Type of 2013 Indie Publishing Workshop?

[J.A. Marlow]

Originally, in March I was going to give the March “Ebook HTML Formatting and Templates” workshop. However, in early 2013 my process is going to change. Partly because I will have a new computer system, but also because Epub file formats and a few retailer standards have changed. I could still give it on developing a good HTML formatting template system, but take out any reference to the ebook formatting software Calibre. The HTML base is still a good one and can be converted with other programs.

Or, I could give a workshop on the basics of Indie Publishing. The other side of this is that there is so much information on this already, and I’ve been collecting the best links in the Indie Publishing Reference Guide here at FM. This may be overkill, and I would be repeating info available elsewhere.

Any opinions on this? What kind of a workshop would you be interested in?

J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.

Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove

[magicalbookworm]

i would still like to see an html class once you get the new system up and working though

[J.A. Marlow]

Duly noted!

J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.

Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove

[Ashe Elton Parker]

I’d like to see the Indie Publishing BAsics first, but would still appreciate the html class (particularly since i have no idea where to start with that beyond making italics and underlines and such).

Ashe Elton Parker
"Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
~*~
Member since 1998.
~*~

[Seleane_Gray]

Either one works for me, honestly. I’d be in the camp with Magic on the HTML class but again, either one would help me greatly.

[Wandering Author]

I’d find the HTML class more useful at the moment, but with a caveat. I am one of those people who have to tweak just about any process to suit me. So if it covered not just one process, using a single piece of software, but the underlying HTML code for the various e-book formats, I’d find it very useful. (Since I’d probably be using something like AutoHotKey to create my templates. Or just set up a blank template, then tweak it as I see fit for each occasion. Which one would depend on the specifics of the code.)

If it is going to focus exclusively on “How to do this using a particular piece of software” I doubt I’d get much out of it. Take Calibre as an example; I don’t hate it. I’ve never wished death, destruction, or unending plague upon its makers (which is a ringing endorsement, coming from me ). But I just can’t work with it that well. I don’t find it “easy” at all. I’d be more inclined to blame Calibre for that if I hadn’t discovered, over and over, that the software I struggle to use always seems to be the same stuff everyone else calls “easy”. “Easy” seems to equate to ‘makes half the choices for you’, and then I go insane trying to figure out how to get it to do exactly what I want. It does not help that I’m a former printer, so my standards for something like this are about a billion times more exacting than for most software – and I’m still trying to find tools I can bear to use on a regular basis to do any number of things. :dry:

[J.A. Marlow]

The class would be about using basic HTML code that converts consistently well across ebook formats. Each person would use the information and examples provided to set up their own personalized HTML templates that they could then drop a new story into. The idea is to avoid creating the entire ebook file from scratch each and every time. That didn’t make sense to me, as there are areas of the ebook that don’t change at all, or don’t change much. What program is used after that to do the final conversion is up to the individual.

Even though I originally planned one week for how to use Calibre to convert that file, I’m dropping it. As I said, my process is going to change here really soon, specifically with the conversion software. The HTML templates I’m using will stay the same.

I hope that answers your question.

J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.

Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove

[Parrish]

:woohoo:
HTMLJDKO CODE… nods.
Making a real template as I go instead of taking notes is what I needed to do the first time.
This would be very useful to me. I am getting novels even closer to sharing as this year’s goal.
I might even get one actually LAUNCHED by the end of next year!

Parrish

[David Anthony Brown]

I’d personally appreciate the HTML class. Honestly either class would be great, though I think there’s already a lot of resources on the basics of indie publishing. I’m sure both of us can think of three or four blogs that include information on the basics.

[J.A. Marlow]

The nice thing is that with fiction ebooks, you don’t need fancy coding. It’s when you get to non-fiction that the hair-pulling can start! 😆

J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.

Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove

[cherylp]

I’d be interested in the html class. I know the coding must have changed since I took a class in it years ago.

[Author]

Posts