Revise source files and reconvert

[SciFiWriter]

I am very new to Calibre. I write Science Fiction novels in Microsoft Word 2013. I am very particular in how they turn out and so I frequently revise the source file and try again. I make those changes in a .doc file. From that I create an .html file for Calibre. This is where I have a question.

Let's say that I have already made an ePub out it. It is sitting in Calibre. I just want to update the .html file and rebuild the ebook, but I can't. I have to blow the whole ebook away in Calibre and start it right from scratch just to make some minor formatting or text changes.

Or do I really? Am I missing something?

Your advice will be well received.:

[theducks]

Originally Posted by SciFiWriter

I am very new to Calibre. I write Science Fiction novels in Microsoft Word 2013. I am very particular in how they turn out and so I frequently revise the source file and try again. I make those changes in a .doc file. From that I create an .html file for Calibre. This is where I have a question.

Let's say that I have already made an ePub out it. It is sitting in Calibre. I just want to update the .html file and rebuild the ebook, but I can't. I have to blow the whole ebook away in Calibre and start it right from scratch just to make some minor formatting or text changes.

Or do I really? Am I missing something?

Your advice will be well received.:

Minor changes (Typos, reorder sections...)
Use the Book Editor to fix typos, modify the stylesheet values

Not Quite Minor changes:
You will need to know some HTML and CSS (and reverse engineer the current styles)
Same as above, just a bit more work.

Major changes (replace the book)
Your old way or Atlantis Word Processor?

[SciFiWriter]

Thanks for your quick reply

[theducks]

I just thought of another way, to allow substituting a Chapter (assumes file per Chapter) with no changes to the 'Structure' of the book. The old sleight-o-file trick

Keep the book adding revisions With Separate Titles in Calibre
eg 'Title revA', 'Title RevB'...


Use Unpack (Keystroke 'U') to explode the revised book and copy the revised pieces: Paste them into a temp location (on your desktop)
now cancel the 'U'

Open the Target book: Explode: replace the files with the previously saved ones.: click 'Rebuild the book'

[BetterRed]

@SciFiWriter - I do all content editing in Word, in part because I sometimes need to produce a post-facto PDF or XPS version and Word's the best place to do that. But mainly because I'm more comfortable changing sentence structures, making grammar and punctuation corrections, in Word than in an EPUB code editors. My 'books' tend to have a lot of end notes, long reference lists, and indexes, which generate lots of markup, which in turn gets in the way of editing the actual content.

My layout needs are fairly straightforward, so I would rarely need, be tempted, to make markup changes in an EPUB editor (calibre or Sigil, I use both). I find their spell checkers useful, and the facility where I can get a list of hyphenated words is also useful - but I make resultant corrections in Word. I also use them to 'debug' the odd conversion anomaly - which are invariably my fault, which I fix in the original DOCX.

I convert DOCX rather than Filtered HTML with calibre. My experience is that the output EPUB is 'a little more faithful' to the original - assuming you use Word's styling features. Kovid Goyal (calibre author) ranks DOCX just above HTML in this list Best Source Formats to Convert

Another thing you might want to consider is Toxaris' e-Book Tools - a Word add-in. Aficionados claim that its DOCX->EPUB conversion produces cleaner HTML than calibre, I don't use it because I've 'subconsciously' configured my Word Styles to suit calibre conversion. However its Dialogue Checker and Search and Replace are invaluable, and it has a more than handy EPUB to DOCX converter.

If I were to start editing the EPUB it would become the master, and I would probably archive the .DOC(X) and remove it from calibre. If push comes to shove I could use Toxaris' EPUB to DOCX converter if/when substantive revisions result in me wanting to use Word on an existing work.

Another reason I like to keep the DOCX as the 'master' is that they get content indexed for Windows Search, whereas EPUBs do not.

BR

[kovidgoyal]

If you want to update the html file, without deleting the book, simply select the book in calibre, right click the add books button and choose add files to selected books. Then re-add the html file, it will replace the old version.

And note that if I were you Iwould save in docx and use that as the source for the conversion.

[SciFiWriter]

Thank you all for your replies.

BetterRed, I work best, like you in Word. It never occurred to me that Calibre can handle a docx file! Nowhere is that even suggested! I will try that!

Kovidgoyal,

My man, you have created one DAMN GOOD program for which I am very grateful. I will try your suggestion.

Why I work in .doc format is because that is what all of the publishers demand you submit. I have any number of books out now on submittable in .doc format.

OMG! DOCX! I am sure I should have thought of that but never did! Kovid, also found I could select the book and right click on the Remove Book button to remove files!!! This is great.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by SciFiWriter

BetterRed, I work best, like you in Word. It never occurred to me that Calibre can handle a docx file! Nowhere is that even suggested! I will try that!

@SciFiWriter It was 'well publicised' at the time it was released in calibre 0.9.34 in June 2013. And it is in the manual see ==>> Convert Microsoft Word documents — calibre User Manual

Its in the Major New Features tab on the calibre Whats New page

It was included in this blog post ==>> calibre tips and tricks: Here it is calibre 1.0 in all it's glory

There's also a calibre facebook page that might have had something at the time.

But how is a newbie supposed to know that - that's what this forum's about

BR

[SciFiWriter]

Great forum!

This is waaaaay better now. Very easy to to put new .docx in and get the revisions very quickly. Thank you all for your help, again.

I am now testing my new novels for accurate conversion. Vertical white space was tough. Now I have a new style with trailing white space that converts accurately.

I am thinking about publishing some of my short stories here. Don't know how many sci-fi readers come here.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by SciFiWriter

I am thinking about publishing some of my short stories here. Don't know how many sci-fi readers come here.

I suspect a great many of those that come here regularly read little else

祝 你 好运 - BR

[SciFiWriter]

A few minor issues still kicking my butt, but I will learn by fixing them. I like to switch to Arial Narrow when a computer is 'talking'. MOST of the time it converts perfectly, but some of the time it does not. I am experimenting with MS Styles to see if I can get that to be 100% spot-on consistent.

That is back burner right now while I do battle with the GORGON. I am trying to build a website to hawk my new book series Five Moons. Right now WordPress is kicking my butt all over town. I have a basic site put together but it required many hours of swearing to get it that far. I hope it does not take too much longer. I have to get back to writing novel number 4 in the series. Last I wrote, the good guys were in dire straits.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by SciFiWriter

A few minor issues still kicking my butt, but I will learn by fixing them. I like to switch to Arial Narrow when a computer is 'talking'. MOST of the time it converts perfectly, but some of the time it does not. I am experimenting with MS Styles to see if I can get that to be 100% spot-on consistent.

That is back burner right now while I do battle with the GORGON. I am trying to build a website to hawk my new book series Five Moons. Right now WordPress is kicking my butt all over town. I have a basic site put together but it required many hours of swearing to get it that far. I hope it does not take too much longer. I have to get back to writing novel number 4 in the series. Last I wrote, the good guys were in dire straits.

Specific fonts are not the best idea as they get lost for many reasons:

I suggest the 1980's computer screen approach:
font-family: monospace; , at least include it as the fallback