Hiring Someone to Convert to Kindle

[Paredon]

Can anyone recommend someone who can be hired to convert epubs to Kindle? After jumping through far too many hoops, I learned about Send to Kindle. However, it converted my epub to KFP, which works in Kindle PREVIEWER, but not Kindle. Also, it won't work with epubs over 200 GB; one of mine is nearly 400 GB.

I have three epubs ready to publish and want to get them online and promoted during the holiday season, so I'd like to hire someone who knows how to do it. Also, don't purchase PDFMate; it appears to be crapware, if not an outright scam.

Also, if an epub can't be converted to a Kindle version, is there some alternative that PC viewers can use? I have Kindle for Mac, so is there an "Apple for PC" reader? (My epubs are created with Sigil on a Mac.)

Thanks.

[neil_swann80]

I'm assuming you mean MB rather than GB...

Graphic novels? Files in the hundreds of MB are going to be best sideloaded (via USB).

Why not install the Mac version of "Calibre" and convert the epubs to azw3, then sideload?

If you're targeting the Kindle market specifically surely the Kindle Self Publishing route would be best to ensure device compatibility,
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/

[Paredon]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

I'm assuming you mean MB rather than GB...

Graphic novels? Files in the hundreds of MB are going to be best sideloaded (via USB).

Why not install the Mac version of "Calibre" and convert the epubs to azw3, then sideload?

Yes, I meant MB.

I used Calibre to convert one book to AZW3. However, it doesn't display resized images properly. I was then advised to use a newer format, KXF. However, that has turned into a can of worms, so I'm going to go ahead and convert all three to AZW3.

It isn't a graphic novel. It's a state symbols reference, with hundreds of pictures of state flags, flowers, birds, etc. I'm not familiar with "sideloading." I'll check it out.

Thanks.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

Graphic novels? Files in the hundreds of MB are going to be best sideloaded (via USB).

Why not install the Mac version of "Calibre" and convert the epubs to azw3, then sideload?

No use for publishing. Amazon upload for publishing on Kindle is normally epub. Sideloading only useful on epub apps and ereaders to test stuff. No Amazon tool behaves the same as uploading for publishing and then buying a published copy. Weird but true.

Also Amazon decides on delivery of format based on the customer's app or kindle, so you can't enforce azw3 vs KFX.

This sounds like it won't work as a real ebook (reflow to small screen or big font, or mono only display) but is really for tablets. So it needs either an app (for iOS and Android) or a PDF or a fixed layout or image based comic format (Amazon does package those up too, but usually you can't buy them if you select a real ereader as the destination).

Talk to @Hitch who posts here.

We produce print books and eBooks.
www.booknook.biz
See our real Customer Reviews
An Amazon Professional Conversion Service

Edit 4th Dec 2023
Also I should have put @Tex2002ans
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?u=174079

[neil_swann80]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No use for publishing. Amazon upload for publishing on Kindle is normally epub. Sideloading only useful on epub apps and ereaders to test stuff. No Amazon tool behaves the same as uploading for publishing and then buying a published copy. Weird but true.

Do You think they're best taking the KDP route then?

Kindle has become even more restrictive than I remember.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Paredon

Can anyone recommend someone who can be hired to convert epubs to Kindle?

<snip >…

I have three epubs ready to publish and want to get them online and promoted during the holiday season, so I'd like to hire someone who knows how to do it.

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

Do You think they're best taking the KDP route then?

How else do you publish on Kindle unless you a serious size Publisher (they don't use KDP).


@Paredon:
You don't convert to Kindle to Publish on Amazon, nor use "Send to Kindle". You upload an epub, or PDF or if desperate a docx. I don't know about publishing Print Replica or "Comics" on Amazon because we only do fiction.

You needed to have uploaded, done all the meta data, and PR starting end last summer (Northern Hemisphere) as a minimum for this coming season of sales.

Hitch knows more about your kind of content than me for electronic publishing (we did dip a toe in it nearly 30 years ago for paper, but the last 10 years only "ordinary" ebooks). See my PM.
About 20 years ago we ceased doing PC multimedia and ten years ago looked at apps. Some kinds of image rich reference type books work better as apps on a small screen. Anyway we decided to stick to ordinary ebooks (fiction with the odd illustration or photo that's not important to the story).

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Paredon

I'm not familiar with "sideloading." I'll check it out.
Thanks.

It's a poor synonym for "copy".

[Quoth]

"Send to Kindle" or Calibre conversion to AZW3 (or KFX) and sideloading are to put your own documents on your own Kindle. Not useful for publishing.

Kindle Preview is to give someone who knows little and has no actual Kindle ereader an idea of how it might look if they published. It's not accurate.

Amazon used to provide previews when you uploaded in advance of publishing, but now they give you an epub for "Send to Kindle"!, which is the same epub you uploaded if you uploaded an epub. So if we do new formatting we are not sure of we publish, buy a copy and use the system so we get a mobi (we have an old kindle), KFX (whispernet to Paperwhite 3) and azw3 /KF7 (Download and transfer for PW3). Then if a problem, unpublish!

There are basically four kinds of physical Kindle (all monochrome):
1) Oldest ones that can only do mobi (KF7) Kindle format. May do something with PDFs. The 1st only has 4 shades. There are only basic serif, sans and monospace fonts with bold and italic and bolded italic. No publisher fonts or other user fonts. Only Latin/Roman Western alphabet with some modern Greek letters. Possibly Icelandic, German, French & Spanish characters.
2) Ones that can also do azw3 (KF8). For some like K3 it was a later update. All are 16 shades (14 greys, black & white. LCD/OLED/CRT/Plasma/LED is 250 to 1000+ grey levels and colour. They can't do KFX. They do allow any font (via user adding or publisher embedding) and have many fonts built in.
3) Ones that also do KFX. There may also be Right to Left support, more user interface languages.
4) Ones that also have KFX sticky notes. At least the Scribe.

The Amazon Fire is actually an adapted Android Tablet and was confusingly called the Kindle Fire originally. It uses an App for ebooks very like the Kindle App for Android. So like Android, it's colour and supports formats not supported by actual Kindles.

Due to Apple imposed limits on browser use, the Kindle iOS was abysmal compared to Apple Books (formerly iBooks) or Kindle for Android. The Classic Kindle for Mac is being replaced by one based on Kindle for iOS, which may now or soon be more like later Kindles and Kindle for Android.

Amazon has many formats, some now dead:
The prc, mobi and azw are usually KF7 or old mobi. Only generic sans, serif, monospace Latin/Roman Western fonts. Only inline styles on HTML3. Usually only delivered to people that have ancient Kindles. Or very old ebooks uploaded maybe more than 10 years ago as mobi.

An interactive mobi used for games (dead)
There is Kindle for Android app and Kindle for PC programs. No Kindle for Linux, even though Amazon uses Linux and the Kindle is based on Linux.

A different interactive format for immersive interactive ebooks (dead?).

Various fixed layout systems, called Print Replica. One may be encapsulated PDF as some sort of azw? A newer one is using KFX.

Regular azw3, which is a reflowable ebook, can have fonts, CSS, basically HTML5 and is nearly identical to epub2 (There was no epub1, because the earlier 1998 scheme wasn't called epub). The azw3 display looks very like Adobe rendered epub2.

KFX is a completely different purely Amazon design (They inherited mobi/KF7 when they bought Mobipocket in 2005, and azw3 is very much based on epub2 with Amazon DRM). It can do reflowable or fixed layout (Print Replica). Unlike the others it ALWAYS has encryption (DRM) even if publisher asked for DRM free. Unlike the others it's designed for Mobile (Cell) or WiFi Whispernet as it can start displaying while downloading.

If you have an actual physical Kindle (or a Fire, I think), you can get by Whispernet when you buy or download in your browser (ANY OS: Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android) as long as what you download on has a USB port that can connect to a Kindle (or Fire Tablet) and some method to copy the downloaded file. Using USB file copy (some Kindles and the Fire use MTP mode) to load an ebook or PDF on a Kindle (instead of Whispernet) is "sideloading". You can in theory sideload using the browser on a Kindle on your LAN via WiFi, or a DRM free kindle format file from the internet.

If you use Whispernet, you get KF7, KF8 or KFX depending on model of Kindle or possibly the ebook if ancient. You don't choose.
If you use "Download to PC for USB transfer" (Actually Browser on ANY OS), then you pick Kindle destination and thus Amazon decides on mobi/prc/azw (KF7) if an ancient Kindle, or KF8 for most other Kindles (the Fire Tablet and Scribe maybe use KFX), unless it's an ancient file uploaded as mobi. Amazon makes the file formats of all three from either an epub uploaded (recomended), docx or maybe doc. Page breaks only work on all formats if upload was an epub and each new page is the start of an internal HTML file (an epub2 is simply a renamed zip, you can rename and unpack!).

Android app confusingly uses the old mobi .prc ending for azw3 or KFX (and usually only gets KFX now).

This is not everything and may have errors.

I don't know how Amazon Comics work.

So only the eink models are "real" kindles and only reflowable KF&, KF8 and KFX are "real" ebooks (both for a given debated value of "real").
How read in order?
A slim majority read on phone Apps.
Tablets inc Fire
eink
PC/Mac programs.

Audible is the audio book company Amazon bought in. Almost all are listened to on a phone app. You can sync ebook to Audible position.
Hardly anyone uses an ereader for audio books as the battery like advantage over phones is lost and a more awkward GUI and physical size. Only later models support it (and only via BT). Early Kindles do have audio sockets for Text to Speech and abysmal MP3 player. The PW3 can use a cheap USB audio adaptor for Voice View. Later Kindles have Voice View and Audible via BT. Voice View can do Text to Speech, but then the visual UI is working sensibly. It's a badly thought out accessibility feature for blind and partially sighted. If sighted, then Text to Speech on the Pocketbook app on Android or the early Kindles is far better.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

It's a poor synonym for "copy".

Or copy by means other than a Wireless/Mobile sync with someone that's the book and reader vendor. So for a Kindle, only "whispernet" copy isn't sideloading, even if the book bought from Amazon and loaded somehow via WiFi.

See also epub for Nook from Barnes & Noble directly or a kepub direct from Kobo website via wifi to a Kobo are not sideloading.

But Download to PC then USB (or WiFi from other than ereader vendor) is sideloading.

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by Paredon

Hiring Someone to Convert to Kindle

Like Quoth said in Post #4:

• Hitch (runs Booknook.biz).

I am currently busy converting through Christmas, but would be able to get to it later.

- - -

If you mentioned you book is 200/400 MBs though... it sounds like you have about a bajillion images inside.

What kind of book did you create here?

At that filesize... you know you will get dinged a lot for Amazon's "Delivery Fees". See:

• Amazon's KDP "Digital Book Pricing"

For example, for Amazon.com, they charge $0.15 per MB out of your royalties...

So for a 200 or 400 MB book, that's going to be huge ($30+).

[Quoth]

Tex2002ans is the "other" Professional option
Sorry I didn't mention you.

Really the delivery charge should only be on Cell/Mobile Whispernet as that's an expensive free-to-the-user service and it's hugely more expensive for Amazon than the regular data centre to backbone and User's ISP connection (Mobile/Cell or Broadband).