Notes to Myself: No Third Option.

by Louis Bertrand Shalako

c2010

All Rights Reserved


On Lulu I now have four e-books in pdf format. On opening up the preview, they all look more or less the same. According to my reading of the help pages, I could try to make Epub files by using Calibre. That's fine, as my pdf's, once converted to Epubs, revealed all sorts of errors and warnings when subjected to a free verification site/process. Simply put, Lulu's system wouldn't eat them.

The only trouble there is, I actually sat through the Calibre sales pitch and demo/tutorials...I already had a system that worked...I don't know. I just don't know! That was months ago.

It's a question of how badly I feel I need Epubs, or any format, really; on Lulu, when I already have them on Smashwords. (Or Kindle, or whatever.) How much time would it take? And is it ultimately worth it? Those pdfs on Lulu are all based on the Smashwords .doc files. They're very clean, with minimal formatting, and in that sense, the fully-formatted pdfs that I make at home are much more attractive, book-like objects. Two I made months ago loaded up fine...the next ones didn't. If I have four books on one site, in one format, they should all look the same in terms of formatting.

At the very least, now the pdfs read 'Lulu Edition' inside, rather than 'Smashwords Edition,' which is what started this whole ball of wax off to begin with. (I used Smashwords Epubs to upload to Lulu in a moment of brain-fade. Those converted to Epubs.)

Incidentally, I dragged and dropped a simple pdf, the one that wouldn't load into the Lulu site, into my PC Mobipocket Reader. It took some time to 'build' a file, essentially the same process as the Mobi Creator uses, and the final product was readable.

All formatting was stripped away. All blank lines, all centering, all paragraph indents were gone. This might be fine to read on a phone. The original pdf opened up with the exact same formatting you can see on Lulu. All you have to do is click on it. So, why anyone would do that for any other thing except to read the file on a phone is a mystery. As for the two books on Myebook.com, they hold the account open, and people can read them if they want to.

No matter what I try there, I can't get the next two books to load up. And for that reason I am reluctant to remove the previous two book versions and try to fix any little problems, like the fact that page one starts on the left when it so easily could have started on a right-hand page. For that reason alone, the Myebook reader has been useful. Assuming I can get things to load into it, it can be used as a 'book-simulator.'

This is a nit-picking, detail-oriented process, I don't much like looking like an ass all the time, and it's no wonder that I am unhappy. This is not creativity, it is merely necessary to learn it, and to learn it well.

But it clearly isn't my strong suit.

I've been going through a bunch of leads for reviews and stuff like that. The few good ones seldom review e-books, and there are quite a few ringers. I got the list from a paid service whom I won't identify, and quite frankly, much of it looks like bullshit, except for the obvious ones like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, etc.

Looking back, a year ago my goal was to self-publish one paperback book, at my own expense, and I started off with a basis of no knowledge whatsoever. In a very real sense I have failed at achieving the goal! The e-book industry is a growth industry, with real potential for the future. If I had more nerve, I might charge $20.00 an hour to format e-books for people, but of course that just leads to angst and conflict with the ODSP. Either I succeed brilliantly, beyond my wildest dreams and get off of ODSP, or fail miserably, and stay on it. There is no third option. That is about all I have to say in my defense.

Experimentation and Exploration.

-detail from cover of 'Heaven Is Too Far Away.'


by Louis Bertrand Shalako

c2010

All Rights Reserved


Right now it looks like there are two books processing through Google Books.com; and I can't see how to upload a new version until, er; 'something happens.' One of the things I can tell you about a Google site is that it is all very consistent, where no one thing stands out from the page...you really have to read around in there.

(I'm sure I will find it...)

Over at Myebook.com; I have uploaded an improved version of 'Heaven Is Too Far Away,' which had the title page mucked up for some reason. That particular cover image has been the bane of my existence, and it appears too small in this context. I can't get it to go any bigger on one of my blogs, either. That one baffles me.

That one is done processing for the second time. It will take a day or two for all of this to shake down. I am not super impressed with the Myebook reader, because the text is just too small. That being said, I had to try it. At forty-nine cents, it's a pretty cheap read, although you do have to sign in and become a member. On the plus side, the customer doesn't have to worry about downloads. It's a toss-up. The link-up to Paypal was easy enough, as I had all the data required from a foreign sale, which as I recall was an electronic deposit.

In a few days, I will attempt Borders, as well as Barnes & Noble, which as the reader may recall requires a US bank account. If there are bugs, you can send e-mails back and forth, and the thing will get resolved. So far there are no sales to worry about anyway, at least on Myebook!

At this point, I could cancel the Myebook account and consider myself truly blessed, for I have learned much.

That is the benefit of exploration and experimentation.

By looking at the two books in the Myebook reader, I noticed the cover art is too small for 'Heaven Is Too Far Away,' and then decided to follow the advice of a guy called Viktor Oey, who is an advocate for a common literary format for e-books.

Someday I will figure out how to insert links into blogger! But here is the URL.

http://www.planetebook.com/mainpage.asp?webpageid=176

He's talking about professional standards, and while the formatting for other e-book readers is different, it still requires technical accuracy.

For that reason, in twenty-four hours, I have opened the account, published and deleted the two books...and now both books at least have an extra blank page in between the copyright page and the first page of the text. Incidentally, there was a lot of angst as I recall, back in August or September about properly page-numbering the Pdf's. Page one is actually page four or, um; five of the book. Right? No one wants to see 'page one' on the front cover.

No honest effort is truly wasted. Just for the record, in order to take those Pdf's to a printer and make 'real' books, I would still have to insert a couple of more blank pages appropriately, come up with rear cover art, and make new Pdf's. This is immediately obvious in the Myebook reader system. The picture and blurb at the back of the book is fine for 'interior of rear cover copy.'

(Why in the hell won't that link work? Argh!)

UPDATE: I have just been reviewing Smashwords' 'Distribution Channel Manager,' which I knew about but seems hard to find unless you look right where it is...anyhow, soon I will have a couple of more outlets. Or maybe not, Applestore and somebody else.

What strikes me is that I have put in at least ten hours at the computer, and on the face of it, have accomplished little more than this blog entry. I still don't know what's going on in Google Books, or if maybe they send a link to activate or something. Tommorrow's another day!

And I still have to attempt the US big-box (and hopefully big bucks,)bookstores.