Desperately seeking expert (hired) help

illustrata · 05-25-2011, 12:59 PM

I have an epub that is working pretty well and validates fine. I need some advice for getting it available on iTunes (as an individual or a publisher?). I also need a Kindle/mobi version, which I produced using Calibre but which went a little haywire on indents, spacing and chapter navigation.

In other words, I would like to hire an ebook pro to finish this job quickly, and get it done right. I am flat out of available time, my learning curve was longer than expected and I have other obligations that are not going to permit me to get any better at this until about October.

Is there anyone out there who hires themselves out professionlly? I could pass you the epub (created in Sigil) and the mobi (converted in Calibre) and you could tell me what it will take to make it happen.

I will keep my fingers crossed.

(Is there a classified board I missed?)

MartinC · 05-25-2011, 02:29 PM

If you're happy with your epub and it validates you could try a distributor like Bookbaby. They will take your epub and do the Kindle conversion for you. The Apple iBookstore is on their list of outlets, along with Amazon, Sony and B&N.

illustrata · 05-25-2011, 06:29 PM

Thanks -- although I worry about cookie-cutter results (like Smashwords meat grinder), although if they can use a meatgrinder and come up with good results I wouldn't mind a bit. I may contact them just to see what they think.

anamardoll · 06-03-2011, 11:28 AM

Doesn't Amazon accept epub submissions and do the conversion themselves? I feel like I've read that. Of course, I don't know what quality the conversion is.

David Gaughran · 06-03-2011, 02:11 PM

I format all my own e-book files (and hand-code the HTML for perfect results).

If you want your formatting to be perfect, I recommend doing the same. It's a bit of a pain to learn, but you will get the hang of it in a day or two. After that, it's relatively painless.

Guido Henkel has an excellent, free step-by-step guide to doing it yourself (here).

If you want to hire someone, the pros charge about $200, but they also have waiting lists.

Guido Henkel will do it for $100 for a basic book (with no links or images), going up to about $150 for books with those extras.

I do my own, but if you want to pay for it, I highly recommend him.

MartinC · 06-03-2011, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Gaughran

I format all my own e-book files (and hand-code the HTML for perfect results). If you want your formatting to be perfect, I recommend doing the same.

I agree. Get the html right and you can generate mobi and epub from it.

David Gaughran · 06-03-2011, 05:24 PM

Some people use things like MobiPocket Creator or just saving the Word doc as a HTML file, but personally, I don't recommend it. You might get lucky and come out with a clean doc on the other side, but more likely there will be formatting probs you aren't even aware of (some only appear on certain readers).

If you do it my way, you can look forward to reviews like the one I received from SIFT when they said "This is the most professional design - both inside and out - that I have seen since I started reviewing at SIFT".

It's worth the little bit of extra time and hassle to get your formatting perfect. It really is.

illustrata · 06-06-2011, 06:15 AM

I was hoping to get the hang of it --- but it's been far more than a day or two and I'm pulling my hair out with the seeming unpredictability of ebook production and all the varying format capabilities (html for Kindle, css for epubs, blah blah). I would love to get good at it and hopefully will be able to eventually -- but this pub needs to go out *now*.

I am total agreement with your last statement.

I will try the recommendations for this round, and hope to be on this board someday giving my own tips eventually.

Thanks to you all for your responses. I'll let you know how it comes along...

05-25-2011, 12:59 PM	#1
illustrata Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Venice, Italy Device: iphone, ipad, kindle	Desperately seeking expert (hired) help I have an epub that is working pretty well and validates fine. I need some advice for getting it available on iTunes (as an individual or a publisher?). I also need a Kindle/mobi version, which I produced using Calibre but which went a little haywire on indents, spacing and chapter navigation. In other words, I would like to hire an ebook pro to finish this job quickly, and get it done right. I am flat out of available time, my learning curve was longer than expected and I have other obligations that are not going to permit me to get any better at this until about October. Is there anyone out there who hires themselves out professionlly? I could pass you the epub (created in Sigil) and the mobi (converted in Calibre) and you could tell me what it will take to make it happen. I will keep my fingers crossed. (Is there a classified board I missed?)

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05-25-2011, 02:29 PM	#2
MartinC Hanger on Posts: 148 Karma: 1355233 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Dorset, UK Device: Kindle 3, Galaxy S, Sony PRS-505, Sony tablet	If you're happy with your epub and it validates you could try a distributor like Bookbaby. They will take your epub and do the Kindle conversion for you. The Apple iBookstore is on their list of outlets, along with Amazon, Sony and B&N.

05-25-2011, 06:29 PM	#3
illustrata Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Venice, Italy Device: iphone, ipad, kindle	Thanks -- although I worry about cookie-cutter results (like Smashwords meat grinder), although if they can use a meatgrinder and come up with good results I wouldn't mind a bit. I may contact them just to see what they think.

06-03-2011, 11:28 AM	#4
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Doesn't Amazon accept epub submissions and do the conversion themselves? I feel like I've read that. Of course, I don't know what quality the conversion is.

06-03-2011, 02:11 PM	#5
David Gaughran @DavidGaughran Posts: 23 Karma: 654230 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Device: none (yet)	I format all my own e-book files (and hand-code the HTML for perfect results). If you want your formatting to be perfect, I recommend doing the same. It's a bit of a pain to learn, but you will get the hang of it in a day or two. After that, it's relatively painless. Guido Henkel has an excellent, free step-by-step guide to doing it yourself (here). If you want to hire someone, the pros charge about $200, but they also have waiting lists. Guido Henkel will do it for $100 for a basic book (with no links or images), going up to about $150 for books with those extras. I do my own, but if you want to pay for it, I highly recommend him.

06-03-2011, 05:24 PM	#7
David Gaughran @DavidGaughran Posts: 23 Karma: 654230 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Device: none (yet)	Some people use things like MobiPocket Creator or just saving the Word doc as a HTML file, but personally, I don't recommend it. You might get lucky and come out with a clean doc on the other side, but more likely there will be formatting probs you aren't even aware of (some only appear on certain readers). If you do it my way, you can look forward to reviews like the one I received from SIFT when they said "This is the most professional design - both inside and out - that I have seen since I started reviewing at SIFT". It's worth the little bit of extra time and hassle to get your formatting perfect. It really is.

06-06-2011, 06:15 AM	#8
illustrata Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Venice, Italy Device: iphone, ipad, kindle	I was hoping to get the hang of it --- but it's been far more than a day or two and I'm pulling my hair out with the seeming unpredictability of ebook production and all the varying format capabilities (html for Kindle, css for epubs, blah blah). I would love to get good at it and hopefully will be able to eventually -- but this pub needs to go out now. I am total agreement with your last statement. I will try the recommendations for this round, and hope to be on this board someday giving my own tips eventually. Thanks to you all for your responses. I'll let you know how it comes along...

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