What *IS* Calibre?

[MaryDev]

Yes, I realize that that's a ridiculous question but....

Please understand, I'm a writer - I use computers because I must.

"Calibre is an e-book library manager" - doesn't tell me much.

Big picture question:

After I convert my writing into MOBI/AZW3 (which it seems to have done on its own, as I opted for the AZW3 after prompting, long story), can I then upload these to Amazon Kindle, where I intend to test-publish my book after editing?

Small picture questions:

After I convert my writing into MOBI/AZW3, can I then tweak the fonts, etc.?

Should I be asking these questions in a different part of the forum?

Thanks to all!

[theducks]

Originally Posted by MaryDev

Yes, I realize that that's a ridiculous question but....

Please understand, I'm a writer - I use computers because I must.

"Calibre is an e-book library manager" - doesn't tell me much.

Big picture question:

After I convert my writing into MOBI/AZW3 (which it seems to have done on its own, as I opted for the AZW3 after prompting, long story), can I then upload these to Amazon Kindle, where I intend to test-publish my book after editing?

Small picture questions:

After I convert my writing into MOBI/AZW3, can I then tweak the fonts, etc.?

Should I be asking these questions in a different part of the forum?

Thanks to all!

Calibre is a Librarian, format converter, Viewer, Book editor (Epub and AZW3), Metadata manager.

IMHO EPUB is an outstanding 'base (conversion) format'. Do your edits there, then convert to others as needed.
The Editor allows all sorts of edits (fonts, images, TOC, spelling). What it is not really suited for is Creation. You have to code every paragraph, which would be very distracting. (Not being an Author: DOCX is said to be a good choice PDF, being the worst, unless you are writing on, clay tablets, then that wins hands down )

[jhowell]

Calibre has a variety of functions, mostly oriented toward readers. Maintaining a library of e-books and converting them to the formats used by various reading devices are major uses. Calibre may be useful to you as a writer, but that is not its main focus.

If you are writing books that you plan to publish on Amazon then I recommend using Amazon's Kindle Previewer software. That can show you how your book will look on newer devices that support Enhanced Typesetting and also allow you to export your book in MOBI and AZK formats to try out on Kindle devices and apps.

Also check out Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) web pages if you have not already done so.

[HLS]

I don’t get it as well. I just use it to convert my kindle books to ePub otherwise I have no use for it

[theducks]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I don’t get it as well. I just use it to convert my kindle books to ePub otherwise I have no use for it

If you don't KEEP (hoard ) books, the conversion is all you probably will use.

I have 900+ dead tree books (now in bins, in storage), 30 years of Analog Magazines (also in bins. I ran out of places for shelves years ago. DVD, VHS, LP's, Open reel tapes took over that place)

Obviously, digital editions take lots less room

[Apache]

Originally Posted by theducks

If you don't KEEP (hoard ) books, the conversion is all you probably will use.

I have 900+ dead tree books (now in bins, in storage), 30 years of Analog Magazines (also in bins. I ran out of places for shelves years ago. DVD, VHS, LP's, Open reel tapes took over that place)

Obviously, digital editions take lots less room

Yes and my wife loves that I have switched over to digital. She seems to think if I had not our house would be filled floor to ceiling with books.
I still have them stored alphabetically in numbered boxes with a master list of which books are in each box.
Apache

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I don’t get it as well. I just use it to convert my kindle books to ePub otherwise I have no use for it

Wait until you have several thousand ebooks from various sources and vendors, and you'll have bought a book twice or thrice because you didn't remember that you already had it. Then Calibre will come in handy. The one place where to keep, sort and categorize all your ebooks.

That said, of course Calibre is not to everyone's taste. Almost nothing on this earth is.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by MaryDev

After I convert my writing into MOBI/AZW3, can I then tweak the fonts, etc.?

I would not publish a book converted to MOBI format using calibre. The results will be inferior in terms of formatting since that will block Enhanced Typesetting. And Amazon will not accept an AZW3 file.

Assuming that you use Word, the simplest thing to do is get the formatting correct in your original document and review it using Amazon's Kindle Previewer. Once the results look good using the Previewer then upload the Word document to Amazon to publish.

More advanced formatting can be achieved by converting from Word to EPUB and editing that using calibre editor or Sigil, but that is probably overkill unless you have very special formatting needs for your book.

Originally Posted by MaryDev

Should I be asking these questions in a different part of the forum?

There is a separate Kindle Formats subforum here on MobileRead where technical aspects of Kindle formats such as MOBI and AZW3 are discussed. Also the Workshop subforum for e-book creation in general. These are not specific to calibre.

[MaryDev]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I thought that one converts using Calibre - then uploads to Amazon, but I will try the Kindle Previewer instead. And thanks to whoever warned me off AZW3...

In any case I am finding Calibre useful simply to look at my book with a fresher set of eyes. I compose in Word (well actually by hand but then transcribe to Word) and you just do not see what it will look like in Word. I go between the Calibre and Word and make changes - but that's beyond the scope of this thread.

Thanks to all!

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by MaryDev

And thanks to whoever warned me off AZW3...

AZW3 (aka KF8) is a useful format for readers and Amazon delivers books to customers in that format in some cases, but they do not accept that format when you publish a book.

Amazon accepts certain formats for publishing and then converts and delivers a different set of formats to customers depending on the capabilities of their reading device/app. The system used to be simple but has become very complicated over the years.

[MaryDev]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I would not publish a book converted to MOBI format using calibre. The results will be inferior in terms of formatting since that will block Enhanced Typesetting. And Amazon will not accept an AZW3 file.

Assuming that you use Word, the simplest thing to do is get the formatting correct in your original document and review it using Amazon's Kindle Previewer. Once the results look good using the Previewer then upload the Word document to Amazon to publish.

More advanced formatting can be achieved by converting from Word to EPUB and editing that using calibre editor or Sigil, but that is probably overkill unless you have very special formatting needs for your book.



There is a separate Kindle Formats subforum here on MobileRead where technical aspects of Kindle formats such as MOBI and AZW3 are discussed. Also the Workshop subforum for e-book creation in general. These are not specific to calibre.

Thank you a thousand times for this info.

I downloaded Kindle Preview and it has been a godsend. It's almost like that second pair of eyes. I'm ashamed to admit (well not really) that I discovered many formatting flaws - and I know styles and formatting. I don't space 5X to make a paragraph, but I got lazy and didn't do things properly the first time.

I cleared all formatting, applied styles and cleaned up the documents very quickly. Now it's a matter of making it look better.

Thanks also for the navigation tips about this forum. It's a pretty big and daunting place.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by MaryDev

Thanks also for the navigation tips about this forum. It's a pretty big and daunting place.

There be dragons!