Hi, this sounds like an interesting project. I always enjoyed doing conversion tools.
I could do the project in either form, application or webservice.
What I would do as first is some sort of "conversion" module in python than can be used in both context, which should accelerate the entire process.
Then I can implement your prefered UI method first as part of this project.(this bid, $1500)
Once this done, if you are satisfied with it, we could do a second project together with the second method at a lower price since I'll be using the same module. ($750)
For the module part, there are python libraries to read/write docx, doc and epub files.
For the application part, I would use pyside, which is a python implementation of QT, and then convert it to a single file .exe for your ease of use.
For the webservice part, I'd use a simple python framework called bottle on the server side and a single page application using backbone.js+jquery on the browser side.
These choices should result in a very smooth experience on both UIs.
My account here is fairly new, but I've been in the industry for 6+ years, 3 of which have been freelancing. I have tackled many similar projects, like generating pdfs and powerpoints, and I suggest tools I'm very confident in and that are standards in the industry.
I hope we get to work together and wish you a great day.
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Marc Thompson