Help Needed

Robert Scott · 07-12-2011, 11:05 AM

Hello everyone,

I just tried to validate an epub document and it failed, telling me that it was "not valid or contains warnings."

It "passed" a preflight test, and it referred me to this board for assistance.

The file is roughly 29,000 words. I used PDF Converter to convert it from PDF format to a Word .doc file.

In all formats that I checked from Smashwords, the formatting is off. Some formats toss random characters in, some improperly format headers and page numbers, and more.

Anyone have a clue how to repair the file that is needed by Smashwords? I'm a writer, not a computer guru. I need a "clean" version that would be accepted by all formats in Smashwords.

Replies welcome ... however, if you reply, could you reply here AND via email to rjscottiii@aol.com?

Many thanks!

khalleron · 07-12-2011, 11:22 AM

Copy and paste into Wordpad - this should clean up a lot of the garbage from your conversion process.

Sorry, no, I'm not emailing you.

mr ploppy · 07-12-2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Scott

The file is roughly 29,000 words. I used PDF Converter to convert it from PDF format to a Word .doc file.

That is where you went wrong, there are no conversion programs that will accurately strip the text from a PDF because of the way they are built. Presumably you didn't write it in a PDF creator, so use the original file instead. Or if the PDF is all you have, use an OCR program on it and proof-read it for errors.

khalleron · 07-12-2011, 07:10 PM

I was going to recommend the Smashwords Style Guide, but I went there and see that you've reviewed it.

Did you actually follow it, step-by-step? The only thing you say you did, both here and there, was buy a conversion program - which obviously, by itself, is not cutting it.

I followed the guide, step-by-step, and my book came out very nice.

07-12-2011, 11:05 AM	#1
Robert Scott Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Help Needed Hello everyone, I just tried to validate an epub document and it failed, telling me that it was "not valid or contains warnings." It "passed" a preflight test, and it referred me to this board for assistance. The file is roughly 29,000 words. I used PDF Converter to convert it from PDF format to a Word .doc file. In all formats that I checked from Smashwords, the formatting is off. Some formats toss random characters in, some improperly format headers and page numbers, and more. Anyone have a clue how to repair the file that is needed by Smashwords? I'm a writer, not a computer guru. I need a "clean" version that would be accepted by all formats in Smashwords. Replies welcome ... however, if you reply, could you reply here AND via email to rjscottiii@aol.com? Many thanks!

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07-12-2011, 11:22 AM	#2
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	Copy and paste into Wordpad - this should clean up a lot of the garbage from your conversion process. Sorry, no, I'm not emailing you.

07-12-2011, 07:10 PM	#4
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	I was going to recommend the Smashwords Style Guide, but I went there and see that you've reviewed it. Did you actually follow it, step-by-step? The only thing you say you did, both here and there, was buy a conversion program - which obviously, by itself, is not cutting it. I followed the guide, step-by-step, and my book came out very nice.

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