Tag Archives: IBook

ePUB production just took a major leap upward with InDesign CC9.2

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The new InDesign CC9.2, released this week, gives us much to be happy about as book publishers Most of the changes affect book production. The long-promised TypeKit integration is now available with over 700 Adobe TypeKit fonts freely usable and licensed for print, Web, and ebook as part of Creative Cloud. It runs much faster. There has been a major reworking of the hyperlinks panel to simplify its use. There’s a full featured QR code generator. There is … Continue reading →

Contrary to common opinion, InDesign CC has helped ePUB export a lot

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In the ePUB world, it is amazing how much bad press is given to InDesign. In fact, the coverage given to coders and developers of ePUBs matches the hype received in the media by Obama. But we won’t go there. I just received yet another posting in an author group I am in this morning. The writer stated that InDesign does not handle embedded fonts in ePUBs well. This is simply untrue. In fact, InDesign ePUB export … Continue reading →

Multiple linked TOCs in ePUBs for CC

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One of the new changes to InDesign CC is an innocuous checkbox at the bottom of the Table of Contents dialog box for: Make text anchor in source paragraph. What this does is make sure that any TOC has functional links in the exported ePUB. As Ron Bilodeau commented, “You can now have multiple ID-generated TOCs within your document(s) and they will all exist with correct links within your exported ePub file.” Now you can have custom … Continue reading →

Adobe Digital Editions 2.0 is not bad

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As I often do, I found out this morning that I have been recommending false information. I’ve alway hated Adobe Digital Editions, Adobe’s free ebook reader. It trashed the type and the images. I always recommended deleting it and not allowing it on your computer. This morning I discover that the 2.0 version is a great improvement. Of course, it’s been out since Sept 2012 & I never noticed I’m surprised that I haven’t heard of it. Has … Continue reading →

What skills are needed to self-publish?

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What skills do you need? The idea is that InDesign can be learned and you can become comfortable enough with the software so that it becomes an extension of your creativity. For example, as I started this chapter in the Writing In InDesign book, I hit the shortcut to set my headline. This started the chapter on the next odd page (which is the norm). When I wrote the headline and hit the Return key, InDesign changed to … Continue reading →

Benefits of the new self-publishing paradigm

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There are many benefits of the new self-publishing options. I’ll cover the financial at the end. It is very fast! One of the real changes in the new paradigm is the speed with which you can release books, booklets, posters, and so on. If you have proofed copy that is ready to format, you can get it published and released in a day or so. The limitation is only your formatting speed. With the techniques and workflow … Continue reading →

Writing In InDesign means it’s ready to go when you finish!

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When you’re done writing and editing, it’s ready to print! This is probably the best part of the process. In the traditional scenario, design and formatting does not begin until the book is written and edited. If you are writing and editing in InDesign, when you are done writing, the book is ready to release. If you print on-demand, it can be available to your readers in a couple weeks or less (even today, depending on the … Continue reading →

Writing in InDesign is a true reader service

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Writing within InDesign Here I am again recommending a road less traveled by—not unusual in my life and work. Before the choruses rise up in defense of other workflows, let me tell you my reasonings. I fully recognize that most people write in Word. What these people do not realize [in most cases] is this simple fact starts their book with a great handicap. If Word users are publishing their own book, they are missing out on … Continue reading →

Exporting KF8 (a Kindle Fire book) from your book in InDesign

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Producing a KF8 Kindle book Until very recently, I gave some very explicit instructions for the construction of the HTML and CSS needed to step back in time to Amazon’s MOBI format. It was extremely limited in what was allowed. Designers are rarely good coders, and writers even less so. InDesign is the best tool we have at present, but there’s still a long way to go until some of the typographic niceties we rely on in print … Continue reading →

Writing in InDesign is the only sensible choice for writers in the new paradigm of on-demand self-publishing

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The greatly expanded and rewritten Writing In InDesign Second Edition has been released Buy it Now! Versions available so far Spiral-bound premium workbook $19.99 7×10 perfect-bound paperback $17.99 Kindle (with embedded fonts for Fire) $7.99 (Available in the Kindle Lending Library) What started as a relatively small update turned into a large scale revision when I began adapting my popular Writing In InDesign book to the responses and suggestions I received. I have been pleasantly surprised at all the people … Continue reading →