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How to present a book online?

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by TupperLake, Jan 21, 2019.

  1. kk5st

    kk5st Prominent Member

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    #21
    Your host has likely already set up an FTP directory outside your html root. It will serve up any file you'd like and support authorization and authentication natively. Your customers won't even need an FTP client, their browser will do. You will need an FTP client to maintain your file site. FTP applications are widely available and the great majority are free. Apropos of nothing at all, I use FileZilla.

    g
     
    kk5st, Jan 25, 2019 IP
  2. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #22
    Good reminder - thanks!!

    Okay.
     
    TupperLake, Jan 25, 2019 IP
  3. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #23
    Yes, I understand FTP/SFTP/SSH/etc.

    But how is FTP supposed to help protect my book from getting pirated?
     
    TupperLake, Jan 25, 2019 IP
  4. allout

    allout Prominent Member

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    #24
    I having been reading through these post and I think PDF is still your best bet. I refuse to read more than a page on my computer or laptop. However, I can download a PDF and read a bunch on my IPad.

    It is one of the oldest sayings that locks are made to keep honest people honest. People who want to steal your book will find a way but most people tend to buy something they are interested rather than steal it.

    If you are really worried, self publish through Amazon. You will get less per book but have a much wider market place to sell your book.
     
    allout, Jan 25, 2019 IP
  5. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #25
    Thanks for the response.

    Okay, so let's shift the conversation... (I can start a new thread if it would be better!)

    Why do you, and other people I have spoken to have this horrible aversion to reading a book on your computer?!

    For the last 25 years, people have been living and dying on their computers reading content off of the Internet. So why is it such a foreign concept to read a well formatted and laid out book online?

    And what does a PDF offer as far as formatting or readability that a well-formatted web page doesn't?

    I get that you can be offline with a PDF, but other than that, what else?

    If a person uses "responsive web design", a web page should be *much* more readable and flexible, because as you shift devcies the page will adjust. (Good luck with that reading a PDF!!!)

    Also, I am skeptical that the majority of people are reading books on eReaders like Kindle. have times changed and I missed this?

    Finally, if I didn;t state this before, the reason my book is 1,000 pages is because it is a how-to computer guide, and full of screenshots. I thought Kindle and the like were low-resolution, crappy black & white screens? (If my book is presented as a web page, then I could do superior formatting to anything an eReader could do, and probably compete with a PDF too?!)

    I welcome your feedback, but there seems to be a disconnect between you 9and others) see the world and the way I do on this topic!!
     
    TupperLake, Jan 25, 2019 IP
  6. JoeSpirit

    JoeSpirit Well-Known Member

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    #26
    I'm not sure I can adequately respond to your post here TupperLake but I'll give you what immediately comes to mind.

    When I spend a day in the office (mostly on computer because that's where my business is) my eyes get tired and my mind goes fuzzy. I'm ready to get away from the computer. I don't feel that when I read on my Kindle Fire. I don't spend near as much time on the Kindle though, as I do on the computer during a day in the office. That might be the reason my mind tries to find an escape from me when I put that tablet down.

    I've always been an outdoor person too. Sitting in an office goes against my grain. For that reason I work toward organizing my business so that I spend fewer and fewer hours on the computer and free up more hours to be outside.

    I'm also an old man and I still prefer the heft of a physical book. Yes, I understand that may be largely psychological but it is what it is.

    I can't speak for anybody else but there are my thoughts.
     
    JoeSpirit, Jan 26, 2019 IP
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  7. allout

    allout Prominent Member

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    #27
    It sounds like you already had your mind made up. Last 25 years? Since the iPod touch, people have been doing less reading on the computer. When the very first iPad, I know that I stopped using my computer for anything but work, bills, and writing articles. I can not read in bed, on the toilet, laying on the couch, or other places people like to read with a laptop or desktop.

    It is also harder to mark your place, or travel with a web page book. I personally would not pay for book to do that. However, there may be people who do. I remember buying a book on PDF that was 360 pages called “Burn the Fat.” Great howto book on weight loss and weight lifting. It was highly recommended but before the invent of tablets. I printed the damn thing off so I could read when I where I wanted. Now it is on my iPad.

    These are my opinion but seems to be shared by others. However, you are the final say how you want to do it. Maybe go on some book reading forums and ask their opinion too. Just don’t do research and than be annoyed by the result. Not smart business.
     
    allout, Jan 26, 2019 IP
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  8. kk5st

    kk5st Prominent Member

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    #28
    It's not. If the file gets on the user's device, he can steal it. It has the same authentication methods that html has, so no different from html in that respect. Improved security in the sense that it is outside the html directory tree.

    Echoing Joe, above, for reading a book, an E-reader is much better than html or especially pdf. I have an E-reader app on all my computers; I don't have to have a dedicated reader.

    g
     
    kk5st, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  9. kk5st

    kk5st Prominent Member

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    #29
    Nothing, nothing at all. PDF and .doc (or any other word processor) formats are for print; they do not belong on a screen.
     
    kk5st, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  10. allout

    allout Prominent Member

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    #30
    On a tablet, PDF can be put into your Ereader and formats just like a book. Every PDF I buy or download, I send to iBooks and I turn pages just like a book.
     
    allout, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  11. kk5st

    kk5st Prominent Member

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    #31
    Does the reader reflow the pdf document or does it scale it? How does it handle multiple columns? My readers manage to paginate, but the pagination is based on the reader's viewport size, or the document is scaled in which case the type size is also scaled and unless I'm on a large monitor with the reader maximized, the print will be small to the point of unreadable. On multi column, it is common that you must scroll to the bottom of the first column then back up to the top of the second column. A PITA.

    PDF is not an appropriate format for the screen.

    gary
     
    kk5st, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  12. allout

    allout Prominent Member

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    #32
    It must reflow it because it is very readable and I really can not tell any difference in a PDF, a Kindle book, or an Apple book. They are all very readable and turn pages just like a regular book. Right now, in my library I have 15 PDFs and there is no problems with any of them. I just download in my browser and copy them to iBooks and they work great.
     
    allout, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  13. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #33
    Fair enough.

    Maybe I should go buy a Kindle or an iPad and try out the eBook thing myself to get a better feel for how it differs fromr eading on a computer.


    I often prefer paper books as well. But since I am trying to make a profit, a digital book that costs me $0 is much more attractive than a paper book that customers might like more but where I make no money or possibly lose money.


    Thank you!!
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  14. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #34
    At least on this forum, it seems that I am "behind the times" and out of synch with what people do in the modern world?!

    So this book I wrote is so long because it is packed full of color screen shots and illustrations showing people how to do X-Y-Z.

    Again, I may be behind the times, but I was under the impression that Kindles and the like were crappy little low-resolution black & white devices...

    Is this not true?

    Also, if you were going to read a 1,000 book that showed you topic XYZ on your computer, are you sure you'd want to do that on a tiny, lower quality eReader? (Nobody in their right mind would read my book in bed, mostly because I am showing you how to set up your computer, so you need to be at your computer!)

    Finally, okay, so you prefer an eReader, but realistically, how many people who have a computer, and want to set it up to do XYZ, also own an eReader? I was under the impression that eReaders are still a niche, and mostly owned by people who like to read lots of trashy novels and sci-fi crap?! *LOL*
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  15. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #35
    Hmmm... Okay, that changes things quite a bit...

    So you can have an eReader application on your traditional computer, huh?

    Please help me to understand why the eReader app is better than reading the same book on your computer as an HTML file or a PDF file.

    (Be patient, I'm trying to learn here!)
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  16. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #36
    I can see that for a word processor document like .doc because MS Word is sort of annoying when you scroll from page to page.

    If you configure it properly, I think it is very easy to scroll and navigate in Adobe Acrobat Reader when viewing a PDF. (At work, I often save my final docs as bot .doc and .pdf, and then when I have to demo something in Skye, I use the PDF since it is much easier to naviagte and demo my work.)

    Just asked this, but what does something like ePub or MOBI (?) in an eReader application on a computer (or on an eReader) offer that a .doc or HTML or PDF doesn't offer??
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  17. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #37
    Now opinions appear to be diverging...

    It sounds like you are saying that you much prefer using the eReader application itself. That is the missing piece that a computer lacks?

    I say this because it seems like you are okay with a PDF formatted book as long as you read it in an eReader and not on a computer using Adobe Acrobat. Is that correct?

    If so, why do you feel navigating in the eReader app is better than Adobe Acrobat? (Nothing personal, but if you know how to customize Adobe Reader, it makes reading and navigating a PDF very easy and pleasurable. Maybe that is the issue - you don't know how to adjust the settings?)

    Look forward to your response!
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  18. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #38
    Okay, it is clear that Gary doesn't like PDFs!

    So what kind of eReader do you use?

    And what eBook format would you want my book formatted in for the best results?
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  19. TupperLake

    TupperLake Peon

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    #39
    What kind of eBook device do you use?

    It sounds like you are okay with PDFs. What other eBook formats will work with your current set up?

    Does one format produce better results?
     
    TupperLake, Jan 26, 2019 IP
  20. JoeSpirit

    JoeSpirit Well-Known Member

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    #40
    I have a Kindle Fire and enjoy reading on it just fine. As far as using it for other applications not so much. Maybe because I haven't spent a lot of time trying to use it for much other than reading. Because of that I would recommend (if you do decide to buy a tablet) that you get the iPad or something with that kind of functionality.

    I have the Kindle app on my desktop, laptop, and phone. Most of my reading I do on my Kindle or phone as I enjoy sitting outside when the weather suits. I'm very mobile minded for the most part.

    As far as PDFs I'll often print them out as somebody mentioned. I like to take the printed copy out back and sit reading by a fire in the fire pit.

    I do understand that. I have a few books myself. I publish them in the Amazon Kindle Store. I also have a WP Author Theme that I picked up a couple years ago and it lists some of my books on one of my sites. Haven't worked on it for a while but if I remember correctly it connects with Kindle. Don't even remember offhand what the theme is named.
     
    JoeSpirit, Jan 27, 2019 IP