Re: Newbie question on making-editing ebooks

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> Hello, would someone kindly direct me to a web site that is similar to 
> an ebooks for dummies?
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> I use, but am not an expert, in Calibre and Sigil, to edit existing 
> ebooks I download. I have basic beginner questions, like: Why did I 
> have to convert an ebook to a Calibre ebook, in order to add my own 
> ebook cover jpg? Also, is there a basic for dummies way to code 
> existing ebooks I download. I don't understand the ugly way folk's 
> style the ebooks. Why all the Capital letters? Lazy? How do I break a 
> subhead into two lines, but not two subheads?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.  John R

John,

If you have some knowledge of html and css, this is not a problem that 
should hold you up long. You know that pdf is one form of ebook. But the 
most usual intended are the epub, mobi and ibook. The last is an App 
that I do not know about. But it may be tha same coding as the mobi (for 
Kindle) and the epub (for most other things). Calibre is the program to 
turn a good epub into other formats.

These two are effectively zip folders containing other folders and 
content, as well as a small signpost file. I've seen the whole described 
as a website. If you open an epub in Sigil you will see on the left 
column most of the folders and contained files [I would not use Calibre 
to make the epub, or to add pages]. and in Sigil you can see the content 
text or cover or pictures, or add them, or correct them. And you can see 
both the presentation, and the html and the css.

If you unzip in something like 7-zip you will see the folders and files. 
Explore those to see what they are made of and how put together. 
Experiment in Sigil with a shortish and simple book; you will soon get 
the hang of how it works, and what gives the kind of result you want.

The rest is really doing it. Others might chime in with specific advice. 
But I do advise first taking one apart a putting it back together. There 
are plenty of free epubs to download and look at. Or make a copy of 
something that permits that; then if it goes wrog just delelte and make 
another ocpy to test your skills with :-) .

On the Kindle publisher pages there is advice, and an excellent pdf to 
download [free] on Smashwords. There is endless other stuff to be found 
with a search. But have a good look at one first to see its make up.

HTH

Joseph Harris [By the way there is no such thing as a Calibre ebook.]