How to prepare your book manuscript to become an eBookWant to know how to format your Word document before converting it into an eBook?
Curious about the difference between fixed and standard eBook layouts?
Struggling to put images in your eBook?
Here are 10 articles from the BookBaby archives on all things eBook formatting:
1. eBooks 101: Standard Vs. Fixed Layout
2. eBook Formatting: How to Properly Indent Paragraphs
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Can you guess the most common mistake that authors make when they’re getting their manuscript file ready for ePUB conversion?
Thrilling quiz, I know. But here’s the answer: they use the tab key or spacebar to indent paragraphs in a Word document.
You should NOT use the tab key or spacebar to indent paragraphs in your eBook manuscript doc.
The results won’t be entirely catastrophic– the world will keep spinning, but your eBook might come out on the other end looking like a mess.
To make your eBook as pretty as can be, AVOID the tab key and spacebar for paragraph indents. Instead, use the paragraphs settings in the formatting palette in Word to set indents to the first line of each paragraph. The ePUB conversion process will go smoothly and your readers will be happier, too.
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How Should I Justify the Text in My eBook?No, that’s not a philosophical question. I assume you have perfectly good justifications for every decision you’ve made in your writing!
What I’m talking about is the justification of the content (text, pictures, etc.) of your eBook. According to Wikipedia:
In typesetting, justification (can also be referred to as ‘full justification’) is the typographic alignment setting of text or images within a column or “measure” to align along both the left and right margin. Text set this way is said to be “justified”.
In a previous post on the BookBaby Blog, we discussed setting eBook margins. But how should the text within those margins be justified?
We recommend you use left-justification or centered text. This helps ensure that the end user (the reader) can still easily customize their reading experience on their preferred eReading device.
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The short answer: small and uniform!
Unlike with print books, where the margin is bigger on the left or right-hand side of the page depending on which is nearest the spine, eBook margins should be the same on both sides of every page.
We generally recommend that you use .5″ all around. This will ensure that the reader can customize their reading experience without worrying about text loss. When your margins are larger, you risk your book looking like a receipt when it’s displayed on smaller screens.
In some cases margins will be selectable on the device, so the margins you’ve set will be overridden if the reader chooses to do so.
Also, be absolutely sure that all your margins are positive numbers. Negative margins will result in words getting cut off from your book.
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If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a hundred times: There is no fixed pagination with an eBook.
As dynamic text “flows” across multiple devices, page numbers become virtual– so you should leave ‘em out of your eBook manuscript.
However, you CAN designate where you want page breaks in your eBook.
You should insert a page break at the end of every chapter, before anything that must start on a new “page,” and also any cases where you want to ensure that a photo appears with its caption.
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If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a correctly formatted image can be priceless! We often get inquiries about image formatting, so here are a few tips to make sure the images you are using for your eBook are eReader ready: 1. Avoid wrapping text around images. Use in-line images with text above and below [...]
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Firstly, before we answer any questions, here’s the most important tip: read an eBook! For folks who don’t know how line-spacing, font size, pagination, and word-count work in eBooks, I can’t suggest strongly enough that you go to Barnes & Noble or Best Buy or a Mac Store and try out an eReader. Even a [...]
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Many writers have their books saved as PDFs. But converting your PDF to ePub can be a pain! No one wants to spend their time removing header and footer options, adjusting the unwrap factor, or correcting page breaks. Writing itself is enough of a challenge, so why not make it easier on yourself and let [...]
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Publishing a book is no longer the only way to get your work distributed worldwide. With eBook distribution available to everyone, the barriers for the distribution of books have been leveled – but now a writer is faced with new challenges that traditionally were the publisher’s, like marketing, promoting, tracking sales… While the eBook revolution [...]
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Last month was a big month for Kindle announcements. A new, lower-priced Kindle ($79 for the ad supported version, $109 for no ads), a Kindle Touch Wi-Fi ($99 with ads, $139 for no ads), a Kindle Touch Wi-Fi/3G ($149 with ads, $189 for no ads), and the Android-based Kindle Fire Tablet with color touch screen [...]
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