ePub Software Woes! Oh No!
By Lois Winston
I have a love/hate relationship with computers. Recently I’ve been mired in ePub software woes. Oh no! 
Fifteen years ago, I decided to enter the world of indie publishing. I first spent time as a hybrid author, one foot still in traditional publishing while dipping a toe into the indie world. Eventually, I went all in as an indie author.
There was a learning curve involved.
Because I didn’t want to pay people to do what I knew I could do, I needed to acquire certain skills. That meant this dinosaur from another era had to venture out of the kiddie pool (where I routinely cursed Word after every update) and plunge headfirst into the deep end of more complex computer programs.
After hours of research, I found programs that didn’t require a home equity loan.
I discovered learning how to make ePub files wasn’t that hard. Mastering Photoshop was another story. Although I hold a degree in graphic design and illustration, I’m a woman of a certain age who went to art school back when we designed with pen and pencil on paper, not with vectors and pixels on a computer screen. However, after quite a bit of hair-pulling and more than a little cursing, I taught myself enough to be able to create cover art on the computer.
Of course, in the world of computers, nothing ever stays the same for long.
When Adobe moved to a subscription model, I wasn’t willing to take out that home equity loan to continue using Photoshop. I found Affinity with its modest one-time fee, free upgrades, and Mac compatibility.
Recently Canva bought Affinity, and the software went through a huge redesign. I decided to stick with Affinity Designer 2 instead of moving to the newer version because I really don’t need all the bells and whistles that they’ve introduced. I just hope Canva doesn’t stop supporting Designer 2. My woman of a certain age brain has neither the time nor patience to master new software that I only need to use occasionally.
And that brings me to what recently happened with my ePub software.
For fifteen years I’ve used LegendMaker with no problems. It has enabled me to create clean ePub files free of the odd formatting glitches I often come across in eBooks. But…
Step into the Way Back Machine to two weeks ago.
I needed to update an ePub file. I clicked on my LegendMaker software and received this popup message.
ePub Software Woes!
Huh? Snow Leopard is an old iOS, introduced back in 2009. Tahoe is the most recent iOS, and that’s what I use. Why couldn’t I open the program? It had worked fine the previous week.
I sent off an email to the software developer. The few times I’d contacted him years ago, he’d responded within hours, but I hadn’t needed customer support in more than a decade. He still hasn’t responded. Why? Because Google has been unable to deliver the email. Had he not survived Covid? Retired? Gone bankrupt?
After further online research, I discovered that LegendMaker was developed using Intel/64-bit processors and is no longer compatible with Macs. But as I mentioned above, it worked fine only a week earlier!
Aaargh!!!!
Now, for all future ePub files and older ones I want to update, I have to use different software. My pre-computer dinosaur brain is vociferously voicing its objection. But I’ve soldiered on because I have no choice. I found another program and after more hair-pulling and cursing, reformatted the ePub I wanted to update. Hopefully, now that I figured out how to get the results I wanted, future file updates won’t take as long.
I’m convinced, though, that the computer gods are currently rolling around up in clouds LOLing their bums off at my expense.
Do you have a love/hate relationship with technology? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries or Empty Nest Mysteries.
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USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.
There was a time I felt quite computer savvy. Now, not so much. Like you, I have to read the directions and figure out some of the new programs. Also, why they don’t work. I can’t say I want to tax my brain in this way :).
Debra, I wish all those computer nerds would play by the motto that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Sometimes I think all these updates and upgrades are only to justify their salaries!
Technology feels like a bipolar friend to me. On good days, it makes this indie writer’s work flow possible. On others, it’s the most frustrating, inscrutable, and beastly roadblock. I feel your pain, Lois.
What a perfect analogy, Gay!
My five-year-old laptop went belly-up this week, and now I have to re-install all of my software on the new computer I ordered. It isn’t happy, I’m not happy, and I see hours of waiting for tech support in my future.
I feel your pain, Lucinda!
The problem is it keeps changing, doggonit. As soon as you master a bit of software, it becomes obsolete and you are locked out of it! Aargghhhing along with you!
It’s a conspiracy, Saralyn!
I, unfortunately, am not tech savvy, but thankfully my husband is.
Robyn, I often have to rely on my husband or son for tech support. There’s just so much techie stuff I can stuff into my brain.
I have decided technology, much like appliances and cars are built to be obsolete, so they can force you to buy new. After all, they cannot repair the old stuff anymore. Ditto with technology. All those “tech bros” need more money to play with and buy bigger better toys, so we get to suffer through learning some dang new piece of software. Now, as a former developer, I will poke buttons and try things, but I HATE having to learn a new program. Rant over, but I do feel your pain! (I did feel a bit vindicated a few weeks ago when my 25 year old Maytag dryer started acting up. The repair guy came out and flat out said, “do not ever let them tell you to get rid of this. It is a classic and can easily and always be repaired, which will happen only very infrequently.”
Marcia, you’ve been lucky with your Maytag. Every time I’ve had problems, the cost of repair is equal to or more than the price of replacement, and the cost of extended warranties is nearly half the price of a new appliance.
When we bought our house nearly fifty years ago it came with a 20-year-old refrigerator and washing machine. We washed a couple of loads daily: multiple synchronous dogs, our two children, and two or three others that we should have listed as tax deductions. It was the seventies; all the attention a child needed from his parents was ten minutes of quality time a day. The other 23 hours and fifty minutes I provided the quality. Dogs and children were mud-dunked every day because we live by a passive park and a tidal river and I have a husband who still loves to play in the mud. That Herculean washer went on on for another 20 years. Yes, the repairman considered it a treasure, but sadly it became irreversibly ill. In the next thirty years we have bought three machines; this was longer than they were “supposed” to last. Manufacturers built six or seven years into them. The same story with the refrigerator, except that we just bought our fourth. Stainless steel. I loathe it.
Christine, I had a stove, a dryer, and a dishwasher die during Covid. The only replacements anyone had were the top of the line models. The replacements cost a fortune!
The best indie pub advice I ever received was from Micki Browning when we were both at Malice Domestic. If you have a Mac, Vellum.pub is worth its weight in gold. A one-time fee, fantastic customer service if something isn’t working (because the user is clueless!) and great for novels and multi-author collections. Converts your Word doc into EPUB print-ready PDF. Has a proofing option to show you what it will look like before you generate versions. It is honestly the best thing since night baseball!
Thanks for the suggestion, Judy.
I do have a love/hate relationship with technology. When it’s easy, and I’m productive, I love it. When I have trouble and spend hours trying to understand and fix things, I hate it. I admire you for persevering.
Thanks, Kathleen. Although I persevere, there are days when I want to throw the laptop out the window.
Oh, I love Gay’s analogy, too, Lois. Bipolar technology. I think you used the word the other day… Planned obsolescence. You are an amazing soldier. Let someone else write, pay for my book design…. I’d rather do it myself!!! Wonder if we’ll ever go back to pen and paper 😉
I hope not, Donnell. I need my keyboard. I can still type fine but writing with a pen or pencil has become problematic.