Making Your Own eBook
Do-it-yourself eBooks:
There is some disagreement on just what an 'eBook' is. Some prefer to restrict the term to those publications that can be read using a special hand-held device called an 'eBook Reader.' Others have tried to limit it to a document of a minimum size; let's say 50pgs. 'Pages', however is kind of a meaningless term in some electronic formats. Thousands of expired copyright books have been transcribed and are freely available as plain text files in some places. Certainly, those texts are considered eBooks, but they were published originally as books, and have been converted into an electronic format, however there are no 'pages' in the traditional sense. One screen-full of text could constitute a 'page', but the amount of text that will fit on 'one screen' varies depending on the reading device or computer used to read the text as well.
Some people publish CDs with copies of old books on them. The original book having been scanned and each page saved as a graphic image. There may be a program displaying some of the images, however... one could use HTML and display the pages as you would a web site, in a browser. These too are essentially eBooks, in that they were once books and now have been converted into an electronic format. Some web sites have transcriptions of the text from a book displayed on one more web pages. That is an eBook too.
Of course, not all eBooks started out as printed books. Some are original creations that are formatted for display in an electronic format.
How do you distinguish between a web site and an eBook?
There is no simple way, and in a way, it would be nice to stick to an "information age" like this. Books take information of some sort, be it fictional or factual, and convey that information in printed form. We intuitively distinguish between books and smaller printed documents like pamphlets or booklets, but there is no absolute threshold dividing them. If a book-length manuscript is not bound, we don't consider it a book, so form is as important as content. Remove the pages from a book and most people would not call the loose pages a book. Take those pages and tape them together into a convenient-to-read scroll, and still it would not be a 'book.' So some people argue that an eBook is content displayed by a device called an eBook Reader, but the same file displayed on a computer monitor is no longer an eBook. But to complicate matters, some eBook Reader devices can display any HTML file. So if they display this web page does that make it an eBook?
Rather than try to resolve this semantic nightmare with some strict definition, we are going to assume that YOUR eBook is whatever information you care to transmit individually to others in electronic format. This information is generally text and sometimes graphics, but may also include sound or moving images.
You may be interested in reproducing an old book whose copyright has expired, or for which the author has given (or sold) you electronic reprint rights; or the work may be of your own creation. Whatever the source, you will need to format the material in a form suitable for making an eBook. That formatting is dependant, to some extent, on the final form you intend to use for your eBook, which is also generally referred to as format!
The first type of format uses fonts and space, and sometimes other elements such as color, to make text easier to read and to clearly distinguish one part from another. You might use a large and bold font for a heading, or if your text is to be presented in plain text, you might convert headlines to all upper case letters, and set them off from the text with one or two blank line spaces. This type of formatting is generally done with a word processing program.
The second use of the term format refers to the type of electronic file the final eBook is presented as, which limits its use to particular reading devices or display programs. You will find many formats are used for eBooks, the most common being plain text, HTML, MS-Word, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe eBook, Microsoft eBook, Rocketbook, Mobipocket, PalmDoc, and various programs that create Windows executable files. For a discussion of the various formats and their pro's and con's, see eBook Formats Compared. Some formats may include security features that allow you to discourage copying, sharing or free distribution of the eBook. Other may be 'locked' so that the user can read part of it for free, but needs a 'key' to access the rest of the content.
You need to consider your target audience when choosing among the available formats, the pro's and con's of the format itself, and the cost of creating eBooks in a particular format. It is both possible and desirable to have your eBook available in more than one format.
Here at WorldsLargestNetwork.info, only certain eBooks are allowed, due to limitations of our marketing and delivery methods. Content is limited to non-Pornographic material. Also, consider keeping your eBook down to 1.4 megabytes or less to allow it to fit on a standard floppy disk. Your eBook will then be very easy for your readers to transport them, and even though we have many new storage devices, these disks are still far more widely used. Of course, if you use graphics or large sound files you will have to have a large ebook package.
If you make your own eBook, or pay to have it produced by us or someone else, we do not limit the type of file that can be uploaded for sale. We do not, however, have mechanisms in place to handle delivery of keys or other special treatment. Your eBooks will be delivered only to people who have paid for them, so the book should be complete and usable in the form it is uploaded to our site. People don't like to wait, so please be sure the "whole package" is there when they are to open it.
If you would like help creating an eBook, here is a general idea of our services:
- Plain text converted to HTML ($20/hr, submit text for estimate)
- Plain text converted to MS-Word ($20/hr, submit text for estimate)
- HTML or MS-Word converted to Adobe Acrobat PDF ($20 flat fee without editing, $20/hr if editing required)
- HTML or MS-Word converted to Microsoft eBook, basic ($20 flat fee without editing, $20/hr if editing required)
- When converting from HTML to Adobe Acrobat PDF files the results can be unpredictable, because the PDF conversion does not exactly match any existing browser. MS-Word to PDF should work well, so long as standard fonts are used; though minor text flow differences may occur. Additional editing is required to add links (either within the document or to the Web).
- If you would like help to present your ebook in a very professional manner, we can add nice navigation, custom Logos(we can design these for you), special formats, etc. Please just contact us for any specific request. If you can dream it up, we can help you get it done!
Additionally, we offer complete services if you need them...we can help you build your site, we can host your web site, help you get your eBook together, design your eBook cover, etc., and make sure you receive the attention you deserve for your efforts.
It can all be done with us right from day one! There is no other organization that does or will ever offer you that kind of complete relationship, and more importantly, that cares more about your success tomorrow just as much as your success today.
