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The Steps to Creating MIDI eBooks
- Part II
Grammar check
Use a grammar checker if you need to. Unless you are an accomplished
writer, all sorts of poor grammar will be achieved. Only when your
former high school teacher sends you an email, scolding your poor use of
grammar will you be sorry that you didn't pay more attention in English
classes!
Proof Readers
Find some mature people to proof read your story before you publish
an eBook.
You will need at least two independent proof readers. Provide them
with a hard copy if possible so they can use a pen to circle mistakes and
write comments.
Allow one reader to give you their report, then make the corrections
before handing it to the next proof reader. They will find a whole
new crop of errors. If necessary
make the corrections and hand a fresh copy of the text on to another
proof reader.
Hopefully by now your script will be almost error free!
HTML Editor
Now you can begin to build your HTML pages.
I find the simplest HTML editor to use is a WYSIWYG Editor.
WYSIWYG means "What You See Is What You Get"
This type of HTML editor allows you to build your page without knowing
anything about HTML code and allows you to see how the finished page will
look.
I use Netscape Composer which is available Free as part of the Netscape
Browser Package. There are many good editors to choose from.
Keep your pages of text short enough so that your reader will not have
to scroll down to read all the text. Try and stick to one "theme" per page.
Naming Your HTML Files
The Problem:
When creating a large number of html pages for a web site or for an
e-book that must
be linked in a sequence, you need to have some way of naming the files
to maintain
logical order and control.
When you have a large number of html files in one directory you can
easily lose
track of the order in which your pages appear, if they just have
simple names.
You can end up with missing pages and others appearing out of sequence.
Believe me, you can finish up with an awful muddle trying to sort out
the links!
The Solution:
Numbers
You will need to use file names beginning with a number.
My method is to use a number starting at 000 running through to 999
in front of a more descriptive name for the file.
It's no use using a plain number eg. 0 through to 999 because they
will not appear in the correct sequence.
Characters
If characters are used first in the name, then the order of your list
of HTML files will be alphabetical. If the names are to be descriptive
of each file, then the resulting sequence will be anything other than logical.
Description
The Front Cover of an eBook can be named "000FrontCover.html"
or better is "000_front_cover.html".
The underscore helps to keep the description clear.
Look at: "070OldTimer.html" - see! - not clear at all.
The combination e.g. "034_river.html" will show that page belongs in
position "34" and the theme has something to do with a "river".
This method will allow up to 999 files which should be enough for most
writers of eBooks or web pages. If not, just add another zero !
Inserting New Pages
If, as often happens, you need to insert another page "in between"
at a later stage, when the project is all but finished, then I suggest
appending an upper case letter after the number.
e.g. 034A_river.html, 034B_river.html, 034C_river.html
and so on.
When the list is viewed in the directory, all files will appear in
their correct order.
The underscore helps to keep the description clear and easy to read.
Spaces?
Never leave spaces in the file names or the links will not work properly.
The upper case Letter at the end of the description stands out and
does not spoil the description unduely. eg. "034_riverb.html"
is not as clear as "034_riverB.html
All Lower Case?
Some people prefer to keep the names all lower case - thats OK but
you will need another underscore eg. "034_river_b.html" to keep the
description clear.
Dispense with Descriptions?
You can dispense with the description altogether eg. "034b.html"
This is not advisable as the file names are not always easy to distinguish
at first glance, nor can you identify any "story" sequence, which is very
important when inserting new pages into the "correct" position of a story
or article.
Have a description there as well, it's good insurance and helps you
to quickly identify the file you need from a long list.
The Exception for Web Pages:
When naming your web pages, for the best possible results from search
engines, your page names should reflect major keywords from your web pages.
Use the numbering technique when composing the pages, but before you
start adding the links, convert the names to key words.
So instead of "034_river.html" you could convert the name to
"river.html"
Keep a list showing the original "logical name" next to it's equivalent
"web name"
That way you will always know where your page belongs in the sequence.
Choose a Background
This can be anything from a plain black or white page to a complex
graphic and it's up to your creative talents.
Choose a Page
I have opted for tables to arrange my text and graphics on the background.
It is conventional to use black text on white pages. However you are
free to experiment with other colors. Just make sure you get a few people
to give their opinion on one of your pages before you upload it.
Choose a Graphic Theme
This is represented here by the blue stripes forming a border on the
left. Again this is up to your creative talent. If you don't have time
to create your own, you can download webpage templates from websites such
as JimTools.com
Choose MIDI Music
This is a very time consuming part of the exercise.
If you do not already have a collection of MIDI music, then you will
have to search the internet for suitable files of music to accompany your
story.
You may search on Title, Original Composer, Original Performer or Sequencer.
Another useful method is to search for lyrics that express the scene/theme
in words.
The song title will often be a clue to the contents. It pays to check
the lyrics because unless you are familiar with them you can accidently
choose music which is very innapropriate for the scene which you are portraying.
True music buffs will be in their element here because they will know thousands
of titles and lyrics from memory.
Not all MIDI Files are Equal
You will often find several versions of the same tune. You will need
to listen to each one before you will recognise "the best one." Some
will sound similar with little to choose between. However you will usually
find several mediocre renditions and suddenly you will discover a
"masterpiece". This is obviously the right one to use.
It pays to download any MIDI file that appeals, even if you don't end
up using it in your story. In this way you will build up a library
of files that you can use later in other books and have them ready without
having to search for them again.
Copyright © 2000 Xerostar
Holdings. - All Rights Reserved.
Contact - support@midi-ebooks.com
Rivervale 6103
Western Australia Tel:
618 9479 1979 Fax: 618 9478 2349
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