Macs, Word and PDFs - a waste of time and money?

[davidfarmer]

I have a feeling that the three terms above were not made for each other when it comes to publishing a book on Lulu. I am using Word 2008 on Mac to write my book. I have tried uploading a doc file for conversion by Lulu but the pictures and graphics appear in the wrong places and the pagination is all out of kilter. I tried printing to a PDF using Word. It ends up as two documents at A4 size instead of the correct template size that I started with.

I tried opening the file with Open Office. Forget it. All sorts of weirdness.

So I am seriously thinking of buying Acrobat for £500 and something pounds. Will I be wasting my money, or is this foolproof?

[Tracey Morait]

I can't speak for Macs as I've never used one. I write on Word 2007 but save as Word 2003 on a PC. I haven't used Word 2008, or heard of it, is that Mac specific? What file extension does it use?

Because Lulu can only cope with .doc extensions up to Word 2003. It can't convert .docx Word 2007 files for example. Least it never used to be able to...

Have you tried saving your file as a 1997-2003 compatible file and converting it that way?

I don't see the need to buy Acrobat Professional as there are free conversions available on the net, this one being an example, http://www.freepdfconvert.com/ but I always use the Lulu conversion program so if anything goes wrong you know where the fault lies if there's a problem.

[Maggie]

You can download a trial version of Acrobat Pro 9 and use it for three months free. It is a fabulous software.

By the way, Open Office and Word are not totally compatible. You lose tons of formatting.

Also, I would never risk uploading a Word document. With a PDF you are sure you get exactly what you want in a  book.

I hope this helps some.

[Ken Anderson · Accepted solution]

As Maggie says Acrobat Professional is a real must.
That way you have complete control over the production of the PDF and the PDF is what makes the book.
The other item to consider especially for the Mac is Adobe InDesign and if you really intend creating and publishing a number of books that contain multiple elements of text and images that is really the way to go.
Professional tools for professional results. They'll enable you to produce books in any format hard copy, ebook, POD or traditional printing. And they'll last you a lifetime.

[davidfarmer]

Hi all, and thanks for your helpful comments.

Tracey, Word 2008 is a Mac program and I save in a "compatible" 97-2004 doc format. However, it can't be that compatible for all the reasons I mentioned. I  am trying that conversion website right now. Maggie, you can only download the free trial of Acrobat for Windows - I already found that out, unfortunately!

Ken, I will look into Adobe InDesign as it is half the price of Acrobat. I wrote my first book for Lulu on a PC and just uploaded that Word file without any hitches. However I moved to Mac when I got fed up with Windows glitches. Now I'm beginning to feel homesick.

I think I will end up buying InDesign or Acrobat as I am such a control freak. Thanks for all the tips

David Farmer

PS I just found out that InDesign is one and a half times the cost of Acrobat. Oops.

Author: 101 Drama Games and Activities No 1 top-selling book published by Lulu in the UK

[Ken Anderson]

David,
Yes it expensive but worth every penny.
I believe there may be some special offers on a CS5 bundle at the moment that include Indesign, Acrobat Pro, Photoshop etc.

[davidfarmer]

Ken,

Do you use Mac and or InDesign?

David.

101 Drama Games and Activities No 1 top-selling book published by Lulu in the UK

[Tracey Morait]

As a matter of interest why did you change from PC to Mac?

I always use the Lulu conversion program from Word to PDF, and I'm glad I do, because something went wrong when I ordered a proof copy of my latest book, something to do with the raster printer. Lulu said I hadn't converted the file properly, when the previous two proofs have printed fine. They thought I'd uploaded a pdf which hadn't been converted correctly but when I told them I'd used their program they had to check it out.

[TheresaMMoore]

You can save a Word document in a variety of versions. If you are using 2008 and you can't get it to behave, click on "Save As" and then scroll down the options until you find the "Word 97/2000" option or something older. Composing on a Mac makes absolutely no difference. It's the software, not the device. Lulu uses older software, so no matter how upgraded your software is, you'll still have to dumb it down. 

Also, when you uploaded the file, did you check to see what format size you chose on the publishing wizard? On Lulu the default is 8.5 x 11, but if you chose 6 x 9 that is how it will publish. It then has everything to do with how you formatted your file and set your printing choices. And make sure your fonts are embedded and the file looks exactly the way you want in the "page layout" view before you upload it for conversion. You should upload it as a .doc file, not a PDF, for the wizard to work. It will generate the PDF for you.

[davidfarmer]

Hi Theresa,

As I mentioned earlier I saved it as Word 97-2004 format and there is no older one to choose. I used the Lulu template for US Trade paperback 6x9 and selected that in the Wizard. However I will double check though I don't think that's it. When I used to work on PC I too uploaded the doc file in preference to PDF as Lulu had more success with that. You can't embed fonts in Word when using Mac. The book looks great in preview in Word but completely different after Lulu has converted it. That's why I may need Acrobat.

Tracey, I changed to Mac because I find Windows too clunky. Macs are smoo-o-ooth in comparision.