Trying to write a simple tutorial - Page 4

PeterT · 08-30-2012, 02:42 AM

Manuscript to Ebook a Simple DIY guide f - David Kinder

snarkophilus · 08-30-2012, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I didn't see a PDF copy at all, just links to Amazon for mobi copies. Do you have a PDF version? (And why would you release an epub tutorial only in a Kindle market?)

The link to the PDF was the text link (Manuscript to Ebook a Simple DIY guide f - David Kinder) immediately under the book cover link to Amazon.

Cheers,
Simon.

AlexBell · 08-30-2012, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I didn't see a PDF copy at all, just links to Amazon for mobi copies. Do you have a PDF version? (And why would you release an epub tutorial only in a Kindle market?)

It's in the top left corner - the text in the image is hard to read against the typewriter background. I've just downloaded it by clicking on the 'tab' at the bottom of the image.

JSWolf · 08-31-2012, 10:18 AM

WOW! That PDF just looks awful.

gogreen · 09-01-2012, 07:40 AM

Hi,
Yes perhaps I should make it a little clearer! The free pdf of Manuscript to Ebook can be found directly below the cover link of the book to amazon. The pdf is a straight conversion from an epub copy to pdf using Calibre. Yes it does download in rather a large format but you can reduce the size of the text. The guide (I hesitate to call it a book) simply started out as a way for me to remember how I learnt to correct my first ebook and how I created my second book having no prior knowledge of building an ebook. I have one further book in draft format and one further idea for a book. By the time I get round to converting them to ebooks, I would have probably forgoten how I did it! So instead of sticking my experiences down on scrap pieces of paper, I thought I may as well prove to my self I could indeed build ebooks by making a guide (book!) out of it. If only a little bit can go to help other people then great. This forum is a great place for help. I am not looking to be marked on how beautiful the book looks, just its ability to help others to make an ebook. Comments good or bad can only help me and others to produce better ebooks. I could improve the cover but this would mean I would have to spend a further $4 doing a new picture and double the production cost of the book! This simply will not do.... Finally, although the free pdf provides all you require to produce an ebook, I have added a few extra chapters that are available in the Kindle format. Yes it does involve spending money (gulp!) but hey why not. It is available in full in the Kindle lending section as well.

Pablo · 09-01-2012, 11:51 AM

@gogreen:
May I suggest you start an independent thread for your guide? Just to avoid mixing things up. And if you intend to sell your Kindle version, maybe you should put it in the Author's Self Promotion forum.
I had a look at your guide, it covers many things that I left out in my tutorial. Thanks for making it freely available for others to learn.

dubito · 09-03-2012, 02:38 PM

Hi, Pablo.

Thanks for your pamphlet ›Quick and Dirty ePub Tutorial - v2.pdf‹
I just had a look at it and found a mistake: The little code starting with <h1>This is a level 1 title</h1> has to be applied in the source code of the html-file. Otherwise you just see what you have typed.
I have attached my file after having inserted the code in the source code. Above is what you suggested, below shows what I mean.

Best wishes Harry

Pablo · 09-03-2012, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dubito

Hi, Pablo.

Thanks for your pamphlet ›Quick and Dirty ePub Tutorial - v2.pdf‹
I just had a look at it and found a mistake: The little code starting with <h1>This is a level 1 title</h1> has to be applied in the source code of the html-file. Otherwise you just see what you have typed.
I have attached my file after having inserted the code in the source code. Above is what you suggested, below shows what I mean.

Best wishes Harry

I don't know what you mean by "source code" of the html file. You just type <h1>....</h1> in your text editor and save as file.html and that's it. Of course, when you open the file with a browser, you will not see the html tags, just the formatted text...

I can't see your attached file... maybe you are not allowed to attach files, as you've only written one post so far.

DavidV · 09-25-2012, 12:08 AM

Since my last post some years ago, I have ugraded my ePubIt book authoring program quite a bit. It is free and lets you create ePUB books with a WSIWYG editor without the need to know any HTML or CSS. It also can create ePub books from RSS feeds. It only works with Windows and there are no support for languages other than English. I apologise to Mac and Linux users, but simply do not have the time to provide other versions.
If interested, you can download the program on www.lifespices.net

CaptainMachSnot · 11-23-2012, 08:00 AM

I was wondering if someone can please help me. I have followed the dropcap instructions in the guide, but have adjusted to make it 3 lines high. What I need help with is when there is quotation marks in front of the first letter. Is there a way to make the quotes appear normal, while still having the initial cap show up?
Code I am currently useing:

Quote:

.dropcap {
float: left;
font-family: "Mariage";
font-size: 4em;
font-weight: normal;
height: 1em;
line-height: 1em;
margin-bottom: -0.2em;
margin-left: 0em;
margin-right: 0.125em;
margin-top: -0.1em;
text-indent: 0em;
}

sachin · 11-23-2012, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainMachSnot

I was wondering if someone can please help me. I have followed the dropcap instructions in the guide, but have adjusted to make it 3 lines high. What I need help with is when there is quotation marks in front of the first letter. Is there a way to make the quotes appear normal, while still having the initial cap show up?
Code I am currently useing:

Try and search in this thread.

CaptainMachSnot · 11-24-2012, 08:16 AM

Thanks sachin, exactly what i was looking for

Pablo · 03-09-2013, 09:56 AM

I just uploaded version 3 of the tutorial, covering Sigil 0.7.1
See first post for the file.

dgatwood · 03-09-2013, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainMachSnot

I was wondering if someone can please help me. I have followed the dropcap instructions in the guide, but have adjusted to make it 3 lines high. What I need help with is when there is quotation marks in front of the first letter. Is there a way to make the quotes appear normal, while still having the initial cap show up?

You can do it by adjusting the span to start after the quote mark, but IMO it probably isn't a good idea. Making the quotation mark smaller than the drop cap is fine, but I would caution that a normal-sized quotation mark before such a large cap is likely to get lost visually, so you might want to make it somewhat larger than the normal body font.

Jellby · 03-09-2013, 04:08 PM

I usually have an additional <span>, inside the dropcap, to collect everything that could appear before the dropcap proper (quote marks, or dashes and opening question/exclamation marks in Spanish). Anyway, note that printed books often completely drop (no pun intended) the initial quote mark before a drop cap (something I would obtain by adding "display:none" to my "predrop" <span>).

09-01-2012, 07:40 AM	#50
gogreen Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: none	Manuscript to ebook Hi, Yes perhaps I should make it a little clearer! The free pdf of Manuscript to Ebook can be found directly below the cover link of the book to amazon. The pdf is a straight conversion from an epub copy to pdf using Calibre. Yes it does download in rather a large format but you can reduce the size of the text. The guide (I hesitate to call it a book) simply started out as a way for me to remember how I learnt to correct my first ebook and how I created my second book having no prior knowledge of building an ebook. I have one further book in draft format and one further idea for a book. By the time I get round to converting them to ebooks, I would have probably forgoten how I did it! So instead of sticking my experiences down on scrap pieces of paper, I thought I may as well prove to my self I could indeed build ebooks by making a guide (book!) out of it. If only a little bit can go to help other people then great. This forum is a great place for help. I am not looking to be marked on how beautiful the book looks, just its ability to help others to make an ebook. Comments good or bad can only help me and others to produce better ebooks. I could improve the cover but this would mean I would have to spend a further $4 doing a new picture and double the production cost of the book! This simply will not do.... Finally, although the free pdf provides all you require to produce an ebook, I have added a few extra chapters that are available in the Kindle format. Yes it does involve spending money (gulp!) but hey why not. It is available in full in the Kindle lending section as well.

09-03-2012, 02:38 PM	#52
dubito Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: none	oops Hi, Pablo. Thanks for your pamphlet ›Quick and Dirty ePub Tutorial - v2.pdf‹ I just had a look at it and found a mistake: The little code starting with <h1>This is a level 1 title</h1> has to be applied in the source code of the html-file. Otherwise you just see what you have typed. I have attached my file after having inserted the code in the source code. Above is what you suggested, below shows what I mean. Best wishes Harry

09-25-2012, 12:08 AM	#54
DavidV Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 292 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	epub Authoring Since my last post some years ago, I have ugraded my ePubIt book authoring program quite a bit. It is free and lets you create ePUB books with a WSIWYG editor without the need to know any HTML or CSS. It also can create ePub books from RSS feeds. It only works with Windows and there are no support for languages other than English. I apologise to Mac and Linux users, but simply do not have the time to provide other versions. If interested, you can download the program on www.lifespices.net

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08-30-2012, 02:42 AM	#46
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,698 Karma: 79983758 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Manuscript to Ebook a Simple DIY guide f - David Kinder

08-31-2012, 10:18 AM	#49
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,782 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	WOW! That PDF just looks awful.

09-01-2012, 11:51 AM	#51
Pablo Guru Posts: 974 Karma: 4999999 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Rosario, Argentina Device: SONY PRS-T2, Kindle Paperwhite 11th gen	@gogreen: May I suggest you start an independent thread for your guide? Just to avoid mixing things up. And if you intend to sell your Kindle version, maybe you should put it in the Author's Self Promotion forum. I had a look at your guide, it covers many things that I left out in my tutorial. Thanks for making it freely available for others to learn.

11-24-2012, 08:16 AM	#57
CaptainMachSnot Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Oz Device: Kobo-Busted, Sony PRS-T1	Thanks sachin, exactly what i was looking for

03-09-2013, 09:56 AM	#58
Pablo Guru Posts: 974 Karma: 4999999 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Rosario, Argentina Device: SONY PRS-T2, Kindle Paperwhite 11th gen	I just uploaded version 3 of the tutorial, covering Sigil 0.7.1 See first post for the file.

03-09-2013, 04:08 PM	#60
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,570 Karma: 20150435 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	I usually have an additional <span>, inside the dropcap, to collect everything that could appear before the dropcap proper (quote marks, or dashes and opening question/exclamation marks in Spanish). Anyway, note that printed books often completely drop (no pun intended) the initial quote mark before a drop cap (something I would obtain by adding "display:none" to my "predrop" <span>).

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