Hey, everyone. The e-book industry is in its infancy and we are all feeling our way along a dark hallway. Hoping, of course, that it's a hallway and not a ballroom. (Walls are harder to find in the latter.)
I have my books on a bunch of sites. Most of them travel through Smashwords to get where they are going, with the exception of Amazon. The other day I went on Smashwords to check my stuff and I had a message that one of my short stories had 'failed an e-pub check'. This was a freebie named Scary Beast. Apple doesn't keep stuff on their site if it fails e-pub check, I guess, so it would be good if this could be resolved. Not a big deal, really, because the book was free, anyway.
I clicked on a link provided to try to resolve the issue and uploaded a copy of the story to the folks that approve these things. (An independent group) Of course, it's automated. It will refuse your manuscript and not give you a reason. So, then you start to try to eliminate possible reasons, which can be counterproductive. This story has been downloaded and read for the last 8 or 10 months with no problem. I downloaded it myself on my PC and my I-Pad with no apparent problem. I read it and again, no problem. So I decide to let the matter ride a few days. Then I go to Smashwords and I've got an addendum to the former message that adds a second story to the e-pub fail thing.
I'm not trying to make any point, nor am I trying to register a complaint. I just thought you might find it interesting. I have no kick coming. I'm just grateful for a chance to sell my books and to have them read.
If I'm able to resolve this I'll let you know. I've had books rejected for having a link that didn't work. This is still superior to the traditional publishers who won't even accept manuscripts.
The following formats are available for downloads on the Smashwords store. HTML, Java script, .Mobi(kindle), the infamous epub, PDF, RTF, LRF, Palm Doc (for Palm devices) and Plain Text. By the way, Smashwords has nothing to do with the E-pub fail thing.
It's all very fascinating, I guess. An emerging industry with typical growing pains. Reminds me of when I was a teenager and my legs would ache because bone and sinew were not growing at the same rate.
Hey, I'm reading a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child. I like it so far. Not a lot of wasted motion with this guy, which makes him a writer after my own heart. Life is short, spare me the 100 page buildup. When I get finished I'll give you guys a review. My wife has a friend who starts a book and if it hasn't captured her attention in the first 15 pages, she tosses it. Not a bad idea. Looking back, there are very few books that I have read which I would have regretted using this method. Those that were bad for 15 pages were pretty much bad. As I said last night, the sample for ebooks makes this a more practical practice. At least economically.
So, here's a scenario you may appreciate. I want this book by Lee Child. I would prefer to have it in paper form just so I can loan it, if I like it. Then again, I live 25 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart, let alone a book store. If I splurged and went to one of these used book stores where I could buy the whole series of Jack Reacher novels for $2.50 each it would take about $15 worth of gas, a drive of 115 miles, round trip, and kill most of a day.
On the other hand I can pop over to Amazon or I-Books and have the book in less than a minute for $9.99. Not only that but I can read the free sample and if I adhere to the '15 page and throw it away' rule I might save myself from buying a bad book. Can you see why the shut-ins, the home bound, the hermits in the Alaskan wilderness, can really dig the ebook thing? Trust me, this is the future of books. I do wish they'd relent on the high prices, though. No e-book should be more than $7, in my opinion. I may change my mind if the E-pub fail thing continues. Ha, ha.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
I have my books on a bunch of sites. Most of them travel through Smashwords to get where they are going, with the exception of Amazon. The other day I went on Smashwords to check my stuff and I had a message that one of my short stories had 'failed an e-pub check'. This was a freebie named Scary Beast. Apple doesn't keep stuff on their site if it fails e-pub check, I guess, so it would be good if this could be resolved. Not a big deal, really, because the book was free, anyway.
I clicked on a link provided to try to resolve the issue and uploaded a copy of the story to the folks that approve these things. (An independent group) Of course, it's automated. It will refuse your manuscript and not give you a reason. So, then you start to try to eliminate possible reasons, which can be counterproductive. This story has been downloaded and read for the last 8 or 10 months with no problem. I downloaded it myself on my PC and my I-Pad with no apparent problem. I read it and again, no problem. So I decide to let the matter ride a few days. Then I go to Smashwords and I've got an addendum to the former message that adds a second story to the e-pub fail thing.
I'm not trying to make any point, nor am I trying to register a complaint. I just thought you might find it interesting. I have no kick coming. I'm just grateful for a chance to sell my books and to have them read.
If I'm able to resolve this I'll let you know. I've had books rejected for having a link that didn't work. This is still superior to the traditional publishers who won't even accept manuscripts.
The following formats are available for downloads on the Smashwords store. HTML, Java script, .Mobi(kindle), the infamous epub, PDF, RTF, LRF, Palm Doc (for Palm devices) and Plain Text. By the way, Smashwords has nothing to do with the E-pub fail thing.
It's all very fascinating, I guess. An emerging industry with typical growing pains. Reminds me of when I was a teenager and my legs would ache because bone and sinew were not growing at the same rate.
Hey, I'm reading a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child. I like it so far. Not a lot of wasted motion with this guy, which makes him a writer after my own heart. Life is short, spare me the 100 page buildup. When I get finished I'll give you guys a review. My wife has a friend who starts a book and if it hasn't captured her attention in the first 15 pages, she tosses it. Not a bad idea. Looking back, there are very few books that I have read which I would have regretted using this method. Those that were bad for 15 pages were pretty much bad. As I said last night, the sample for ebooks makes this a more practical practice. At least economically.
So, here's a scenario you may appreciate. I want this book by Lee Child. I would prefer to have it in paper form just so I can loan it, if I like it. Then again, I live 25 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart, let alone a book store. If I splurged and went to one of these used book stores where I could buy the whole series of Jack Reacher novels for $2.50 each it would take about $15 worth of gas, a drive of 115 miles, round trip, and kill most of a day.
On the other hand I can pop over to Amazon or I-Books and have the book in less than a minute for $9.99. Not only that but I can read the free sample and if I adhere to the '15 page and throw it away' rule I might save myself from buying a bad book. Can you see why the shut-ins, the home bound, the hermits in the Alaskan wilderness, can really dig the ebook thing? Trust me, this is the future of books. I do wish they'd relent on the high prices, though. No e-book should be more than $7, in my opinion. I may change my mind if the E-pub fail thing continues. Ha, ha.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
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