Tag Archives: epub

Does quality matter in the new publishing paradigm?

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As I have been experiencing, learning, teaching, and writing about on-demand self publishing over the past decade or two [I actually started self publishing ebooks in 1993 or 4], one area of book design has slid right past most of the new authors. This is quality. We won’t even discuss how quality dropped in the slide from letterpress to offset. That’s back in the dark ages, pre-digital. Silly person! That doesn’t matter any more. The one that … Continue reading →

Just released a 69 page preview of my Self Publishing Handbook

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The book is due out in May, 2013. It will be called: Practical Professional Self Publishing Handbook The book is written for those authors who recognize that professional production is key to having their books taken seriously. They are also tired of paying hundreds or thousands of dollars every time they release a book. In addition, they are sick of the need to be constantly contacting their designer to get special previews, gift editions, updates, and all … Continue reading →

Smashwords now takes ePUBs!

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This is really big news. This is especially true for someone who writes and works in InDesign. Up ’til now, I’d finish a book and spend a full day to: export the PDFs, export the KF8 file for Kindle, and export the various ePUBs for the iBookstore, Nook, and Kobo—then  uploading to Createspace for print, Kindle KDP for the Kindle version, and Lulu, PubIt, and Kobo Writing Life. Then if I wanted to release at Smashwords, I’d spend … Continue reading →

Formatting your books and ebooks: DIY or paid?

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Most of you have probably read one of my rants about the difficulty and absurdity of producing finished books in Word. Except for Smashwords, where this is required, you should never use Word for final output. So, what are your options? Do it yourself or pay someone else There are several factors involved here. You need to carefully look at your needs and choose what works best for you. But the bottomline is certain. Sooner or later, … Continue reading →

InDesign is the key to economy in self-publishing

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Possibly the biggest news in publishing for ministries and non-profits is that you can start out free. All it takes is an iMac or equivalent (Mac or PC) and InDesign You will need to do a bit of study. It will take some work. But, it can be done easily. The Adobe apps are all available for less than $50 per month. There is also educational and non-profit pricing. You can do this!

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Adobe Digital Editions 2.0 is not bad

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As I often do, I found out this morning that I have been recommending false information. I’ve alway hated Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe’s free ebook reader. It trashed the type and the images. I always recommended deleting it and not allowing it on your computer. This morning I discover that the 2.0 version is a great improvement. Of course, it’s been out since Sept 2012 & I never noticed I’m surprised that I haven’t heard of it. Has … Continue reading →

Writing In InDesign ePUB with fonts is available via email

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If you want your own copy on your hard drive, Buy the 2.5 edition ePUB direct, NOW! You can purchase directly an ePUB version of Edition 2.5 with embedded fonts for the normal price of $7.99. I’ll email it to you, and you can upload it into your iPad or Android tablet BlueFire app to see the embedded fonts. The embedded fonts will also be seen in in the Kindle Fire (but I can’t email a KF8 … Continue reading →

Using embedded fonts in ePUBs for free: DIY Publishing wins!

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I just tried something and was surprised by the result. After learning this morning that I don’t actually buy books from Kindle, but lease them, I wanted to see what my options are if I actually buy an ePUB. More than that, as a font designer, I wanted to try an ePUB with embedded fonts. So, I simply exported an ePUB with embedded font from my KF8 version of the book and emailed it to myself. Then … Continue reading →

The entire definition of a book has changed

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How have things been revised: This piece you are reading did not appear first as a book in the traditional sense. These paragraphs were first released as the first posting of a new series on my blog, The Skilled Workman, in April of 2011. There was a link to a free downloadable PDF version at Scribd. The intention was a fully developed book after I was given the complete vision to share. I ended up with six of … Continue reading →

Books, even ebooks, need good tools (InDesign CS6)

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No! You can’t do it in BBEdit or Word It all comes back to the print/ebook divide. That divide is only apparent to the book designers. For the readers, a book is a book. Ebooks are cheaper (or should be). Normal printed books are high resolution, typographic marvels. But to the reader, a book is a book. For authors, publishing only a print version or only an ebook version is worse than silly—it’s foolish. If you want … Continue reading →