Tag Archives: InDesign

InDesign CC begins the solution to ugly HTML lists

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One of the real issues with ePUBs and Kindle books are the horrendously ugly HTML lists which have no typographical relationship with the rest of the copy in the book. InDesign CC has made a large step forward by beginning their development of a robust convert-to-text option for our ePUBs. Let me show you the issues with a sample document:   Here we see a small bulleted list using an oversized red dingbat from the font, Embellishments … Continue reading →

The new Self-Publishing Handbook is released!

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My handbook for the new breed of self-publisher is out! Why do you need to read this book? As I have become involved with the amazing variety of the new breed of authors—self publishing pioneers, it has been stunning to watch and listen as they discuss the problems they are having because they are working in Word. If they are dealing with quality issues, Word rarely has an answer. In fact, it’s sad to see that there … Continue reading →

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 →

Graphics In InDesign: an excerpt from “Practical Professional Self Publishing Handbook”

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This is the first portion of the new Practical Professional Self Publishing Handbook due out before summer this year. InDesign is the true replacement for FreeHand Many designers are still upset that Adobe took FreeHand off the market. We remain convinced that FreeHand was a far superior vector drawing program to Illustrator. Actually, I bring good news. InDesign is actually more closely related to FreeHand than it is to Illustrator. Ole Kvern and I have commented on this many … Continue reading →

The sadness of Word & how it’s damaging self publishing

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As I have become more social online, the prevailing grief for me is listening to all the new authors whose main problem is that they are using Word. Whether it’s one of my Facebook groups like Christian Indie Authors or Indie Christian Authors, a Google+ community like Christian Authors, or the authors who tweet, the ones in Linked-In groups, or GoodReads groups, and many more, the common lament is, “How do I do this in Word?” The … Continue reading →

The use of InDesign & Photoshop is essential stewardship for DIY publishers

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This morning I am reading an article by Marc Coker  (the founder of Smashwords) about what’s coming in near future for authors and publishers. He has some very good things to say. Here’s a quote that is particularly relevant to us. As a self published author, you’re the publisher. You’re running a business. The lifeblood of a business is profit, because profit generates cash. If you run out of cash, you go out of business. Since profit … Continue reading →

Writers designing their own books in InDesign? Of course!

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I posted last week about the dangers of allowing your ebook to degenerate into a Website. After all, “An ebook is just encapsulated HTML & CSS.” It was basically a plea to design your ebooks in InDesign. I missed making my core point. I wasn’t saying that code geeks cannot design ebooks. I was saying that most coders are not designers, but technicians. One of my commenters (Tom) suggested that writers are just as bad as coding … Continue reading →

Your book better not look like a poorly designed Website!

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I had a little go’round with a coding geek on the #eprdctn Twitter feed about the use of fonts in ebooks. He was muttering about those #$*&^!%^#$ designers, and I ended up biting off the tips of my fingers to avoid cutting him a new one to drain all his pent up hostility. It was hardly a fruitful conversation. But it got me thinking. The real problem with the new publishing is the layout quality The quality … Continue reading →

Keeping your file size under control for graphic ePUBs

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I was working on my best-selling book this morning, Practical Font Design, Third Edition. It’s an ePUB with 266 graphics in it—almost entirely screen captures—showing what I am doing in FontLab as I design a font. I design my ePUBs in InDesign CS6 & use the export unchanged I realize that’s anathema to many of you code geeks, but the ePUBs out of InDesign are now more than good enough—if you design within its limitations. Now that … Continue reading →

Setting up your book to be read: page layout

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Page layout basics One of the more daunting aspects of book design for the inexperienced is page layout. Most people have Word experience and as I have said countless times already—Word cannot do professional page layout. In fact, it is worse than that because Word’s feeble attempts give you bad habits and poor expectations—which must be corrected. Many settings have to be covered for every document. Many of these are set up as you go through the … Continue reading →