Author (Nom de Plume)
At the heart of an EPUB lies Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML). This grants the designer control over the look and feel of their eBooks, even in an environment where the reader can affect change at will.
Designers can implement CSS styles that creates realistic Text message conversations. These elements reflow automatically, maintaining a consistent look and feel across devices.
The challenge in designing eBooks are the unknowns. It’s impossible to know what devices your readers will use and these uncertainties stack up. Some of these elements are:
Note
Fonts can be embedded into an EPUB to control the look and feel. However, there is no guarantee that Amazon, Apple, Google, or Kobo will not strip them out in favour of their own. E.g., Bookerly on Kindle platforms.
It’s important that an EPUB reflow its content to adjust to changes in any of the above elements. A book that reflows ensures a quality reading experience for the reader.
While initial or drop capitals are easy to add using Kindle Create, it’s not straightforward for EPUBs generated with Calibre. Fortunately, you can add the missing component by using their e-book editor.
To start the process, add the following CSS style to your EPUB‘s stylesheet. This document is normally named stylesheet.css in a Calibre generated eBook.
CSS Style
.dropCharacter {
float: left;
font-family: "Georgia", "Calibri", serif;
font-size: 5em;
line-height: 0.8em;
padding-right: 0.1em;
padding-left: 0.05em;
padding-bottom: 0.2em;
vertical-align: top;
}
Note
Instead of using pt, or px to define the dimensions, we use em. This type of measurement is relative, enabling the document to adjust automatically when the user changes fonts or size.
The next step is to go through every chapter and find the first paragraph. While the converted document’s formatting will differ from this example, it will look similar to this:
Default Code
<body>
<h1 class="blockFirstTop">THE VAN HELSING INCURSION</h1>
<h2 class="blockFirstChapter">CHAPTER 1</h2>
<p class="blockSubtitle">THEY’RE MAGICALLY DELICIOUS</p>
<p>Clara had been lying flat against the snow-covered ground
since the witching hour. The sky was taking on red hues,
and the moon would soon secede its dominion over the
celestial plain.</p>
<p>She maintained a low heart rate while her movements were
kept to an absolute minimum. Freshly fallen snow had
accumulated during the night, all of which helped to
conceal her position.</p>
Output
For a drop character the first letter of the paragraph must be wrapped in a SPAN with the class defined. Once the changes are made, the preview panel will update the look and feel.
For a consistent display of drop characters, consider:
Adjusted Code
<body>
<h1 class="blockFirstTop">THE VAN HELSING INCURSION</h1>
<h2 class="blockFirstChapter">CHAPTER 1</h2>
<p class="blockSubtitle">THEY’RE MAGICALLY DELICIOUS</p>
<p><span class="dropCharacter">C</span>lara had been
lying flat against the snow-covered ground since the
witching hour. The sky was taking on red hues, and the
moon would soon secede its dominion over the celestial
plain.</p>
<p>She maintained a low heart rate while her movements were
kept to an absolute minimum. Freshly fallen snow had
accumulated during the night, all of which helped to
conceal her position.</p>
Output
That’s it!
Note
The look and feel may change based on the rendering engine. Viewing it on Google Play Books may have a a different reading experience Apple iBooks, or Rakuten Kobo.