EBOOK PROGRAM NEEDED

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If I copy the pages I need that have the calculations with my full page scanner, I can save them as a picture. I can then crop what I need, and past them into my ebook program as pictires...am I right?

Yes, exactly. Save them as a png file, if you can. Not just because they're what we've used in this thread, and hence seen they work, but also because pngs preserve transparency if you ever need to alter the background in Photoshop.

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I can't remember if some body told me, "Domenic, you should be a writer," or if that was my own stupid idea?

Writers and publishers are two different fields. I like writing but have no interest in publishing.This is why publishers as businesses exist. If your algebra technique is so great, why don't you pitch it to some of them? I don't get your reasoning that you don't want to do this because they'll price it too high. They'll price it at what they think they can sell it for. Is it better if the manuscript just stays in your desk drawer instead?

LC wrote:

How do you strip it from a Word file? Is there a purge command somewhere?

This is one recommended way:

Copy and paste your entire manuscript into Windows Notepad (usually found in Programs: Accessories) or any other text editor. This will strip out all your formatting.
Close Microsoft Word, but do not shut down your computer.
Reopen Microsoft Word so it’s showing a fresh empty document.
In Notepad, copy the unformatted text and the paste into the empty Word document.

You have to reformat (first-line indents, bolding for titles and chapter headings etc.) but you will produce a clean document. Joe's files are not that easy. He copies the text from PDF files so there's a hard return on every line that Notepad won't remove. It's a real pain, but every line has to be backspaced to remove the return. Fortunately, Joe's books are short.

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This freeware program called The Literary Machine  has a file that will remove hard returns from text.  I did not find it especially helpful for organizing books because it is not Windows based, but I still use it for getting rid of those returns.

Shelagh wrote:

LC wrote:

How do you strip it from a Word file? Is there a purge command somewhere?

This is one recommended way:

Copy and paste your entire manuscript into Windows Notepad (usually found in Programs: Accessories) or any other text editor.  This will strip out all your formatting.  
Close Microsoft Word, but do not shut down your computer.  
Reopen Microsoft Word so it’s showing a fresh empty document.
In Notepad, copy the unformatted text and the paste into the empty Word document.

You have to reformat (first-line indents, bolding for titles and chapter headings etc.) but you will produce a clean document. Joe's files are not that easy. He copies the text from PDF files so there's a hard return on every line that Notepad won't remove. It's a real pain, but every line has to be backspaced to remove the return. Fortunately, Joe's books are short.

One of my fiction books I’m putting into my EBOOK program, I first have to past each page into word pad. (Note pad won’t take a full page.) After pasting to word pad, I copy, and past on a blank page in the EBOOK. I then hit the letter T in the menu, and that removes all invisible lines.

If I don’t first past to word pad, the EBOOK program throws things off. This does not work for math calculations. I can post pictures with no problem. That is why I’m going to use a scanner, and save the calculations as pictures.

I didn’t know about secret codes before I got my EBOOK program.

alj wrote:

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This freeware program called The Literary Machine  has a file that will remove hard returns from text.  I did not find it especially helpful for organizing books because it is not Windows based, but I still use it for getting rid of those returns.

Thanks for the link, Ann! This thread should be very useful for new ebook authors!

LC wrote:

Domenic, with all due respect, you lack the most rudimentary knowledge of publishing an e- or web-based book. I've never done it myself, yet even I know that you submit a document to the various online publishers (e.g., Kindle, Smashwords), and THEY convert it into their own format. However, what you submit has to be done in a manner that they can easily convert. If you don't follow their specs, they'll spit it back at you.

There are many books on how to publish an ebook, why don't you start with a search at Amazon and buy one.

"I've never done it myself" -- maybe you should have a go. If your videos are helping to sell your book, why not produce your own worksheets in the form of a self-published booklet? You cannot write another book in competition with your published book, but you can self-publish a workbook that will help to sell it. You have all the skills, all the information needed to but together some worksheets (supplementary to ones already in the book, if there are any) and you keep 70% royalties for an ebook priced at $2.99 or above. Go to it! Oh, just a minute, you probably already have done!

Actually, both my textbooks do have built-in worksheets, and they are a significant sales asset. But your point is well taken, and I have been mulling ways to financially capitalize on the growing educational delivery options online. There's a site called Teachers Pay Teachers, where teachers sell worksheets and other pedagogical tools. They don't go for much -like $2 each -but some contributors there make significant amounts. On their Facebook page, the owners are always posting who has just made $75K or $100k. So that's a possibility.

After I finish my TAB book, I would like to put together a course, or several courses, to sell on Udemy. Going back to school for certifications/degrees in areas that will help me capitalize on more ways to make money in online education is an option, too. I'm looking at it all.

My algebra book, "Algebra for Lazy people and Seagulls" will be on Amazon next month as an ebook.
It will have all the calculations. The book will also be share proof. Able to down-load onto Iphones, computers etc. It cost me $500, but time is money, and I don't want to spend a year learning how to do it.

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You could also try Calibre. It's a free ebook program you can download to your computer and it will allow you to save the files in various formats: .mobi, .epub, etc. It's fairly easy to use, even for us "old-schoolers".