Authors, how much would you pay for someone to put your book into ebook formats?

txgecko · 05-07-2013, 02:36 PM

How much would you pay someone to make your paper book into an ebook? I know a lot of people here tend to do that kinda thing themselves, but say you don't have the knowledge to do so, and haven't got the time to learn. I'm talking more in terms of a textbook here, not a novel. How much would it be worth to you to have someone make a high-quality e-textbook - one with the tables done as real tables, instead of dinky little thumbnails, none of the spelling errors that come from just cramming the thing through a scanner with OCR and never looking at it again, etc? Thanks for your input.

gmw · 05-07-2013, 09:51 PM

To properly convert a paper textbook to ebook? Lots! Some thousands of dollars - how many thousands would depend on things such as size and just how many tables and images etc. It would be very time consuming to get right. If there was an electronic version of the textbook (original source) then you might save a lot of time and money, but I still wouldn't expect it to be cheap - not if you want to get it right.

At least, that is what I expect it would cost. As to how much it would be "worth to me" ... obviously that would depend on the textbook and how many I might expect to sell.

And I would also say that not all textbooks would be able to be converted directly to a form useful on small ereaders. If you target larger tablets then most go could directly, but for smaller devices it may well be necessary to have some tables and images re-done to be very useful. I'd also suggest that the ideal textbook conversion, in many cases, wouldn't be a direct conversion. Appropriate links between related material, popup hints and so on, may make some redesign desirable.

VydorScope · 05-08-2013, 06:39 AM

Unless you had access to to source material used to print the book I would think this would be a VERY labor intensive undertaking. I doubt most books could justify paying a fair cost for it.

txgecko · 05-10-2013, 02:53 PM

Oh, access to the source material, definitely. And there will have to be some tweaking of the layout to make it look as good as it can on an e-reader screen. Thank you both for your replies.

VydorScope · 05-10-2013, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txgecko

Oh, access to the source material, definitely. And there will have to be some tweaking of the layout to make it look as good as it can on an e-reader screen. Thank you both for your replies.

I think "tweaking" is a large underestimation of the amount of work you could face.

txgecko · 05-10-2013, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

I think "tweaking" is a large underestimation of the amount of work you could face.

I know. I was indulging in humorous understatement.

I've talked quite a bit with the author about how to best translate the print layout to an e-book one, don't worry.

05-07-2013, 02:36 PM	#1
txgecko Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 12996 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dallas, TX Device: Pocketbook Color	Authors, how much would you pay for someone to put your book into ebook formats? How much would you pay someone to make your paper book into an ebook? I know a lot of people here tend to do that kinda thing themselves, but say you don't have the knowledge to do so, and haven't got the time to learn. I'm talking more in terms of a textbook here, not a novel. How much would it be worth to you to have someone make a high-quality e-textbook - one with the tables done as real tables, instead of dinky little thumbnails, none of the spelling errors that come from just cramming the thing through a scanner with OCR and never looking at it again, etc? Thanks for your input.

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05-07-2013, 09:51 PM	#2
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	To properly convert a paper textbook to ebook? Lots! Some thousands of dollars - how many thousands would depend on things such as size and just how many tables and images etc. It would be very time consuming to get right. If there was an electronic version of the textbook (original source) then you might save a lot of time and money, but I still wouldn't expect it to be cheap - not if you want to get it right. At least, that is what I expect it would cost. As to how much it would be "worth to me" ... obviously that would depend on the textbook and how many I might expect to sell. And I would also say that not all textbooks would be able to be converted directly to a form useful on small ereaders. If you target larger tablets then most go could directly, but for smaller devices it may well be necessary to have some tables and images re-done to be very useful. I'd also suggest that the ideal textbook conversion, in many cases, wouldn't be a direct conversion. Appropriate links between related material, popup hints and so on, may make some redesign desirable.

05-08-2013, 06:39 AM	#3
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Unless you had access to to source material used to print the book I would think this would be a VERY labor intensive undertaking. I doubt most books could justify paying a fair cost for it.

05-10-2013, 02:53 PM	#4
txgecko Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 12996 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dallas, TX Device: Pocketbook Color	Oh, access to the source material, definitely. And there will have to be some tweaking of the layout to make it look as good as it can on an e-reader screen. Thank you both for your replies.

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