It looks like our download server had a bit of trouble last night. It looks much happier now, so you should be able to give this another try.
It's an ePub file, which works with iBooks on Apple devices and a variety of other e-readers. You may want to take a look at our ePub FAQ.
Any chance of this being put into PDF format as well in the future?
Never say never, but I don't think its something we're currently planning on.
You don't need a pdf version to read the stories. Epub readers are free and easy to find. One of them runs inside ANY Firefox browser.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5275/
Epubs are fantastically versatile and easily converted to other formats. Given them a try! :)
All well and good, but since everything else Paizo releases electronically has a PDF format version it seems a little silly to need to download another reader just for this. I can make a PDF from the weekly fiction releases almost as easily and save myself the purchase price. I'd buy for the convenience of a PDF from my PoV, not because I need to.
I guess the problem is that if Paizo were make a PDF of this, they would want to have it their usual trade dress and formatting and so on, I guess. The ePub format, however, is designed to be free of this, so that it can be used on as many devices as possible, so this has probably not been done and would require additional work - a lot more than just converting it to a PDF with some kind of tool, which basically anyone can do himself.
I guess the problem is that if Paizo were make a PDF of this, they would want to have it their usual trade dress and formatting and so on, I guess.
The PDF for Prince of Wolves is laid out just like the paperback, with no extra frills. I didn't expect more than that for a digital release of the webfiction. Indeed, from your description of the format that's pretty much what the epub release of the Lost Pathfinder is, so why not provide it in the PDF format as well?
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You don't need a pdf version to read the stories. Epub readers are free and easy to find. One of them runs inside ANY Firefox browser.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/***removed***
Epubs are fantastically versatile and easily converted to other formats. Given them a try! :)
While I agree with you that epubs are a good way to go, the above suggestion should probably be removed from the forum.
This addon has not been updated for recent versions of Firefox, and worse: if you follow the link from the Firefox site to the maintainer's site, it's been taken over by blog posts about "quit smoking" remedies and teeth whitening products
This really makes me worry about how safe installing the guy's software might be. That said, epubreader ( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/45281/ ) does appear to be maintained and the Web site for it is on-topic, at the least. I haven't tried it yet, but it installed fine.
PS: I have no affiliation with any Firefox addon, nor any other interest in which one is downloaded other than for the protection of fellow users.
I guess the problem is that if Paizo were make a PDF of this, they would want to have it their usual trade dress and formatting and so on, I guess. The ePub format, however, is designed to be free of this, so that it can be used on as many devices as possible, so this has probably not been done and would require additional work - a lot more than just converting it to a PDF with some kind of tool, which basically anyone can do himself.
Bingo. Given the format the webfiction appears in each week, it's easy enough for the web team to convert it directly to ePub format. If we did it up as PDFs, each story would have to go through the whole layout process, which would a) tax the art department further and push back print projects, and b) totally eat up any profits we make from the ePub versions. (At $0.99 each, it's hard to pay for much art department time... those folks are worth a lot more than us editors.)
The more you know!
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While I agree with you that epubs are a good way to go, the above suggestion should probably be removed from the forum.
Fine by me. I honestly hadn't used it and only wanted a quick example of epub reader software. It was near the top.:)
Frankly, if you aren't going to read these on a Kindle-style reader, I don't get the need for a PDF version. If you read it on laptop or desktop or even an Ipad, you can just go to the browser. The web fiction is just short stories/novellas which will be formated like a typical novel... no fancy images or margin art. A PDF version won't easily size for multiple e-readers which makes it real difficult to read. Is there something I'm missing?
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Not everyone is online all the time. I'm in Kuwait at the moment, and the internet connection is tenuous at best in my CHU, and I'm not really comfortable browsing the Paizo website on my work computer.
I'm not asking for any fancy formatting. I might even end up downloading a e-pub reader and seeing if I can then print it to PDF. But as Paul Ryan said, it seems a little silly that Paizo puts out almost everything it publishes in PDF form, with this being one of the very few exceptions.
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While I agree with you that epubs are a good way to go, the above suggestion should probably be removed from the forum.Fine by me. I honestly hadn't used it and only wanted a quick example of epub reader software. It was near the top.:)
Fair enough. I didn't assume any malice, just wanted to warn people off before they trusted that addon.
To the guy who didn't want to browse the site during the day, I think the Web site would do fine for you. Save the HTML and read at your leisure on any device that sports a Web browser.
Chief Technical Officer
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But as Paul Ryan said, it seems a little silly that Paizo puts out almost everything it publishes in PDF form, with this being one of the very few exceptions.
Everything *else* we publish has already been formatted for print in a page layout program, which happens to allow it to transition nicely and relatively easily to PDF. The web fiction is never laid out that way—it's only ever formatted in HTML, which happens to allow it to transition nicely and relatively easily to ePub.
If we wanted to publish it in PDF form, we'd have two choices:
1: Have a production person spend time laying it out and then have an editor spend time proofing it; this would get us a PDF that would look good, but at the cost of several person-hours, which are precious around here (and hard to justify for a product that costs less than $1)
2: Spend almost no additional time creating a generic PDF from the existing HTML/ePub—but it would look somewhat cheesy compared to our other PDFs, and we'd surely get complaints from people who would be disappointed that it isn't up to our usual standards.
If I have to choose between making people upset because they can't buy something they want, or making people upset because they bought something that they were disappointed with, I'm going with the first option... especially when—if file format is really the only question here—they can make their own generic PDF from the ePub with little trouble.
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Is the plan to offer the other short stories in the ePub format?
That would be great but if not I'll eventually get them read on the website just like reading in be on iPad at night before going to sleep. Can do that via website but not just as easy....
At any rate this product was great unexpected bonus.
Sean
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Excellent! These are perfect for reading on an iPad while I rock my son to sleep.
Yes... we'll be putting up several more, one week from tomorrow. Future ePub compilations will generally follow each story's conclusion by a couple of weeks.
Yea I wish I had it when he was at that age. Of course now he is 2 1/2 and has a Youtube addiction watching trains "woo woos" and the videos of Lego set being put together in "stop motion" ( my mind just went blank on what type of movie that is).
He of course is at that age if you tell him not that video he dosnt play it.
He'll even run to me with the iPad and point to the thumbnail of the video and say "nooootttt thaat....!". Keep saying it until you also say not that one.
Fun fun!
Of course him and mommy are going to West Virginia tomorrow for two weeks.
Now I am just rambling off topic!
Good epub. In fact going to email Air Cargo World and encourage them to do the same with their digital subscription.
Sean
I haven't even heard of the term ePub until reading this thread, but being in advertising, the PDF is the current universally accepted format for transporting files. Probably largely due to Adobe Acrobat Reader being free and relatively well known.
I would welcome a generic PDF, rather than track down yet another piece of software, but I'm not insisting upon it. My thought would be to say something to the effect of a disclaimer, 'the PDF is an unpolished product, produced solely for ease of use/compatibility as requested by a portion of our wonderful customer base... the actual, finished product is the ePub file'.
That said, I can understand the extra 'man/machine hours' or lack thereof required to do something, as where I work the management REALLY DOESN'T. Our department has a phrase since the last 2 lay-offs when we're handed more "priority" work, "Okay, sure thing... now, what DON'T you want me to do?".
*shrugs* That's my 2cp.
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Chief Technical Officer
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PDF is a better format for presenting laid out books. It preserves the designer's intent, right down to the definition of what a "page" is, what fonts and text styles are used, where images and other graphics are located on that page, and much more. The user has no control over how it looks, and if the "page" doesn't fit your device perfectly, you have to make compromises about how you view it (shrink it, show part of it and scroll to see the rest, etc.).
ePub is a better format for running text. "Pages" are defined by the reader (or at least the reading device). Readers have the ability to select font style and size, and often colors and backgrounds, to make reading easier. But there's no ability to ensure that any given image is presented at any particular size or resolution, or even in any particular place in relation to the text.
Using either format to present something it's not really intended for, while often possible, involves some degree of forcing a square peg into a round hole.
We've chosen to put our effort into optimizing products for formats that present our works in the best light.
If you've purchased the digital version of Prince of Wolves from us, you have access to both PDF and ePub formats of the same book. (For those tuning in late, the novels will be available in both formats only because the PDF is essentially a by-product of preparing for print publication.) Compare them against each other—especially on a portable device—and I think you'll find that the ePub is the one you'll want to read.
We don't currently plan to have a subscription for the Web Fiction. Besides the fact that they are inexpensive and digital (meaning we have very few incentives to offer for subscribing), they're also already available for free, so it's an odd thing to ask the people who are primarily subscribing for books to buy automatically.
I'd like to ask for some help here: I just bought the story and downloaded it to my Toshiba netbook which runs Windows. Is there any program or the like I can get (hopefully free) so I can actually read the story now?
How often will the short fiction be made availible for download?
Likely every few months--it's easier to publish them in batches.
I'd like to ask for some help here: I just bought the story and downloaded it to my Toshiba netbook which runs Windows. Is there any program or the like I can get (hopefully free) so I can actually read the story now?
I don't know if its the best e-reader application out there, but Calibre is free and available for a variety of platforms.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I'd like to ask for some help here: I just bought the story and downloaded it to my Toshiba netbook which runs Windows. Is there any program or the like I can get (hopefully free) so I can actually read the story now?I don't know if its the best e-reader application out there, but Calibre is free and available for a variety of platforms.
There's a large list of other ePUB-compatible applications here on Wikipedia.
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That said, epubreader ( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/45281/ ) does appear to be maintained and the Web site for it is on-topic, at the least. I haven't tried it yet, but it installed fine.
PS: I have no affiliation with any Firefox addon, nor any other interest in which one is downloaded other than for the protection of fellow users.
Thanks ajs. I can read the stuff I bought now!