Newbie question about reading epubs online

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Cinisajoy -- without WiFi, how do you download an EPUB???

In-browser servers can just use LocalStorage to read offline. In fact, the existing in-browser viewers all do just that.

If I buy this book, can I take it to the lake?
The OP made it sound like you had to be on his website to access his books even after you paid him.
He said one paid for a password to access the blueprints. Which is why I was curious if one downloaded or had to read only on his website.
I was thinking after I bought the book.
How does his website work?
Do I have to go to it each time I want to look at the book?
Can it be downloaded for offline use?
Do I have to read it on a specific browser?
Can I save the file in Google Drive to be able to read it on other devices?

Those are things I would need to know before giving the OP any money.

And yes, I am actually interested in the topic of the book.
Even if the OP has made some erroneous assumptions about his potential customers.

[pittendrigh]

If they buy the book--after browsing the online version--they can then download a zipped epub3 and read it how ever they want. Or continue reading online. As they like it. That's what I've been proposing.

I have a boat building forum with 20,000 posts. So I know my audience well. I might make a post and ask how many already have in installed epub reader. I'll be surprised if many do.

Now I'll turn this around. Many of those participating in this thread (thank you, it's been good) are the ones limiting their options. Not me. You seem to be saying you want a hotrod reader and downloaded epub only.

I'm saying I want that AND an online version, which will indeed widen my audience. So I still think it's a good idea. I already have some book-like web page software I wrote that uses HTML fragments--complete with next previous and goto-page, plus a TOC. I originally thought about the python epub libraries (can't remember the name right now) to convert back and forth between epub and my proprietary format. So I could have both systems at all times.

But then I (recently) realized that's stupid. I need to make my software read epub3 instead of my format. Epub3 IS a website, zipped up inside a container. With a bit of meta information thrown in.....spine, resources etc. A bit of XML here and there. Plus a TOC in epub2 format, for old readers. I can do this. I'm gaining confidence. I can see it now.

On my tombstone I want it to say "He had his cake and ate it too"


Finally. I just got back from a memorial for an old friend who died recently in Southern Colorado. An old hippie commune site from the early '70s where we all lived back in the good old daze. At 8200 feet in the Sangre De Christos. Foot of Mt Blanca. The Heurfano Valley. We used to live in a tipi circle back then. Played water kettle drums drums and ate elk meat. They have adobe houses there now with DSL wifi,instead of the old tipi circle. Wifi is almost everywhere now. Having it or not having it is mostly a non-issue I think.

Driving back home they had wifi in every gas station and restaurant we stopped in. Out on the highway I used my cell connection.

[Cinisajoy]

You misunderstood me.
What I want is a choice of formats and options to read it. You are only offering 1 or 2 and very limited ways to read them.

You have a very small audience.
Hey, I understand you not wanting to jump in the big pond. Hey that's cool since they charge you if you sell anything.
Note you said you are doing a fly fishing book right.

Ok to get you more of an audience, what I want to be able to do is buy your book easily. Make that simple. What kind of payments do you take?
Second, I want the book to be easy to download. What formats are you offering? I also want it easy to put on an ereader. (We are back to the formats) Oh and a tablet (especially if you have any graphics or drawings).
Third: I want to be able to tell people I found this great book. And be able to show it to them and say you can use it on a computer, tablet or other device.

I want to talk about it and get people to your website that wouldn't have found you on their own.

Make it painless to get your book and I will help you in any way I can.

Put obstacles up and most of your audience will go elsewhere.

And never assume what people have or don't have. Assuming they don't have something limits your new audience.

And don't forget the sample is very important.

Other food for thought.
On targeting a new audience (since I am figuring you want to make money), why should I buy a book from you and not from a known seller?
What makes you and your book special? Why should I visit your website? Better yet, make me want to visit your site.
Keep in mind, we want new readers not just your followers now.

Help me to help you.

[Cinisajoy]

Would you please quit assuming?
You may live in an area with major wifi but it isn't that way everywhere.
I go to state parks. I have found one that has wifi on the lake.
No wifi is not ubiquitous in the state of Texas.
It may be in the big cities but it isn't in the rest of the state where most lakes are.
Last time I looked you find fishermen on lakes.

Oh and sorry about your friend.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by pittendrigh

I'm saying I want that AND an online version, which will indeed widen my audience. So I still think it's a good idea. I already have some book-like web page software I wrote that uses HTML fragments--complete with next previous and goto-page, plus a TOC. I originally thought about the python epub libraries (can't remember the name right now) to convert back and forth between epub and my proprietary format. So I could have both systems at all times.

But then I (recently) realized that's stupid. I need to make my software read epub3 instead of my format. Epub3 IS a website, zipped up inside a container. With a bit of meta information thrown in.....spine, resources etc. A bit of XML here and there. Plus a TOC in epub2 format, for old readers. I can do this. I'm gaining confidence. I can see it now.

I for one didn't doubt your ability to offer a download link next to the read-it-now link.

Anyway... we have already pointed out that there are a couple options already for opening EPUB in the browser.

• Ask your Firefox users to install EPUBReader. Their browser now doubles as an ereader!
• Install calibre and run the beta server, which has an in-progress and currently basic viewer for the books in a calibre library.
• Do something with ReadiumJS.

All those options allow offline viewing -- open the book while connected to WiFi, bookmark the page and continue reading after you no longer have WiFi.

There may be other implementations floating around as well, of course.

...

No need to write your own, unless you just want the experience.

[pittendrigh]

I still think it's a good idea to offer all or portions of an epub online without requiring the reader to pre-install software.

Various traditional payment gateways could also offer epub downloads. There is still a lot I don't know about formats. I'm reading ebooks now, mostly from O'Reilly. If I lose customers because I don't deal with (give my stuff away to) Amazon I'm not concerned. That direction is damned if I do and damned if I don't anyway.

I hear the negative chatter from authors about Amazon. Nobody's making much money right now, not unless you're a pre-existing super star like Steven King. We need to be exploring creative ways to market out stuff more directly. And not to be chopping at each other's fingers.

Readium as a server is not a realistic option for most web sites.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by pittendrigh

I still think it's a good idea to offer all or portions of an epub online without requiring the reader to pre-install software.

Various traditional payment gateways could also offer epub downloads. There is still a lot I don't know about formats. I'm reading ebooks now, mostly from O'Reilly. If I lose customers because I don't deal with (give my stuff away to) Amazon I'm not concerned. That direction is damned if I do and damned if I don't anyway.

I hear the negative chatter from authors about Amazon. Nobody's making much money right now, not unless you're a pre-existing super star like Steven King. We need to be exploring creative ways to market out stuff more directly. And not to be chopping at each other's fingers.

Readium as a server is not a realistic option for most web sites.

You misunderstood me again.
I never said put your books on Amazon.
I also said that giving away a sample was a very good idea.


Look, I want to help make you money. But I cannot do that without knowing some things.

If I wanted your boat building stuff, what are my payment options?
Do I give you a credit card or PayPal or both?
If I was to buy your boat building stuff, how would I read it?

Tell me what makes your book the best.

[Cinisajoy]

Now, as to the negative chatter about Amazon. I've heard it too.
Here is the thing, An author puts their books on Amazon then gripes about Amazon. That tells me that the author doesn't want the customers to visit Amazon. Ok fine complaining author, I will make sure not to look at your stuff on Amazon.
Have you looked at the complainers books?
Now that being said, I know an independent author that makes roughly $500,000 a month just from Amazon. I know 4 or 5 others that are big enough that they have staffs.

Ok truth, most indies don't make big money writing, but then neither do most of the traditional published authors.
But by the same token, I know many that while they can't afford yachts, they are making a living.

The thing with the negative chatter is those that are making money have been told by the ones not making money that the money makers don't understand how the industry works now.

Yes, writing is hard work and rather you sell your book on your website, or on a big book seller or on a street corner you probably won't make much.

If I remember my statistics right.
5% or less make 7 figures a year.
10% or less make 6 figures a year.
15% make 5 figures a year.
20% make 4 figures a year.
The other 50% are lucky to make $100 a year.


Hmmmm,
You say that you have to be a big name to make money on Amazon.
Then why are most of the top 50 sellers on Amazon indies?
Also author earnings says that indies make up over 50% of the sales.

Oh and I think I remember you from somewhere else.

[pittendrigh]

OK. Perhaps we're not so far apart. At the top of the thread I said I wanted to write some software so I could "not make money my own way." In other words I want to sell two epubs on my website without sharing royalties. My subjects (boat building and fly tying) are such narrow niche markets it's not a profitable enterprise no matter what. I'm just a retired guy having fun.

I'm working on a PHP epub reader/displayer already. It's going to be easier than I expected. The hardest part will be the TOC, which is defined in XML for epub3. But I'm good at XPath. I spent my last 5 professional years working with XML databases like Exist and SleepyCat.

The HTML reader won't require casual surfers to install software first. But it will still act like a book, with TOC, next page, pervious page, goto page and remembered current page. If they like what they see (first 25 pages for free perhaps) they could buy and download the entire epub and then deal with reader installation issues as they they choose.

I already have the framework for reading and displaying the rest. A few session variables will take care of current page number, etc. This will be a fun project. I hope to have something on sourceforge by the end of the coming Winter.

........some fly tying books, published through traditional paper technology channels, might make $10,000 for the author, on a first printing. Second printings are rare. Most make close to nothing. There are too many such books already printed, married to an aging, shrinking market.

[Cinisajoy]

I do appreciate you don't want to share royalties.
Though do share when you get it done.

[pittendrigh]

djazz very interesting. booksdjazz.se So you have a subdomain with with web server that has .... what? How do I learn how to do this?

[pittendrigh]

The link to you repub_content%2Fpink_eyes works in Chrome with the readium extension AND in
Firefox without any added plugins or extenstions. This is basically what I want. I haven't figured out how to do this yet but I'm working on it. Can output like this be embedded inside a surrounding website, as the contents of a DIV, or would I have to use an IFRAME to do that? ....I'm digging. And digging it

[pittendrigh]

Hmm. I don't see a way to delete or edit previous posts.
I did find https://github.com/satorumurmur/bibi ....which gives me what I want.

[Cinisajoy]

Glad you found what you needed.
If you have enough posts here, there is an edit button in the lower right corner beside quote on your posts.
If you don't have enough posts yet, come down to the lounge and play some games.

Though why edit? Someone else might be needing the same information.
If you want the thread locked or archived so no one can see it, hit the report button.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Glad you found what you needed.
If you have enough posts here, there is an edit button in the lower right corner beside quote on your posts.
If you don't have enough posts yet, come down to the lounge and play some games.

Though why edit? Someone else might be needing the same information.
If you want the thread locked or archived so no one can see it, hit the report button.

I'm afraid we don't lock or archive threads on request.

I do think it's public-spirited not to edit posts that could be helpful to others.