Three hours of problems with Smashwords.
To boil this down to a summary:
- I was notified by Smashwords that the epub file for the Docks was broken.
- The epub navigation had an extra link on the end.
- I checked.
- The epub file passes epubcheck.
Investigation results
- The Word file did not contain hidden or malformed bookmarks.
- The error only occurred in epub format.
- The previous three file versions did not have the problem, and had identical bookmarks.
- All epub files pass epubcheck
Resolution attempt:
- I nuked the file - copied into Notepad, stripped the formatting and links and rebuilt them.
- I checked the file: were no hidden bookmarks, malformed bookmarks etc.
- I uploaded the new file.
The same error occurred. The new epub file passes epubcheck.
I think this one is at their end... I also think it's going to cost me too much writing time to fix or get them to look at.
Given all this, Conflict of Interest is likely to only come out on Kindle. It's unfortunate, Smashwords has a large audience and wide distribution, but that's life.
It also means I am leaning more towards a possible print edition of The Docks. If ebooks are this fragile, in business terms I'd rather have another route to market. Depends if RA will pick this one up. However I do already have some bookstore interest or I wouldn't be considering it.
For the sake of my research, what are your views on The Docks as a 96 page novella paperback?
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