Books - FAQ Books - How To Videos Music - FAQ

Books - FAQ

We are currently in Beta, so this is a good spot to look when you have questions about how to use the tool. We’ll be updating this area frequently, so check back often.

Source Document Formatting

What format do you convert from?

Right now we accept .doc, only.

What should I do about tabs in my document?

Tabs are not recognized in ePub. For indentation or other formatting please use the style setting for this. The most common things we see are tabs used for indents (use paragraph indent styles) and for centering or aligning.

What about fonts?

For ePubs the idea of a fixed font is not there. It is preferred that you not set a font, as a user can change the font in their eReader. We offer the ability to set a heading (which makes the text a little larger than the body text). Body text is set to 12pt. to start and heading text is set to 16pt. to start. Users can change font size, so we start at the preferred sizes.

Should I keep images in my .doc file for the upload?

Right now, images will not come through during the initial upload of your .doc files. You will insert these in our tool. For this reason, we suggest that you remove images from your .doc files before upload.

How do I upload my book?

Currently, we need you to upload your sections and chapters as separate .doc files. Name them as you want them to appear in the auto-generated Table of Contents (you will be able to edit these names after upload if you want). Example:

Title.doc
Dedication.doc
Prologue.doc
Chapter 1.doc
Chapter 2.doc
Epilogue.doc
Glossary.doc
About the Author.doc

What size/format should my Cover Art be?

Cover artwork should be .jpg and should be a minimum of 550px wide and 800px high.

Using The Tool

Can I change my cover artwork after I upload it?

Currently, you cannot. This is a known issue and will be fixed in an upcoming build, soon.

How do I organize my Chapters/Sections?

After you upload your documents you can organize them. This includes:

Adding more documents to your book
Re-naming the section/chapter titles
Deleting sections/chapters from your book
Re-ordering your sections/chapters

Once you have made your changes, click save.

**Known Issue: You must save any edits to chapter titles before uploading new documents.

What is the difference between ‘Select’ and ‘Edit’?

In our tool we use Select and Edit for performing certain functions.

Use ‘Select’ to: insert images, videos, links on their own paragraph line, header creation.

Use ‘Edit’ to: edit text, bold/italic text, align text (left/right/center), create a link using a word(s) in a paragraph, add paragraph lines.

How do I insert an image?

Make sure you are in select mode. Click on the paragraph that you want the image to appear after. Click on the photo icon and choose your image file.

Images must be under 2MB and we generally recommend that the longest side be ~1000px or less. The 1000px will take advantage of most eReader screens so users can zoom in nicely.

How do I insert a video?

Make sure you are in select mode. Click on the paragraph that you want the video to appear after. Click on the video icon and choose the video you want to insert. The video will load and will be playable. To playback the video, go into edit mode and click on the play button.

What is the video specification?

Your video must be encoded for playback on an iPad and must be .m4v. Using a program like iMovie or Compressor will give you the choice of iPad for conversion so we highly recommend using one of these encoding tools.

How do I insert a link on its own line?

Make sure you are in select mode. Click on the paragraph that you want the link to appear after. Click on the globe icon. Enter the Text you want to appear and then enter the url.

How do I make text into a header?

Make sure you are in ‘select’ mode in the tool. Select the paragraph of text that you want to make into a header and then click on the pencil icon. This will increase the size.

How do I edit text?

Make sure you are in edit mode. Click the text you want to edit and either begin typing, or select the word(s) you want to make bold/italic/aligned.

How do I make a word into a link?

Make sure you are in edit mode. Highlight the text you want to make into a link. Click on the link icon in the editor (next to the bold/italic buttons). Enter the url you want it to link to (you do not need to enter the text to be shown).

Finished File

How do I view my ePub file?

To view on your iPad:

  • Move the .epub file into your iTunes library and then sync with your iPad and open in the iBook App, OR
  • E-mail the file to yourself and open the file on your iPad and choose, 'Open in iBooks'

To view on Kindle:

  • Get the Kindle Previewer application
  • Open your .epub file using Kindle Previewer
  • You can then view your book as it will look on the Kindle (and can use the drop down menu to change devices, including the Kindle iPad App)
  • You can also take the .mobi file that is created and move this onto your Kindle for viewing
Why are there spaces between paragraphs (that weren't in my Word Document) when I view my book on my iPad?

By default, the iBook reader adds a space between paragraphs.  We currently offer a service to override this default and we have it on our list of features to implement in the tool in the future.

Coming Soon

Can I create internal links to send readers to other pages in the document?

Right now this is not implemented, but will be coming soon!

What about footnotes?

We are working on footnote support in the tool. This will be part of the internal linking that is coming soon!

Some authors have chosen to use asterisks that are footnoted at the end of a chapter, or use numbers in parenthesis that are then laid out on a page at the end of the book. We know this won’t work for everyone and will have more options soon.

Coming Soon

Can I create internal links to send readers to other pages in the document?

Right now this is not implemented, but will be coming soon!

What about footnotes?

We are working on footnote support in the tool. This will be part of the internal linking that is coming soon!

Some authors have chosen to use asterisks that are footnoted at the end of a chapter, or use numbers in parenthesis that are then laid out on a page at the end of the book. We know this won’t work for everyone and will have more options soon.

Organize Sections and Chapters
Create Heading
Insert Image
Add a Standalone Link
Edit Text
Remove Item
Finish and Build Project
Validation
Purchase
Download

Music - FAQ


What is an iTunes LP?

An iTunes LP is a digital package that allows you to offer more than just tracks. You can now include lyrics, photo gallery, videos*, liner notes, credits and even promote other albums you have on iTunes in the ‘More’ section.

What do LPs look like when created with the Red Staple Tool?

We have put together a page to show you some LP examples. All of the LPs on this page have been created using our template.

We will continue to update this area with more examples. If you want your LP included on this list, please send us a screenshot of your main page, the name of the artist and the title of the album. We will link to the album on the iTunes store, as well.

What is included in an LP?

Right now our basic template includes:

  1. Main page
  2. Tracks page
  3. Individual track page with lyrics image and playback functionality
  4. Photo Gallery
  5. Credits page
  6. Liner Notes page
  7. More page
  8. Videos page*

Can I add an LP to an album currently up on the iTunes store?

The short answer, no.

The extended answer:

To add an LP to an existing album you need to add at least one extra feature (extra track or music video) and release it as a Special Edition.

How do I design my LP?

We provide specs for our template which includes .png files a designer can put in photoshop for easy asset creation. Once all assets are complete they can be uploaded into the template using our tool.

How do I deliver my LP?

To deliver you LP, there are two options, depending on what is included in your LP.

  1. iTunes Producer. This option is good if you are not including any video in your LP. Once your LP is built, you can download it from your account and deliver to Apple directly.
  2. Apple Approved Delivery House. This option is necessary if you will be including any video in your LP and will be an extra fee (billed directly to you by the delivery house).

If you are looking for a delivery house (and/or encoding house for your video), you can find a list of approved vendors in your connect account.

Our preferred delivery vendors at this time are:

Radius 60

Premiere Digital

What is the timeline for delivery?

Please see our timeline overview here.

What is the price for creating an LP?

We currently charge per LP or Extra and more information is available here.

*What about video?

There are two types of videos that can be offered:

  • Music Videos (Core Content).  They must be for sale on the iTunes storefront, separate from the LP and must be delivered as part of the album package to be included in the LP.
  • Embedded Videos (Bonus Content).  These are generally ‘Behind the Scenes’ type videos and are not available for individual sale, anywhere.

To include these, you must have the video encoded by an Apple approved encoding house. We generally recommend that you have the encoding done by the same company who will be delivering the LP for you.

Either video offering requires delivery of the LP to be done by and Apple approved delivery house.