Content Conversions make even the most tech-savvy writer-editor-publisher throw a fit when trying to polish your final draft into a legible eBook version.
You can spend hours online using your favorite search engine, then looking at the number of Stars from previous users, then reading comments from disgruntled members of your field of expertise burn them to the ground.
I’ve done some of the above.
Here are a few that bubble-sorted to the top of the stack.
For those with deep pockets, I’ll go ahead and mention the infamous –
Adobe Creative Suite.
If you can afford their elaborate software and own a mini-Cray computer, read no further.
Otherwise, for the rest of the starving artist crowd, there are thankfully some less expensive software options and even one-use online software conversion applications available.
The highest concentration of writers seem to gravitate toward:
Calibre (calibre-ebook.com) and Scrivener (literatureandlatte.com)
This is where I interject the disclaimer – Both of these highly rated options are not without peril. Both applications are downloadable and installable on almost all OS versions (PC/Mac/Linux).
According to every writer group I’ve become invested in, both of these are also not without errors.
Honorable mention goes to – Draft2Digital and Smashwords
Proofread and Proofread again!
Online conversion software is also fairly reliable. Here are a few links to the highest rated among users, not necessarily search engine results.
ebook.online-convert.com/convert-to-mobi
pdf2mobi.com
zamzar.com
If your needs run toward the Kindle reader format (.AZW), you’re probably better off using the Amazon converter (if that’s the only place you intend to publish).
Otherwise, there is a product named Stanza (lexcycle.com) which exports into the Kindle format.
According to other users, this application is not very user friendly, but produces good results once you get the hang of it.
Hopefully, I’ve given a spark of light in the darkness to any first time self-publisher and even saved you an hour of your time better spent writing or editing.
Happy writing!
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