Reply To: Export fixed layout ePub to KF8

Thanks guy and Clarkkenyon for the suggestion above. Sounds like Kindle Textbook Creator is exactly what I need for a project I am working on. Before I experiment with it, though, I’d like to get some advice on the Kindle platform generally. Here’s the deal:

I have written an iPad textbook and laid it out in InDesign. The book’s dimensions are 8.5″ x 11″ (for output to PDF and subsequent printing at CreateSpace).

For my own edification, I recently spent some time with AMC’s and DB’s EPUB courses at Lynda.com. As an experiment, I built another version of my book in InDesign for output to fixed-layout EPUB 3.0. The aspect ratio and resolution were selected for the iPad, and it displays beautifully in iBooks.

I’d like to now generate a fixed-layout KF8 version for sale on Amazon, but I am not familiar with the current crop of Kindle devices. (My own Kindle is a black-and-white antique.) I would like to use the Kindle’s screen real estate as effectively as possible and understand that I will have to lay out my book again to do so. I am getting mixed messages, however, as to what the best aspect ratio and pixel resolution might be. Can anyone help me out here?

Related question: I assume above that the best workflow to generate a fixed-layout KF8 would be to shift the document spec.s of a copy of one of my two existing books in InDesign, massage the material for the new aspect ratio, export to PDF, and then use Kindle Textbook Creator to output to a KF8-legal file. If there is a better way to go about this, I’d love to hear it now, before I launch.

I’m mainly an AfterEffects kind of guy, but I’m coming to love InDesign and am very excited about its potential in e-publishing. I have to admit, however, that this Kindle conversion is about to make my head explode. Any advice gratefully appreciated!

Richard Hurley
Grass Valley Multimedia