Ebook Maps

[töff]

ps (bad nettiquette) but, it's sans serif not san-serif.

As if that were my only tpyo.

[writemor]

toff... an excellent, excellent article by the way but I have a couple of questions...
I am working on a Map - War of 1812, of an early battle along the Lake Ontario shore, centering at Sackets Harbor, NY.
This book is being written and illustrated for Kindle and Smashwords. My hope in illustrating the map, is to keep the location names very legible and clear yet protect the look and feel of a map created in that era by using a font similar to those used in that era on maps.
1] Can I use a font that is not Kindle's default Caecillia? Will the Kindle read any font used?
2] Do you [or anyone] know of a particular early Nineteenth Century font with serifs that does read fine on Kindles, or is this quest a lost cause?
3] I don't have a eBook reader to try out fonts, but if I did... that's something that can be done without actually submitting a publication - put an image in an eBook and look at it? I am not very familiar with eBooks as I read tons of dl books directly on my computer. Any advice directed my way would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you... Nancy - writemor

[writemor]

I would appreciate anyone's ideas on this... My questions follow...

I want to use the following fonts [or a combination of these] on my eBook map in an attempt to keep the look of the 1812 period:

TT - Handwriting Draft Free Version - in title and title date
O - Lucinda Calligraphy - on map - locations
TT - Mayflower Antique - title date
or...
TT - Handwriting Draft Free Version - in title
TT - ChopinScript - in title
TT - OldStyle Small Caps - on map - locations

1] Can I mix TT and O fonts on the same map [intended for an eBook]?
2] ChopinScript of course is a script. Is this a no-no for eBooks since it has some swirly ends to the capitals?
3] ... I forgot what it was... hum...

Thank you sincerely!
Nancy - writemor

[töff]

I'd love to see the map when you're done with it!

The method I suggest above uses simple grayscale JPG for any map. Therefore, font formats are not an issue, because they will all be rasterized. You can use any fonts you want -- even a script -- as long as you test them and they look good on a e-reader. The smaller the fonts are, the more chance that they'll become illegible. Sorry, but I know of know way around the necessary step of looking at your map on actual e-reader devices. Find a friend with an e-reader ... or go prowl ebay! They are getting cheap. Yes, you can make a map, embed it into an otherwise-empty ebook, and then open the ebook on your reader. This is the method I use.

(fyi, "Kindle" is a series of hardware, and "Smashwords" is a publisher -- apples & oranges.)

[töff]

One more note: Mobi (the prevailing Kindle format, for now) does not support fonts AT ALL. Period. You cannot specify fonts, end of story. The e-reader has some fonts for the user to choose from, but the e-book creator cannot make one font or the other display where he wants them.

(Of course, for a JPG map, that's irrelevant! )

[writemor]

toff,
Thank you for this excellent reply. I think I understand. Let me dwell on it today.
Nancy - writemor

[writemor]

toff,

I finished drawing the War of 1812 map free hand and then located an individual that could help me to recreate it in Photoshop. It is now an almost completed project [will finish tomorrow - move a few things]. I created this map for an author mentor friend of mine as an internal map illustration for for her newest book to come out soon. This black line drawing is being presented as an eBook first, published by Smashwords, aimed at the Kindle eReader [and others, I suppose?] - secondly as a print book through CreateSpace - both to be out by summer. Though I gave her the map for free, she informs me that as the map illustrator, I will retain the copyright and can do what I wish with it. I will be happy to post it here, but feel compelled to do so only after her 2 books are released to the public. Thank you so much for the great help. This discussion has not only helped me with this specific map project, but has also opened up my eyes to new avenues in e-publishing my own children's books I am currently illustrating [with color this time].

What eReader[s] do you use to check/view your current works-in-progress? Any particular reason why?

Thank you!
Nancy - writemor

[cereth]

This is a great, very informative thread. I don't have an e-reader myself but they do seem pretty cool. There's still just something I like about holding a book in my hands that's holding me back.

[Gidde]

I read on my iPhone (I actually like the backlight, especially if you switch to dark background/white text). I converted because I now can have hundreds of books with me wherever I am ... and I am ALWAYS reading something or other, so that's a handy thing to have! The ONLY thing that sucks is the general lack of maps. But some publishers have gotten smart about that too. Witness the fact that the maps for A Dance With Dragons (song of ice and fire book 5) are available for view/download from the publisher's site.

[töff]

What eReader[s] do you use to check/view your current works-in-progress? Any particular reason why?

I use a Nook Touch and a Kindle 3 (now called Kindle Keyboard), because those are the two hardware ereaders that I own.

Ereader hardware is evolving fast, as all electronic devices do. There can be no real long-term planning. I'd say that within a decade we will have full-color, self-illuminated, hi-resolution e-ink devices. B&N just released a self-illume Nook (yes, e-ink, not LCD) and Apple's new iPad has a high-res screen called Retina. Soon all these features will be combined. Our 500x666 grayscale maps will look ... um, if we designed them well, they'll still look OK, I guess.

Attached, with permission from the publisher, is the original map from Jack Vance's Showboat World, and my recreation for the ebook edition. The original is arguably more artful, but it simply won't convert well to ebook form; thus the need to recreate. Attached also, a zip with Epub- and Mobi-formatted ebooks with the two maps in them. Open it up on your Nook or Kindle and take a look, and compare!

@ Gidde, I amend my statement to "Who reads books with maps on a phone, anyway?"

@ Cereth, it's not as if I've thrown out all my paper books! But ereaders and ebooks are cheap now! Try it! Worst case, you can sell it on eBay.