Re: Ebooks

[dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net]

Hi Chris,

I think most of your questions have been answered, but Iâll chime in with a couple of things:

1) Iâve used both JPGs and PNGs, choosing based on the usual criteria (favoring JPG for photos and PNG for screen captures).

2) The conversion tool we use is called kindlegen, which is available from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000765211)

3) We use the Kindle Previewer to (try) and get a file that will work on as many devices as possible. You can find a link to the Previewer on the kindlegen page. Unless youâre willing to abandon the earlier devices, you will need to aim for the lowest common denominator. The other thing I do is test on the Kindle App for iPhone, which is a uniquely strange beast. It is not as up-to-date as the latest Kindle devices and has some quirks that I donât see anywhere else in Kindle-land:-). 

4) For ePub, we use a service called FlightDeck to evaluate ePub files (https://ebookflightdeck.com/). If youâre just doing a few books, it may not be worth getting a subscription, though itâs not terribly expensive. They do have a handbook that is available on the site (no sign up or cost for the handbook). Itâs worth looking at, though if youâre going to generate from InDesign and not look at the ePub source, it may be too deep into the weeds to be useful.

5) I tried generating an ePub from an InDesign file, and I would echo the suggestions that you take a course or read up. I had all sorts of weird things happen (e.g., figures floating all over the place:-), which I believe could have been avoided if I had taken the time to learn more.

6) You also need to decide between ePub2 and ePub3. The major retailers (e.g., Apple, Google, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo) will take ePub3, but there are some who donât. But, unless you really want to use a retailer that needs ePub2, Iâd go with ePub3.

Hope that helps.
Richard Hamilton 
-------
XML Press
XML for Technical Communicators
http://xmlpress.net
hamilton -at- xmlpress -dot- net



> On Nov 8, 2016, at 11:53, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> 
> Starting with using InDesign (the requisite), do any of you have
> experience creating ebooks from your INDD file?
> 
> Did you use JPGs or PNGs?
> 
> Did you output to .epub, and then perhaps use a .mobi conversion tool?
> Which one?
> 
> What problems did you encounter and were subsequently able to solve?
> 
> Was there an issue formatting for different reading devices (e.g., Kindle
> versus Nook versus iGizmo/Android thingie)?
> 
> Are there good online resources to have a look at?
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Chris Morton
> 
> 
> 
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