A book production checklist
Are you ready to upload your book for sale to the online retailers? Got all your front and back matter, images, fonts, and ISBNs? Use this checklist to make sure you’ve done everything you can to create a quality book that competes with books produced in the traditional publishing houses. But first, here’s a quick […]
Amazon Kindle Announces Kids Book Creation Tool
[Update 9/18/2018: This product is about the only way to get your children’s book onto a Kindle Fire unless you pay for a developer to do it. For EPUB you’ll need Apple’s iBook Author.] Today, Amazon announced Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Kids to help indie authors publish and promote their illustrated and chapter books for […]
Use Pressbooks to create a book from your blog
Import your WordPress blog into Pressbooks and you have the basis for a book. Create an account, name your book, upload a cover, insert front matter and add chapters, all in the cloud, via your web browser. Just navigate to your WordPress blog and export your posts in XML format to your desktop. Then import […]
Use Calibre to Create EPUB & MOBI Versions of Your Book
Though I love print books I’m so often on the road that it’s more efficient to use my Kindle Paperwhite as a personal portable library for work and for pleasure. Authors send me advanced reader copies (ARCs) for blurbs or review and books for possible publication with Misadventures Media. I wish they’d send me a […]
Free Ebook: How to Format Your Book
My book formatting guide is free on IngramSpark. Whether you are publishing in print, digital, or both, everything you need to know to put out a book that retailers can sell–on shelves and online–can be found here. Just sign up for their email news and get it for free.
Comparing Reedsy & Pressbooks’ Online Book Creation Tools
When Reedsy released their online book creation tool earlier this year I was naturally eager to geek out and give it a try. I’ve been creating books with the Pressbooks online book creation and publishing tool for years, which is based on WordPress and offers a lot of features. How does Reedsy compare, I wondered? […]
3 Most Common Book Formats for Self-Publishers
The first thing to know when entering the book world is the differences among your formatting options. There are three main formats used to create and design your book, each offering a different set of pros and cons. There are other options, but they have fallen to the wayside in a progressive, competitive digital publishing […]
How to Create Standard, Text-Heavy E-books
If you’re on track to creating a text-heavy e-book, you’ll need to know the basic programs, options, and helpful tools available to you. Basic styles and formats The two major formats for simple, text-heavy e-books are EPUB and Amazon’s MOBI (for Kindle). In your book-creation tool of choice, (Microsoft Word, InDesign, PressBooks…) make sure to […]
How to Create Complex, Full-Color E-Books
Creating an e-book isn’t as hard as it sounds. You don’t need to compose a query letter, secure a great agent, or cut through miles of a publisher’s red tape before the book is released to the world. You can create e-books from the comfort of your office – or couch – with the right […]
Download My Free Book Formatting Guide
My new book formatting guide is available now on IngramSpark. You can download it for free, and find out how to get your book into PDF for print and ebook formats EPUB and Kindle. Go to the IngramSpark website and you’ll see it in the header banners. Get it here.