Category Archives: Self-publishing

Writing and working in InDesign makes using it easy

Skilled Workman Posted on by

I was talking to a friend a couple days ago. He mentioned the primary trouble he has in using InDesign to format his books: when he gets into InDesign he can’t remember how to use it. Suddenly, it dawned on me that this is a primary reason why writing in InDesign is so effective. Not only is writing fully formatted in InDesign the best method of communicating clearly with your readers [outside of excellent content], the simple act … Continue reading →

New Release: Writing In InDesign CC 2014 Producing Books, more than an update

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CC 2014 virtually redid ePUB export—adding fixed layout & radically improving reflowable ePUBs Indesign has always been the best software for publishing: print & ebook. I have already posted quite a bit about the new software. Most of the improvements seemed to be focused on we self-publishers. But my book is also redone— in places quite radically. A review by Mary Campagna Findley for the CS6 version “David Bergland has challenged me to think beyond the writing, editing, and cover design … Continue reading →

InDesign CC 2014 Reflowable ePUBs are even better

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Although the large changes in ePUB export are seen in the fixed layout variety, what they now call reflowable ePUBs are also improved. They have their own dialog box and they are a separate choice when you export. You now add the metadata in the export reflowable ePUB dialog box. This saves time and hassle. Our control over placed graphics is much better, as long as you stay within the rules. Inline graphics are all rasterized or … Continue reading →

InDesign CC 2014 offers excellent fixed layout ePUBs

Skilled Workman Posted on by

This is probably the big news for InDesign CC 2014. Although there have been many improvements to Reflowable ePUBs, they are incremental. The ePUB FXL has the possibility of being almost revolutionary. So, how big is this change? It is very hard to show the differences because the layouts are so different. But, let’s look at two examples where I did the best I could to get the same content side by side. In this small-sized screen … Continue reading →

Why InDesign is even less optional than it was

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Click to enlarge As you know, I am convinced that you are hurting your chances with your book if you do not use InDesign in the production process. This is even more true now that InDesign CC 2014 has added the direct export of fixed layout ePUBs. Plus, no one exports the quality of PDF produced by InDesign for print and downloadable PDFs. InDesign now has five ebook export options Actually, with all the options, there are even … Continue reading →

Why Mark Coker’s wrong about the iBooks Store

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Mark wrote another strong article calling iOS8 a game-changer because iBooks will now be installed as part of the basic operating system. I doubt it—for a very simple reason. The iBooks Store is a lousy interface Let me just give you one example. My preferred genre is Christian epic fantasy. It’s not listed in iBooks genre so I try to search for books tagged like this. I get a list of heathen authors whose name is Christian [like … Continue reading →

It’s very good seed! A graphic & font family package

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This is another package I’ve put up on Creative Market. An excellent image of good seed sprouting in good soil… A four-font serif family named Artimas. A good start to a card design This stuff is just useful and at a very good price. The retail cost is well over $100. This package is: Only $29

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A prominent voice nows says Lightning Source is no longer recommended

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  Aaron Shepherd has stopped recommending Lightning Source as necessary for self-publishers. This is a major reversal for a big name in self-publishing. His position is that the days of easy sales are over. New self-publishers really need to watch their costs, because their royalties will be lean unless the Lord or the world blesses [depending on your spiritual position in creation]. I’ll post more in coming days.  

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The state of publishing is becoming a bit more predictable

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        Shatzin has an excellent post today. He still sees the development of larger and larger publishers resulting in a global dominance of someone. Online book sales are inevitably going to increase their percentage. There will be a larger separation between books of text and books with graphics. Much more: you should read the article.  

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Mark Coker nails it again: we’re tired of the whining, just let us publish everywhere

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The Indie author furor! Big publishing isn’t dead, but it may be preparing to shoot itself in the other foot. 2014 will be quite a year. Mark’s article is real good—from Publisher’s Weekly.

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