eBook Formatting

eBook formatting is very simple!

If you already began formatting your paperback, make a copy of that file and name it eBook. These changes will be made in that new new eBook file. From now on, any editing for content will have to be made in these two separate files.

You can do the entire eBook in MS Word, or can you also use Jutoh. If you use latter, I recommend doing as much in Word as possible, and then import it into Jutoh.

Jutoh is inexpensive and will export into any eBook format you need (Kindle, iBook, etc.)

The following are NOT needed (or allowed in some cases):

section breaks
page breaks
headers/footers
page numbers
gutter margins
character spacing
hyphenated words
widow/orphan control
tabs
consecutive spaces or paragraph breaks (search & replace in MS Word)
bullets – remove tab & replace bullets with hyphen
numbered bullets – remove tab & replace with manually-entered numbers
index

Use the following:

Single line spacing
Indents for long quotes
New Times Roman font (users can set their own font on their eReader)
Table of Contents that uses links (no page numbers). This can be created from your existing TOC in Jutoh
Tables or charts do not convert well. Print them out, take low quality pictures, and import them into your document.
Chapter titles all on one line
Pictures – use compressed files. The smaller the book file is, the less it will cost you.

Living Documents

While you write it is a good idea to keep track of a few things. You can either create these as separate Google Documents or MS Word documents that get sync’d with your Dropbox. I call them “Living” because they will be constantly updated and changed.

It’s never too soon to create these documents:

Book Checklist. As you write, things will come to mind that you want to do – add these as bullet items to this document. These things will evolve as you get to different processes – editing, formatting, publishing, etc. As you complete an item, mark it as done, maybe include the date you did it, and put it at the bottom of the list. Here is one of the items that was on my list:

Done – ordered business cards

Accounts. Trust me, after you get your book published on different sites, you will appreciate having a place where you list out these sites along with their links. Do NOT store the passwords in the document. I keep all of my passwords on my smartphone using the Keepass app (free and easy). When you make updates to your book, you’ll know exactly where to go to upload the new file. For instance, for Amazon I have three links – one to my book sales page, one to CreateSpace, and another to Kindle Direct Publishing.

Style Sheet. As your book begins to take shape, you will realize that there are different ways to format certain things. A style sheet helps you to keep track decisions you’ve already made so that your books is consistent. I also used my style sheet to remind me of rules concerning block quotes, grammar, the use of BC & AD, etc. Here’s a personal preference item from my style sheet: Use “1 Kings 7″ instead of “First Kings 7”

Book Seller Info. It’s never too soon to begin thinking about what genre your book belongs in, the key search words, description, biography, categories, etc. This is all information that is needed by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or where ever else you decide to sell you book.

Taxes. This document keeps records that you will need to file taxes. See my post titled Taxes – Read Now! for more information.

Software Programs

Google Docs – this is a great program to use if you have a gmail account (even if you don’t, it’s worth signing up for. It’s all free!) Documents that you create are automatically stored in Google Drive.

MS Word – I used this to write and format my book. It’s part of the Office 365 Suite.

Open Office Writer – a great free alternative to MS Word (part of the Open Office Suite).

Dropbox – This is a free cloud storage program. It will create a dropbox folder on your PC – keep your working documents there and they will be automatically saved to the Dropbox server as you work on them (you can see them online).

Adobe InDesign – If you pay someone to format your book, this is most likely what they will use. Expensive and not easy to use.

Jutoh – Excellent little program that is inexpensive for formatting your eBooks. It’ll create any format you need (ePub for Apple, mobi for Kindle, etc).

macincloud – An online cloud service that will give you a mac computer through your browser. I used this to get my book into iTunes.

Audible – If you decide to create an audio book yourself, this is fantastic and free!

Self Publishing Process

Bowker

Buy your ISBN directly from Bowker – every ISBN in the world comes from them. An ISBN is a number that uniquely identifies a book. You will need one ISBN for your paperback and another for your eBook (no matter the file type – Kindle, Nook, iBook, etc.).

CreateSpace

CreateSpace was merged with Kindle Direct Publishing the end of 2018.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

This is where you setup your paperback and eBook to be on Amazon. It has a wonderful online interface that allows you to see what your printed book will look like. You will also be able to order paperback books for proofing and later for shipping to friends/family at the best price. No up front costs – they only collect royalties.

This requires you to upload your manuscript .pdf file for the paperback (created in MS Word). For your eBook you have two options – you can either have KDP create your eBook for you or you can create your own using Jutoh. In the latter instance you will need to upload your .mobi file (created in Jutoh) to KDP.

Advanced marketing …

Apple iBook

This is tricky. You will either need to know someone who has a mac computer, or use a cloud service to upload your book to iTunes. I use MacInCloud.

Barnes & Noble Nook

Nook is B&N’s equivalent to Kindle which has no up front costs. B&N also offers paperback and hard cover services, but there is a hefty up-front fee for these.

Nielsen BookData

Based in the UK – the world’s leading book marketing agency. They sell to book buyers and libraries.

IngramSparks

EVERYTHING in the United States gets printed here, no matter where it’s ordered from (Amazon, B&N, etc.). I recommend doing this after you’ve had your book out a while. Ingram will expand your book availability to around the globe which will include libraries and schools. They also offer hard cover options.

Self Publish?

There’s a gazillion blog posts and articles online about this, but in a nutshell, self publishing means the following:

a bit more work
more money in your pocket
maintain complete control of your book
buying your own ISBN
you deal directly with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or iBooks

No matter who the publisher is (including yourself), marketing is up to you.

If you decide to self publish here’s a list of things to do…

Come up with a name of your publishing company.
Create a logo. There are a number of ways to do this. I created mine in MS Word and using the Windows Snipping Tool to create a jpg. Canva.com is good for this too. Just make sure that any graphics you use are not copyrighted. This will end up on the spine and title page of your book.
Try not to associate with your publishing name. Your publishing name must be a separate entity.
Get a state tax ID number with your publishing name.
You can also get an LLC with your state and an IRS Employee Identification Number (IEN)