E-books - what format do people prefer?

[Hollysdad]

I'm trying to create ebook versions of the 'Holly's Walks' books for Amazon. I can convert them to KPF files for Kindle very easily, but they don't seem to want to convert to Epub. There is a work-around but it will take a lot of effort.

Before I go any further - do people want an Epub version or is Kindle OK?

 

[Natalie]

I'm trying to create ebook versions of the 'Holly's Walks' books for Amazon. I can convert them to KPF files for Kindle very easily, but they don't seem to want to convert to Epub. There is a work-around but it will take a lot of effort.

Before I go any further - do people want an Epub version or is Kindle OK?

I think kindle is fine. Even if you haven't got one you can read on a tablet or a phone, and I think Amazon has the market share covered on e readers. They are so cheap now it's not worth buying a different brand offering a limited choice.

 

[Natalie]

And, I know loads of people with Kindles but no-one with another brand. I bought my mom a Kobo about 7 years ago, it was returned within a few days and exchanged for a Kindle.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I don't know what ePub is - I mean, I can guess what it is easily enough, I've just never used it. And I've probably got 700 ebooks by now. So I'd say go with Kindle. Yes, they're the Evil Empire, but the one most people use.

I'm excited to see the Kindle version of you and Holly's book!

 

[Hollysdad]

I don't know what ePub is

Epub is an attempt to make an open standard for e-publishing to break Kindle's monopoly. Google books and Apple books use it, among others.

I'm excited to see the Kindle version of you and Holly's book

Nice to know. I'll get started on them. With another lockdown coming in Wales there's not much else to do!

 

[Naya]

I always use my kindle. It’s by far the best e-reader I have found

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I always use my kindle. It’s by far the best e-reader I have found

Yeah, Amazon is totally the Evil Empire bit darn do they know what they are doing: I LOVE my Kindle.

 

[David]

Kindle actual, Kindle Android, Kindle PC. All synched together.

 

[Candy]

Kindle for me too, although if illustrations, diagrams or maps are involved I still prefer proper books. Same for poetry and recipes.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Yup kindle.
I did have one that used ePub format but moved on ages ago as the range of books wasn't great.

 

[Hollysdad]

Kindle for me too, although if illustrations, diagrams or maps are involved I still prefer proper books. Same for poetry and recipes.

There are lots of pictures and maps in these books.

 

[Candy]

There are lots of pictures and maps in these books.

I thought there would be! I like books with pictures and maps. They don't come across so well on a Kindle.

 

[Joy]

I use Kindle too. I mostly use the app on my ipad and it works perfectly. The only thing I'd say is that while all the novels I have are fine, several non-fiction books I've bought for Kindle recently haven't been formatted properly and that is irritating. You know, captions not next to the picture / diagram, photos all together in one place rather than spaced throughout the book, and (especially annoying) table of contents links that don't work. So I think time spent on the formatting could bring you greater appreciation from your customers.

 

[Candy]

I use Kindle too. I mostly use the app on my ipad and it works perfectly. The only thing I'd say is that while all the novels I have are fine, several non-fiction books I've bought for Kindle recently haven't been formatted properly and that is irritating. You know, captions not next to the picture / diagram, photos all together in one place rather than spaced throughout the book, and (especially annoying) table of contents links that don't work. So I think time spent on the formatting could bring you greater appreciation from your customers.

Yes, those are some of the problems I've had too.

 

[snowbunny]

Kindle all the way. I use Calibre (free library software) if I need to change the format of a book.

 

[Atemas]

I 100% love my Kindle for fiction but agree with @Candy about an actual book if there are maps/photographs. Especially if the book is coming out with me on a walk and I am referring to it often

 

[Hollysdad]

Kindle all the way. I use Calibre (free library software) if I need to change the format of a book.

Ive tried using Calbre and its producing error messages saying that the input document is incompatible. Knowing your IT expertise, this is what I've done so far. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The source book is written in LaTeX and generates a PDF. This is a preferred format for uploading to Kindle Direct Publishing.

Kindle Create converts the PDF to KPF for Kindle without any problems. I’m currently experimenting to see if I can add hyperlinks from the table of contents to chapter headings to make it easier to navigate.

Calibre will not create an EPUB from either the PDF or KPF.

Ive tried going form LaTeX to another intermediate form, for example LaTeX to HTML then HTML to EPUB, but all formatting falls apart. Its very fiddly. It also shreds any vector graphics like the maps.

The only route that seems to work is to generate a new version of each book as DOCX then convert DOCX to EPUB. Ive tried a sample and it seems to be problem free.

Before going any further I thought I’d see if there was any demand for an EPUB version. It looks like there isn't.

 

[Rosie]

Kindle every time if it is an e-book (and I confess I usually buy e-books to read these days, because I've run out of bookshelf space). But if it's a book of walks with maps then I'd always, always, always choose paper.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Sometimes I buy both but don't tell OH.

 

[Hollysdad]

Kindle every time if it is an e-book (and I confess I usually buy e-books to read these days, because I've run out of bookshelf space). But if it's a book of walks with maps then I'd always, always, always choose paper.

It's not really about paper vs ebook but which format of ebook is the most popular.