My ebook build process and some pdf, epub and mobi tips. Smashwords formatting tutorial paul salvette in bangkok. He provides ebook design and conversion services for authors and small presses. When not conducting business he enjoys watching tv, reminiscing on his younger years, and spending time with his family.
These new products are squarely aimed at ebook creation. You can read and save files in multiple formats including openoffices format as well as word format. May 20, 2014 im a geek i handcode my ebook version in html, for maximum control and minimum formatting issues. It goes into great detail and covers so much more than i could in one short post. How to create an ebook with sigil tech tools for writers. I bought paul salvettes the ebook design and development guide. However, i myself really dont care too much about the authors name or other stuff like acknowledgements. However, you need to convert the epub format into mobi format by using. Best practices for putting together your digital book by paul salvette. Join facebook to connect with paul salvette and others you may know. You can do this by splitting up the content into different html files if you are using an epub editor like sigil or you are designing your ebook by. I keep a clean text source file and base my other files on that. It also requires some knowledge of htmlcss, along with a good understanding of how an epub file is packaged.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Aug 25, 2011 ebook formatting with xhtml and calibre by paul salvette posted on august 25, 2011 by lindsay last week, we had a guest post on a simple way to get your ebook formatted without worrying about dinking around with html or special software tools. Calibre adds a lot of unnecessary metadata into the epub files that you can delete. Ebook formatting with xhtml and calibre by paul salvette. This new capability allows our authors and publishers to upload their own professionally formatted epub files for sale at the.
This book helped me understand the exact structure of epub and mobi ebooks. The author, paul salvette,was born and raised in the u. This book provides a step by step guide on how to correctly format and produce your own ebooks. I save my word file in html, import it into calibre, and convert it there into mobi and epub files. I totally agree with the importance of having a good cover, i too would be looking at or for the cover first thing before reading the book.
You can carry around as many with you as youd like at one time, and you can easily share what youre reading with friends. His day job involves designing ebooks and helping independent authors and small presses. Lets all learn from each other to make ebooks a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Today we fulfilled that commitment with the launch of smashwords direct. Dec 31, 2012 im one of those who will be looking forward to when you accept pdf files through smashwords direct, and id still love to have html be a submission format because thats the format in which my ebooks start, and my other distributors are able to handle html as a submission format, saving me the trouble of having to create epub files for them. Bored with the monotony of war, he ventures to a secret bunker below one of saddam husseins former palaces with a quirky german named hans. Paul salvette wrote an ebook formatting guide which i recommend. The international digital publishing forum idpf has an epub validator beta which can be used to test files under 10mb. Ebook formatting with xhtml and calibre by paul salvette posted on august 25, 2011 by lindsay last week, we had a guest post on a simple way to get your ebook formatted without worrying about dinking around with html or special software tools.
Bb ebooks provides ebook design and technical services for small presses and independent authors. Head to the amazon kindle direct publishing site and go through the twopage wizard that leads you through uploading the mobi file, the cover art, and inputting your chosen categories, keywords, sales price, etc. Written by guido henkel, a writer and an experienced programmer, for writers. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Ebook formats overview for technical writers techwhirl. Css boilerplate stylesheets for epub and mobikf8 that you. Ive designed quite a few ebooks delivered in pdf format. He is a professional ebook designer and helps independent authors and small presses. By paul salvette the ebook design and development guide by paul salvette while ebook sales continue to increase around the world, the actual layout and presentation of ebooks is in a sorry state.
Paul salvette is an author who lives in bangkok, thailand with his wife, lisa, and newborn daughter, monica. He grew up in the united states and served in the navy from 2002 to 2009, with some time in iraq. If nothing happens, download github desktop and try again. Not only does file splitting improve response and loading time in an ebook, it looks absolutely. This video shows you how to download the software to read epub and mobi files on your pc, without using an ereader. There have been some bumps along the road and i think ive found a workflow that will be perfect for me. You can open and inspect css any epub file which is not protected from drm.
Free software for indie authors publish your own ebooks. Digital pubbing tools and resources for creating ebooks. Paul and his wife decided to found a company in 20 dedicated to ebook technology for authors and publishersbb ebooksso that paul could get a work permit. If anyone would like actual code or more technical detail about my build process, or if theres any other way i can help you selfpublish something, please let me know.
He works at his wifes small business, bb ebooks, dedicated to ebook services and technology. Some of them are free software, others are commercial programs, and still others are browserbased software or services. Nook doesnt play nice with epub format teleread news. The ebook design and development guide kindle edition by. His technical knowledge of ebooks somewhat surpasses his mediocre writing capabilities, so he decided to dabble in that aspect of the publishing process. How to make an amazon kindle book using html and css. Introduction if you dont care much for my story, download blank book here. Just the thought of putting my createspace pdf into kindle makes me want to run screaming. It should be noted that smashwords is a special beast, because it requires that you upload a document in microsoft word for their meatgrinder, which converts your manuscript. Paul salvette lieutenant nixon is a bitter, frustrated naval officer serving his time as a staff weenie in the international zone.
Blank book a free, fixedlayout, read aloud epub template jason hibbs jason mervyn hibbs. From the ebook design and development guide by paul salvette. Paul also served in the us navy from 20022009 with some time in iraq. Best practices for putting together your digital book by. Formatting files for digital distribution might look difficult, but its good to give it a try and sigil seems to be the best tool available. Paul salvette bangkok, thailand paul salvette is an author living in bangkok, thailand.
To be honest, when i have time, i use calibre to \explode\ epub files, fix them to start on page 1, then convert back into a devicespecific nook touch epub. Mangled formatting, defective images, and nonreflowable content are just a few symptoms of the problem. Best practices for putting together your digital book by paul. Aug 08, 2011 paul salvettes excellent guides to formatting mobiepub files and formatting for smashwords. I got stuck trying to convert my html files into an epub folder, and then zip it to enable me to upload my. Part 1 focused on basics of getting poetry indents right on multiple devices. Now that you understand whats under the hood of an epub file, you can either modify the calibre conversion or create your own. You dont have to be a tech wizard to create an ebook in sigil. Oct 15, 2016 however, these guidelines are not so practical as a means to actually learn how to produce epubcompliant files as a novice. Epub and mobi file formats that i learned along the way. In regards to page breaks in single html files, im having some trouble on the kindle fire forcing spacing between the top of the viewport and the first heading after a page break. Smashwords about paul salvette, author of front matter.
For authors who are interested in making their own books, heres a. In my previous articles on ebook readers and formats, i noted the similarities between ebook formats and the online help formats that technical writers have been using for many years. Angie, going the pure epub route is definitely more professional than calibre. Basically, you have to upload a microsoft word 2003. Their primary target at the launch is textbooks, and textbooks are a pretty big, juicy target. You can do this by splitting up the content into different html files if you are using an epub editor like sigil or you are designing your ebook by hand in a text editor. Smashwords about paul salvette, author of raid on soi 5. If you want to use a word processor similar to microsoft word but without the cost try the free openoffice writer. Using an ipad to read epub and mobi ebooks youtube.
Ebooks are also the easiest way for indie authors to sell their work. Readers, if a book doesnt display well on your nook, dont automatically blame the authorpublisher for being sloppy. Sep 03, 2012 this video shows you how to download the software to read epub and mobi files on your pc, without using an ereader. The playorder attribute in the ncx is not needed, and in fact in epub 3. Creating epubs that work in multiple readers can be painful. But after reading this page of pauls, i got an idea that there is an easier way for me, which is converting html files into a mobi file. Nov 28, 2012 where do you think an ebook should start. Paul salvette is a small businessman and author living in bangkok, thailand. Although modern ereaders and tablets can display several common file formats, ebooks are usually distributed in one of three formats.
Css boilerplate stylesheets for epub and mobikf8 that you are free to utilize and modify. Jun 05, 20 an ipad and an iphone can be used to read epub, epub3, and mobi type ebooks. Paul salvette is an author who lives in bangkok, thailand. Unless youre producing epub files for a specific device such as the ipad, the best option for your book cover is 800 x 600 pixels. However, these guidelines are not so practical as a means to actually learn how to produce epubcompliant files as a novice. That way, i can always click through the toc if i do have a strange urge to. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the ebook design and development guide. What not to do on createspace celebrating independent.
In this post i wanted to give you a round up of other posts that have addressed poetry formatting issues in epubs. I will discuss the ins and outs of styling an ebook in sigil in a future post. Use kindlegen on your epub file to produce your ebook for. The ebook design and development guide by paul salvette. What not to do on createspace celebrating independent authors. Aug 21, 2011 paul salvette bangkok, thailand paul salvette is an author living in bangkok, thailand. Finally, you can include the guide1 in your ncx file to indicate things like the cover, the start of the main content, and so on. Recently ive been looking at releasing some ebooks in epub andor kindle formats. Dec 27, 2011 ebook formats are similar in many respects to the common online help formats, but with one crucial difference.
It also generates its own css stylesheet based on the xhtml code you put through the conversion. Paul salvette managing director bb ebooks linkedin. Mar 07, 20 best practices for putting together your digital book by paul salvette. Most publishers use the epub file as input to generate a kindle file, so there are usually conditional kindle adjustments to make. The zen of ebook formatting is a book for writers who want to know how to format and create ebooks. How to design an ebook for the kindle fire paul salvette. We at bb ebooks are firm believers in the culture of fostering open standards to bring about a new paradigm in the way we write and read.
Dec 19, 2017 how to make an amazon kindle book using html and css. I bought paul salvettes the ebook design and development. The first way is to test the epub file technically and this can be achieved in two ways. While many tools will generate html, few of them generate the html and css necessary for. Paul is also an avid reader and occasionally forays into writing. Sep 15, 2011 epub, epub everywhere, whats a blogger to do. Consider this a cautionary tale for both readers and authors.
Purpose of this project creating a general boilerplate for epub creation. There are more and more tools to create epub files. Paul salvettes excellent guides to formatting mobiepub files and formatting for smashwords. Today i wanted to talk about the tools you will need to. Paul salvette is an author who lives in bangkok, thailand, with his wife, bee, and newborn daughter, monica. The ebook design and development guide kindle edition by salvette, paul. Paul salvette is the managing director of bb ebooks, a small business dedicated to ebook design and development in bangkok, thailand, founded in june 2012. Email yourself the ebook, open your mail app, and double click on the attachment. Bb ebooks provides design and formatting services for small presses and indie authors.
Some use a separate kindle css file, while others just combine everything into one generic file. Your next step in producing an epub is to style your ebook in sigil, using sigils toolbar. While amazons kindle fire 8 format is not epub of any kind, amazon does take epub, and now epub 3, for conversion through their site and through kindlegen. The big news in the ebook world today was the launch announcement of apple ibooks author and an update to the apple ibooks ereader app. A tool overview for technical writers keith soltys 07032012 ebooks ebooks epub specification help authoring tool xml as ebooks become another option for publishing technical content, writers are faced with more choices among the tools to produce them. If the suspense is killing you, check out how to make an ebook with sigil, by. He grew up in the states and is married to lisa salvette from nakhon ratchasima province in northeastern thailand. So you are interested in going the diy routemaking your own ebooks and not having to pay bb ebooks for the service. After more than a month of waiting, amazon has finally announced the release of its guidelines for their new format, kindle fire 8 kf8 today. Software toolkit for designing epub and kindle files. Command line scripts commands for ebook packaging epub and mobikf8. While calibre makes life easier, it is not intended to be an ebook production tool rather, its a content management library.
My ebook build process and some pdf, epub and mobi tips pat. Unfortunately every main ebookreader platform has its own vendorspecific way to displaying epubfiles. If the suspense is killing you, check out how to make an ebook with sigil, by paul salvette. His day job involves working at a thai foundation that.
Paul salvette is an author living in bangkok, thailand. To fill this gap i bought a copy of paul salvettes the ebook design and development guide, which is very much a handson manual, informative and well laid. Creating your own epub files and prepping for mobi conversion. Ebook formats are similar in many respects to the common online help formats, but with one crucial difference. Paul salvette author of the ebook design and development. Learning raw epub can be challenging, but its worth your time if your looking to do it well. His day job involves being the managing director at bb ebooks, a startup company focused on providing ebook design services for independent authors and small presses. Paul salvette was raised in the detroit, michigan, area of the united states of america. As ebooks become another option for publishing technical content, writers are faced with more choices among the tools to produce them.
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