Amazon has updated their entire process of developing ebooks and enhanced rich media content on their various platforms. They ushered in a new Kindle friendly format called Kindle Format 8 or KF8. The Kindle Fire has native support for this new format and allows authors/publishers more freedom in delivering enhanced ebook content using next generation web standards. If you are a web developer, you have heard of HTML5 and CSS3 and the tremendous freedom it allows to maintain cross web-browser compatibility. This is really the basis Amazon used to create the Kindle Cloud Reader, which is an all-in-one web based solution that can be used on any PC, MAC, or Tablet.
Publishers have created thousands of KF8 titles already and customers are enjoying the improved formatting and reading features across all types of books. Additionally, KF8 features such as Kindle Panel Views and Kindle Text Pop Up enable great fixed layout books including graphic novels, comics, and children’s books. We’ve updated our Kindle Publishing Guidelines (http://kindlegen.s3.amazonaws.com/AmazonKindlePublishingGuidelines.pdf) to help publishers get started with Kindle Format 8.
Kindle Format 8 is really the new ebook standard that Aamazon has developed that allows publishers, authors and artists to develop content exclusively for the Kindle Fire and soon e-ink readers. It replaces the MOBI format that Amazon has been using for their ebooks for many years and allows 150 new formatting capabilities including support for HTML5 and CSS3.
The main benefit of this new ebook writing standard is for people who are more concerned with very graphic heavy projects. Comic books, graphic novels, and manga are but a few that benefit from this new format. You may have also heard of the success of the Nook and iOS platforms with standalone applications that provide an enhanced ebook experience. These books normally feature audio, video, interactive content, and other facets that take the entire book experience to the next level. KF8 is really Amazons answer to offering easy creation tools for people to use. The main tools you have to work with are the Kindle Gen and Kindle Previewer. KindleGen 2 creates KF8 content from a wide variety of input sources including HTML, XHTML, and EPUB. Kindle Previewer 2 provides an easy way to preview how titles will look on Kindle devices and apps.
Please download the new versions of KindleGen (http://www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindleGen) & Kindle Previewer (http://www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindlePreviewer) and get started today. More information about KF8, Kindle Publishing Tools & Guidelines can be found at http://www.amazon.com/KindleFormat.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
