What are these different Tarot Tableau versions?
UPDATE: I have finally submitted my book to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and enrolled in an exclusionary deal in their Kindle store for the first 90 days, so the digital versions will be unavailable outside of that restricted market until mid-February.
When I published Tarot Tableau: The Fool’s Journey as a PDF, I thought that was it. Everyone can read a PDF, right? While it’s true that most people who would ever hear about this book can use a PDF, not all apps read it well. And some people just prefer reading in other formats. Honestly, when I thought about it, I wished that I had some of my self-published reference PDFs in different formats. Reading a bright white PDF at night in bed can be uncomfortable, especially if your partner keeps poking you to get you to turn it off.
Digital Versions
All of the digital versions are meant for e-readers, and they include internal links to jump from one section to another, interactive tables of contents, and pre-loaded bookmarks for each section, which all makes for easy navigation. But after that, they’re slightly different.
PDF [available here]
The PDF is the OG (original guide, in this case) because pretty much anything with a screen can read a PDF. It’s a fixed-format file, which means that it appears as I originally designed it—for good or ill—with all the colors, extraneous design details, and distinct pagination and image placement. Because of that, there are some unique features, such as a little logo at the bottom of each page that will bring you back to the table of contents, but for the most part the big difference is the fixed-format design.
When using Adobe Acrobat, you can comment, highlight, and print (in low-res) the PDF, but you can’t copy it or edit it (at least not with Adobe Acrobat—if you want to use cracking software that goes around such protections, that’s a choice).
ePUB [available here]
PDFs are very versatile, but there were two limitations that I sought to solve with the ePUB version:
some people, like me, prefer reading in a fluid format that allows for resizing and shifting to dark mode (or sepia mode or whatever mode); and
the default PDF reader on iPhones and iPads, Books, has a fun little bug that doesn’t allow you to highlight or mark up edit-protected PDFs. Fun, right?
The ePUB version has a fluid format, meaning that you can resize the text and shift text and background color to fit your reading needs. (You can’t change the actual font, though, because that’s embedded in the file.) ePUB files work on almost every standard e-reader, including Books, but—surprise!—they don’t work properly on Kindle. I bet you didn’t see that coming. [Cue the internal screaming of the first-time digital self-publisher.] If you’re having trouble getting an ePUB to load properly, you should be able to find clear instructions online. If it still doesn’t work, please let me know!
AZW3 and MOBI [available here]
Kindle and other software that can’t read ePUB files properly can still read PDFs just fine, but I wanted to provide a fluid format for those e-readers, so I’ve developed AZW3 and MOBI versions of the book. Only the MOBI works on both old and new Kindle readers and in the Kindle app, and only the MOBI can be transferred via email, so it’s the only version for sale. The AZW3 will be emailed at no additional cost, along with instructions on how to transfer it to newer Kindles via USB.
If you’re wondering why I didn’t just publish versions to Apple Books and Amazon Kindle, which would’ve definitely been easier, you haven’t read Kindle Direct Publishing’s Terms & Conditions. Fun fact: you can’t publish to the Kindle Store (as a self-publisher at least) and distribute any digital version of your book anywhere other than the Kindle Store (including your own website). I might go that route in a year, but until then we have some options.
Interactive PDF Worksheets [available here]
I have worksheets that go along with Tarot Tableau: The Fool’s Journey to help keep track of the various options and to record reading notes. The interactive PDFs are form-fillable and easy to navigate by using the tab key. After you’ve filled out the forms, they can be saved and printed (in high resolution), but you can’t edit the tables or images beyond filling out the form.
The standard worksheets are included in the printed versions of the book, but digital users purchase them separately.
Alternative sets of worksheets are available to buy either separately or all together in a ZIP file. They address the five alternative layouts described in appendix A of Tarot Tableau: The Fool’s Journey. These alternatives help readers who want to branch out beyond the standard grid to conduct slightly different readings, such as the 4x5 grid that puts slightly more emphasis on the depths of the mind than on the predictive style of reading or the 7x3 (Fool Out) grid that could be perfect for a deck designed around the Fool’s Journey through three septenaries, such as the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot.
And if you just want to track your cards drawn briefly, you can download a one-page excerpt (for Waite decks) here.
Print Versions
The printed versions include the standard spread worksheets as an extra appendix, and people who buy the printed version can get those standard worksheets in PDF form for no additional cost, just by asking me for them. (Alternative spread worksheets are available to purchase.) The printed versions are in black and white, but with the exception of one image, there is enough variation in the grays for most readers to not need the color.
Coil-Bound Workbook [available here]
I don’t know about you, but I like when a book with reference tables or a worksheet is coil-bound so that you can let it lie flat while you’re using it. For that reason, I’ve created a 6”x9” coil-bound printed version that’s easy to reference and easy to carry with you. Because of the cost of international shipping, buying them through my site is only available to U.S. customers, but international customers can email me so that I can arrange for the printer to ship directly to you, which is cheaper than my shipping to you.
Perfect-Bound Paperback [available through Amazon, starting November 2021]
If you don’t want a coil-bound workbook for some reason but do want a printed book, a print-on-demand 8”x10” version will be available through Kindle Direct Publishing at some point. Sadly, KDP doesn’t allow coil-bound printing on demand. To make up for that, I’m printing it in a slightly larger format, and I’ve added a bonus to go along with the increased price: it includes worksheets for all five of the suggested alternative layouts, as well as the standard worksheets.
Below are some screenshots of the different versions, which I explain in the next post. If you’re interested in purchasing an eBook or ordering the coil-bound book, you can do so in the new Books & Guides section of my shop.
