Ebook maker wanted

grimo1re · 07-24-2009, 10:35 PM

My husband's written a novel that he wants to put out there in the public domain. Now, I have many talents but making a good looking e-book in multiple formats just isn't one of them (yes, I've tried). So, I'm looking for an enthusiast who wants to take up this arduous task for zero remuneration. Of course you'll be acknowledged and eternal glory shall be yours. PM me if you're willing to help.

Nate the great · 07-24-2009, 10:40 PM

I'll do it.

Timoleon · 07-25-2009, 12:44 PM

I've seen ebooks formatted by Nate, and I can tell you that they look great!!

JSWolf · 07-25-2009, 12:46 PM

Can we have ePub with 0 margins please?

netseeker · 07-25-2009, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can we have ePub with 0 margins please?

What about the strange page numbering in ADE (and as well on the Sony devices) on the right side of a page? The page numbers will overlay characters if the epub doesn't have a right margin.

zelda_pinwheel · 07-25-2009, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can we have ePub with 0 margins please?

Quote:

Originally Posted by netseeker

What about the strange page numbering in ADE (and as well on the Sony devices) on the right side of a page? The page numbers will overlay characters if the epub doesn't have a right margin.

also it's much harder to read when the text runs up against the edge of the screen, especially since some letters can be slightly cut off. i realise that some people like to make the most of the available screen space but it's really important to have some margins nonetheless. the great thing is, if you get the epub file, you can easily reformat it with no margins for your own reading.

Abecedary · 07-25-2009, 04:18 PM

I agree that there should be some margins on the sides. I've settled on a value of 2-3% in my modified epubs. That gives a reasonable amount of clearance from the sides of the screen, while only losing about 5 characters per line (which likely wouldn't be used anyways due to the lack of hyphenation/justification).

grimo1re · 07-25-2009, 09:12 PM

Nate's got the job

Elfwreck · 07-26-2009, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grimo1re

My husband's written a novel that he wants to put out there in the public domain.

Worth noting: "available for free to anyone in the public" is not the same as "in the public domain."

He can release it with a Creative Commons license, to allow anyone to copy it for free, but he retains his copyright ownership--so someone else can't turn around and sell the movie rights, for example. There are other options--he can just give away free copies and retain full copyright control; if he does that, people aren't allowed to give those copies to other people without his consent.

But "public domain" is a specific legal term in regards to creative works; it means *nobody* owns the rights to that work, and *anyone* is allowed to use it, for any purpose.

He can release his work into the public domain--but he certainly doesn't have to, in order to give away free copies or even allow people to make derivative works from them. It's important to be aware of the difference, because once a work is in the public domain, it can't be reclaimed by the author later.

(P.S. I'm glad he's getting help with the formatting; we love it when authors want to make their books available as well-formatted ebooks!)

grimo1re · 07-26-2009, 01:21 AM

Thanks for that Elfwreck. I wrote my first post before we had figured out what we wanted with regards to licenses so used the term PD. He's actually publishing it under a CC license.

JSWolf · 07-26-2009, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by netseeker

What about the strange page numbering in ADE (and as well on the Sony devices) on the right side of a page? The page numbers will overlay characters if the epub doesn't have a right margin.

I don't actually have any problems with that. I'm easily able to make out the words that the page number is interfering with. And given that the 505/700. Does not do full justify, some of the time, that's a non-issue.

JSWolf · 07-26-2009, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

also it's much harder to read when the text runs up against the edge of the screen, especially since some letters can be slightly cut off. i realize that some people like to make the most of the available screen space but it's really important to have some margins nonetheless. the great thing is, if you get the epub file, you can easily reformat it with no margins for your own reading.

Using Fontin or Droid (Don't really care for it), I've not found any letters cut off due to no margin on my 505.

Syniurge · 07-26-2009, 03:40 PM

Why not ask for more specific help instead ? Tell us where your troubles with the ebook formats lie, you'll learn some interesting stuff and how to do it yourself.

If he has written a ordinary .txt file, then it shall be quite easy to write a script to guess the markup and output a "first draft".

Jellby · 07-26-2009, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grimo1re

My husband's written a novel that he wants to put out there in the public domain. Now, I have many talents but making a good looking e-book in multiple formats just isn't one of them (yes, I've tried). So, I'm looking for an enthusiast who wants to take up this arduous task for zero remuneration. Of course you'll be acknowledged and eternal glory shall be yours. PM me if you're willing to help.

I would have volunteered if Nate hadn't been faster

Anyway, I offer my help for other projects (or for this one, if needed).

grimo1re · 07-26-2009, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syniurge

Why not ask for more specific help instead ? Tell us where your troubles with the ebook formats lie, you'll learn some interesting stuff and how to do it yourself.

If he has written a ordinary .txt file, then it shall be quite easy to write a script to guess the markup and output a "first draft".

I thought I explained. I've tried and it's not my thing. I have noticed many people on this forum seem to think/believe everybody should get into making e-books. Well, I don't agree. I've given it a whirl, wasn't happy with the result, didn't really like doing it. Let me just stick to other things instead

Now that I'm settling into my new house again after having moved from the other side of the world, I'll start reporting on e-book and e-ink related news again, that'll be my contribution to this community.

07-24-2009, 10:35 PM	#1
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	Ebook maker wanted My husband's written a novel that he wants to put out there in the public domain. Now, I have many talents but making a good looking e-book in multiple formats just isn't one of them (yes, I've tried). So, I'm looking for an enthusiast who wants to take up this arduous task for zero remuneration. Of course you'll be acknowledged and eternal glory shall be yours. PM me if you're willing to help.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
GuteBook - the Project Gutenberg eBook Maker/Front-end	nrapallo	Workshop	67	03-27-2011 04:46 PM
Wanted STK-101 last firmware and STK Maker	delphidb96	Netronix	53	12-03-2010 05:46 AM
New ePub Maker for OS X	Daddy Warpig	Apple Devices	10	04-28-2010 06:41 PM
Logo Maker -- any instructions?	cancelx	Astak EZReader	6	03-18-2010 07:59 AM
ebook reader / netbook tablet recommendations wanted	maynard	Which one should I buy?	7	04-12-2009 07:48 AM

07-24-2009, 10:40 PM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I'll do it.

07-25-2009, 12:44 PM	#3
Timoleon Time Enough at Last Posts: 387 Karma: 1151316 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: New England Device: iPad 3, iPhone 5, Kindle 3, Fire, Sony PRS-350	I've seen ebooks formatted by Nate, and I can tell you that they look great!!

07-25-2009, 12:46 PM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,103 Karma: 144284184 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Can we have ePub with 0 margins please?

07-25-2009, 04:18 PM	#7
Abecedary Exwyzeeologist Posts: 535 Karma: 3261 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: :PRS-505::iPod touch:	I agree that there should be some margins on the sides. I've settled on a value of 2-3% in my modified epubs. That gives a reasonable amount of clearance from the sides of the screen, while only losing about 5 characters per line (which likely wouldn't be used anyways due to the lack of hyphenation/justification).

07-25-2009, 09:12 PM	#8
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	Nate's got the job

07-26-2009, 01:21 AM	#10
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	Thanks for that Elfwreck. I wrote my first post before we had figured out what we wanted with regards to licenses so used the term PD. He's actually publishing it under a CC license.

07-26-2009, 03:40 PM	#13
Syniurge Enthusiast Posts: 47 Karma: 18498 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: France Device: PRS-650	Why not ask for more specific help instead ? Tell us where your troubles with the ebook formats lie, you'll learn some interesting stuff and how to do it yourself. If he has written a ordinary .txt file, then it shall be quite easy to write a script to guess the markup and output a "first draft".

Advert

Advert