Tag: PDF

4 Comments

The Quest Has Begun

  By , , , ,

 

Mylar balloons are the Night to Dawn mascotSince my last blog, I’ve been trying out and testing PDF software. Night to Dawn 33 never got published through Lulu; I usually use Lulu and CreateSpace for NTD issues. My difficulties with image compression were the reason I didn’t use Lulu, where CreateSpace seems to handle the files better. Per the Mylar balloons’ advice, I looked into PDF software programs.

Three of them made it past the “let’s leave this one alone” stage: PDF Pro (online), Adobe and Nitro Pro. I abandoned Adobe after a three-hour trial period – had no clue how to go about working it. PDF Pro was user-friendly, but could not handle the NTD uploads. I’ve had Nitro Pro five days and am sitting on the fence with this one. I haven’t been able to upload my Night to Dawn file for conversion. NTD 34 has 51 MB, and I had in mind to use the PDF software expressly for the NTD magazines and book manuscripts. Nitro Pro encountered errors with NTD upload attempts. However, I was able to upload one of the book files and convert it to a PDF. My sense is a lot of programs don’t handle files over 50 MB well. I spoke about this with my computer guy, and he suggested printing to PDF through Windows 10. I thought that printing to PDF and saving was cute and doable. Unfortunately, the folks at Lulu didn’t agree. I got a one-line message: contact support.

When the Mylar balloons said I had a problem, they weren’t kidding. I also believe that every issue has a solution.

I’m seriously considering updating my Word software. I currently use 2007, which is an excellent software for most users, but I may need to go with Word 2016 because you get more options with PDF saving. If I do go with Word 2016, this will preclude Nitro since the expense for both would be more than I’m ready to handle. I also believe Nitro can work, but there is a learning curve. So, it’s onto the fence, with my Mylar balloons to hold me upright.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

4 Comments

Createspace versus Lulu Revisited

  By , , , , ,

Some time ago, I laid out the advantages of using Lulu versus Createspace. And my biggest beef with Createspace was not being able to use my credit card. Well, at last I found my way through the labyrinth of ordering functions, enough to order a proof. Createspace has made peace with my credit card, and when I got the proof of Cold War Heroes, I found that the proof looked decent enough for a bookstore. So the assumption followed that I could go ahead and run all my future NTD magazines through Createspace. Not quite.

I’ve already run NTD 20 through Lulu, and got a lot of nice compliments about the issue. So with the PDF generated by Lulu’s software, I proceeded to upload on Createspace. You see, any book run through Createspace software will automatically go on Amazon. But Createspace wasn’t crazy about handling 8.5 x 11 books. You can’t do 8.5 x 11 books for premium distribution on Createspace like you can with Lulu.

No biggie there, until I got a memo from Createspace informing that the PDF wasn’t viable. NTD always has a print label on the spine, the way many perfect bound magazines do. The print had to come off of the spine, said Createspace. Also on my book reviews, I needed to add two additional places where the books reviewed are available. I don’t have the Acrobat software needed to change the spine. I could make the changes on the inside file on my Word 2007, save it to PDF and use that.

Ah, but with Lightning Source, Lulu, and Createspace, it isn’t enough to use a PDF. The fonts have to be embedded a certain way for the file to pass muster. Lulu will convert your word files to PDF so that you’ve got a file that meets that requirement.

Does that mean I’m firing Createspace? Not necessarily. But I can’t use it for NTD unless I’m willing to forego print on the spine. Maybe I’m having a hard time with change.

I am turning more to eBook distribution: namely Kindle, the Nook, Smashwords, and a new company www.xinxii.com, a European distributor of eBooks. The eBooks look promising, and more people are buying them. But there is a lot to be said for the feel of a print book.

I would like to hear from you about your experiences using Createspace’s software, and your thoughts on the future of eBooks.

 

  • Subscribe to Blog via Email

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 452 other subscribers