Notjohn's Guide to E-book Formatting: Ten Steps to Getting Your Book Ready to Sell Online - Softcover

Notjohn, N. J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1539309150 ISBN 13: 9781539309154

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

The self-publisher's bible! In this clear and entertaining ten-step guide, a prolific American author reveals how he formats his books for sale throughout the world. The secret is to use the universal "epub" format to create a single e-book file that will be accepted by every digital retailer, from Amazon.com through Barnes & Noble, the Apple iBookstore, and smaller booksellers like the Canada-based Kobo.

"Most beginners write their books in Word or Open Office," he explains, "and they expect the same document to convert easily to an e-book and a paperback. Sometimes that happens, but more often it doesn't, because word processors litter the book file with hidden formatting. The result can be a disaster."

Instead, the book should be converted to clean HTML, the markup language used to create a web page. (All e-books are web pages at heart, and the Kindle and other e-book readers are just special-purpose web browsers.) The conversion takes seconds and costs nothing. It can then be plugged into a simple template that "Notjohn" includes in this Guide and makes available on his blog for anyone to use.

If all else fails, there's Plan B: a stripped-down template for books that consists mostly of text. He concludes with a chapter on how best to present your e-book on the Kindle platform, with hints on encrypting the book, copyrighting it, and pricing it for the greatest return.

Revised and updated July 2020 edition, with a new chapter on adapting the e-book to a paperback.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The self-publisher's bible -- how to build an e-book in ten steps (plus the Ultimate Basic Template for first-timers) -- and how to adapt that e-book to a print edition.

"Brilliant stuff," wrote one romance writer. "I'm learning lots."

Said a professional formatter: "This guide will allow you to take your books from the level of rank amateur to semi-pro very quickly. I highly recommend it."

And finally: "Notjohn's book is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time. Thanks, NJ!"

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1539309150
• ISBN 13: 9781539309154
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 145