Comments on: So you want to be an epublisher http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/ Web design news and insights since 1995 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:54:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Denis Papathanasiou http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-56169 Denis Papathanasiou Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:34:57 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-56169 Another good tool is <a href="http://code.google.com/p/sigil/" rel="nofollow">Sigil</a>, which is a desktop app for creating epub files. It's what we recommend to authors who want to publish on <a href="http://fifobooks.com/" rel="nofollow">Fifobooks</a>. Another good tool is Sigil, which is a desktop app for creating epub files.

It’s what we recommend to authors who want to publish on Fifobooks.

]]> By: epub. Alla ricerca di un workflow | biroblu http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55711 epub. Alla ricerca di un workflow | biroblu Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:58:45 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55711 [...] sempre confusione fra HTML e XHTML, tanto da portare una persona di solito accorta come Zeldman ad affermare “che ci vuole, prepara i tuoi file in HTML valido (dimenticando che lui stesso [...] [...] sempre confusione fra HTML e XHTML, tanto da portare una persona di solito accorta come Zeldman ad affermare “che ci vuole, prepara i tuoi file in HTML valido (dimenticando che lui stesso [...]

]]> By: Courier http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55512 Courier Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:55:33 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55512 The internet is ensuring that the most popular writers are those with the best command of the language and the most creativity, what an amazing tool it is - and who says language standards are declining! The internet is ensuring that the most popular writers are those with the best command of the language and the most creativity, what an amazing tool it is – and who says language standards are declining!

]]> By: Jeffrey Zeldman http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55509 Jeffrey Zeldman Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:13:41 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55509 Douglas: The ePub format is much like HTML. Just like HTML, it is text that can be styled, put into columns, accompanied by illustrations, and so on. Based on what you're describing, it sounds like PDF would be a more sensible format for your design book. Douglas: The ePub format is much like HTML. Just like HTML, it is text that can be styled, put into columns, accompanied by illustrations, and so on. Based on what you’re describing, it sounds like PDF would be a more sensible format for your design book.

]]> By: Douglas Bonneville http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55508 Douglas Bonneville Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:31:08 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55508 Jeffrey and Jerry: What I meant was, can anyone recommend a book where the design of each page translates into an ePub? Your design book is no doubt fantastic, but it is text oriented, not design oriented. By design oriented, I mean, the layout of each page, and not just content, is translated into ePub. Does that make more sense? Since you can't preview what a Kindle book is going to look like in the reader, I'm asking for a reference. For instance, if each page was an image, or PDF, or simply vector art, how would that translate into ePub? Or would it? Jeffrey and Jerry:

What I meant was, can anyone recommend a book where the design of each page translates into an ePub?

Your design book is no doubt fantastic, but it is text oriented, not design oriented. By design oriented, I mean, the layout of each page, and not just content, is translated into ePub.

Does that make more sense?

Since you can’t preview what a Kindle book is going to look like in the reader, I’m asking for a reference.

For instance, if each page was an image, or PDF, or simply vector art, how would that translate into ePub? Or would it?

]]> By: Richard Fink http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55506 Richard Fink Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:46:34 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55506 <em>Your guidelines state that ebook designers should not choose fonts, stating that it “creates a bad user experience”.</em> They really say that? 500 years of publishing practice out the window, just like that? Unreal. To paraphrase Henry Ford, "They can have any font they want, as long as it's Palatino." The runaway success of the iPad has gone to somebody's head. Your guidelines state that ebook designers should not choose fonts, stating that it “creates a bad user experience”.

They really say that? 500 years of publishing practice out the window, just like that?
Unreal.
To paraphrase Henry Ford, “They can have any font they want, as long as it’s Palatino.”
The runaway success of the iPad has gone to somebody’s head.

]]> By: Jeffrey Zeldman http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55505 Jeffrey Zeldman Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:49:59 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55505 Here is Liz Castro's take: <blockquote> Oh Apple, what are you doing? So misguided. You add DRM to all your ebooks. And now, you have crippled iBooks 1.1 so that it won't recognize fonts applied with perfectly standard CSS to any body, p, div, or span element. Your guidelines state that ebook designers should not choose fonts, stating that it "creates a bad user experience". You are wrong. Apple designers choose fonts for everything Apple does. Because fonts matter. Indeed, you have chosen the fonts for iBooks and for the iPad. And now you have chosen to keep ebook designers from choosing the body font for their ebooks. It is a very shortsighted decision. The ePub specification <em>requires</em> that conforming ereaders, like yours purports to be, support font-family, among other CSS 2.0 properties. Indeed, you do support font-family for most inline elements, like b, em, code, and even some block level elements like dl and li. Why then not the biggies: p, div, and span? Your desire for control will ultimately break these standards or it will break iBooks. It will break standards as it incites designers to use ugly hacks to overcome iBooks' broken support for standards. It will break iBooks as people design beautiful standards-compliant ebooks that look great in other readers that support standards. Or should we just go back to Internet Explorer 5? </blockquote> More at: <a href="http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/2010/06/apple-kills-fonts-in-ibooks-strikes.html">Apple Kills Fonts in iBooks, Strikes Blow to Standards</a> <a href="http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/2010/06/apple-damaging-epub-standard-with.html">Apple Damaging ePub Standard With Pseudo-Support</a> Here is Liz Castro’s take:

Oh Apple, what are you doing? So misguided. You add DRM to all your ebooks. And now, you have crippled iBooks 1.1 so that it won’t recognize fonts applied with perfectly standard CSS to any body, p, div, or span element.

Your guidelines state that ebook designers should not choose fonts, stating that it “creates a bad user experience”. You are wrong. Apple designers choose fonts for everything Apple does. Because fonts matter. Indeed, you have chosen the fonts for iBooks and for the iPad. And now you have chosen to keep ebook designers from choosing the body font for their ebooks. It is a very shortsighted decision.

The ePub specification requires that conforming ereaders, like yours purports to be, support font-family, among other CSS 2.0 properties. Indeed, you do support font-family for most inline elements, like b, em, code, and even some block level elements like dl and li. Why then not the biggies: p, div, and span?

Your desire for control will ultimately break these standards or it will break iBooks. It will break standards as it incites designers to use ugly hacks to overcome iBooks’ broken support for standards. It will break iBooks as people design beautiful standards-compliant ebooks that look great in other readers that support standards.

Or should we just go back to Internet Explorer 5?

More at:

Apple Kills Fonts in iBooks, Strikes Blow to Standards

Apple Damaging ePub Standard With Pseudo-Support

]]> By: Jeffrey Zeldman http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55504 Jeffrey Zeldman Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:46:25 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55504 Thanks, Terri, that's great! Thanks, Terri, that’s great!

]]> By: Terri Stone http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55502 Terri Stone Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:20:24 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55502 If you're coming from InDesign, this series may be helpful: http://www.creativepro.com/article/making-ebooks-indesign-part-1 http://www.creativepro.com/article/making-ebooks-indesign-part-2 If you’re coming from InDesign, this series may be helpful:

http://www.creativepro.com/article/making-ebooks-indesign-part-1
http://www.creativepro.com/article/making-ebooks-indesign-part-2

]]> By: Jerry Skains http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55501 Jerry Skains Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:25:43 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55501 Douglas, Although I am not able to get to many ebooks that are design instruction oriented for my Nook (which is the main reason I got it so I will be glad when there are some) I do know that Amazon has a pretty large design and instruction oriented library available for the Kindle. I haven't seen how functional they are but you could look there as a starting point to finding answers to your questions. Douglas,
Although I am not able to get to many ebooks that are design instruction oriented for my Nook (which is the main reason I got it so I will be glad when there are some) I do know that Amazon has a pretty large design and instruction oriented library available for the Kindle. I haven’t seen how functional they are but you could look there as a starting point to finding answers to your questions.

]]> By: Jerry Skains http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55500 Jerry Skains Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:21:38 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55500 Great Article, I only have one point of contention. I recommend always creating books in the ePub format and not PDF. The ePub works better with eReader in that they allow the font to be resized and the PDF files don't. This can make reading PDF from an eReader difficult or all together impossible. Furthermore PDF files do not convert to other formats very well, although there are applications that try to do it, I have yet to convert a PDF to ePub satisfactorily. Besides why would I want to pay for an eBook and then have to buy an application to convert it. Great Article, I only have one point of contention. I recommend always creating books in the ePub format and not PDF. The ePub works better with eReader in that they allow the font to be resized and the PDF files don’t. This can make reading PDF from an eReader difficult or all together impossible. Furthermore PDF files do not convert to other formats very well, although there are applications that try to do it, I have yet to convert a PDF to ePub satisfactorily. Besides why would I want to pay for an eBook and then have to buy an application to convert it.

]]> By: Jeffrey Zeldman http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55499 Jeffrey Zeldman Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:04:37 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55499 Well, er, <a href="http://www.zeldman.com/dwws/">Designing With Web Standards 3rd Edition</a> is available in a nice, crisp <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Web-Standards-ebook/dp/B002WIG3UO/jeffreyzeldmanprA/">Kindle Edition</a> as well as print. Well, er, Designing With Web Standards 3rd Edition is available in a nice, crisp Kindle Edition as well as print.

]]> By: Douglas Bonneville http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55498 Douglas Bonneville Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:46:55 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55498 How do design oriented books fair in ePub and other format (Kindle .mobi, etc.)? I have a design resource book (font combinations) book nearing completion, and the format requires a fixed layout. This is no problem for a PDF, but since I haven't crossed the ePub bridge yet, I'm wondering if anyone else has crossed it yet in regards to fixed layouts. Can anyone point to a design book that is available on Kindle (or other platforms) AND print, so the two can be compared? How do design oriented books fair in ePub and other format (Kindle .mobi, etc.)? I have a design resource book (font combinations) book nearing completion, and the format requires a fixed layout. This is no problem for a PDF, but since I haven’t crossed the ePub bridge yet, I’m wondering if anyone else has crossed it yet in regards to fixed layouts.

Can anyone point to a design book that is available on Kindle (or other platforms) AND print, so the two can be compared?

]]> By: David McDonald http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55497 David McDonald Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:14:40 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55497 Jeffrey, Nice post, and most timely. I really need to dig into the ePub business, have some clients who are interested in releasing books on the new range of reader devices. Is it just me, or have the 'Big Two' names in DTP print publishing been somewhat slow off the mark in producing authoring tools for this yet? Cheers. Jeffrey,
Nice post, and most timely. I really need to dig into the ePub business, have some clients who are interested in releasing books on the new range of reader devices.
Is it just me, or have the ‘Big Two’ names in DTP print publishing been somewhat slow off the mark in producing authoring tools for this yet?

Cheers.

]]> By: Jeffrey Zeldman http://www.zeldman.com/2010/06/28/so-you-want-to-be-an-epublisher/#comment-55496 Jeffrey Zeldman Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:40:06 +0000 http://www.zeldman.com/?p=5700#comment-55496 Dave, that's fantastic news. You are such a good writer. Dave, that’s fantastic news. You are such a good writer.

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