We are a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, which uniquely represents the interests of self-publishing authors and requires best business practices from those who provide them with services.
The XHTML and CSS
code
that we implement in
creating each of our
clients' ebooks is
independently checked
and verified by the W3C as being
fully compliant
We guarantee that our conversions are 100% compatible with the major operating systems used
by desktop and laptop
computers and mobile
devices
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Overview of ebook
production and publishing
All the ebooks we produce can, according to the format you choose, be read on dedicated ereaders such as Kindles; Kindle Fire tablets; Kobo ereaders, Apple and Android smartphones; phablets and tablets (whichever operating system they use); and laptop and desktop PCs (Windows or Linux) and Macs (OSX) using the appropriate ereader app.
Production, compliance and testing
In the early days of ebooks technical compliance was minimal, so it was just about workable to create them using HTML or even raw text files. But today's dedicated ereaders, phones, tablets and apps, with their greatly increased functionality, require more sophisticated mastering techniques.
We hand code every ebook we produce, in the form of HTML5 and CSS scripts that are themselves independently tested and passed by the W3C. In final testing of the compiled ebook, we utilize exclusively Amazon's own verification software for Kindle and Kindle tablet titles and, for epub titles, the code and structure set by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), which defines the protocols for epub-format ebooks to observed world wide.
By way of a further check, the integrity of our epub conversions for the Apple iBookstore are individually checked and approved for quality assurance by Apple before being offered for sale by their 51 territory-specific iBookstores.
Where a client requires more than one of the three versions that we can produce (Kindle, epub and POD paperback), they are separately created. We never resort to shortcuts such as using cross-platform conversion software to produce, for example, an epub edition of a Kindle master or vice versa. That way, our clients can be certain that their ebooks comply 100% with the discrete ereader devices and apps for which they are intended.
The value of an ISBN
Although neither Amazon, iTunes nor Kobo Books require each format of an ebook uploaded to those vendors to have its own ISBN, all the other leading online ebookstores do so. The Dublin Core metadata that forms part of every ebook makes specific provision for a unique identifier. Kindle ebooks, because they can only be purchased from Amazon, do not require an ISBN.
Free proofs to view and correct
We welcome author involvement at every stage. That includes the provision of reading proofs, actual ebook proofs, and physical paperback or hardback proofs.
We accept and implement without charge up to a total of 50 author amendments or corrections to reading proofs, ebook proofs or book proofs. That way, our clients have full control over and can give their final approval before publication of the version that is finally produced and uploaded for sale.
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FREE GUIDE
NOW AVAILABLE
Our free Author's Guide to Self-publishing ebooks and print-on-demand paperback and hardback books has now been published. To obtain a copy, please enter your email address in the panel below and click on the Order Guide button. The guide is also available
as a 124-page not-for-profit paperback, price £3.49, from
Amazon.co.uk
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Our clients' ebooks
can be assigned a unique
ISBN identifier issued by the
official
licensing
authority. They may also
be registered with
the Nielsen BookData database, which serves
booksellers and
libraries
in more than
100 countries.
Our clients' ebooks
are registered with the BowkerGlobal database,
which serves more
than 100 countries.
Our Kindle and ePub-
format
ebook conversions
conform 100% to the official coding protocols specified by Amazon and the International Digital
Publishing Forum
respectively.
We are a London firm
and all work is produced
in-house. To ensure confidentiality and consistency,
we do not
outsource coding or
other work to third
parties in the UK
or overseas.
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