How Do I Create a Flowable Text EPUB From a Print InDesign File?

[positive_build0D4C]

I just finished a very big layout intended for a 525+ page print book. It's an update to a prior edition, and previously, for that edition, I copied the entire finished InDesign file into Word, redid all the formatting, and then converted it to a Kindle file for Amazon using their amazingly bad Kindle Create tool. It was a huge pain, and I'd prefer a better way.

I tried just exporting the book to an EPUB, but the result was a fixed layout book. Some of the fonts didn't work out, but I can fix that. I'll just change them to something it'll accept. I don't mind the fixed layout that much, but the font might be a bit tiny for some readers, and I would rather this be a flowable layout, if possible. Maybe it's not possible because I have footnotes and lots of illustrations, and maybe that's confusing InDesign. But there doesn't seem to be an option for selecting "flowable" when I do the Export. Is there something I'm missing? Do I need to start over with a different file format in InDesign?

Thanks

Michael

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

There are two separate EPUB export options in the export drop-down list. Select reflowable there, and EPUB 3 in the menu, and that's step 1. 🙂

[positive_build0D4C]

I typically export from the Book menu, and this is what I see.

I select Export Book to PDF for the Print version, and that works just great. I get exactly what I want.

The only option for EPUB is Export Book to EPUB.

If I go to File/Export, it only exports individual documents, not the whole book. Is there a special Export Window or something that I'm missing?

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Sort of. Nearly everything in the Book panel is hidden in the three-line/"hamburger" menu at upper right:

From there, in the EPUB Export menu, it's in the bottom drop-down item:

....which brings up the vast export menu for Reflowable EPUB.

I will say you're very unlikely to get useful results in one or two passes, here. You will almost certainly want to pick one of your most representative chapters and export it to EPUB until you have achieved all of the style adjustment, settings etc. that work for your projects. You then sync your book to that chapter and use this global option to export the whole book.

You might find the material here useful, especially if your end destination is Kindle, not EPUB.