Support for Indie Authors discussion

I am getting my book ready for publishing but as I am me I couldn't just write a book that was formatted conventionally.

There are charts, there are boxes literally everywhere, there is upside down text, wingdings, and even times when the size of the font changes.

Now for some reason, epub formats don't allow all of those things yet (because only me and like one other person ever probably need it) and my book turns into a disastrous mess of a thing if I export it as such.

So my question is: How important is file type for e-readers? I can save it as a .pdf, which apparently most e-readers can handle and keeps my formatting, but will I be missing readers if I don't have a legitimate epub type? Does anyone know?

There are now fixed layout epubs, but my version of InDesign doesn't make them.

The problem with .pdf files and eReaders is that eReaders come in all sizes and they often times limit the amount of adjustments a reader can do.

For example, on my Kindle Voyage, I just read some .pdf books included in the Hugo Award media package. I could only adjust them by setting the margin size to one of three choices. NONE of those choices made the font large enough to be comfortable (and I usually have my font size set to the second or third smallest possible).

I mean it was tiny. Really, really tiny. Had I looked at it on a computer using Adobe, I could have zoomed in as I like, but not on my eReader.

On a cellphone? I can hardly imagine what it would have looked like.

OTOH, these were .pdf files that were imported directly into my Kindle via USB, not .pdf files passed through a conversion program. So...YMMV.

The other way of handling things (especially charts and things) is to insert a .jpg into your eBook file. That can still get you into trouble, but it's worked for me on a limited scale.

I would say mobi and ePub are the easiest for us readers/bloggers. While pdf files do work, a lot of time they are 8-12 point font and you can't make them any larger making it for a difficult read.

Especially for us blind folk we really enjoy enlarging things to our satisfaction. It makes the overall reading aspect more enjoyable if I don't have to squint the entire time. Also if you plan on sending them to bloggers I know the majority prefer mobi and ePub formats. That being said I know others have no problem with pdf formats but I think mobi and ePub are favored above all!

Happy reading :)

Thanks for the information Micah.
I had not considered using .jpgs instead of the charts, it would work for the actual charts. However, every time someone talks in my book, it is in a box. There would be something like 4000 boxes and .jpgs to insert. That isn't going to end well, and the problem would remain. The text wouldn't be alterable by the e-reader...

I was considering making a bare bones version for e-readers, but still things that are vital to the plot like the upside down words, and the wingding stars get omitted. :S

Casey (LittlePinkCrayon) wrote: "I would say mobi and ePub are the easiest for us readers/bloggers."

Writing for a specific format was not something I had even considered when writing this book, nor when I set up all my odd formatting.

I had no idea about the perfectly reasonable limitations that mobi and epub put onto your book files until just recently when I realized that I broke every single one of them. It makes sense, the reader gets control of font sizes and types... but I can't even get things like boxes to show up

Which is what is troubling me. I am fairly certain I cannot make these types of files work with my formats. I fear this will cost me readership.

From what I understand, though I don't enjoy comparing books usually, it sounds like it is similar to House of Leaves with the upside down, boxes etc. That book actually, from what I have seen, isn't even available in ebook format.

Though a lot of us prefer mobi and epub simply because they are more compatible, it does not mean we will outright refuse a pdf. Some are only available that way. I would however suggest that if you want to push it towards blogger/readers etc, that you mention the formatting and WHY it is only available that way. The idea alone is intriguing, perhaps it would simply be better read on a larger tablet (iPad, Samsung) rather than a paperwhite or nook. I don't think (though I can't say for certain) that a pdf format will hurt your "Readership" I just think you need to explain to reader why and hopefully they understand.

Best of luck!

Well Casey, I think I found the other person I was talking about that needed more flexibility with epub files besides myself! :D

That is whole other levels of formatting though. My book isn't even close to that demanding. There is only one item name that is written upside down, not entire levels of text. House of Leaves does look interesting though, thank you!

I do like the idea of mentioning to readers why it needs to be formatted that way. I think that will prevent problems! Wonderful, I can sleep at night again! Thanks!

eReaders are nothing more than trimmed down, specialized web browsers. I was shocked at how hard even things like altering font size was to accomplish.

Like having a title like "PleshaCore" where the "P" and "C" are in capitalized big font size and the rest of the letters are in small caps of a different font size. Depending on what eReader I tried it on, it either worked, didn't work (all letters the same size), or strangely enough worked in reverse (big letters really small and the 'small caps' letters huge)!

And things like tables? Forget about it. Most eReaders just don't support them.

I gave up.

With eBooks, plain and simple makes life so much easier. Lowers the blood pressure, too.

C.B. I know Smashwords will publish in any format, but if you only do PDF, will it still be on Amazon? Because if not, you'll cut down a lot of potential buyers.

As for me, I'll read pdf if there's nothing else, and I want to read a book but I need to do a lot of finger works. Zoom in, move the page around left and right and down, zoom out, change page. I had to put the first PDF I ever read because of that. Yet I returned to it, finished it and loved it. I guess one can get used to suffering. :P

I suppose I could release two different .pdfs for download. One for ereaders and phones, and one for tablets. Sizing isn't that bad to format once the rest is done. :)

Kindle Publishing does accept .pdfs, I checked. They say there may be problems on certain readers and that other formats are better, but they still accept them.

I also found something called the Kindle Textbook Creator. Which makes kindle files out of .pdfs. So I can try that if something doesn't work.

Micah wrote: "eReaders are nothing more than trimmed down, specialized web browsers. I was shocked at how hard even things like altering font size was to accomplish.

Like having a title like "PleshaCore" where ..."

Simple is probably better for ebooks.

I just never considered readers when I started to write! (e-readers) :D

You can alter font size with CSS script. How it works is by relating the base font size as 1em, and if you want to make a font bigger, either 1.25em, 1.5em, etcetera. the em is the width of the letter "m" at the basic font size set by the customer settings of their ereader. Never had anyone want to put wingdings in a book, but maybe it can be done. Send me a PDF copy of your book and I will play around with the wingding thing and see if it can be done.

[email protected]

Morris

Morris wrote: "You can alter font size with CSS script. How it works is by relating the base font size as 1em, and if you want to make a font bigger, either 1.25em, 1.5em, etcetera. the em is the width of the let..."

I wasn't sure if anything can be done, but I don't have any experience with the files or html at all.

That sounds really great Morris! I will do that after work. Thanks so much!

If you need a good example of how it is done, I have an eBook I restored called "The Curse of Capistrano: The Mark of Zorro." It is available for free in eBook and PDF on my website. http://www.morrisegraham.com See in the downloads tab. This shows you what the print book would have looked like, and what the eBook looks like. If you want a copy of the notepad code I used to build the eBook, email me at [email protected] and I will send you a copy. This will act as a tutorial. If you desire a blank template I used, I can send one. Also included is how to code a table of contents that, when tapped by the reader, jumps to the chapter section linked to it.

Best regards, Morris