E-book makers
How to make an eBook
by Salim Benhouhou IT Support
Salim Benhouhou 
IT Support
How to make an eBook in just a few stepsI've had a lot of time working with eBook and I get asked a lot
about the mechanics. Here's my version--your mileage may vary!
It's just a few steps And they're all free
Write something worth reading!Put it into Word or a similar word processor.(Openoffice is better )Change your page layout to wide.Even better, change your page size to eight inches wide and six inches high.Use a legible font for the body copy. Times is fine, but boring. Don't use something fancy.Use a headline font with bravado!Now, if you have a Mac, just choose, "print to PDF".If you don't have a Mac, go buy one and repeat the previous step,
or, if you must, figure out how to do that step with a PC or a
Commodore 64 or whatever it is you're using. [Easy tip:use Openoffice it has a built in PDF export function. ].Your eBook is now basic, but done.If you open it in Adobe Acrobat (not the Reader, but the for sale version) you can add hyperlinks. Recommended.
Copyright and distribution
Now that you've got a PDF, what to do
with it? First question is: copyright. If you live in the US or the EU
and you do nothing, then your work is automatically covered by
copyright. You can cover your bases by clearly stating this and by
indicating your website so people can find you.
I recommend you consider a creative commons license, because it makes
it more likely your idea will spread. Why? Because you leave no doubt
about your intent and because no one needs to ask. They can just email
it or post it.
See below for the link to the Creative Commons site where you can choose the license that works for you.
How to distribute? If you have a blog, post it. If you know people with
a blog, ask them to post it. Make it clear in the eBook itself that you
want people to post or email (which is a good reason to make sure that
the size of the PDF is less than 2 megs... otherwise, it's hard to
mail.)
I didn't go over the point of the exercise yet, but I think it's
obvious: if your ideas spread, you win. So, if you write something that
people want to spread, if you make it easy to spread, and if you
benefit from the spreading, then you've won.
Useful links
Choose a creative commons license
You choose the parameters, it finds the license.
Feb 7th 2011 12:27
IT SupportHow to make an eBook in just a few stepsI've had a lot of time working with eBook and I get asked a lot
about the mechanics. Here's my version--your mileage may vary!
It's just a few steps And they're all free
Write something worth reading!Put it into Word or a similar word processor.(Openoffice is better )Change your page layout to wide.Even better, change your page size to eight inches wide and six inches high.Use a legible font for the body copy. Times is fine, but boring. Don't use something fancy.Use a headline font with bravado!Now, if you have a Mac, just choose, "print to PDF".If you don't have a Mac, go buy one and repeat the previous step,
or, if you must, figure out how to do that step with a PC or a
Commodore 64 or whatever it is you're using. [Easy tip:use Openoffice it has a built in PDF export function. ].Your eBook is now basic, but done.If you open it in Adobe Acrobat (not the Reader, but the for sale version) you can add hyperlinks. Recommended.
Copyright and distribution
Now that you've got a PDF, what to do
with it? First question is: copyright. If you live in the US or the EU
and you do nothing, then your work is automatically covered by
copyright. You can cover your bases by clearly stating this and by
indicating your website so people can find you.
I recommend you consider a creative commons license, because it makes
it more likely your idea will spread. Why? Because you leave no doubt
about your intent and because no one needs to ask. They can just email
it or post it.
See below for the link to the Creative Commons site where you can choose the license that works for you.
How to distribute? If you have a blog, post it. If you know people with
a blog, ask them to post it. Make it clear in the eBook itself that you
want people to post or email (which is a good reason to make sure that
the size of the PDF is less than 2 megs... otherwise, it's hard to
mail.)
I didn't go over the point of the exercise yet, but I think it's
obvious: if your ideas spread, you win. So, if you write something that
people want to spread, if you make it easy to spread, and if you
benefit from the spreading, then you've won.
Useful links
Choose a creative commons license
You choose the parameters, it finds the license.
Feb 7th 2011 12:27
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Comments
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Chukwuekwu Okonta
Forensic accountantNew to e-book making,thanks salim with time i will catch up with you just that i need more of this your training ,well when active here i will benefit.thanks. Have faster way to learn it? Let me now. Feb 21st 2011 01:36 |
Salim thank you for sharing this topic. I have just recently joined a networking group promoting ebooks now I am getting deeper understanding of the basics of this business. The way you presented it is very clear and very generous as well. Good luck to your virtual success!
Feb 9th 2011 08:14