Does anyone actually read these?

Kivgaen · 08-21-2009, 11:37 AM

I don't know if anyone actually reads these threads to see who's coming to the forums.

My first name is luise. I am coming to these forums mostly for business purposes, but also for personal curiosity. I work for a publishing company that produces books about Bridge! (yes, the card game, not the structure).

My company has developed an ebook store already, but our ebooks are currently just in a .pdf format right now. We want to be able to get our ebooks to the mobile readers out there, but since our books are quite complex, (requires lots of bridge diagrams, auction tables, suit symbols, etc), our ebooks require specific formatting. We're not really sure what direction the industry is taking right now, so we haven't started doing anything more than PDFs for the moment.

I'm coming to this forum mostly for information, to try to gain a sense for what is out there, what development is in the works, where the trends are going, and to try to stay on top of things so that we can produce our books and publish to a format that works for the majority of our customers.

phenomshel · 08-21-2009, 02:59 PM

Hi, Luise. Yep, we read these threads. Welcome to MR!

Bilbo1967 · 08-21-2009, 03:04 PM

Yes - we do read them and welcome.

I know that there are a lot of very technically adept folks on this forum who would probably be only too happy to help with your challenges if you ask some specific questions.

rlparker · 08-21-2009, 03:04 PM

Hi luise, welcome to MR!

Yes, we read them. I suspect several others will be along shortly to welcome you too.

It's great to have publishing industry insiders around! I don't feel competent to answer your technical questions, but we do have a lot serious e-geeks

around, so I'm sure you'll get all the information you want/need. You might consider re-posting in one of the more technical forums if you don't get much information here in "Introduce Yourself".

DixieGal · 08-21-2009, 03:07 PM

Welcome!

Sparrow · 08-21-2009, 03:17 PM

Hi Luise

- I bid you welcome to the pack, you sound like quite a card, I hope you find what suits you here. I've learned a lot and I'm a dummy.

DixieGal · 08-21-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Hi Luise

- I bid you welcome to the pack, you sound like quite a card, I hope you find what suits you here. I've learned a lot and I'm a dummy.

groan

Kivgaen · 08-21-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Hi Luise

- I bid you welcome to the pack, you sound like quite a card, I hope you find what suits you here. I've learned a lot and I'm a dummy.

Thanks for the good chuckle, Sparrow. I shared your comment with my co-workers and we all had a good laugh!

Actually, there is a "Sparrow" sitting right next to me (last name) -- very unusual co-incidence

MickeyC · 08-21-2009, 06:01 PM

Hi Luise and welcome to MobileRead.

kazbates · 08-21-2009, 09:03 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, Luise!

As others have said, we definitely DO read these intros! Especially cassidym. He's the Walmart greeter of MobileRead! It's nice to have another publisher in our membership. We always seem to have LOTS of questions for publishers.

Happy Reading!

Verencat · 08-22-2009, 12:29 PM

Hi Luise and welcome to MR!

Nah, we don't read those threads, do we?

I am currently trying to learn how to convert books, so I can't really help you (I'm still scared something will explode if I click the wrong button), but I'm certain you'll find lots of information here to help you!

Enjoy the forum!

Moejoe · 08-22-2009, 12:38 PM

Oh yes, we do read this intro threads all the time...

Welcome to MR.

Elfwreck · 08-22-2009, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kivgaen

We want to be able to get our ebooks to the mobile readers out there, but since our books are quite complex, (requires lots of bridge diagrams, auction tables, suit symbols, etc), our ebooks require specific formatting. We're not really sure what direction the industry is taking right now, so we haven't started doing anything more than PDFs for the moment.

The two most common, best-supported non-PDF formats are ePub and Mobi/prc. (PRC is what they're called on Palm OS devices; other devices can read them with either .mobi or .prc extensions.) Both are based on HTML formatting, scrolling rather than page-based layouts.

ePub is an open source format, and is likely to be the dominant one eventually, but right now, mobi is more common in the US, with ePub already dominating Europe. (EPub is growing, however, because it's open source, and because Mobi ebooks are often made with limitations established when PDAs were the common ebook readers.)

By poking around the Mobileread forums, you can find several discussions weighing the pros & cons of the various formats.

If you convert your books to well-formatted XML files, they'll be much easier to convert to other ebook formats. There are even ebook standards to help with that, although I don't know enough about them to offer specific advice. If you decide your books are really just too layout-intensive for HTML, you might consider making some in ebook-reader sized PDFs, with roughly 3.5"x4.5", or 90x120 mm, pages, so that they're easily readable on all the 6" ebook readers, which is the most common size.

There are also plenty of discussions here about fonts, font sizes, margins, and conversion processes, and you can get an idea of what dedicated ebookers--the people who buy notable amounts of ebooks--prefer, and are willing to pay for.

Journier · 08-22-2009, 06:27 PM

Hi Luise, nice to meet you and welcome to MR.

Xiaopanda · 08-22-2009, 09:58 PM

Hi Louise!

Welcome to MR!

I'm a total end-user, so probably of absolutly no help whatso ever when it comes to formatting etc.... but as you can see, there are a heap of forums and discussions about what people want for different applications...... Jump on in, the water's fine...

08-21-2009, 11:37 AM	#1
Kivgaen Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 608 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Toronto Device: all devices	Does anyone actually read these? I don't know if anyone actually reads these threads to see who's coming to the forums. My first name is luise. I am coming to these forums mostly for business purposes, but also for personal curiosity. I work for a publishing company that produces books about Bridge! (yes, the card game, not the structure). My company has developed an ebook store already, but our ebooks are currently just in a .pdf format right now. We want to be able to get our ebooks to the mobile readers out there, but since our books are quite complex, (requires lots of bridge diagrams, auction tables, suit symbols, etc), our ebooks require specific formatting. We're not really sure what direction the industry is taking right now, so we haven't started doing anything more than PDFs for the moment. I'm coming to this forum mostly for information, to try to gain a sense for what is out there, what development is in the works, where the trends are going, and to try to stay on top of things so that we can produce our books and publish to a format that works for the majority of our customers. Last edited by Kivgaen; 08-21-2009 at 11:38 AM. Reason: grammitical errors

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08-21-2009, 02:59 PM	#2
phenomshel ZCD BombShel Posts: 4,793 Karma: 8293322 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Frozen North (aka Illinois, USA) Device: iPad, STB Kindle Oasis	Hi, Luise. Yep, we read these threads. Welcome to MR!

08-21-2009, 03:04 PM	#3
Bilbo1967 Not scared! Posts: 13,424 Karma: 81011643 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Midlands, UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite 10, Huawei M5 10	Yes - we do read them and welcome. I know that there are a lot of very technically adept folks on this forum who would probably be only too happy to help with your challenges if you ask some specific questions.

08-21-2009, 03:04 PM	#4
rlparker Ars longa Posts: 1,179 Karma: 17404 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: north carolina, usa Device: Kindle K1, K3 wifi	Hi luise, welcome to MR! Yes, we read them. I suspect several others will be along shortly to welcome you too. It's great to have publishing industry insiders around! I don't feel competent to answer your technical questions, but we do have a lot serious e-geeks around, so I'm sure you'll get all the information you want/need. You might consider re-posting in one of the more technical forums if you don't get much information here in "Introduce Yourself".

08-21-2009, 03:07 PM	#5
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Welcome!

08-21-2009, 03:17 PM	#6
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	Hi Luise - I bid you welcome to the pack, you sound like quite a card, I hope you find what suits you here. I've learned a lot and I'm a dummy.

08-21-2009, 06:01 PM	#9
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Luise and welcome to MobileRead.

08-21-2009, 09:03 PM	#10
kazbates Wizard Posts: 2,627 Karma: 406616 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Northern Virginia Device: SurfacePro, SurfaceBook 2	Welcome to MobileRead, Luise! As others have said, we definitely DO read these intros! Especially cassidym. He's the Walmart greeter of MobileRead! It's nice to have another publisher in our membership. We always seem to have LOTS of questions for publishers. Happy Reading!

08-22-2009, 12:29 PM	#11
Verencat Wizard Posts: 2,615 Karma: 96491 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Montreal, Qc Device: xxx	Hi Luise and welcome to MR! Nah, we don't read those threads, do we? I am currently trying to learn how to convert books, so I can't really help you (I'm still scared something will explode if I click the wrong button), but I'm certain you'll find lots of information here to help you! Enjoy the forum!

08-22-2009, 12:38 PM	#12
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	Oh yes, we do read this intro threads all the time... Welcome to MR.

08-22-2009, 06:27 PM	#14
Journier Groupie Posts: 194 Karma: 415 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Northern CA Device: Kindle Oasis	Hi Luise, nice to meet you and welcome to MR.

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08-22-2009, 09:58 PM	#15
Xiaopanda Addict Posts: 230 Karma: 1290 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Hi Louise! Welcome to MR! I'm a total end-user, so probably of absolutly no help whatso ever when it comes to formatting etc.... but as you can see, there are a heap of forums and discussions about what people want for different applications...... Jump on in, the water's fine...