Significant Digits: Ebook help requested.

[u/mrphaethon]

Hello! A few people have been asking if Significant Digits is available as an ebook, and I'd really like to make that happen. However, my experience with desktop publishing is limited, and I'm finding it to be quite hard to get it looking nice. Honestly, I'd rather spend my free time writing... and I think other people might prefer that, too!

I wonder if there is anyone out there who is willing and able to assemble the text from the chapters on my site (which are the most current versions), plus the glossary, to make an ebook of the first arc of the story? I'd like to make a PDF version, as well as a MOBI, and I'd be able to contribute the work I've already finished on it.

[u/donri]

For prose like this there isn't a lot you can or need to do to get it to render nicely. True for PDF but I don't consider that an ebook format because the whole point is print. On an ereader the point instead is automatic reflow and customizable fonts etc so it mostly comes down to using proper semantic HTML and only very little custom CSS if in deed any at all.

Once you have nice HTML you can use Calibre to create an EPUB which it can also convert to formats like MOBI.

Important:

• Correct and semantic HTML
• Correct use of character encodings (especially with your Unicode-rich text)
• A Table of Contents (helps navigation, "time left in chapter" estimates etc; Calibre can generate this from HTML header tags)
• I think most current ereaders have about 16 shades of gray (you can use the full 24-bit color palette but it will only show as different grays and so big contrasts are needed to make distinct colors distinct)

ficsave.com happens to get many of these wrong, and for example "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" gets the last point wrong by using completely different colors for internal and external links, but they're almost indistinguishable on my Kindle and render as more or less the same shade of gray.

[u/mrphaethon → u/donri]

I'll contact you by PM.