How do I do e-book giveaways?

jodykihara · 03-11-2011, 06:12 PM

Hello everyone!
Rather dumb newbie question here, but:
I have 3 e-books recently made available on the Amazon Kindle store. I'd like to offer some giveaways, and I'm not sure what format to make these available in so that any e-book reader will read them. Do I need to make them available in several different formats, or is there one that can be universally read?

thanks so much!
Jody K

Elfwreck · 03-11-2011, 06:19 PM

There's no one universal format, but .epub and .mobi (the Kindle format) cover the vast majority of readers. (I think those cover all the commercially available readers at the moment, except for no-longer-produced readers like the EBookwise that are still being sold.)

If they're available in an open format like RTF or HTML, they can easily be converted into whatever the reader wants; Calibre or other conversion software can convert them.

If you offer your ebooks through Smashwords, it will make them available in several different formats.

mr ploppy · 03-11-2011, 07:18 PM

The only universal format would be .txt (or .html if you wanted to include formatting).

jodykihara · 03-11-2011, 08:13 PM

So when you do a giveaway, do you usually offer both formats?

HTML would be more difficult as I have image files attached. Do the mobi and epub formats include images? Or would I need to put them all together as zip file?

thanks for your help!

Elfwreck · 03-11-2011, 08:20 PM

Mobi and epub can both contain images if they're set up right. I would do giveaways with both formats. HTML can be offered as a zip file with the images in a separate folder.

I might even do PDF giveaways, although those aren't good for ebook reading devices. PDFs sized like paperbacks aren't too bad on them, but letter-sized PDFs are almost unreadable on tiny screens, and the way PDFs work make them bad for portable devices.

A lot of portable readers are black-and-white only, so you should take a look at your images in black and white and see if they're still clear enough. (If they're not, there's usually a way to get them touched-up so they don't look bad, even if the color details are lost.)

jodykihara · 03-11-2011, 08:48 PM

Thank you!

Jellby · 03-12-2011, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

The only universal format would be .txt

Which encoding? Which line ending?

mr ploppy · 03-12-2011, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

Which encoding? Which line ending?

ASCII

JSWolf · 03-12-2011, 10:29 AM

Make your eBooks available in ePub and Mobipocket and you cover most of the world. The way to do it is to make it in ePub first. get it looking really nice and when it's done in ePub, you can use Calibre to convert it to Mobipocket and you should be good to go.

If you've used Word to write your eBooks, you'll have to save them as filtered HTML and clean up all that garbage left in by Word before converting to ePub. Sometimes it can be easier to convert to ePub and clean up the ePub.

mr ploppy · 03-12-2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you've used Word to write your eBooks, you'll have to save them as filtered HTML and clean up all that garbage left in by Word before converting to ePub. Sometimes it can be easier to convert to ePub and clean up the ePub.

I save as RTF and convert that to EPUB with Calibre, open that in Sigil and add any pictures that need to go in, add BR spaces (shift-Return) to section breaks, add page breaks (Ctrl-Return) to chapters, save it, then convert that to MOBI with Calibre.

jodykihara · 03-12-2011, 04:12 PM

I've already done all the cleaning in HTML (in Dreamweaver), so I'm off to download Calibre now and hopefully that can do the rest for me... thanks so much everyone!

jodykihara · 03-18-2011, 01:37 AM

Just wondering: when you do giveaways, do you generally email the files? And if so, are you concerned that they might be further shared without your permission?

GraceKrispy · 03-18-2011, 02:50 AM

When I do giveaways on my blog, the authors generally prefer to either email a copy in the format of the reader's choice (usually epub or a version for kindle), or they "gift" a kindle version through Amazon and then offer an emailed epub, or they offer a coupon for a Smashwords download. Only one author I've worked with has ever felt uncomfortable doing the Smashwords coupon (for fear it would be shared with others).

I must admit, I like any of those ways to do giveaways because it makes it easy for me and (hopefully) the author and the winner as well.

randyflycaster · 03-18-2011, 10:49 AM

I did a Smashwords coupon. It makes it all so much easier. A good site for giveaways is www.librarything.com
Randy

MartinC · 03-18-2011, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I might even do PDF giveaways, although those aren't good for ebook reading devices. PDFs sized like paperbacks aren't too bad on them, but letter-sized PDFs are almost unreadable on tiny screens, and the way PDFs work make them bad for portable devices.

My experience (after two years of offering free downloads in PDF, epub and mobi formats) is that PDF is still by far the most popular. Most people who come to this forum are already ebook converts, remember. Worldwide they're still in a minority.

In a typical month I would expect, say, 300-400 PDF downloads as against 60-80 mobi and 100-120 epub.

03-11-2011, 06:12 PM	#1
jodykihara Author Posts: 49 Karma: 284 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle reader for PC	How do I do e-book giveaways? Hello everyone! Rather dumb newbie question here, but: I have 3 e-books recently made available on the Amazon Kindle store. I'd like to offer some giveaways, and I'm not sure what format to make these available in so that any e-book reader will read them. Do I need to make them available in several different formats, or is there one that can be universally read? thanks so much! Jody K

03-11-2011, 08:13 PM	#4
jodykihara Author Posts: 49 Karma: 284 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle reader for PC	So when you do a giveaway, do you usually offer both formats? HTML would be more difficult as I have image files attached. Do the mobi and epub formats include images? Or would I need to put them all together as zip file? thanks for your help! Last edited by jodykihara; 03-11-2011 at 08:15 PM.

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03-11-2011, 06:19 PM	#2
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,187 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	There's no one universal format, but .epub and .mobi (the Kindle format) cover the vast majority of readers. (I think those cover all the commercially available readers at the moment, except for no-longer-produced readers like the EBookwise that are still being sold.) If they're available in an open format like RTF or HTML, they can easily be converted into whatever the reader wants; Calibre or other conversion software can convert them. If you offer your ebooks through Smashwords, it will make them available in several different formats.

03-11-2011, 07:18 PM	#3
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	The only universal format would be .txt (or .html if you wanted to include formatting).

03-11-2011, 08:20 PM	#5
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,187 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	Mobi and epub can both contain images if they're set up right. I would do giveaways with both formats. HTML can be offered as a zip file with the images in a separate folder. I might even do PDF giveaways, although those aren't good for ebook reading devices. PDFs sized like paperbacks aren't too bad on them, but letter-sized PDFs are almost unreadable on tiny screens, and the way PDFs work make them bad for portable devices. A lot of portable readers are black-and-white only, so you should take a look at your images in black and white and see if they're still clear enough. (If they're not, there's usually a way to get them touched-up so they don't look bad, even if the color details are lost.)

03-11-2011, 08:48 PM	#6
jodykihara Author Posts: 49 Karma: 284 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle reader for PC	Thank you!

03-12-2011, 10:29 AM	#9
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 77,956 Karma: 142032074 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Make your eBooks available in ePub and Mobipocket and you cover most of the world. The way to do it is to make it in ePub first. get it looking really nice and when it's done in ePub, you can use Calibre to convert it to Mobipocket and you should be good to go. If you've used Word to write your eBooks, you'll have to save them as filtered HTML and clean up all that garbage left in by Word before converting to ePub. Sometimes it can be easier to convert to ePub and clean up the ePub.

03-12-2011, 04:12 PM	#11
jodykihara Author Posts: 49 Karma: 284 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle reader for PC	I've already done all the cleaning in HTML (in Dreamweaver), so I'm off to download Calibre now and hopefully that can do the rest for me... thanks so much everyone!

03-18-2011, 01:37 AM	#12
jodykihara Author Posts: 49 Karma: 284 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle reader for PC	Just wondering: when you do giveaways, do you generally email the files? And if so, are you concerned that they might be further shared without your permission?

03-18-2011, 02:50 AM	#13
GraceKrispy It's Dr. Penguin now! Posts: 3,909 Karma: 4705733 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: (USA) Device: iPad mini, Samsung Note 3, Sony PRS-650 (rarely used now)	When I do giveaways on my blog, the authors generally prefer to either email a copy in the format of the reader's choice (usually epub or a version for kindle), or they "gift" a kindle version through Amazon and then offer an emailed epub, or they offer a coupon for a Smashwords download. Only one author I've worked with has ever felt uncomfortable doing the Smashwords coupon (for fear it would be shared with others). I must admit, I like any of those ways to do giveaways because it makes it easy for me and (hopefully) the author and the winner as well.

03-18-2011, 10:49 AM	#14
randyflycaster Zealot Posts: 113 Karma: 1000858 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New York City Device: Sony 350	I did a Smashwords coupon. It makes it all so much easier. A good site for giveaways is www.librarything.com Randy

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