But don’t be happy thinking that this is free software and you will start publishing ebooks in mobipocket format. If your file has tables, bullets, graphics etc. Your problems have just started. The software does not convert 100%. You have to make changes manually on HTMl codes, replace tables with their images etc. Document conversion companies charge $5 to $15 per page for such conversions.

Amazon.com has forced all the Publishers to convert ebooks to Mobipocket format where the software is full of bugs, bad user’s manual and it is left on publisher to do testing of the product and inform Mobipocket of its bugs. This happened just because Amazon OWNS Mobipocket. Is this legally and morally right?

Small publishers like me cannot afford conversion services and cannot afford to spend days after days trying to understand program with the help of forums.

I think Amazon should invest some money in offering free conversion service to small publishers. This will bring a BIG relief to small publishers.

I am sure many Publishers share the same frustration and would expect Mobipocket to provide REAL help not just directions through forum.

I hope Microsoft and Adobe are evaulating some AntiTrust Lawsuits against Amazon for forcing out all other ebook formats.
Any news media person reading this, please publish article on this subject to enlighten clients of Amazon.com & world about their business practice which should be questioned in ourt by State or big corporations.

Alas, however, due to copyright laws, we can’t email you the software.

Best of luck and happy holidays.

David

The Mobipocket claims that both Home and Publisher Creator editions are free. But when I try to download, it does not work for either editions. Can you please e-mail me a copy of Mobipocket Creator Publisher edition?

Thank you a lot.

After a few weeks’ consideration and investigation (the info on this blog post was very helpful), I chose to start offering all my company’s ebooks via Mobipocket. An ebook publisher can’t help but feel like it’s better to be safe that sorry, especially when there are no upfront costs.

My books are still available in pdf and lit as well…maybe Amazon will eventually force its pet format on the ebook reading world, but it ain’t gonna happen overnight! Will be interesting to see how this all shakes down in the months and years to come…

Diane Lau, Publisher
Living Beyond Reality Press
Author, “Do-It-YourSelf-Publishing”
.

To answer an earlier question (or one from another topic), Mobipocket has problems when it converts from PDF. From the user’s point of view, the process is intuitive and takes less than five minutes. You select the type of document (HTML, MS Word, text, or PDF) from the Import From Existing File menu, specify the file, and Mobipocket goes through several steps, parsing the document, laying out lines, looking for super- and sub-script, etc. Then you tell it to “Build” the new document and where to save it, and the process is done.

However, the software has problems with converting text/title centering. It also breaks lines for no apparent reason, skips some indents, and inserts or leaves out linespacing.
Regards,
–Mike

Henry

I see yet another profit center for Amazon as they help writers market their books by selling them preferred placement, title and listing enhancements, and perhaps keywords, per the eBay model. (Or have I already said that?)

Amazon will be in a much better position to exploit the long tail, since its content providers will be doing the formatting and the uploading, and paying $149 for the privilege (which will probably dwarf many products’ lifetime sales).

Michael Perry:
I have the same experience as you with pbook vs ebook sales on Amazon. Amazon’s move can only increase the advantage of the specialist ebook retailers–unless they try to tie publishers in with format exclusivity. Then things could get interesting.

Amazon shorts are good for the US market, but when I tried to order from the UK, I couldn’t. I imagine it’s because Amazon doesn’t acquire worldwide rights.

I have about 30 hardbacks and paperbacks on Amazon and about a dozen ebooks (Adobe PDF). The sales of traditional books is many, many times that of the ebooks, even though the latter are priced far cheaper and I get half the selling price. And I suspect many of my ebook sales are to students needing to whip out a quick school paper who don’t have the time for the book to come in the mail. That sort of market is small and won’t grow much.

There another critical factor. For those already publishing paper editions, this proprietary Amazon format makes little sense. I always generate a press quality PDF for print versions. I can create a more compact ebook version from the same source in under five minutes. It’d take quite a bit of near-certain income (i.e. a bestseller) for it to make sense to import and reformat a book in Mobibook format. Time is money.

Those wanting to publish electronically who’re writing short stories, may want to check out Amazon Shorts instead. It lets you publish chapter length etexts that sell for about 50 cents, with about half that going to you. The one hitch is that you have to give Amazon exclusive sales for six months.

–Michael W. Perry, Untangling Tolkien et al.