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A step-by-step, non-technical guide to making your own ebook on a budget. Includes everything you need to know from copyright to inserting photos, to making your own cover. Avoid HTML, transfer straight from Word to Kindle, Apple iBooks and more.
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blackbirdebooks
"Do you want to publish your writing as an ebook but don't know quite where to start? Do you write on a computer but can't do much of that techie stuff beyond internet searches? I've done the research and made the mistakes so you don't have to."
Written in a straightforward, chatty, easy-to-understand style by a BBC TV researcher, journalist and author of print published fiction and non-fiction. Includes copy editing, proof reading, libel, copyright, how to format Word for Kindle, iBooks, NOOK, PDF etc, how to insert photos, how to make a cover, how to hyperlink chapter headings, a complete beginner's ABC of getting your work from from Word to Kindle plus much more..
1. Copy Editing and Proof Reading
2. Copyright/Copyleft
3. Libel
4. Titles/ISBNs/Legals/Disclaimers
5. Why There's No Need to Get Confused by all the Different Ebook Formats
6. How to Make Your Ebook for ePub - Smashwords, iBooks, NOOK, Apps & More
7. How to Make Your Ebook for Kindle
8. How to Make Your PDF Ebook
9. Why You Don't Need Page Numbering
10. A Beginner's Guide to Hyperlinking
11. How To Hyperlink Chapter Headings
12. Check Your Links
13. Using Photos Online and Inserting Into Your Doc
14. How To Make an Ebook Cover on Your Home Computer
15. Making A Cover - Find Affordable Artwork/Free Royalty-Free Photos
16. How To Make A Thumbnail
17. Different Photo Sizing For Covers, Docs, Publicity
18. Final Touches
19. Publishing to Adobe PDF
20. Final Proof Read
21. How To Set Up Security on Adobe PDF
22. Publishing on Amazon KDP For Kindle
23. Publishing on Smashwords for iBooks/NOOK/Apps & Filling Out ITIN US Tax Forms for UK Authors (And so Make 30% More Profit)
24. Sell From Your Own Website
25. Turning Pro - Mistakes to Avoid If You're Offered A Print Book Deal
26. How To Grow Your Sales
27. How To Grow Your Sales Through The Roof
Links
Appendix - The Total Beginner's Step by Step ABC of Word Doc to Kindle Ebook
"I think I've done it and I'm absolutely staggered at how easy it was when I followed your steps.."
“A fantastically brisk, snappy and practical guide. I love the step-by-step handholding nature of the instructions for the techie aspects!” Louise Voss, Bestselling Kindle Top 100 Author.
"I'm 83 years old, technically naive as far as computers are concerned. I bought a Kindle reader and half a dozen books which I hoped would help me to do it. Some chance; the first five were totally incomprehensible and it was only when I read Stephanie's words that the clouds began to part. Fantastic. I strongly advise anyone wanting to 'Kindle' their writings to buy Stephanie's book. I did and it saved my sanity." Alan, Amazon *****September 2011
UPDATED: October 2011
NEW: LINK TO UPDATE BLOG!
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE: COPY EDITING, WHY THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
'Add freshly ground black people.'
Cookery book misprint, 2010
So, you've written The End and your manuscript is perfect and ready to publish. Are you sure about that?
Before publication, all print books go through two vital stages: copy editing and proof reading. If it's to look professional, your ebook must do the same. But first, have a close look at your writing one last time.
Are there any long, rambling sentences that could be shortened or split into two? Large, intense sentences and big blocks of paragraph aren't so easy on the eye scanning a page. With an electronic screen this is even more relevant and especially important for ebooks. In any medium, short sentences and simple words are more likely to keep your reader engaged. Look for 'ands' and 'buts'
which could be replaced by full stops.
Look at the length of your paragraphs. Have you missed any natural breaks that could be split?
Can you break up the page by taking a list that may appear in a sentence and
turn it into a linear list that scans down the page, with one subject on top of the next one, rather than running along horizontally?
Are there any lists like this one that would benefit from bullet points?
To give you the professional perspective on copy editing and proof reading, I'm handing over to blackbirdebooks' Associate Editor Sarah Tomley. Sarah has worked as a copy editor and commissioning editor for some of the UK's largest publishing companies and has edited hundreds of books.
The Difference Between Copy Editing and Proof Reading
'Copy editing comes at an earlier stage than proof reading. When you've finished
writing, a copy editor will read your book and make sure that it will work from a reader's point of view. Often authors are so expert in their subject that they assume too much knowledge on the part of the reader, and skip into discussions on new subjects without introducing them clearly.
The copy editor's first task is to check the structure of the whole book:
Is it logical?
Is it the best way to guide a reader through a new subject?
Does it include everything that the reader needs to know?
Does it need an introduction, or explanatory section at the beginning?
Non-fiction books, especially "how to" books, often benefit from having a
separate "key skills" area before the main chunk of the book, which readers can refer back to easily at any time.
Does the book need a glossary?
Or index?
In an ebook you might want to consider a hyperlinked index, so readers can jump
into the book via a particular (key) word.
The second thing a copy editor does is to focus in on each section or chapter one at a time...
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