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11
Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by TimothyEllis on Today at 12:33:03 AM »
The paragraph gaps would be dangerous in KU.

For me that's getting close to double spaced, and I can't and won't read that.

As far as technical goes, put that on a smartphone using a large font, and those empty lines become major gaps.

So anyone with bad sight who needs larger type is going to hate it.
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by R. C. on Today at 12:27:38 AM »
Another reason I am seeking an improved tool for ePub creation is that my style intentionally uses white space more than most fiction creators.

Can you post an example of what that looks like?

Sure. Here is a passage from the Prologue of my latest effort. It is the internal dialog of the narrator.

- - - - -

Without white space:

Any story of murder and mayhem varies by who is telling the lie ? this tale is no exception. The consistent element for a legend of depravity and murder is someone died. Everything else is variable. Who died? Who did the murdering? When did the confrontation happen? Why did the crime occur? Each person who recites their version of the event shifts the details slightly.
A boy used his girlfriend as bait to commit murder. He killed his father in a manufactured fit of rage when he found his father with his girlfriend.
A girl talked her boyfriend into a murder-suicide pact. They killed her father as revenge on her mother for what Mom allowed Dad to do to the girl. The suicide pact left Mom with a lifetime of grief.
A young couple became involved with a cult based on a science fiction story. In the story, the alien invaders will spare those who have shown a willingness to kill without remorse. The girl?s family died in their sleep ? the boy?s family in a car accident.
Whatever the reality of past events, the truth I have learned is to accept that some people deserve to die.

- - - - -

With white space:

Any story of murder and mayhem varies by who is telling the lie ? this tale is no exception. The consistent element for a legend of depravity and murder is someone died. Everything else is variable. Who died? Who did the murdering? When did the confrontation happen? Why did the crime occur? Each person who recites their version of the event shifts the details slightly.

A boy used his girlfriend as bait to commit murder. He killed his father in a manufactured fit of rage when he found his father with his girlfriend.
A girl talked her boyfriend into a murder-suicide pact. They killed her father as revenge on her mother for what Mom allowed Dad to do to the girl. The suicide pact left Mom with a lifetime of grief.
A young couple became involved with a cult based on a science fiction story. In the story, the alien invaders will spare those who have shown a willingness to kill without remorse. The girl?s family died in their sleep ? the boy?s family in a car accident.

Whatever the reality of past events, the truth I have learned is to accept that some people deserve to die.


- - - - -

The moment of reflection between "...shifts the details slightly." and "A boy used his girlfriend..." and also between "...in a car accident." and "Whatever the reality..." creates a pause in the reader's mind. The pause invokes new, but connected, imagery to begin.

R.C.

By the way, if a member of this cohort wants to read my book, send me a DM with your email address, and I will send you a freebie link.


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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by R. C. on Today at 12:16:32 AM »
Videos in ebooks sound exciting, but isn't that going to create a massive file size?

Yes and no. Mp(x) can be large. Most video formats will be excluded because of security concerns. GIFs are small under the WebP format. GIFs are the future.

R.C.
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by Bill Hiatt on Today at 12:03:59 AM »
Videos in ebooks sound exciting, but isn't that going to create a massive file size?
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by TimothyEllis on Today at 12:03:36 AM »
Another reason I am seeking an improved tool for ePub creation is that my style intentionally uses white space more than most fiction creators.

Can you post an example of what that looks like?
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by R. C. on February 08, 2025, 11:59:44 PM »
Why not upload the docx to D2D, and and download the epub from there?

D2D conversion is less quality than either Kindle Create or Calibre.

Kindle Create is good but hard to correct when you want to make changes. KC's intent is to remove the XHTML from the user. The interface requires a lot of cut-and-paste to get the desired format and flow. In Calibre, it is easy to edit the XHTML directly.

Plugging D2D's output into Calibre is possible, just one more PIA step.

R.C.
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by R. C. on February 08, 2025, 11:54:14 PM »
If I recall, D2D doesn't provide much flexibility. Tools like Vellum or Atticus (allegedly--I haven't used it--provide for a broader range of formatting options.

It's true, though, that if one was content with the D2D formatting, that does seem like a simpler solution.

Vellum is only MAC; I have no experience with the app. I have tested Atticus a couple of times. The first time, it was 'primitive.' Months later, the second review was better, but not enough to pay and switch.

To Tim's point, I can format manuscripts using MS Word (Docx) perfectly for print. The tools for ePub are "good enough."

Another reason I am seeking an improved tool for ePub creation is that my style intentionally uses white space more than most fiction creators.

Too often, the ePub tools insert and remove blank lines. Again, I have the skills (XHTML and others) that I use to "correct" the output files. So... PIA.

One more thing?Version 3.3 of the ePub "standard" allows the insertion of WebP and Opus video formats. Foreshadowing: Assuming the security issues are resolved, it will soon be common for eBooks to contain embedded videos. Think of opening a book on an e-reader, flipping to chapter one, and watching/listening to the main character present the back story in a prologue format.

R.C.
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Marketing Loft [Public] / Re: Also Boughts now include sponsored ads
« Last post by Bill Hiatt on February 08, 2025, 11:53:37 PM »
Branding can be about selling books...if that's the primary reason you're building a brand.  Author A wants to sell books, so Author A establishes their entire brand around selling books.  That's a worthwhile endeavor for obvious reasons.

However, branding can be about other things as well.  Perhaps, Author B wants to build their brand around their business, which INCLUDES selling books but is not the only focus.  That branding might be very different than Author A.

Before everyone asks why would AUTHOR B want to do that, I say there are many things we "might" do with our stories and everything that revolves around our stories.  Beyond that, I'm not going to get specific. 

We can definitely agree to disagree (again, I'm not giving specifics on my strategy regarding this), but I do think it's important to at least entertain the idea that building a brand specifically to sell books does NOT have to be the only reason we build a brand.  Just something to consider whether it applies to our own business plans or not.
Yes, if an author has additional merch or something like that, it's logical that the branding would include that. As I recall, your virtual tea parties create a lot of potential openings for that.

I've seen people on Substack give recipes for the food that appears in one of their stories. But if it were something that could be pre-packaged, I suppose they might be able to sell it.

Pretty much anybody could do something like book cover T-shirts. (I priced something like that once, and at the time, it could be done relatively cheaply, though it's probably more expensive now.) I didn't do it only because the people requesting it were all in Europe, and international shipping adds tremendous expense. But for an author whose fanbase is mostly in one country, it might be worth considering. I suspect you'd need a decent sized fanbase as well. 
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by Bill Hiatt on February 08, 2025, 11:31:57 PM »
If I recall, D2D doesn't provide much flexibility. Tools like Vellum or Atticus (allegedly--I haven't used it--provide for a broader range of formatting options.

It's true, though, that if one was content with the D2D formatting, that does seem like a simpler solution.
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Formatter's Forge [Public] / Re: Touching Base
« Last post by TimothyEllis on February 08, 2025, 11:26:53 PM »
Why not upload the docx to D2D, and and download the epub from there?
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