Using Sigil to save for Kindle

Arran · 07-14-2015, 06:38 AM

Hello

I just finished successfully my first E-Book test of 10 pages. I could save it without problems as an *.epub. However I also wanted to safe it as *.mobi and *.azw3. This was not possible, I had to do it over Calibre and lost all css formations. Although I have just some text and pagination this is still annoying.

Is there a way to save the Ebook directly in Sigil in other formats, and when YES! can you please tell me how to?

Alternative question: Are Kindle users able to reay epub books?

The sale of the Ebook will not be done over Amazon.

thewitt · 07-14-2015, 06:47 AM

There is a plugin for Sigil to save as mobi. It works great.

exaltedwombat · 07-14-2015, 08:16 AM

There is an Amazon-supplied program called Kindle Previewer, which included the Kindlegen routines - the "official" way to convert epub to Kindle formats. The plugin for Sigil merely calls Kindlegen, which will have to be already installed on your computer.

The conversion in Calibre can be rather more helpful. For instance, text-indent:0 is ignored in Kindle, you have to instead set a very small positive value. Calibre sorts this out automatically. And although Kindle tolerates a cover image in a svg wrapper, subsequent svg instances will break the Kindle version. Calibre also corrects this.

So convert in Calibre. The author anticipated many pitfalls in epub>Kindle conversion. Take advantage!

Let's see your epub code, Arran. I think the problem will lie there.

Notjohn · 07-14-2015, 11:54 AM

There's no reason whatever to do anything with that epub other than upload it to the KDP. In my experience, epubs convert beautifully.

If you want the Amazon "mobi" (it actually contains multiple books files), you can download that from the KDP at Step 7 in the publishing process. Indeed, I recommend doing just that, as the best way to check the book in the (downloaded) Kindle Previewer.

I would keep Calibre out of it altogether. Calibre-generated mobis evidently no longer are routinely rejected by the KDP, but apparently it does still sometimes happen.

Sigil rules! See my thread with that title.

exaltedwombat · 07-14-2015, 12:10 PM

Maybe it isn't YOU who's aiming to publish it in the Kindle Store? You can let Amazon run it through Kindlegen on their computers, or you can run it through Kindlegen (probably by simply dropping it on Kindle Previewer) locally. Then it's a good idea to try it on your computer's Kindle Reader application. It's hard to get a preview of how a conversion will look on the iPad Kindle reader unless you own an iPad.

If you've never created an epub that passed EpubCheck but caused errors in Kindlegen, you haven't be trying hard enough! Not to mention one that's "legal", but doesn't view as expected in Kindle.

Nothing's perfect. But I strongly warn against falling in love with one particular set of tools :-)

theducks · 07-14-2015, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

Nothing's perfect. But I strongly warn against falling in love with one particular set of tools :-)

He who dies with the most tools,
WINS!

I only regret, I waited to buy some (for Home Project Construction) for so long

(I have lots of Automotive tools from my Keep my British car running days

radius · 07-22-2015, 02:22 PM

What I do for my own reading is edit epubs using Sigil, then run kindlegen on that to make a mobi.

You can download kindlegen from Amazon.

I think the only problem I ran into is the one where you have to specify the body font or else Kindle won't let you choose your own font.

GrannyGrump · 07-23-2015, 12:17 AM

@Arran --- I have only just started converting epubs myself. ( I am not selling books!) I have been using Calibre with great success -- BUT -- I have to make sure to UNCHECK many of those formatting options in the conversion dialogs. For example, if I left "Remove blank line between paragraphs" set to ON, then Calibre would indent ALL my paragraphs, even the ones that were set in the CSS to have no indent. Now my results with Calibre are about the same as with Kindlegen. Something to keep in mind...

@radius --- Please clarify about specifying body font in the epub CSS. Do you mean name a specific font name (such as "Times" or "Georgia") or will "serif" or "sans-serif" be sufficient?

radius · 07-26-2015, 10:38 PM

I'm out town on vacation without my computer, so I can't lookup or experiment with this, but iirc, if you don't specify a body font but you do specify a paragraph font you can get stuck with Caecilia only.

If you don't specify body but you do for headings etc you can get stuck with Helvetica only.

I don't remember what you need to put fo the body because I just cut and paste it from a text file I have for that purpose. I found out about thi on Mobile read though, so it should be discoverable somehow.

GrannyGrump · 07-28-2015, 12:30 AM

Thanks radius. I will try to hunt down the information. I bet you only have to declare "serif" or "sans-serif", or you wouldn't be able to paste in the same thing from a text file --- unless you are embedding a font for body text every time.

cybmole · 07-28-2015, 12:55 AM

i am not sure if the declare font stuff is still applicable.

I always remove all font family stuff, from my ready- to-read copy of epub, as otherwise the kobo reader selection controls do not work.

I then sometimes calibre-convert that ready-to-read version to azw & put in onto my kindle fire or voyage - I have never noticed any inability to then change font - though as I like caecilia it's not something I have tested explicitly...

...so , opening my Kindle voyage & going to first side loaded book ( which came via epub with all font declarations removed.. ) yes I can select any of the available fonts.

NB I use azw3 , not mobi, dunno if that is a factor.

I reckon that if I turn on my fire tablet and add a book or two, I will get same results there.

Notjohn · 07-28-2015, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybmole

NB I use azw3 , not mobi, dunno if that is a factor.

I tried this one time, but when I right-clicked on the file, the Send to Kindle option did not present itself. The app seems only to recognize mobis. Do you use a different way to sideload?

cybmole · 07-28-2015, 07:02 AM

i sideload to voyage from my PC via calibre & a USB cable

I sideload to fire tablet using calibre companion - but the USB route also works

the send to kindle i.e. via email via amazon is more convoluted and you have to send mobi, not azw.
but why send via amazon if you have the PC and the device both at hand ?

Notjohn · 07-29-2015, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybmole

the send to kindle i.e. via email via amazon is more convoluted and you have to send mobi, not azw.
but why send via amazon if you have the PC and the device both at hand ?

Because it's faster and easier! Right-click and it's done. I doubt it's email. I think it's local wireless. It's all but instantaneous.

My Windows 7 computer has never recognized my Fire HD, so long ago I got a 99 cent app for the tablet. One uses the web browser to find the tablet, then goes to the /BOOK folder, then uses the tablet to find the right folder in the computer, then downloads it. It wasn't a BAD system, hardly more laborious than rooting around and finding a USB cord, but Send to Kindle is much, much better.

DiapDealer · 07-29-2015, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notjohn

I doubt it's email. I think it's local wireless. It's all but instantaneous.

None of those things are mutually exclusive of each other. Email is delivered via local wireless (it's your connection to the internet, after all).

Whenever I buy an ebook from Amazon or Kobo, my tablet "dings" within seconds; indicating my email receipt of said purchase.

07-14-2015, 06:38 AM	#1
Arran Lernender Posts: 70 Karma: 341348 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Isle of Arran, Scotland Device: Calibre, Sigil and Tolino	Using Sigil to save for Kindle Hello I just finished successfully my first E-Book test of 10 pages. I could save it without problems as an .epub. However I also wanted to safe it as .mobi and *.azw3. This was not possible, I had to do it over Calibre and lost all css formations. Although I have just some text and pagination this is still annoying. Is there a way to save the Ebook directly in Sigil in other formats, and when YES! can you please tell me how to? Alternative question: Are Kindle users able to reay epub books? The sale of the Ebook will not be done over Amazon.

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07-14-2015, 06:47 AM	#2
thewitt Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 1135446 Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Miami, Florida Device: iBooks	There is a plugin for Sigil to save as mobi. It works great.

07-14-2015, 08:16 AM	#3
exaltedwombat Guru Posts: 878 Karma: 2457540 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: none	There is an Amazon-supplied program called Kindle Previewer, which included the Kindlegen routines - the "official" way to convert epub to Kindle formats. The plugin for Sigil merely calls Kindlegen, which will have to be already installed on your computer. The conversion in Calibre can be rather more helpful. For instance, text-indent:0 is ignored in Kindle, you have to instead set a very small positive value. Calibre sorts this out automatically. And although Kindle tolerates a cover image in a svg wrapper, subsequent svg instances will break the Kindle version. Calibre also corrects this. So convert in Calibre. The author anticipated many pitfalls in epub>Kindle conversion. Take advantage! Let's see your epub code, Arran. I think the problem will lie there.

07-14-2015, 11:54 AM	#4
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,518 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	There's no reason whatever to do anything with that epub other than upload it to the KDP. In my experience, epubs convert beautifully. If you want the Amazon "mobi" (it actually contains multiple books files), you can download that from the KDP at Step 7 in the publishing process. Indeed, I recommend doing just that, as the best way to check the book in the (downloaded) Kindle Previewer. I would keep Calibre out of it altogether. Calibre-generated mobis evidently no longer are routinely rejected by the KDP, but apparently it does still sometimes happen. Sigil rules! See my thread with that title.

07-14-2015, 12:10 PM	#5
exaltedwombat Guru Posts: 878 Karma: 2457540 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: none	Maybe it isn't YOU who's aiming to publish it in the Kindle Store? You can let Amazon run it through Kindlegen on their computers, or you can run it through Kindlegen (probably by simply dropping it on Kindle Previewer) locally. Then it's a good idea to try it on your computer's Kindle Reader application. It's hard to get a preview of how a conversion will look on the iPad Kindle reader unless you own an iPad. If you've never created an epub that passed EpubCheck but caused errors in Kindlegen, you haven't be trying hard enough! Not to mention one that's "legal", but doesn't view as expected in Kindle. Nothing's perfect. But I strongly warn against falling in love with one particular set of tools :-)

07-22-2015, 02:22 PM	#7
radius Lector minore Posts: 660 Karma: 1738720 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Aura One, Paperwhite Signature	What I do for my own reading is edit epubs using Sigil, then run kindlegen on that to make a mobi. You can download kindlegen from Amazon. I think the only problem I ran into is the one where you have to specify the body font or else Kindle won't let you choose your own font.

07-23-2015, 12:17 AM	#8
GrannyGrump Obsessively Dedicated... Posts: 3,205 Karma: 34984330 Join Date: May 2011 Location: JAPAN (US expatriate) Device: Sony PRS-T2, ADE on PC	@Arran --- I have only just started converting epubs myself. ( I am not selling books!) I have been using Calibre with great success -- BUT -- I have to make sure to UNCHECK many of those formatting options in the conversion dialogs. For example, if I left "Remove blank line between paragraphs" set to ON, then Calibre would indent ALL my paragraphs, even the ones that were set in the CSS to have no indent. Now my results with Calibre are about the same as with Kindlegen. Something to keep in mind... @radius --- Please clarify about specifying body font in the epub CSS. Do you mean name a specific font name (such as "Times" or "Georgia") or will "serif" or "sans-serif" be sufficient?

07-26-2015, 10:38 PM	#9
radius Lector minore Posts: 660 Karma: 1738720 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Aura One, Paperwhite Signature	I'm out town on vacation without my computer, so I can't lookup or experiment with this, but iirc, if you don't specify a body font but you do specify a paragraph font you can get stuck with Caecilia only. If you don't specify body but you do for headings etc you can get stuck with Helvetica only. I don't remember what you need to put fo the body because I just cut and paste it from a text file I have for that purpose. I found out about thi on Mobile read though, so it should be discoverable somehow.

07-28-2015, 12:30 AM	#10
GrannyGrump Obsessively Dedicated... Posts: 3,205 Karma: 34984330 Join Date: May 2011 Location: JAPAN (US expatriate) Device: Sony PRS-T2, ADE on PC	Thanks radius. I will try to hunt down the information. I bet you only have to declare "serif" or "sans-serif", or you wouldn't be able to paste in the same thing from a text file --- unless you are embedding a font for body text every time.

07-28-2015, 12:55 AM	#11
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	i am not sure if the declare font stuff is still applicable. I always remove all font family stuff, from my ready- to-read copy of epub, as otherwise the kobo reader selection controls do not work. I then sometimes calibre-convert that ready-to-read version to azw & put in onto my kindle fire or voyage - I have never noticed any inability to then change font - though as I like caecilia it's not something I have tested explicitly... ...so , opening my Kindle voyage & going to first side loaded book ( which came via epub with all font declarations removed.. ) yes I can select any of the available fonts. NB I use azw3 , not mobi, dunno if that is a factor. I reckon that if I turn on my fire tablet and add a book or two, I will get same results there.

07-28-2015, 07:02 AM	#13
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	i sideload to voyage from my PC via calibre & a USB cable I sideload to fire tablet using calibre companion - but the USB route also works the send to kindle i.e. via email via amazon is more convoluted and you have to send mobi, not azw. but why send via amazon if you have the PC and the device both at hand ?