Self Publish on CD instead of online?

[Linton Robinson]

I definitely didn't suggest an exe file to anybody. Not running on Mac's is the least of their problems.

What I suggested was including mobi, epub, html, etc. As so much of what I say here, this isn't theoretical, it's acual stuff that got done and tried and evaluated.

This gives you the entire ereader market, as well as PC's.

There are a lot of problems with pdf as well, and it depends heavily on the material you are presenting. pdf's have not proven popular for novels. And most people export them out of Word, meaning they don't have workable links.

Again, it's a venue that gives enormous freedom and control. Trying to nail it down to just "pdf on a CD" is almost pointless.

Again, I think a major thing to think about is what people see when they open it. A cool "landing page" offering options and "bonus tracks" is really, really, worth doing.

And if you are doing a collection of shorts, poems, or serial chapters, a frame-based html presentation puts the whole thing in a new category of reading. AND you can also offer ebooks and whatever else you want to.

[pls]

I agree that .pdf's are problematic. Try reading something in .pdf on a Kindle, and you'll see what I mean. But a .pdf is more universal than an .exe file as you DID suggest ("…Mayan Calendar Girls is an exe file that opens up into a website-like page …"). The point is that a CD-based publication is going to have to be as "universal" as possible, or Dorothy is going to have to sell one day and disappear the next to avoid the folks who bring back their CD's and complain that "it doesn't work" in their computer, as if something significant is tied to the .exe file, Mac users are going to be disappointed.

Dorothy, you're probably going to have to consult a computer expert (which I'm not) to come up with documents which can be opened on a Mac or a PC, and (very important) can be exported to a tablet (Kindle, iPad, Nook, whatever) and read on that medium. Otherwise, perfect-bound (paperback) copies of your book may still be the most universal medium available.

How about a printed coupon for, say 25% off, to one of your books on Smashwords, autographed by the author on the spot? The potential customer would carry the coupon home, access the Smashwords site, input the code, and download the book in any format possible for e-reading. Of course you also could provide the coupon code on Facebook, Pinterest, whatever.

[Oldtimer]

Dorothy, you're probably going to have to consult a computer expert (which I'm not) to come up with documents which can be opened on a Mac or a PC, and (very important) can be exported to a tablet (Kindle, iPad, Nook, whatever) and read on that medium. Otherwise, perfect-bound (paperback) copies of your book may still be the most universal medium available.

How about a printed coupon for, say 25% off, to one of your books on Smashwords, autographed by the author on the spot? The potential customer would carry the coupon home, access the Smashwords site, input the code, and download the book in any format possible for e-reading. Of course you also could provide the coupon code on Facebook, Pinterest, whatever.

Hmmm, such a lot to think about here and I must be the least tech-savvy WD forumite. It seemed such a good easy idea when I first got it but I am fast becoming aware that it's far from that. I wonder if there is a "How to Create a Book on a CD for Dummies" that I can read. And thanks for the printed coupon idea, pls. That does seem an easier route.

[pls]

… And thanks for the printed coupon idea, pls. That does seem an easier route.

And just think - if you go with the coupon instead of loading up the trunk of your car with CD's, won't have to take the spare tire out!

[Oldtimer]

And just think - if you go with the coupon instead of loading up the trunk of your car with CD's, won't have to take the spare tire out!

True!

[Linton Robinson]

Not to nitpick, but I think it's worth saying that in fact I DID NOT suggest anybody do an exe file. I said that I did one. For a highly unusual book.
Please don't attribute advice to me that I didn't give, all right?

[Linton Robinson]

No need for a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination.

An epub or mobi will open on virtually any ereader in existence. Furthermore there are lots of emulators and readers that allow them to be comfortably read on PC, tablets etc. You can include a list of those free downloads, or even the install files themselves.

An html file, of course can be read by pretty much anything conceivable.

This is not rocket science.

For that matter, you can toss a pdf in there, too. It's just not the best way to take advantage of the huge opportunities that circulating a CD version can give you--and it's good to optimize them to offset the disadvantages.

[Oldtimer]

Well, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

I have promised a copy of the first draft of my Martian story to the three experts whose names are mentioned in it so I have decided to make plain, regular copies (pdfs) of the story on CD to send to my experts. After the story has been okayed all round, I'll probably go the Smashwords route with coupons. But that's jumping the gun. I've got to finish writing the story first. I'm half way there.

Thank you for the helpful and very interesting input, everyone.