paullima wrote:
Hi Bryce - really appreciate your effort here; unfortunately, my head is not quite at the level you are at, so I don't get much of what you are saying.
For instance, I don't know how to create an XHTML file. I have a Word file and can save it as an HTM file, but I have no idea how to create an XHTML file.
Also, you suggested that I convert How To Write A Non-fiction Book In 60 Da - Paul Lima.epub into a zip file by changing the extension. I thought one had to actually 'zip' a file to create a zip file, but thought I'd just try to change the epub ext into a zip extension, but when I did, I couldn't create the zip file because one already exists in the folder: Calibre has created a file called How To Write A Non-fiction Book In 60 Da - Paul Lima.zip
So it seem I have a zip file, but have no idea what to do with it to create a valid ePub. Should I unzip the zip file?
And once I do that, it seems I still have to edit something (don't know what) in a program - Notepad? Nvu (an HTML editor)? Also, even if I can open the right file in the right program, I don't know what I am supposed to be editing.
I have bookmarked W3C's validator but I don't know which file (the Word DOC or HTM file, something from the zip file, an XHTML file I create?), I am supposed to validate against XHTML 1.0. Then it sounds like I am supposed to run my epub through this validator, which I have bookmarked, but at this point I don't know what file I am supposed to convert into an ePub or if I can use Calibre to do the conversion.
I suspect I need something really, really basic first: a step by step guide on how to create an ePub from nothing! As I've said, creating the Kindle file is a piece of cake compared to this. I don't even know what ingredients I need, or where to find them, or how to mix them to create a valid ePub. But thanks for your help. I will have to find something somewhere that is really basic. Wonder if they have a Creating ePubs for Dummied book out there?
First, I deal with the change in extension. As I think I said before, an EPUB is XML and HTML wrapped up in a zip file. The extension is, of course, epub, but it is still a zip archive.
You will unzip the zip archive, which gives you access to every file that makes up that particular ebook (images, html, etc.). You will edit the necessary files in something (i.e. Notepad) or whatever else. I suggest you copy the EPUB to a different location, before you change its extension and unzip it, that will solve that problem.
An XHTML file is just an HTML file, so you would upload the HTM that you have (HTM is an extension that designates HTML). XHTML itself is just a standard of HTML, not its own file format or language (however, the EPUB specs say that the OPF must list these files with the XHTML mimetype, so telling it that is xhtml but using either ".htm" or ".html" will not matter. looking through an unarchived epub from something like Project Gutenberg (which is essentially what is going on when you change ".epub" to ".zip" and then unarchive the zip), should tell you exactly what the XHTML mimetype is (or Google can help with that)).
Sorry, no Creating EPUBs for Dummies exists, you'll be better off getting InDesign (or using Smashwords, but you can't distribute the ebooks they make for you yourself, it can only be distributed by their premium catalog).
As I said before, the error reporting from the threepress validator link will tell us where we need to look. Ken would probably also be running it through validation software, in order to find flaws, as the first step is isolating the problem, not trying to deal with the whole issue at once. The validators serve the purpose of isolating problems down to a single place or file.
