But.
Since this blog is the "behind the scenes exclusive view" of all things Mythik (we are all about transparency, right?) I will say that I'm still not entirely happy with what the Smashwords Meatgrinder and I came up with in regards to the formatting of all the Smashwords versions of MI#1 (which includes iTunes and B&N.) I am a bit hesitant, though, to upload a new version to "fix" what isn't really broken. I might make it worse (haha, a very minor version of the "Unintended Consequences" scenario from the last Weird Wednesday.) Anyway, the problem is that sometimes the chapter breaks seem to cut off the titles. I was sure when I first downloaded and tested, it worked fine, but now it looks like it doesn't. It's very frustrating, after following the Style Guide so carefully. Anyway, I will try to make improvements with #2. On the flip side, I was very pleased with the Kindle version.
And in other FYI news, I'm making the final revisions to the print edition of MI#1. I think it will look really cool. So stay tuned for that.
I'm really excited about the MI#1 Podiobook. I'm behind schedule on that, but it should be a cross between the old CBS Radio Mystery Theater and a spoken-word Twilight Zone. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to "make use of time, let not advantage slip." Ha that's Shakespeare - who says the SF genre isn't literate? But I've got some good actors lined up and hopefully will get it done soon.
I'm still struggling to get MI#2 finished. So much to do, so little time...
What projects are you working on?
I know what you mean about the Smashwords formatter. I can usually get mine to look fine on the Kindle, but the Nook (at least the app I have on my computer) adds page breaks so there are empty pages, which it shouldn't because I never add more than two blank lines. It's hard to judge, too, if you don't have multiple ebook readers you can physically check the book on.
ReplyDeletethe Podiocast sounds like a fun project.
ReplyDeleteI learn from you and Lindsay ...
Hey, that Lifeboat Foundation thing you posted is the perfect thing for my new WIP. Thanks for such inspiring posts.
I'm going through the formatting adventures now too. Like you, Lindsay, I've found the Kindle version looks good, but the epub version seems to need some black magic. I'm currently using a program called calibre to convert from mobi to epub (I formatted the mobi by hand) - what do you guys use?
ReplyDelete@Lindsay - yeah the Nook is a pain. I have to rely on the desktop readers for most of the formats. Someday I'll have a Mythik QC department with all the latest hardware for testing ;)
ReplyDelete@M Pax - Yes, I'm looking forward to doing the Podiobooks. Reminds me of when I was a kid recording stories onto a cassette recording (only hopefully a bit higher quality lol) I'm glad the Lifeboat was helpful!
@Nicolas - I formatted the .html by hand for the .mobi. For epub and the rest, I followed the Smashwords Style Guide and used the Meatgrinder from a Word file. I think it can be improved, though...