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So after posting up four full-length novels and not getting much of anywhere with them in regards to readership or comments, I got told several times that people don't like stories posted in PDF format.
I find this attitude truly baffling!
PDF format is the most universally readable format in digital history. It can be read on every operating system of the last twenty years, preserves page layout, is compact, and once downloaded you don't have to access the internet to have a copy. Personally, I love reading books in PDF format, because it's so portable. I can read it on my PC, or if I want it on the go I can copy it to my tablet and I don't have to have a data connection. I use pretty big fonts in my PDFs, and with the screen turned to landscape instead of portrait, I don't even have to play trombone with one of my books! (if you don't get that joke, wait 30 years :^Þ ) I truly do not understand this dislike of PDF format books.
I know it isn't my writing style. The Wisher's Paradox is written with a style nearly identical to The Road to Hell, my forth novel... but The Wisher's Paradox has already gotten far more attention, kudos, and comments. I can only guess, but the reason must be due to the PDF formatting. I don't get it, but I guess I have to accept it.
The Wisher's Paradox is being released through October 3rd, at which point I'll add the full PDF file for ease of download and retention should (God forbid) BCTS ever go the way of Pets.com or other sites. After that, it'll be a while until I have new stories as the next one will be another novel and VERY difficult for me to write... There But For the Grace of God..., a sequel to For God So Loved the World..., my fictionalized autobiography.
So I was thinking... what would people think if while I have no new stories to put out, I started parsing my four novels out into BCTS Novel Chapters, like most stories here are done? Is there an interest? Does it violate a rule against posting a story multiple times or something? (I have no idea if a rule like that even exists... but that's why I asked... I don't know) It would take a long time as there are a total of 103 chapters and 6 Prologues and Epilogues. Posting one every other day, that would take over 7 months, or just under 8 weeks per book. That amount of workload is doable for me, but I don't want to set it up if there's no demand for it.
So... give me your feedback! Especially if you haven't read any of my novels and would like to, but the PDF format is too off-putting. (and while you're at it, would you mind explaining why that is? Seriously! I'm stumped!)
Hugs,
Roberta
Comments
Baffling?
Why do people not read stories posted in PDF format? I seldom do myself, even tho I designed BC to allow it.
Why don't I read stories posted in PDF format? Principal reason is reading them requires opening another program and leaving BCTS.
Second reason is that such stories are usually large and often cannot be read at one go, so there is the problem of marking or remembering where you left off.
Tertiary reason is that Acrobat is an Adobe program and hogs resources on computers, does not play well with others, and sometimes annoys the fuck out of me by not going away when I close it. And if I have Word running in the background, I have to close both Acrobat and Word to be sure they both release the memory they are trying to hog.
I'll admit that the third reason may be baffling to people who don't have my set up, it baffles the crap out of me. :)
Fourth reason, PDFs are dangerously insecure. I only allow them because people begged me to do so.
But yeah, your solution sounds doable.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
You don’t need
Acrobat to read a PDF file. Doesn’t have to be installed on system at all.
It just comes up as a different page in web browser same as any txt file.
Ms word?? People actually use that?
Nope
Not all systems read PDFs in the browser.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
PDF reader
Under android I installed F-droid from the playstore and then under F-droid I installed MuPDF viewer.
PDF reader
I also don't like Acrobat for many reasons. So when I really need to open a PDF file, I use Nitro Reader 3. It tends to behave and play well with others. The main use for PDF is for files heavy in illustrations. Such files don't translate well to HTML. I aspire to be a hobby woodworker and when downloading plans from the folks that make YouTube videos they are usually in a PDF format.
For heavy text files, there are a number formats that are much better suited. PDF readers don't respond to commands in the same way other programs do. Anyone who has the ability to access BCTS can read a file in HTML format.
Back in the days when I was on dial-up, I used to use keyboard short cuts to copy stories and paste them into Word. I could then read them offline and if I couldn't finish them I simply inserted *** at my stopping point to bookmark where I left off. Then when I came back, I simply searched for *** and picked up reading.
These days, Word files can be copied to my tablet and read there. If I really want to make it easy to read, I load it into Calibre and convert it to ePub (you could also convert it to MOBI for Kindle) and then load it into my eReader.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
We're a superstitious lot
And not the least bit rational. For many of us opening a PDF is like sticking your hand into a hollow log in rattlesnake country in late July. We know there probably isnt a rattlesnake in there but overpowering phobias like we have don't obey logic (We're also afraid of having our picture taken because those litltle boxes can steal your soul...)
Many PDF shy folks her will deny having any such phobia but they're just in denial and lying to themselves. Anyway I'm glad youre back + willing to have another go at putting up with our nonsense.
~luv n' hugs, Veronica
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
Preserves Page Format
There you go, got the reason in one.
PDFs are designed for printing on paper, where you can set out the layout of your masterpiece however you want. Paper is usually in fixed sizes, even though we on the other side of the pond disagree which sizes you prefer.
Electronic gizmos, on the other hand, come in all shapes, sizes and formats. You literally have no idea what aspect ratio, screen dimension, colour palette or font selection the reader has available to them. You don't know what operating system they are using, what language they speak or what native typefaces they have as default. Trying to display a PDF to everybody's satisfaction is futile.
That's one reason why web pages were invented. Your browser, usually, will auto-format the page content to suit your particular combination of display characteristics. Want bigger text? There's a button for that and the page will reflow to suit. PDFs won't do that. You'll have to scroll the page to see what got pushed off-screen.
For e-Readers the situation is even easier. There is a specific format developed just for them, .epub, which can also be read on workstations and laptops, etc. This contains a minumum of styling information and, as with a browser, it will flow onto your device's screen.
PDF's are designed for dead trees. In addition to all the arguments Erin makes above, with which I thoroughly agree, I would say that if you are printing out your story then formatting it as a PDF first is probably the right way to go. If you want to send it out for others to read off-line, then epub is the best option (Try Sigil; it is what I use).
For on-line use, then publishing your story in HTML on BC is the way to go, and by far the easiest. Erin and her elves spent all that time setting BC up to be easy to publish to and trust me, it is easy - easier if you can write HTML, but even cutting and pasting from Word is easy enough!
Just my £0.02.
Penny
PS A point about chapters: On-line I generally won't read anything that's over about 20,000 words unless I know the author. I have enough to get through without tying up the best part of an afternoon reading a whole story on-line. This is BC; there are other stories that need my attention.
Those stories that I post are usually in chapters from about 6,000 to 10,000 words. Many writers post much shorter chapters than that. Of course, to do that we write them as chapters in the first place, which makes posting easier... and, trust me, once your chapter count goes up it is much easier to refer back to something that happened earlier if it isn't all in one big lump!
My biggest story has 138 chapters and 3 chapters of epilogue; I'm now writing what amounts to a sequel which has reached chapter 46. Huge stories are not common but not rare either. If that's what it takes, do it. I originally thought the big one might reach 40 chapters. TEN years later I finally finished.
Posting rates: It is usual to keep posts down to about one a week. Otherwise you risk flooding the front page and confusing everyone, since only the latest one gets displayed. Most writers keep a buffer but post as we go.
Posting as you go
Nice, if you can manage it. I write non-linearly, though. Where I begin writing may end up in the middle of chapter 6. My brain works... differently. :^) So if I posted as I went, it would either be edited all to hell or so far out of sequence that nobody could follow it. That's why I can only post up finished stories.
My chapters run 3,200 to 6,000 words and the books run ~120k words... 24-28 chapters each. If I posted up only one a week, it would take over 2 years to get them all up. If Erin is OK with one every 2 days, I think that would be better for everyone... including me!
Actually
Two or three times a week tends to maximize comments and kudos over the long run.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Two or three times a week
That would be posting every 2-3 days, right?
OK, so if that's acceptable, I'll post every 3 days. It'll take almost a year that way, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes and hog the front page. I know that technically I could post up one chapter from each story at the same time and get all four out in like 3 months, even posting once every 3 days, but that seems sorta rude to the other authors, which is why I wanted to just stick with one story at a time until it's done, then do the next one the same way. I don't want you to get grumpy at me! ::angel halo:: O :^)
In fact, after I post chapter 4 of The Wisher's Paradox tomorrow, I'll slow down to posting new chapters every 3 days, so I should have the whole story posted by October 15th instead of the 3rd. Then I'll start posting up Lost Faith on the 18th, and so on.
I just want to make sure that posting the same story again, and with such regularity, is OK. I don't really care about kudos, but comments and discussion are a big part of why I want these stories out there.
Thanks for the info!
Hugs,
Roberta
Chapter vs Part
I keep mentally wrestling with whether I should have posted the latest book chapter by chapter instead of in blocks of 4-6 chapter 'Parts'. On one hand I think you're right, going chapter by chapter a couple a week would get a lot more comments and kudos. But every time I think about posting it a chapter at a time I also cringe. Many of the readers that -have- commented noted how they'd binged the whole thing and couldn't 'put it down'. Posting one chapter every few days could ruin some of that immersive feel I'm hoping to achieve.
Also there may be a concern considering the complexities of the plot. With multiple story-lines all interwoven throughout, spreading the reading more could make it harder to follow or keep track of things compared to a straight-through read. Chapter size is also an issue as some come in at 2k and others 6-8k, the idea of only posting a smaller one causes a twinge that it'd feel like cheating the reader somehow. Swinging from one side to the other in an endless internal debate so far has just left me dizzy.
Thanks!
You just helped me figure things out. I was thinking that when I start posting up my novels chapter by chapter that I'd pull down the full PDFs, but now I think I should leave them up so those that only want to read the story as it comes out a chapter at a time can do so and those who get hooked and can't wait can download the full story and race ahead. That way each kind of reader gets what they want.
:^)
Don't worry about having a backlog
of work waiting to be published.
To me, that is a good thing. That allows you to do other things. Real-life can be a bitch at times. Having a backlog allows you to deal with those things without having any pressure to post.
We see posts from authors all the time explaining why they can't post. Take that stress away and get to love having a backlog of work. If you don't feel like writing for a week or a month then so be it.
I just counted the items in my backlog. I have enough pieces ready to post (at one item a week) to last me until next March.
I've got the builders coming in today and tomorrow. That means writing is out of the question. That does not worry me at all. I can formulate the plot and storylines in my head while they do their work.
Samantha
Backlog
I'm a housewife and the kids are moving out soon, so my time is pretty much my own now. Other than weekly laundry and grocery trips, and Tuesday night gaming with our friends, the rest of my time is pretty open. Having time to write isn't much of an issue for me anymore. I wrote The Wisher's Paradox in 30 days, including editing and a major re-write of the first 4 chapters.
I get what you're saying though. I can use that year to get my next novel done and perhaps move on to another after that, since I can't post until a story is complete anyway.
Tablet
It's probably the rattlesnake explanation. But PDF is a memory HOG. I fear opening one on my already memory impaired tablet, for fear it will just lock up or go into infinite looping trying to fit it.
Do people still use Adobe?
I guess that's the difference. I haven't used acrobat in over a decade. Why when there are so many better options that don't leak memory like a sieve?
I don't read stories posted in PDF format
because I have enough .pdf files on my laptop already. I have to go around and clean them up afterwards. Whereas... posting directly leaves no trace on my laptop.
Yes, pdf is widely accepted and I know from bitter experience how insecure it can be.
Yes, tools like MS-Word and LibreOffice can export as .pdf without having to go anywhere near Acrobat (and pay Adobe good money for the dubious honour of using that POS)
But I like to try to keep as much bovine excrement away from my laptop as possible. I'm not saying that your stories are that but once I have read them... they become virtual rubbish that needs disposing of.
Please just post your stories here in the same way that almost everyone else does.
Samantha
would be easier to list what
would be easier to list what you do read just incase anyone cares
アンその他
!!! Welcome Back!!!, and three or so thoughts ...
In addition to browsers, https://portableapps.com/apps offers several PDF readers and tools. All Portable Apps are free, all are no hassle, all easily removed it you don't like them. Download the 'Menu' system first, then download desired portable apps through the menu system. Did I say free & no hassle? (Well, you do have learn the application, but that's always true...). Portable Apps are meant to live on a USB/thumb drive and be carried from machine to machine. They will also live happily on your main/hard drive/
My problem with PDFs and similar page-locked formats, is that there is no smooth scrolling across a page break. So always the mental work of 'holding' the last few lines, hitting the 'next key' and 'joining' previous page to new page in my head ... (And several authors here have, call it a 'dense' style, so that a page break in the wrong place makes it hard for me to follow them. Probably 'my bad'.)
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My personal limit for how big a chunk I want to read is about 5,000+ to 10,000 words. After that I think "Could we have a new section, already?"
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Chapter size varies a lot. I've seen books with chapters of 1-2 (print) pages, to stories with no chapters. Here at BCTS, I've seen authors post several (often 4) 'story' chapters as a single BCTS chapter. Example: https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book-page/85514/summers-current (Each 'Summer' chapter/file is a tad bigger than my comfort level - but I eagerly read each new installment.)
Take 'some number' of your PDF story chapters and publish them here as separate chunks. This may balance your work of breaking up the PDF(s), the size of each post (which BCTS will 'see' as a separate chapter), not 'hogging' the front page, and the size/word count that myself and other readers are comfortable reading. Oh, and getting your whole book published here in weeks or a season, not year(s). (103 chapters + 6 + 6) / 4 = ~30. At 3/week, complete book is posted in 10 weeks.)
Interesting
I know some posters here put out 3-4 chapters in each BCTS "Novel Chapter". I guess I just didn't even think about it. Mostly I just read over those sort of things, because the BCTS format makes things run together.
Of course, the downside is that comments would be on a "set" of chapters instead of each chapter individually. My writing style is very traditional. Each chapter is treated like a mini story within the story with an opening, climax, and denouement. Running several together could lessen their impact. I'd have to pick and choose which chapters to bundle together carefully.
For example, Lost Faith runs 26 chapters of an average of 5,005 words each. (as low as 3,518 and as high as 6,463) Blocking that into groups of 3 chapters each, (2 for one of them) that would be 9 BCTS "Novel Chapter"s of around 15,000 words each and be fully posted in 27 days at one every 3 days. Some chapters go well together, but others are significantly different and wouldn't blend well. Most of my other stories are very similar, except For God So Loved the World... which is further broken down into four "Books" of 5-7 chapters each. That would be difficult to break up.
It's something to think about, anyway. Thanks!