Help in uploading my ebook

[helens]

I'm trying to upload my ebook to the Ingram Spark website and have received an error message (see screenshot).

I'm attaching screenshots of the relevant pages where the error occurs.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Can anyone help?

(Note - I'm new to this, so please be forgiving of my ignorance and use simple language to explain what I need to do. Thanks!)

[pdurrant]

I've moved this thread to the workshop, as that seems to best place.

[helens]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've moved this thread to the workshop, as that seems to best place.

Thank you!

[pdurrant]

Your toc.ncx file references another file, Audaciousness_ebook.html which does not exist in your ePub.

I no longer remember details of what files are required in different versions of ePub. But having links to non-existent files will certainly be a problem.

[helens]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Your toc.ncx file references another file, Audaciousness_ebook.html which does not exist in your ePub.

I no longer remember details of what files are required in different versions of ePub. But having links to non-existent files will certainly be a problem.

Okay, that makes sense. That file was the original one I imported to Sigil before I used Split at Cursor to create the different chapters. Does that mean, instead of <content src="Audaciousness_ebook.xhtml" /> on the toc.ncx, I need to enter the name of every chapter individually?

[Sarmat89]

There should a command in Sigil, Tools - EPUB3 Tools - Generate NCX... Try it first.

[helens]

Originally Posted by Sarmat89

There should a command in Sigil, Tools - EPUB3 Tools - Generate NCX... Try it first.

Thanks. I went ahead and created the list manually and it's worked now. Ingram Spark has accepted the file.

Incidentally, there's nothing I can do about it now (and it's not a major issue), but when reading the file on my (older) Kindle, the Table of Contents is greyed out. I searched all over different online forums trying to find out what was causing that and I couldn't find a solution.

Does anyone know which command (and on which page) would have enabled the toc in the navigation menu?

[Quoth]

You need an epub2 TOC, the NCX, and upload to KDP and Publish and then download retail.

Or convert in Calibre to azw3 after making sure there is an epub2 ncx. The Send to Kindle isn't the same as KDP convert.

The Kindle Preview is not very useful for compatibility.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by helens

Incidentally, there's nothing I can do about it now (and it's not a major issue), but when reading the file on my (older) Kindle, the Table of Contents is greyed out.

On what Kindle model is the toc greyed out?
Did you convert the .epub file with Calibre to MOBI, AZW3 or KFX or did you use Send to Kindle?

Originally Posted by helens

Does anyone know which command (and on which page) would have enabled the toc in the navigation menu?

Depending on the target format, EPUB converters will usually look for the HTML TOC in epub3 books in two places:

The landmarks section in the NAV document (toc.xhtml):

  <nav epub:type="landmarks" id="landmarks" hidden="">
    <h2>Landmarks</h2>
    <ol>
      <li>
        <a epub:type="toc" href="toc.xhtml">Table of Contents</a>
      </li>
    </ol>
  </nav>

or the guide section in the .opf file:

  <guide>
    <reference type="toc" title="Table of Contents" href="toc.xhtml"/>
  </guide>

Please post both sections.

Originally Posted by Quoth

The Kindle Preview is not very useful for compatibility.

However, since Kindle Previewer is good enough for testing whether the toc menu option will be greyed out on Kindle devices, the OP might want to download and install it.

[helens]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

On what Kindle model is the toc greyed out?

I have a Kindle 4 (4th generation)

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Did you convert the .epub file with Calibre to MOBI, AZW3 or KFX or did you use Send to Kindle?

I used Send to Kindle

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Depending on the target format, EPUB converters will usually look for the HTML TOC in epub3 books in two places:

The landmarks section in the NAV document (toc.xhtml):

  <nav epub:type="landmarks" id="landmarks" hidden="">
    <h2>Landmarks</h2>
    <ol>
      <li>
        <a epub:type="toc" href="toc.xhtml">Table of Contents</a>
      </li>
    </ol>
  </nav>

or the guide section in the toc.ncx file:

  <guide>
    <reference type="toc" title="Table of Contents" href="toc.xhtml"/>
  </guide>

Please post both sections.

Okay, this was the mistake. I didn't include these two codes. I've made a copy of them and will include them the next time I update the ebook. Thanks for your help!

Originally Posted by Doitsu

However, since Kindle Previewer is good enough for testing whether the toc menu option will be greyed out on Kindle devices, the OP might want to download and install it.

This is useful - thanks for this. I wasn't aware it existed. However, it only seems to be available for Windows or Mac. Is there a version for Linux? I did end up installing Thorium, which I discovered while searching for solutions to my other questions. This made previewing the epub easier than keep sending it to my Kindle, but it didn't solve the greyed out toc menu option issue.

[Quoth]

No, it's not on Linux. Won't work on WINE for me either.
I test on 3 models of Kindle and convert the files using Calibre.
We only purchase the published Kindle versions if a new style/format is being used.

[helens]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No, it's not on Linux. Won't work on WINE for me either.
I test on 3 models of Kindle and convert the files using Calibre.
We only purchase the published Kindle versions if a new style/format is being used.

Thanks for this. I created the file on Sigil and tested it on 2 different Kindle models, plus Thorium, before I uploaded it to Amazon. Is there an extra benefit to converting it using Calibre or would you say what I did was sufficient?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

You need an epub2 TOC, the NCX, and upload to KDP and Publish and then download retail.

Or convert in Calibre to azw3 after making sure there is an epub2 ncx. The Send to Kindle isn't the same as KDP convert.

The Kindle Preview is not very useful for compatibility.

If she converts it to AZW3, that's fine for previewing on a device, but worthless for uploading. ???


Hitch

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Hitch

If she converts it to AZW3, that's fine for previewing on a device, but worthless for uploading. ???

Hitch

Of course, but maybe the uploaded epub will be fine if a local epub to azw3 conversion is fine. That's my experience. More reliable to test on a variety of eink kindles than the Previewer, which I can no longer run.

Why on earth does Amazon not provide download after upload to KDP of each of their formats before you publish? They seem inept. Also they have "broken" the "Look Inside" preview in terms of formatting, it seems to be just an HTML eternal scroll.
Smashwords allows the publisher/author to download all format conversions of all versions.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Of course, but maybe the uploaded epub will be fine if a local epub to azw3 conversion is fine. That's my experience. More reliable to test on a variety of eink kindles than the Previewer, which I can no longer run.

Well, I've had decent success (of late, since the larger shift toward ePUB) simply sending the file (the ePUB) to the dedicated (device) address these days. Now, I wouldn't do that to preview on an iOS device, of course, but they seem to work fine on eInks, if that helps. It's come a long way, compared to what it used to be.

And of course, the ePUB or MOBI sideloaded will not show ET.

Why on earth does Amazon not provide download after upload to KDP of each of their formats before you publish? They seem inept. Also they have "broken" the "Look Inside" preview in terms of formatting, it seems to be just an HTML eternal scroll.
Smashwords allows the publisher/author to download all format conversions of all versions.

Well, not sure why this is such a biggie. After all, this whole "convert into 20 formats thing" is SW's and the Calibre API's jam, not Amazon's.

Amazon's position is that publishers should upload their ready-to-go files, or live with the files that they, Amazon, process for them. If they upload a Word file, yes, they can still download a zipped HTML file (and then reverse-convert that to Word). Ditto if they upload an ePUB. If they upload a .kpf, that's from KC (or one of the abandoned programs) and Amazon's view is, it can only be previewed o KP3, anyway, so what's to download?

So...the only real outlier is the dreaded AZK file for iOS and even that is allegedly going the way of the dodo.

[shrug]

Hitch