Tarot in Culture: The Tech Narrative (last update June 23, 2014)
The text is processed with Word for Mac (2008) and Pages using a times new roman 12 point font.
The Ebook (two volumes) (published March 5, 2014)
The ebook illustrations are almost all in colour set to 100 ppi at 6" and then reduced to 4" in the file. The illustrations are all jpegs processed in photoshop as RGB files into singles and pairs with black borders. In the original manuscript, I had grey scale images, but these will no longer copy into a Word document. RGB picture files will copy and paste into Word. I had to photoshop the borders on because the borders applied in Word disappear during the ebook export.
I converted the Word file with colour illustrations into an ebook by opening it with Pages 5 and then exporting to epub. I used Pages because it was $20 and easy to use, although I gather it is a far less effective program than earlier Pages and iWork programs. (InDesign was just too expensive to consider.)
Pages has a couple of draw backs when it comes to making epubs. One is that it creates a redundant and rather ugly looking table of contents at the beginning of the epub that is very difficult to remove. Luckily, a kindly mac-forum participant took pity on me and explained how to get rid of it using a free third-party download called eCanCrusher. [This problem was corrected in a recent Pages update. June 23, 2014]
Continuous endnote numbering is also problematic, as there are over 1400 endnotes in this manuscript. (Tarotists may find this amusing.) There does not seem to be any way to divide the notes by chapter using the software I have. The links between numbers and notes, however, work flawlessly, and the numbers are sized and set so that they do not disturb the line spacing. I submitted chapter specific notes as a request to the Pages-feedback page. Who knows, maybe there will be an upgrade that solves this issue.
When it came to uploading the final file to the Kobo website, I found I had to split it into two volumes to make it upload.
I made a few corrections—some were minor inconsistencies in the appearance of the toc and some were requested by authors who missed the original deadlines—after I had published both volumes on Kobo. I didn't realize at first that uploading the corrected files would invalidate the links. However, new ones are automatically generated and anyone searching the site would find the books. Also, customers who purchased the old file can get the updated one free-of-charge by requesting it from the Kobo help desk.
The Hardcopy (two volumes)
I published the hardcopy edition through Lulu. I used the Lulu template for my file, but it would probably have been easier to study the features of the template first and then copy only the elements I wanted into a file of my own. The template seemed to keep reasserting its own features, even when I changed the styles, so I had to do a lot of repetitive correcting simply because the changes wouldn't "stick." For example, the template adds a line across the bottom of the page above the page number. For various design reasons, I decided to remove this line, and I had to repeatedly remove it after every little correction or change I made to the file.
I created the required high-resolution pdf by using the mac print tool (with the printer set to Adobe 8) to generate a postscript file, or rather postscript files since this process inexplicably divided the file into parts. (If you are using this method, don't forget to set the paper handling for whatever size your manuscript pages are or Lulu will reject the file.) Then, I opened the postscript files with acrobat distiller (set to press quality at 1-3) and it created the pdfs, which I then recombined using Adobe 8. (The postscript-distiller process is apparently necessary because it removes the invisibles that make mac files work well, but which confuse many high-quality printers.) I found I could delete and add individual corrected (and processed) pages using preview without compromising the quality of the file.
The hardcopy illustrations are all black-and-white jpegs set to 300 ppi at 4" or higher and reduced to 3" in the file. They are processed in photoshop as RGB files into singles and pairs with black borders. I had to photoshop the borders on because the borders applied in Word seem to alter during the postscript to pdf processing.
The footnotes in the hardcopy restart with each paper. The bibliography is set after the footnotes of each paper.
There are three ways to generate a hardcover jacket on Lulu and this is definitely confusing at first. The Lulu book jacket "wizard" is not that difficult to use, but I found it had some eccentricities. Some of these problems disappeared or the design features changed during the months I was working with it.
In the end, I used the Wizard to generate a basic jacket with the back and side information and pictures in place, as well as the front title. I downloaded this file and photoshopped the front picture in as I wanted it. (I used the wizard on Volume One to generate both Volume One and Two covers.)
To get the correct spine text on the inside cover, I had to consult with a technician and order two proofs (after I had ordered two and got it wrong) before we got it right. The system automatically puts the title at the top of the spine and the author's name at the bottom. Since I am the editor, I didn't want my name on the cover spine, I wanted the title at the top and volume one and volume two at the bottom.
To edit the spine text, I had to go into the "old" cover designer (not the wizard), scroll down and fiddle around with the menus until I found the one for the spine text, and then type in the correct information in the correct spaces. THEN, I went to the one-piece upload cover option (not the Wizard and not the "old" designer) and uploaded my one-piece jacket. It seems that if you go back to look at the spine text again at that point, it is necessary to re-upload the jacket. If you don't, the machine might opt for whatever is in the Wizard file. I might be wrong about that part, but that is how it worked out in my tests.
When ordering proofs, be sure to set the availability to private. The technician neglected to do this when he was ordering proofs for me and two dudd versions of the book were almost instantly sold. (The text is fine on those copies, it is the jacket and spine that are wrong). I have no idea who the buyer or buyers are and Lulu can't do anything about it. Whoever you are ... sorry about that.
Lulu automatically generates a price for the book and gives you the option of setting various discounts. The price and the general information boxes can be changed without initiating a new revision. The marketing options are set after publication.
Only books sold directly off Lulu make returns worth mentioning. If you are recommending Tarot in Culture to someone, tell them to buy direct from Lulu. Lulu offers free shipping and discount coupons from time to time that do not impact the author's returns.
The text is processed with Word for Mac (2008) and Pages using a times new roman 12 point font.
The Ebook (two volumes) (published March 5, 2014)
The ebook illustrations are almost all in colour set to 100 ppi at 6" and then reduced to 4" in the file. The illustrations are all jpegs processed in photoshop as RGB files into singles and pairs with black borders. In the original manuscript, I had grey scale images, but these will no longer copy into a Word document. RGB picture files will copy and paste into Word. I had to photoshop the borders on because the borders applied in Word disappear during the ebook export.
I converted the Word file with colour illustrations into an ebook by opening it with Pages 5 and then exporting to epub. I used Pages because it was $20 and easy to use, although I gather it is a far less effective program than earlier Pages and iWork programs. (InDesign was just too expensive to consider.)
Pages has a couple of draw backs when it comes to making epubs. One is that it creates a redundant and rather ugly looking table of contents at the beginning of the epub that is very difficult to remove. Luckily, a kindly mac-forum participant took pity on me and explained how to get rid of it using a free third-party download called eCanCrusher. [This problem was corrected in a recent Pages update. June 23, 2014]
Continuous endnote numbering is also problematic, as there are over 1400 endnotes in this manuscript. (Tarotists may find this amusing.) There does not seem to be any way to divide the notes by chapter using the software I have. The links between numbers and notes, however, work flawlessly, and the numbers are sized and set so that they do not disturb the line spacing. I submitted chapter specific notes as a request to the Pages-feedback page. Who knows, maybe there will be an upgrade that solves this issue.
When it came to uploading the final file to the Kobo website, I found I had to split it into two volumes to make it upload.
I made a few corrections—some were minor inconsistencies in the appearance of the toc and some were requested by authors who missed the original deadlines—after I had published both volumes on Kobo. I didn't realize at first that uploading the corrected files would invalidate the links. However, new ones are automatically generated and anyone searching the site would find the books. Also, customers who purchased the old file can get the updated one free-of-charge by requesting it from the Kobo help desk.
The Hardcopy (two volumes)
I published the hardcopy edition through Lulu. I used the Lulu template for my file, but it would probably have been easier to study the features of the template first and then copy only the elements I wanted into a file of my own. The template seemed to keep reasserting its own features, even when I changed the styles, so I had to do a lot of repetitive correcting simply because the changes wouldn't "stick." For example, the template adds a line across the bottom of the page above the page number. For various design reasons, I decided to remove this line, and I had to repeatedly remove it after every little correction or change I made to the file.
I created the required high-resolution pdf by using the mac print tool (with the printer set to Adobe 8) to generate a postscript file, or rather postscript files since this process inexplicably divided the file into parts. (If you are using this method, don't forget to set the paper handling for whatever size your manuscript pages are or Lulu will reject the file.) Then, I opened the postscript files with acrobat distiller (set to press quality at 1-3) and it created the pdfs, which I then recombined using Adobe 8. (The postscript-distiller process is apparently necessary because it removes the invisibles that make mac files work well, but which confuse many high-quality printers.) I found I could delete and add individual corrected (and processed) pages using preview without compromising the quality of the file.
The hardcopy illustrations are all black-and-white jpegs set to 300 ppi at 4" or higher and reduced to 3" in the file. They are processed in photoshop as RGB files into singles and pairs with black borders. I had to photoshop the borders on because the borders applied in Word seem to alter during the postscript to pdf processing.
The footnotes in the hardcopy restart with each paper. The bibliography is set after the footnotes of each paper.
There are three ways to generate a hardcover jacket on Lulu and this is definitely confusing at first. The Lulu book jacket "wizard" is not that difficult to use, but I found it had some eccentricities. Some of these problems disappeared or the design features changed during the months I was working with it.
- First, the picture space holders have very specific sizes and the only way to adapt pictures with different proportions is to add borders of the same colour as your chosen background. The borders were invisible on the small pictures on the folded-in sections of the jacket, but very visible on the front. I used a black background for design purposes.
- Second, although similar templates show up for each new project, they were not identical. In some cases the picture spaces vary by only a few pixels, but for my front cover, the difference was almost a third the height of the image between the first project template and its counterpart in my second project.
- Third, the text spaces for the title, subtitle, and author are fixed on the templates and it is more or less impossible to move them.
- Fourth, some text boxes seem to have bold pre-selected and you can't remove it. In other boxes, it is impossible to make the italics remain fixed.
In the end, I used the Wizard to generate a basic jacket with the back and side information and pictures in place, as well as the front title. I downloaded this file and photoshopped the front picture in as I wanted it. (I used the wizard on Volume One to generate both Volume One and Two covers.)
To get the correct spine text on the inside cover, I had to consult with a technician and order two proofs (after I had ordered two and got it wrong) before we got it right. The system automatically puts the title at the top of the spine and the author's name at the bottom. Since I am the editor, I didn't want my name on the cover spine, I wanted the title at the top and volume one and volume two at the bottom.
To edit the spine text, I had to go into the "old" cover designer (not the wizard), scroll down and fiddle around with the menus until I found the one for the spine text, and then type in the correct information in the correct spaces. THEN, I went to the one-piece upload cover option (not the Wizard and not the "old" designer) and uploaded my one-piece jacket. It seems that if you go back to look at the spine text again at that point, it is necessary to re-upload the jacket. If you don't, the machine might opt for whatever is in the Wizard file. I might be wrong about that part, but that is how it worked out in my tests.
When ordering proofs, be sure to set the availability to private. The technician neglected to do this when he was ordering proofs for me and two dudd versions of the book were almost instantly sold. (The text is fine on those copies, it is the jacket and spine that are wrong). I have no idea who the buyer or buyers are and Lulu can't do anything about it. Whoever you are ... sorry about that.
Lulu automatically generates a price for the book and gives you the option of setting various discounts. The price and the general information boxes can be changed without initiating a new revision. The marketing options are set after publication.
Only books sold directly off Lulu make returns worth mentioning. If you are recommending Tarot in Culture to someone, tell them to buy direct from Lulu. Lulu offers free shipping and discount coupons from time to time that do not impact the author's returns.