Dumber than dirt needs help getting started

[JaneFancher]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

If you want to sell from established ebook sites, then you have to do what they want in terms of formatting. So your first job is finding the sites you want to deal with.

If you want to produce DRM-free ebooks in multiple formats to (say) sell from your own web site, then I suggest starting with PDF (even though not many people here prefer this) because it is often the most downloaded format. Open Office has a very good PDF export option, and Word Perfect might as well (if not, see if Open Office will import your word perfect files). One way to support EInk devices is to produce a 2nd PDF formated for a small screen. A typical PDF template (from FeedBooks) is: However, what you are probably looking for is advice on reflowable formats. The best starting point is a clean single-file HTML (plus images). Again, Word Perfect might be able to produce one for you. Then I would use Calibre to import the HTML and export LRF, ePub and MOBI (and LIT, although this requires using the command line). Calibre has its own forum here. It is not primarily an authoring tool, but if you have a clean HTML version it can do a very good format shift to other formats and it will in addition detect chapters and add a TOC for you. This is where you may have to play with your HTML or with Calibre's "rules" for chapters to get the output to your liking. Spending some time on your first ebook transfer will make the others smoother. Note that if you don't have a HTML version, Calibre can import PDF (if it is very clean, which it might be coming directly from Word Perfect), or multi-file HTML, and several other formats. Generally, HTML is best and single file HTML is simplest.

Bingo! That's what I was hoping. HTML...no problem. I design several websites. Wrote my first from scratch. Now use a wysiwyg web design program...cuz I'm lazy. WP does a very good PDF, and its base file is infinitely cleaner than Word. Word has to be the messiest word processor I've ever been forced to use. Have downloaded Calibre and Mobi and look forward to playing with them.

Thanks SO much for the mini-PDF dimensions. Extremely useful. (Taking quick note)

[xianfox]

I've seen a few authors (I think Cory Doctorow may fall into this category) who've released ebooks in a rather limited set of formats and relied upon the user community to assist in creating the other formats. I'm not sure if this could be worked into a pay model as I've only ever seen free works with this model, but perhaps a discount on a future ebook purchase to readers who convert a basic HTML file into another format might work?

Just thinking out loud here.

[JaneFancher]

Originally Posted by xianfox

I've seen a few authors (I think Cory Doctorow may fall into this category) who've released ebooks in a rather limited set of formats and relied upon the user community to assist in creating the other formats. I'm not sure if this could be worked into a pay model as I've only ever seen free works with this model, but perhaps a discount on a future ebook purchase to readers who convert a basic HTML file into another format might work?

Just thinking out loud here.

Interesting notion. (taking another note) I'll see how many I can create with the given programs and go from there.

Heck, I'd be willing to give discounts to people who reviewed or brought in new readers! (Taking another note. I wonder if you can put a "recommended by" into an order form....So much to learn...my head hurts. )

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by JaneFancher

I actually went looking for this program after my first flit through this forum, and haven't been able to find it. Could you possibly send me a download URL?

A good place to start might be the Book Designer page in the MobileRead Wiki:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Book_Designer

It has links to the download files, but also other useful info too.

[JaneFancher]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Of course, this totally ignores the fact that PDF cannot, at this time, re-size the fonts from 9pt to, 14pt, 18pt or 24pt on the fly. Thus, for those of us who find ourselves reading in a wide variety of lighting levels, PDF is absolutely CRAP for an e-ink reader.

Stick with RTF or XHTML as your base format.

Derek

More useful info. Of course, a PDF would allow people to read the book on their computer rather than a reader...Do other formats have similar free readers like Adobe? No skin off to make a PDF anyway. I'm into giving my readers choice!

[slayda]

Originally Posted by JaneFancher

More useful info. Of course, a PDF would allow people to read the book on their computer rather than a reader...Do other formats have similar free readers like Adobe? No skin off to make a PDF anyway. I'm into giving my readers choice!

For the PC world, any browser can read HTML, OpenOffice (free DL) can read RTF, Mobipocket Reader is free DL, and I believe the ereader and FB2 are also free DLs, and MS has a free DL for the LIT format. LRF, the Sony format, has a free reader (if you buy the Sony) but Calibre (free DL) can also read LRF as well as Epub. Not sure whether the Kindle has a PC reader or not. I think that takes care of the more popular formats on a PC.

The various ebook readers have their own readers built in.

[Andybaby]

Originally Posted by JaneFancher

That's exactly what I'm trying not to do. I'd like to make them available in all sorts of formats on my website at reasonable download rates so people aren't quite so inclined to pirate. (sigh)

I actually went looking for this program after my first flit through this forum, and haven't been able to find it. Could you possibly send me a download URL? I'd sure appreciate it. (I think that's when I started feeling totally dumb. )

thanks!

Bookdesigner is in my Signature, as well as my get started guide.

http://www.fictionwise.com/ seems to be a popular site for both DRM and DRM Free Books.

The Pirates do have your books already (the dance of rings trilogy atleast) so you might as well try a DRM free publishing route.. it seems to work well for most authors. If your famous enough to be Pirated, your famous enough to make some money selling books.

If I Were you. what i would look into is:

Fictionwise DRM Free books,
Amazon Kindle, as i Expect this to be where most of your ebook sales to come from.
Selling and or Giving Away DRM free Copies of your books on your Website, this seems to have worked out very well for John Scalzi, and especially authors of Series by Giving away the First Book of a Series Free.

Also, I would Try to Milk the Media.. every month now there is an article of an Author giving away their books for free after learning about the mysterious pirates reading their book. Sales after one of those seem to shoot through the roof.

[JaneFancher]

Originally Posted by Andybaby

http://www.fictionwise.com/ seems to be a popular site for both DRM and DRM Free Books.

The Pirates do have your books already (the dance of rings trilogy atleast) so you might as well try a DRM free publishing route.. it seems to work well for most authors. If your famous enough to be Pirated, your famous enough to make some money selling books.

If I Were you. what i would look into is:

Fictionwise DRM Free books,
Amazon Kindle, as i Expect this to be where most of your ebook sales to come from.
Selling and or Giving Away DRM free Copies of your books on your Website, this seems to have worked out very well for John Scalzi, and especially authors of Series by Giving away the First Book of a Series Free.

Also, I would Try to Milk the Media.. every month now there is an article of an Author giving away their books for free after learning about the mysterious pirates reading their book. Sales after one of those seem to shoot through the roof.

Yayaayayay...I've been pirated!

Good suggestions. I'm already planning on making the original versions of the Groundties series available on my website. I've got substantially new versions of them which I'll then sell. Hadn't thought about making the Ring books available for free. Maybe, as you say, the first one. Then maybe if I get down on my knees and beg, people who have read and liked the pirated one will help me stay in business by buying the others. I dunno. That's all future stuff. Mostly, I want to make the rest of the series available. Be nice to prove NY wrong, too. They say it's been too long since the other books came out.

Also, I've decided: no DRM. It's not fair. Technology changes. Nevermind Disney has gotten rich off me in the last thirty years!

Fictionwise doesn't handle original material and their requirements for authors (as opposed to publishers) is a five year exclusive contract for ten previously published works. Which is nuts. By those standards, TOLKEIN couldn't get in backlist up with them!!!!

[HarryT]

BookDesigner is a good place to start. It is very easy to export from BD in many different formats - Sony, MobiPocket, etc.