I think the problem isn't with PDF. The problem is with the way the PDF was created. PDF can be created with reflow-ability in mind. Many are not done properly though. Complain about the lack of skill in creating PDFs. Not all PDFs are created equally.

[jgray]

Originally Posted by thibaulthalpern

I think the problem isn't with PDF. The problem is with the way the PDF was created. PDF can be created with reflow-ability in mind. Many are not done properly though. Complain about the lack of skill in creating PDFs. Not all PDFs are created equally.

Even a so called "reflowable" PDF is far from ideal for reading on a small screen. That is assuming that the reader you have supports PDF, with or without reflow. In many cases, we have to convert the PDF to another format. In my experience, even a reflowable PDF doesn't convert any better than a standard PDF. I'm am no longer willing to expend the effort trying to make a PDF readable on a small screen.

If it is a textbook or other material that actually needs to be in PDF form, ok. In that case I'll read it on my 21 inch desktop LCD or even on my netbook if I have to. In the case of most fiction and many non fiction ebooks, PDF is not necessary and should be only one available format option.

Edit: Even Adobe recognizes the drawbacks of PDF. This is why they are a major member of IDPF and are pushing epub.