I'm waiting for another editor to claw apart the manuscript of
Dremiks. While I wait, I've been working on the formatting for the print and e-book editions. Perhaps it won't surprise you, but it certainly shocked the hell out of me, that
CreateSpace formatting is far easier to navigate than
Kindle Direct Publishing.
Full disclosure: I didn’t figure out any of this on my own. In fact, I’m writing this post partly to thank my wonderful “nerd-brain-trust”. Without these guys and gals, I would be bald and whimpering in a corner. The other reason I’m writing this is because my own help-desk solution – Google it until you find the answer – was sadly inadequate. If you arrived here after your own
Google search – congratulations, help is (hopefully) on the way. (Sadly, if you are using a Mac, I cannot help you. Good luck!)
1. There are new versions of KindleGen and Kindle Previewer available. Download them here:
http://www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindleGen
http://www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindlePreviewer
2. Once you have downloaded KindleGen, you need to unzip the files. My version of Windows (Windows 7 Home Edition) decided to put these files in a folder with a ridiculously long name. Do yourself a favor, change the name of that folder to Kindlegen. You’ll thank me later.
3. Here’s a newsflash: that “ReadMe” file in the Kindlegen folder you just unzipped and renamed? You should actually read that. I know, bizzarro world. If you don’t read it, you’ll do what thousands (presumably) of authors have done before: you’ll try to double-click the “Kindlegen” file. SPOILER ALERT: That doesn’t work. At all. Stop clicking it.
4. Now that you have the files downloaded, unzipped, renamed, (...this is beginning to sound like a bodice-ripping novel for computers) find the file you want to convert to Kindle-ready formatting. This format is called Mobi, just in case you care. You really need to have this file in html or htm format. If the file is a Word file, click on “Save As” and choose “WebPage, Filtered”. SAVE THE FILE INTO YOUR KINDLEGEN FILE FOLDER
5. Repetition is key here: make life easier, save the html version of your document into the Kindlegen folder.
6. Go to your Start Menu. Click “All Programs”. Click “Accessories”. Click “Command Prompt”. If you started using computers before 1993 you’ll recognize the trusty old command prompt that used to control our lives. If you don’t recognize it, don’t be afraid, it won’t bite. However, be warned that you should not make any sudden movements, and that certain trusty commands like “Ctrl-V” for paste aren’t going to work.
7. NOW it is very important that you remember EXACTLY where you put that KindleGen folder and what you renamed it. Ye Olde Command Prompt does not have auto-correct for your silly file names. If you named the folder “KindlwGeh”, then you’re going to have to tell the computer to look in “KindlwGeh” for what you need. (If this is the case, please go back and re-name the folder to something less embarrassing) My Windows download put the KindleGen folder in My Documents. Easy enough.
8. To run the program type the following:
C:\users\cassandra\documents\kindlegen\kindlegen.exe C:\users\cassandra\documents\kindlegen\Dremiks.htm
9. NOTE: replace “Cassandra” with your username on your computer and replace “Dremiks.htm” with the name of the file you wish to convert. MAKE SURE there is a SPACE between \kindlegen.exe and c:\users... The space is important.
10. You should have lots of text scroll by. At the end it should tell you that a file has been created. If you look in your KindleGen folder, you should see your file with the new extension .mobi . If you got a message about “could not find file”, then you need to check and make sure you have the right folders named. The easiest way to do this is to go to your Windows interface, find your kindlegen folder and right click on it. Scroll down and click on Properties. You should see a line tell you “File Location”. The string of information should look identical to what you typed. If it doesn’t, fix what you type in the command prompt window to match what Windows says the file location is.
11. Now, open KindlePreviewer, Click on “File” and Click on “Open Book”. Find your file (it will be in your KindleGen folder with a .mobi extension) and click “Open”. If it worked, congratulations. If it didn’t work, check and make sure you have the right file location and are selecting the file ending in .mobi Also note that you can click on “Devices” in the Kindle Previewer menu and select several options. You can see what your book will look like on KindleFire, Kilde E-Ink versions, Kindle for iPhone, etc.
Again, this post would not be possible without the wonderful members of the best gamers guild in the world:
The Call of Fate. Yes, I’m a gamer and proud of it. Yes, these folks are some of my best friends. If something goes horribly wrong with my computer my first call is always to one of them. Special thanks to Sloshed, Lyel, Korav, and Kigva, without whom I’d still be cursing at a command prompt.
