Support for Indie Authors discussion

I hope I have this in the right folder. I've had my book in the Kindle Select Program and decided to try other avenues. I've never used Smashwords before so I set up an account, uploaded my book, and everything went great! I decided to change my book synopsis, and didn't touch the book contents. Now it's telling me there are problems. Anyone else run into this? How did you fix it? Thanks!

What problems? Is it with the interior? I uploaded a file for my book to correct some typos and change the bio, and although it was the same file as before, it was flagged for problems. Turns out there was one scene where I had failed to justify the margins, and somehow that made the line spacing erratic. I don't know how it passed the first time, so maybe it's a little stricter than before, but I'm glad it was flagged so I could fix the problem, which, unknown to me, also affected my paperbacks and hardcovers.

By the way, you can download the EPUB version from Smashwords and run it through a validator at http://validator.idpf.org/

It'll tell you if you have a good EPUB file. Sometimes it lists spurious errors that are hard to identify, and which don't affect the format, but sometimes it'll specify the problem for you.

You can look at the EPUB yourself by downloading the free Adobe Digital Reader, if you're reading on a desktop or laptop. I'm not sure about iPhones, Androids, and such.

Usually you can avoid errors if you follow their style guide. It can be a pain in the butt running through the entire manuscript reformatting chapter headings etc., but I have had minimal problems following it. As you'll see others discuss in other threads, you have to make sure you nuke all formatting before you begin. I had one book where Word automatically offset some letters and that caused problems.

I also had issues with the TOC on my last 4 or 5 books until I realized Word was generating wonky hidden bookmarks. I'm releasing my first boxset and apparently their grinder can't handle manuscripts with identical chapter titles.

As far as specific problems, they've been good with telling me what the specific problem was, so it would help pin down the issue if you shared what they said the problem is with your manuscript.

It said there were unusual font sizes at the end of the book. I went back and took a look. I had added the first chapter of a different book and it was in a different font. I only changed the book description so this must have slipped by the first time. I'll try the validator. Thanks !

You can also download the Mobi and look through it if you have the Kindle reading app (free from Amazon).

Thanks for the advice. I used the validator link you posted and it didn't show any problems. Smash words approved it soon after. This is all very new for me and I usually feel like a kindergartner in 5th grade. LOL. I really do appreciate the advice!