Exporting as fixed layout EPUB - Text spacing issues. Help needed!

[viola26455155sysb]

Hi all,

I need help. When I export my books as a fixed layout EPUBs, the spacing between words goes crazy when I view the eBooks on calibre (Kindle preview looks fine for some reason but I need to make sure I'm not selling a dodgy eBook). For example: 'I       have    an      issue     with         epubs.' 

I am using a license-free Google font, and regardless of the text settings (justification, spacing, etc.), I keep having the same issue. I have changed to different fonts and it's still the same. It needs to be a fixed layout because I am exporting children's picture books. Any ideas on how to fix the issue? 

Also, does anyone know about licensing eBooks? I know books can be licensed, but I can't find info on HOW to license them. Is there anything besides using a DRM server like locklizard I can use? I want to make the license a multi-user subscription somehow. I want to sell them directly from my website so I really need to work all of this out. 

Thanks everyone! I am looking forward to hearing some good tips and tricks. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Welcome to the world of EPUB standardization. (Well, no, since it doesn't exist.)

EPUB's one great flaw is that it is dependent on the viewer used, and there are very few that adhere to the actual EPUB standard. Calibre is one of the closest and my current preference for EPUB proofing; Thorium is the gold standard, almost 100% standard-compliant, but it has a persistent font-size bug right now that the developers can't seem to get around to fixing. But basically, if you have problems with the display on Calibre, you have (real) problems.

(For the record, Apple's viewer and Kindle Previewer are very good in their own ways, but both are quite nonstandard about many things and can't be relied on as a straight EPUB proofer.)

The problem is that fixed-page EPUB is a very binary format: it either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't, it's very hard to fix or tweak because of the complexity of how it writes and formats pages. My real recommendation would be to not use it, especially not for text books; it is suited only to "picture page" books like comics, graphic novels, children's books and the like. If what you have is all text or mostly text... reflowable is by far the better choice.

There just aren't many suggestions I can make in fixing the kind of problem you're seeing. With reflowable, you can write CSS style code that can modify and/or fix almost any export problem, but FXL is... all but inaccessible.

You could try the InDesign file fix: save your book file to IDML, then open that file and save it as INDD under a new mame. Export from that and see if the problems are fixed. (That process purges ID files of junk editing data, and rewrites the file structure, and thus fixes all kinds of faults based on small corrupted things.) If not... well, report back and we'll think of the next thing to try.

You do, by the way, have to have absolutely meticulous style definitions and application. You can't really have any spot or override or undefined or default style assignments in a doc intended for EPUB or Kindle. That kind of stuff will often print and export to PDF fine, but break in all kinds of ways with EPUB or HTML export.

You might find issues in this useful: https://nitrosyncretic.com/DPR/dpr_indesign_epub_basics.php

As for DRM, there's really only one accessible, workable solution: Kindle. Everything else is complicated and restricts how and where you can sell your book, to the point where whatever issues you have with Amazon/Kindle will be minor in the hassles of actually being able to reach your potential market.

[viola26455155sysb]

Thanks James! You gave me some really good tips which I am most definitely going to try out. I will let you know if it works out or not. Thanks again for taking the time to write such a detailed response, it it very much appreciated. 

Kind regards,

Viola 

[Chienshu]

Hi there, my client sees words running together (forexample likethis) after exporting to EPUB, and I can't replicate the issue on my side. I have tried changing to reflowable, and also tried exporting from IDML. I'm wondering if anyone has any other suggestions for how to fix this problem?

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

What EPUB reader are each of you using?

[Clark Kenyon]

I've found this distortion of text in a fixed layout ePub often to be the result of overly complex paragraph styles, say, a style with 2 or 3 nested styles within it. If you open a paragraph style, change the Based on to No Paragraph Style you'll see what I mean in the Style Settings. Slim the style down to its minimum requirements and the problem may go away.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

It's broader than that. Many readers, even the good ones (Calibre, Kindle) simply do not like inline font changes. Any kind of <span> involving a font change or a size change, even sometimes a smaller type size, creates odd spacing variations.

And it is very much a reader-based problem. I've experimented with all kinds of overrides, style fixes, etc. and not found a good, universal solution for this fault. You simply can't use inline styles other than base font overrides (bold, italic, SC, etc.) with no size change without expecting line spacing issues.