E-book designing methods

There are different methods to create an e-book and some of them are discussed below. 

  

Method - I: E-books in PDF Format

An e-book can be prepared with just 3 or 4 simple steps as mentioned below:

Ø      At first, write a book.

Ø      If it is in the form of a hard copy, convert it into a softcopy by using MS-Word or any other authoring tools. 

Ø      You add a TOC (Table of Contents) to your softcopy and give hyperlinks wherever you want.

Ø      Now, you can claim that your softcopy is an e-book.

Ø      If it is not satisfactory, convert the softcopy into PDF format.  Now, you can claim that your PDF file is an e-book.  In fact, majority of e-books are available in PDF format.

Ø      You can design a cover page for e-book by taking the help of a graphic designer.  Or else, you can use an e-book cover generator.

Compare to other forms of e-books, PDF files are smaller in size and you can download them easily.  Hence, PDF format has become immensely popular as an e-book form.  However, there is a disadvantage with PDF files that you can read them only if you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer.

While converting a file into PDF format, it is always advisable to use installed Adobe Acrobat version.  It is not advisable to use free PDF creation software to create a PDF as most of such files do not contain hyperlinks and you cannot create bookmarks within the document.

Method – II: E-book designing with Ms-Publisher format

Ms-Publisher is another popular e-book designing tools.  It allows you to create even a nice cover page for your e-book.  However, the tool has become out of use largely.  

Method – III:  E-book designing with HTML pages

Ø      Create web pages by placing your content directly into the HTML editor. 

Ø      Use an HTML compiler to compile HTML web pages and images into a single file.  

The single file containing all the HTML web pages and images can be referred to as an e-book.

Note: While creating web pages, keep the pages simple, clean and easy to read.

Method – IV: E-book designing with scanned pages

Here is another way to design e-books from pre-existing hard copies.

Ø      You scan all the pages of hardcopy with the help of book scanners.

Ø      Compile all the image files into a single file

Technically speaking, it is not an e-book but a digital copy i.e., digital version of a hardcopy.

Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Ph.No: 91-9849856722

Mail Id: chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in