[tpicco]

OK... designed a poetry book for a self publishing friend.
Downloaded Amazon's plug in for InDesign to convert to Kindle
Looks like #$%$#@$%
Anyone experienced at this?

[Thorzdad]

In what way does it look like #$%$#@$% ?

[tpicco]

text reflowing all over the place, page breaks non existent.

i know kindle needs to flow, but these are poems that were arranged very specifically by the poet... line breaks etc...

[Thorzdad]

Did you create a new InDesign file specifically formatted for the Kindle display? Or are you converting a file originally intended for a print format?

[tpicco]

well i just tried converting it... i had trouble locating specific specs for Kindle display. I downloaded a lot of PDFs from Amazon with FAQs & suggested quidelines but had trouble finding specifics... they suggest not specifying a font or font size... i mean... what? am i just being a curmudgeon?

[andi*pandi]

I think no font or font-size is part of what makes a kindle a kindle. You could create a PDF or iBook which has more creative structure, but doesn't resize as well for readers who like larger text etc.

[raleur]

I have very limited experience with designing for Kindle, but I understand that it operates more like CSS than PDFs or EPUBs do.

For example, the Kindle will ignore spaces between text boxes, and it will ignore spaces created by multiple returns inside text boxes. You need to control the line spacing by using "space before" and "space after" settings in your paragraph styles. You can also use the "Insert Break Character" options in the Type menu, but you have make sure that "preserve forced line breaks" is checked during export.

For extra white space within individual lines, you should use the "Insert White Space" options in the Type menu, and you have make sure that "preserve forced line breaks" is checked during export.

Do you use the Kindle previewer to help you see what you're making?

[tpicco]

yeah i have kindle preview... i will try your suggestions

thnx!

[cgc]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

I think no font or font-size is part of what makes a kindle a kindle. You could create a PDF or iBook which has more creative structure, but doesn't resize as well for readers who like larger text etc.

PDF is a format designed for hard-copy printout (e.g. 8.5 x 11 or different depending on country) which iBook and e-pub should scale for any device.

[andi*pandi]

Yes, but the OP indicated he wanted precise controls over layout/font styling, which ePubs do not have... although raleur's post seems like there is more control than I thought.

[raleur]

The kindle file is really closer to a basic web page than anything else- in fact, if you send files to Amazon for conversion, they want you to use HTML and CSS tags to format the text.

[andi*pandi]

ooh. good to know.