More and more writers are testing the publishing waters with their own ebooks. Likewise, many traditionally published authors are dusting off their backlists and offering their previous books for sale (if they've got the rights back).
But putting an ebook online is much more than just uploading a Word document. There's formatting and cover design, and choosing which of the ebook formats to target. You can pay someone to do it for you, but fortunately, it's not impossible to do it yourself.
Recently, my local Pikes Peak Writers group offered a workshop on how to format an ebook. The presenter, author Deanna Knippling, has graciously provided the same information in a series of blog posts aimed at beginners in the ebook world.
Part 1: The most common ebook formats, and which ones you should target first. Plus, the importance of editing.
Part 2: The nitty-gritty of formatting your ebook. Knippling saves authors a huge amount of time by teaching how to make an ebook template, so future ebooks will be a snap to format.
Part 3: Finalizing, uploading, and validating your ebook. Also how to trouble-shoot if things aren't working well.
Part 4: How to design your book cover, with information for beginners and advanced cover artists. Knippling includes a list of helpful tips about what to put on your cover, and shares advice about what not to do.
Part 5: Advanced formatting topics, and links to resources for ebook writers.
And if you need some plain-English information on ISBN numbers, here's an easy to understand post by author Claire Delacroix.
Have you formatted your own ebook? Are you thinking about it?
You provide very valuable information here, as always! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Todd. If I ever put up my own book, then I've got the info I need right here!
ReplyDelete~Debbie
Debbie, I attended the program and thought Deanna did a great job. After her workshop, I thought it might be interesting to format a few pages and see how it turns out. Of course, I haven't experimented yet. Thanks for sharing these links.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry I missed it. Let me know how your experiment turns out!
ReplyDelete~Debbie
Debbie: your posts are so helpful like Teresa's (dreamersloversandstarvoyagers.blogspot.com) Thank you for sharing them. You are awesome like your posts!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Marjaan!
ReplyDelete~Debbie
I've got a class that I want to turn into an Ebook. The writing part I can handle just fine, but when it comes to formatting, no such luck. Thanks for posting this great series that will be helpful as I move forward.
ReplyDeleteI'd never know how to format, and most explanations are too technical. This seems easy enough that I could do it! Good luck to you, Charlotte!
ReplyDelete~Debbie