Customer Reviews

Publish Your Book On The Amazon Kindle: A Practical Guide

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Well done! This book is terrific. It is not just about creating an Amazon Kindle book, but tells you the best way to create an ebook for sale on Amazon and other websites as well. Michael's advice on using the mobipocket creator software to create a prc (kindle compatible) file rather than simply uploading an html file to the Amazon DTP is right on. This method gives you more options to sell your books on other websites - not just Amazon. He walks you through the mobipocket software with ease. Also, the information about selling your books to other websites through mobipocket is well written and makes a complicated subject easy to understand. For those of you who like to do it yourself, alot of help from those who have already done it makes it easy.

Michael R. Hicks does a very good job of guiding a beginner through the file conversion process. Especially helpful was the basic HTML coverage. Before this, I knew nothing about HTML except that it was a type of format favored by websites. Now I can go into my ebook and make changes to the layout with this useful tool. I do wish he would have gone a little deeper into the subject instead of referring us to outside sources, but he got me started in the right direction.

Two things I discovered while converting my first book (which I hope to be uploading to Amazon soon) with MobiPocket Creator:

The very useful HTML command <br/> which inserts a space between two lines of text when you absolutely have to have it and the Creator ignores the normal paragraph space.

This was a big issue for me because I use Word 2007: MP Creator does not currently accept MS Office Word 2007 format (.docx) so you need to save your book as a Word 2003 (.doc) OR which I reccommend because I had to do MUCH less tweaking afterword, save your file as a WEBPAGE (FILTERED). This converts the file to HTML right in MS Word (so when searching for it from MP Creator browse for HTML files instead of Word files.) I had much less trouble getting the book layout the way I wanted it this way.

I hope Michael will address these issues in upcoming editions, making his great guide even better.

I just published my book to Amazon Kindle. I purchased this book by Michael Hicks because I had no idea where to start. I didn't even know what an HTML file looked like. Especially helpful to me was his information on creating the cover picture and the DTP forums. He takes you through the process, step by step, on how to create an eBook.
Although Mobipocket isn't taking new authors at this time, the information on the Mobipocket Creator was of great help.
I had many questions and had to get a lot of help. The forums were always there and if I didn't find an answer there, I could ask a question and get one. With the help of Michael Hicks, and the information in this book, I finally made it to Kindle. Thanks Mike! Cheers!

Apparently this author tried to be informative BUT the Amazon Kindle program is so primitive regarding getting authors' works up and running correctly that this poor book just can't seem to catch up with how to deal with all the Kindle problems.

Publish Your Book on Amazon Kindle by Michael R. Hicks is an excellent guide to accomplishing the goal set forth in the title. I'm certain that anyone trying to publish on Kindle would encounter difficulty without the clear, detailed instructions provided by Mr. Hicks. It should be particularly helpful to anyone not versed in computer procedures.

I wish this book had existed when I wrote my book! What a bargain at under $[...]!

Michael Hicks, aka kreelanwarrior on the DTP forums, has distilled much of his hard-won knowledge of the Kindle publishing process into a great little book that is clearly written and can be read in under an hour. At this writing, the DTP has many bugs, quirks and pitfalls that the first-time user is practically guaranteed to encounter. How come my product image doesn't show up? Why can't I format my product description? Which is better, Mobipocket or DTP? Post the question on the DTP forum and invariably the most informed response comes from Michael Hicks.

I give this book five stars for its excellent content. But I can forsee some potential problems. I am HTML literate and I wrote my book in HTML using the Vim editor. Michael makes a valiant effort to show non-techies how to modify HTML code exported from, say, Microsoft Word to achieve a desired formatting result on the Kindle (insert an image, special symbols, etc.). I'd be curious to hear from readers who do not know HTML just how successful he has been.

Frankly, if you are serious about publishing for the Kindle you would be well served to read an elementary book on HTML or take a look at www.w3schools.com (as Michael recommends). You can skip all the complicated stuff, as the DTP and Mobipocket Creator only really use a subset of HTML 1.0 with a few added special tags.

Finally, in addition to this book I recommend that you read Manuel Burgos' Graphics on the Kindle (Book 1 of 4 of the "Graphics on the Kindle" Series) which is a great reference for preparing images for the Kindle.

Thanks, Michael, for a great reference guide. Those of us who have wrestled with the DTP are forever in your debt!

David Emberson
Author, The Kindle Cookbook: How To Do Everything the Manual Doesn't Tell You

I read the rest, and this is the best; the very best. In only fifty-couple pages Mr. Hicks tells all, including how to get around being an HTML programmer. You will know exactly how to get your book published on Kindle and more.
Good job!

If you just want to format your text to be read on Kindle, this book does not work.
After following all the instructions for creating a file in "PRC" format with "MobiPocket Creator" and upload it for the Kindle, the result is the same as if you just upload a word or pdf format text: a mess.

Short but covers the ground very well. Clear explanations and details. Useful for novices and experienced writers.

Unfortunately the print version lost it a star. Many instances of part of a line blurred or top or bottom of letters missing were an irritant. This is not the author's fault!

I did try to get the mobipocket version first. No luck, but that may just be a temporary glitch.

I just purchased this book and found parts to be out of date. Mobipocket is no longer allowing new publishers to open accounts. Mobipocket will still allow you to download their creator program (v4.2 as of the date of this review) but you'll need to go through Amazon to open an account to publish on Amazon DTP. The author recommends you do this anyway.