The big disconnect here is that you and others seem to believe that layout is important here. This might be the case if the publications were destined to be displayed as PDF. Maybe PDF is an option, but there is no indication that it is. These self-published ebooks will be converted to .epub format. EPUB is a markup language like HTML making your publications closer to lightly-formatted web pages than they are to the layout of women's magazines.
As a source format for your electronic version of Crime and Punishment, Word .doc format is massive overkill. Any plain text editor is more than sufficient. If you want to see a simple .epub generation app in action, then I suggest that you download and install eCub.
Does "Crime and Punishment" have maps, illustrations and photos with captions? Does it have an index?
Perhaps this new media is unsuitable for anything but literature, but that doesn't seem to be the advertised value. It's being advertised as being very book-like, which to me includes the ability to create attractive layouts with properly-placed visual content. Maybe that won't happen, I don't know. But what I do know is that if e-publishing means essentially losing control of everything but the words themselves, then this is a serious limitation that won't work for many published materials.
Does "Crime and Punishment" have maps, illustrations and photos with captions? Does it have an index?
Perhaps this new media is unsuitable for anything but literature, but that doesn't seem to be the advertised value. It's being advertised as being very book-like, which to me includes the ability to create attractive layouts with properly-placed visual content. Maybe that won't happen, I don't know. But what I do know is that if e-publishing means essentially losing control of everything but the words themselves, then this is a serious limitation that won't work for many published materials.
As for your lead question, I don't know about indices, but ePub can certainly handle the other features that you listed. It can handle just about anything that you see on a web page. However, ePub is not all things to all men. It does not need to be. You're kvetching about ePub's lack of formatting, but it is just one format. PDF is for people who need inviolate formating. However, it also has higher resource requirements for rendering text and graphics. OTOH, ePub is pure text with linked raster graphics. The format easily accommodates the page sizes of a varity of readers and the type size selected by each user. For the vast majority of books, ePub is more than adequate.
Anyone who needs to do a complex, professional layout with specialized tables, images, and text fields won't get anywhere with Word.
Your not their target, then. Try checking out pages 4 and 5 of their style guide.
While not the most flexible solution, it will be good enough for most and will offer far more opportunity than others have offered - and that shouldn't be overlooked in the pursuit of perfection.
Actually, Word whether by MS or others, is not the best way to prepare anything for the internet.
For them it is, their process works around Word and it's quirks to automatically publish to multiple ebook formats. It's on page 4 and 5 of their style guide.
Because they are reporting on the app, and this is the most important factor of the app. A lot of the users around here are't living in the U.S. you know.
Well, since the iPad isn't available out of the US what is so hard to understand that the iBook app is also not available?
Not a chance. Word is notoriously bad for this, and no way am I going to create a completely separate document for just this purpose. Do you have any idea how much additional work this creates?
Then I guess you won't be self publishing on the iPad.
Perhaps they will support direct ePub uploads in the futures, but the don't now, and they actually have a pretty strong and well reasoned case in their style guide. They also appear to be evolving still, so I'm sure it won't stay word only forever - but I think it would be hard for them to support PDF and keep the level of automation they currently have. PDF may be a publishing standard, but that doesn't mean it works well all the time or would work well as an ebook publishing file format. Watching friends who own print shops hop through hoops with some PDF's, I can see why they are starting with Word and much simpler ebooks.
The big disconnect here is that you and others seem to believe that layout is important here.
Excellent post and spot on - I should have just quoted you in the first place
At the risk of repeating myself, take a look at the first five pages of the style guide - it really does spell it out and remove much of the apparent confusion as to what the target is:
As for your lead question, I don't know about indices, but ePub can certainly handle the other features that you listed. It can handle just about anything that you see on a web page. However, ePub is not all things to all men. It does not need to be. You're kvetching about ePub's lack of formatting, but it is just one format. PDF is for people who need inviolate formating. However, it also has higher resource requirements for rendering text and graphics. OTOH, ePub is pure text with linked raster graphics. The format easily accommodates the page sizes of a varity of readers and the type size selected by each user. For the vast majority of books, ePub is more than adequate.
I'm not kvetching about anything. I am only saying what you seem to admit is the case, which is that at least one of these e-publishing formats may not be suitable for all content.
It happens that I'm working on a book now myself, which has lots of illustrations, including maps and photos with captions. And an index. If I have to completely rework the book for e-publishing (in Word, of all things) then lose the book's appearance, which I've worked so hard to create, then it just won't get e-published. Not by that method, anyway.
Then I guess you won't be self publishing on the iPad.
Perhaps they will support direct ePub uploads in the futures, but the don't now, and they actually have a pretty strong and well reasoned case in their style guide. They also appear to be evolving still, so I'm sure it won't stay word only forever - but I think it would be hard for them to support PDF and keep the level of automation they currently have. PDF may be a publishing standard, but that doesn't mean it works well all the time or would work well as an ebook publishing file format. Watching friends who own print shops hop through hoops with some PDF's, I can see why they are starting with Word and much simpler ebooks.
Sadly, probably not, at least not yet. These limitations are probably not an issue for a novel, but they are substantial barriers for much of anything else.
Wow, those prices are ridiculous. I'm glad I've still got several ISBNs remaining from the last batch I purchased at a much lower price. $150 for a single ISBN is nuts. The first link you posted takes you right to Bowker, btw. Hmm. I wonder why prices have increased so much..
They do seem to have an odd price structure...
1 ISBN = $150.00 ($150 each)
10 ISBN = $370.00 ($37.00 each)
100 ISBN = $930.00 ($9.30 each)
1000 ISBN = $1570.00 ($1.57 each)
It sure seems to be an enormous discount for larger orders... From $150 for 1 to $1.57 for 1000... quite a bargain I'd say. Now are they re-sellable?
Absolutely. It's obvious they aren't shipping world wide, so why would one expect the iBookstore separate from the iPad unless you are just being overly pedantic?
Comments
The big disconnect here is that you and others seem to believe that layout is important here. This might be the case if the publications were destined to be displayed as PDF. Maybe PDF is an option, but there is no indication that it is. These self-published ebooks will be converted to .epub format. EPUB is a markup language like HTML making your publications closer to lightly-formatted web pages than they are to the layout of women's magazines.
As a source format for your electronic version of Crime and Punishment, Word .doc format is massive overkill. Any plain text editor is more than sufficient. If you want to see a simple .epub generation app in action, then I suggest that you download and install eCub.
Does "Crime and Punishment" have maps, illustrations and photos with captions? Does it have an index?
Perhaps this new media is unsuitable for anything but literature, but that doesn't seem to be the advertised value. It's being advertised as being very book-like, which to me includes the ability to create attractive layouts with properly-placed visual content. Maybe that won't happen, I don't know. But what I do know is that if e-publishing means essentially losing control of everything but the words themselves, then this is a serious limitation that won't work for many published materials.
Does "Crime and Punishment" have maps, illustrations and photos with captions? Does it have an index?
Perhaps this new media is unsuitable for anything but literature, but that doesn't seem to be the advertised value. It's being advertised as being very book-like, which to me includes the ability to create attractive layouts with properly-placed visual content. Maybe that won't happen, I don't know. But what I do know is that if e-publishing means essentially losing control of everything but the words themselves, then this is a serious limitation that won't work for many published materials.
As for your lead question, I don't know about indices, but ePub can certainly handle the other features that you listed. It can handle just about anything that you see on a web page. However, ePub is not all things to all men. It does not need to be. You're kvetching about ePub's lack of formatting, but it is just one format. PDF is for people who need inviolate formating. However, it also has higher resource requirements for rendering text and graphics. OTOH, ePub is pure text with linked raster graphics. The format easily accommodates the page sizes of a varity of readers and the type size selected by each user. For the vast majority of books, ePub is more than adequate.
And still Apple Insider fails to mentioned iBooks is available only in the U.S.
They know they don't have to as you will for them
Anyone who needs to do a complex, professional layout with specialized tables, images, and text fields won't get anywhere with Word.
Your not their target, then. Try checking out pages 4 and 5 of their style guide.
While not the most flexible solution, it will be good enough for most and will offer far more opportunity than others have offered - and that shouldn't be overlooked in the pursuit of perfection.
Actually, Word whether by MS or others, is not the best way to prepare anything for the internet.
For them it is, their process works around Word and it's quirks to automatically publish to multiple ebook formats. It's on page 4 and 5 of their style guide.
Because they are reporting on the app, and this is the most important factor of the app. A lot of the users around here are't living in the U.S. you know.
Well, since the iPad isn't available out of the US what is so hard to understand that the iBook app is also not available?
Are you trying to specializing in being obtuse?
Not a chance. Word is notoriously bad for this, and no way am I going to create a completely separate document for just this purpose. Do you have any idea how much additional work this creates?
Then I guess you won't be self publishing on the iPad.
Perhaps they will support direct ePub uploads in the futures, but the don't now, and they actually have a pretty strong and well reasoned case in their style guide. They also appear to be evolving still, so I'm sure it won't stay word only forever - but I think it would be hard for them to support PDF and keep the level of automation they currently have. PDF may be a publishing standard, but that doesn't mean it works well all the time or would work well as an ebook publishing file format. Watching friends who own print shops hop through hoops with some PDF's, I can see why they are starting with Word and much simpler ebooks.
The big disconnect here is that you and others seem to believe that layout is important here.
Excellent post and spot on - I should have just quoted you in the first place
At the risk of repeating myself, take a look at the first five pages of the style guide - it really does spell it out and remove much of the apparent confusion as to what the target is:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/down...tyle-guide.pdf
They know they don't have to as you will for them
I know you're being sarcastic, but they should.
Well, since the iPad isn't available out of the US what is so hard to understand that the iBook app is also not available?
Are you trying to specializing in being obtuse?
Are you sure it's not you who's being obtuse?
(keynote screen grab)
Here's a link to help you brush up.
As for your lead question, I don't know about indices, but ePub can certainly handle the other features that you listed. It can handle just about anything that you see on a web page. However, ePub is not all things to all men. It does not need to be. You're kvetching about ePub's lack of formatting, but it is just one format. PDF is for people who need inviolate formating. However, it also has higher resource requirements for rendering text and graphics. OTOH, ePub is pure text with linked raster graphics. The format easily accommodates the page sizes of a varity of readers and the type size selected by each user. For the vast majority of books, ePub is more than adequate.
I'm not kvetching about anything. I am only saying what you seem to admit is the case, which is that at least one of these e-publishing formats may not be suitable for all content.
It happens that I'm working on a book now myself, which has lots of illustrations, including maps and photos with captions. And an index. If I have to completely rework the book for e-publishing (in Word, of all things) then lose the book's appearance, which I've worked so hard to create, then it just won't get e-published. Not by that method, anyway.
Then I guess you won't be self publishing on the iPad.
Perhaps they will support direct ePub uploads in the futures, but the don't now, and they actually have a pretty strong and well reasoned case in their style guide. They also appear to be evolving still, so I'm sure it won't stay word only forever - but I think it would be hard for them to support PDF and keep the level of automation they currently have. PDF may be a publishing standard, but that doesn't mean it works well all the time or would work well as an ebook publishing file format. Watching friends who own print shops hop through hoops with some PDF's, I can see why they are starting with Word and much simpler ebooks.
Sadly, probably not, at least not yet. These limitations are probably not an issue for a novel, but they are substantial barriers for much of anything else.
Miss South Carolina Teen USA
The south will rise again!
Wow, those prices are ridiculous. I'm glad I've still got several ISBNs remaining from the last batch I purchased at a much lower price. $150 for a single ISBN is nuts. The first link you posted takes you right to Bowker, btw. Hmm. I wonder why prices have increased so much..
They do seem to have an odd price structure...
1 ISBN = $150.00 ($150 each)
10 ISBN = $370.00 ($37.00 each)
100 ISBN = $930.00 ($9.30 each)
1000 ISBN = $1570.00 ($1.57 each)
It sure seems to be an enormous discount for larger orders... From $150 for 1 to $1.57 for 1000... quite a bargain I'd say. Now are they re-sellable?
Are you sure it's not you who's being obtuse?
(keynote screen grab)
Absolutely. It's obvious they aren't shipping world wide, so why would one expect the iBookstore separate from the iPad unless you are just being overly pedantic?
Congratulations - you win.