Indie Publishing Brief — October 2026

At a glance: W3C has clarified what EPUB 3.4 will change. It is still being tested as a candidate standard—not yet a final Recommendation—and it is deliberately backward-compatible. Existing EPUBs that already validate do not need rebuilding. No new KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Kobo or Apple Books file requirements were found this week.

EPUB 3.4 enters its final testing stage

What changed: EPUB 3.4 introduces a fixed-layout “roll” mode for vertically scrolling comics and webtoons. It also recognises newer image and media formats—including AVIF, JPEG XL, OPUS and AAC—and refines accessibility metadata, including a contact-email field. Older features such as font obfuscation, OPF2 guide/NCX elements, content fallbacks and some prefixed CSS are being marked outdated or deprecated, so EPUBCheck may issue notices when they appear.

Why it matters to Patti: Patti’s ordinary reflowable novels and current Vellum exports are not affected if they validate. The new roll layout matters only if Patti later formats webtoons or other specialised fixed-layout books. EPUBCheck notices about older features should be reviewed, but they do not automatically mean a retailer will reject the book.

Review: Add one note to the EPUB QA checklist: separate genuine validation errors from “outdated” or “deprecated” notices. Do not alter existing Vellum files, covers, print interiors, contracts or pricing.

Review soon: Continue validating new EPUB deliveries with EPUBCheck 5.4.0. If a file passes but produces advisory notices, record them and test the ebook in the relevant retailer previewer before changing anything. If a future client requests a scrolling comic or webtoon, quote it as specialised fixed-layout work and confirm retailer support first.

W3C’s EPUB 3.4 announcement · EPUB 3.4 candidate specification

What you should do this week

1. Keep using the existing Vellum, KDP and IngramSpark production workflow.
2. Add “Check whether EPUBCheck messages are errors or advisory notices” to the EPUB QA checklist.
3. Do not rebuild existing EPUBs or change cover and print templates because of EPUB 3.4.

SECRETS OF THE HEART by Judith Luke

 

Brooke returns to Wyoming seeking peace—but finds a second chance at love, betrayal and deadly secrets. Can Adam protect her when danger strikes?

After the sudden death of her abusive husband, Brooke Montgomery returns to her family's Wyoming ranch in search of serenity. Busy with a client, her father is unable to welcome her. Instead, neighboring rancher and life-long friend, Adam Tower trots over from the arena on a horse belonging to her. Older now and still devilishly handsome, he disturbs her in every way. But more disturbing are her father's evasive answers as to why Adam is training their show horses and living in their house. https://link.amazon/B07nsoOXY

Adam Tower has loved Brook from the day she was born. The difference in their ages kept him from pursuing a relationship. When Brooke attended UCLA and unexpectantly married, he was devastated. Now eight years later, he may have a second chance, depending on how she handles the fact that she will not inherit the ranch.

Ranches bordering Hightower Mountain see a spike in crime. Within days of her arrival, Brooke is a victim of physical attacks and written warnings. Adam is determined to keep her safe. A trail of betrayal and deadly secrets lead them to a final showdown, where they lay their lives on the line to protect each other.

Reader ratings: Secrets of the Heart by Judith Luke has a Goodreads rating of 4.33 out of 5.

SECRETS OF THE HEART by Judith Luke
https://link.amazon/B07nsoOXY

#RomanticSuspense #Kindle

Indie Authors: Smashwords ebook preorders are now live

 

A new preorder option changes the launch calendar for indie authors and their publishing partners.

Monday Indie Publishing Brief

Period reviewed: 29 September–5 October 2026

At a glance

One consequential platform change this week: Smashwords now accepts ebook preorders. No new cover dimensions, print-interior specifications, retailer file rules, or metadata requirements were found from KDP, IngramSpark, Kobo, or Apple Books during the review period. There is also an important EPUBCheck 5.4.0 validation caveat to add to last week’s update.

1) Smashwords ebook preorders are now live

Status: In force from 29 September 2026.

What changed: Draft2Digital’s Smashwords Store now accepts customer preorders, up to 12 months before release. Assetless preorders are allowed: the final manuscript and cover may be supplied later, but Draft2Digital says both must be uploaded at least 10 business days before release. Smashwords Presales can also provide early reader access, but those require the final manuscript and cover before the presale begins.

Image and announcement: Draft2Digital. Select the image to read the official release.

Why it matters: You can open preorders for your own books before production is complete. For client work, this creates a hard handover deadline for the final EPUB and cover, and it separates “preorder setup assets” from “release-ready files.”

Review: Update project calendars, intake forms, client handover checklists, and any agreement that promises delivery around a launch. No cover template or interior specification change is required.

Act now

For any book using Draft2Digital/Smashwords, set the internal final-file deadline at least 15 business days before release. That gives a five-business-day safety buffer beyond Draft2Digital’s stated minimum.

Read the official Draft2Digital announcement

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2) EPUBCheck 5.4.0 needs a little human judgement

Status: EPUBCheck 5.4.0 remains the latest production-ready release, but known validation problems are being tracked.

What changed: Last week’s brief noted that EPUBCheck 5.4.0 supports checking against the EPUB 3.4 Candidate Recommendation. The important caveat is that version 5.4.0 can incorrectly report aria-labelledby on a nav element as an error. The EPUBCheck project classifies this as a critical false positive and has assigned the correction to version 5.4.1.

A clean validation report is useful, but it is not a substitute for accessibility checks and a human review.

Why it matters: Removing valid accessibility markup simply to silence a false positive could make the ebook less accessible. A separate accepted issue also shows that, when a spine toc attribute incorrectly points to a non-NCX item, EPUBCheck 5.4.0 can emit CHK-008 and skip further checks on that item. Genuine errors inside it may then go unreported.

Review: If 5.4.0 flags aria-labelledby on the navigation document, check the known issue before changing the file. If you see CHK-008, correct the package-document reference and run validation again so the skipped item is actually checked.

Act now

Keep accessibility markup intact unless you have confirmed it is invalid. Record the EPUBCheck version used, investigate these known cases, and pair structural validation with an accessibility checker and a manual reading-system test.

EPUBCheck 5.4.0 release notes

Known aria-labelledby false positive

Accepted CHK-008 skipped-validation issue

The bottom line

Add Smashwords to your preorder plan, but build in more time than the platform minimum. For EPUB quality control, use the newest validator with informed caution: investigate unusual results, keep valid accessibility features, and always test the finished book beyond a single automated report.

Over to you: Does your launch checklist already include an internal final-file deadline, or will the new Smashwords preorder option change the way you schedule production?

Platform requirements and software releases can change quickly. Check the linked official sources before making a production or launch decision.