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M.D.
(last edited Mar 20, 2014 02:04PM)
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Mar 20, 2014 02:03PM
When formatting a book for epublishing in Kindle(MOBI) or ePub, what formatting attributes should you check to be sure the reading experience is smooth and enjoyable?
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I think those who have dealt with Kindle formating or best to answer this question. I hope they show up, partly why I'm bumping up this thread, because it's a very good question.Half the problem with digital format is the fact it varies so much as per whichever company you use. What you see is not what you get, and it can impossible to tell until it's published. A huge pain in the ass, really. So my only advice is the same as what I said to begin with. Talk to those who are experienced with digital formatting as per each company, Createspace, Kindle Direct Publishing, etc.
Before converting to Kindle or ePub, you want to have as little formatting in your manuscript as possible. No tabs, no hard returns. Don't try to tie the book to a specific font face/ font size; part of the cool thing about ereaders is the reader can customize these things to her own liking. Limit formatting to italics/bold, center, headline setting for chapter titles.My recommendation for formatting an ebook is, if you have any html knowhow at all or are willing to learn, start with a clean text file and do the coding by hand in a text editor. The eBook Design and Development Guide is a very helpful guide for doing this. Then I run the html file through Sigil to do the chapter breaks, table of contents, and metadata. This produces my epub, which I then run through the Kindle Previewer (software download) to convert for Kindle. I get beautiful results this way.
(note: I add the cover image to my Sigil epub in Calibre. for some reason, when I did it in Sigil, the cover came out 4x too big. no idea why.)
I did this and it comes out clean. Nothing fancy.https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A...
If you want to see what it looks like click on the book in Amazon and flip through the sample pages. http://www.amazon.com/Atancia-Wren-Fi...
You can actually check what yours will basically look like before submitting by emailing your Word file directly to your Kindle. Go to your Amazon account and then to Manage my Kindle to get your direct email address. That's what I do for editing now too. It's easier to read a manuscript on the Kindle than on a giant stack of 8.5x11 sheets.
Kyra wrote: "Before converting to Kindle or ePub, you want to have as little formatting in your manuscript as possible. No tabs, no hard returns. Don't try to tie the book to a specific font face/ font size; pa..."If you have no hard returns, how are paragraph breaks determined (or does hard returns mean something else)?
M.D. wrote: "If you have no hard returns, how are paragraph breaks determined (or does hard returns mean something else)? "Hard returns after paragraphs are fine. I use them all the time. I think what Kyra means is that you shouldn't have hard returns after a chapter ends and you want to begin the next chapter as a new page. A "Page Break" should always be inserted between chapters unless you want to have the end of one chapter and the next running together. If you use hard returns, then you'll end up with a lot of white space on your ereader that looks terrible.
How do you decide where to end a paragraph and start a new one? I know that dialogue by different people should be separated by a break, but what about for non dialogue text?Does it make a difference if its for a kindle, Nook, paperback or hardcover?
Formatting can be different for eBook rather than paper, as long paragraphs tend to be harder to digest on a Kindle etc. This might be worth considering
Having too many long paragraphs is not a good idea whether it's in print or in ebooks. I've read printed books that had pages of one big huge paragraph blocks. Sometimes the paragraph filled more than one page. It's hard on the eyes.
Mod
It really isn't difficult at all. Keep it simple and if all else fails, go nuclear and wipe everything out then reset your margins etc.
I recently had someone express a different opinion than my understanding regarding what was proper Kindle formatting.1. should there be a blank line between every text line or no blank line?
2. should there be one or two blank lines between paragraphs?
Is there any standard or is it just personal preference?
Fiction: no space between paragraph. Small indent (3 is better than 5)Non fiction: single linebetween paragraph, no indent.
Never mix one with the other. (Don't put space AND indents.)
The blank between each line is normally for submitting to agents/publishers only.
