On Fri, 22 Jul 2016 22:39:38 +0530
Swami Atmarupananda <atmarupana...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The book I'm doing (2nd ed) is meant to be pocket-sized, so it is
> A6-formatted, about 100 pages long, which means I have to maximize the
> usage of space, beyond what is - from a purely aesthetic standpoint -
> ideal.
Hi Swami,
We gotta talk!
I'm putting the finishing touches and indexing on the second edition of
"Manager's Guide to Technical Troubleshooting." The first edition was
8.5x11 print book, created before mobile devices were a thing. Because
the second edition is composed about 80% of the first edition, the
first edition was in LyX, and LyX has no realistic way to make high
quality ePubs, I changed the paper size of the second edition to custom
3"x5" (3 wide, 5 high), with 12 point Tex Guire Schula print. My
margins are maybe 1/20 inch. For people with 20/20 vision or slightly
worse, this can be read on a fairly small device. For those with worse
vision, it can be read on a computer and blown up, read on a larger
device and blown up, or, if the device and the PDF reader support
rotation, the device can be rotated to landscape with the book still
portrait, so the letters are larger but you need to scroll down once to
get to the bottom of each page.
I've put this thing on my Kindle, which is about 3.5x5. I have nowhere
near as good as 20/20 vision, but I can read it on my Kindle, although
not for long (eye strain). Most people could read it on my Kindle all
day long.
In some ways, when sold to readers with 20/20 vision, this "mini-pdf"
format is actually better than ePub. I can retain things like
footnotes, numerical references, etc. My index can list a page range,
and that actually makes sense. I can continue to watermark my books.
Of course, I haven't sold any yet. People might turn out to hate
viewing PDFs on mobile devices. But so far, things seem auspicious.
When you mention that, to make a small book, you need to use your screen
real estate in ways that might not be aesthetically ideal, I completely
understand and came to the same conclusion. I'll be interested to hear
how your small book progresses.
Thanks,
SteveT
Steve Litt
July 2016 featured book: Troubleshooting Techniques
of the Successful Technologist
http://www.troubleshooters.com/techniques
