How do you create an ebook?

[phila]

How do you create an ebook? Do you need special software or can you just write it in Word and then convert it into a PDF?

[Webzu]

Yes, you can write it in word and convert it to PDF. You can find free converters but I bought PDF Converter from Nuance software and it's awesome.

Stay away from ebook compilers that produce exe files since most computer systems treat those as threats due to use for malfeasance by virus/trojan script writers. PDF is the way to go for your ebook.

[phila]

Thanks! What about graphics/pictures, etc? Do the PDFs come out looking professional - I was checking out some ebooks and they looked like PDFs of actual books. Can you recommend a good how-to website or some other examples of good ebooks?

[Webzu]

I haven't seen a website about it but with the Nuance software the images and graphics come out looking great. I tried a couple of the free PDF converters and the images didn't turn out well with Nuance the end product PDF down to the images looks professional.

It's not cheap at $100 but worth the price in order to create a professional looking ebook. You can even add audio, video, whatever. You can covert powerpoints, excel, anything. Plus you can also convert PDF documents to word etc. They also have a cheaper version for $50.

You can see their products here (http://www.nuance.com/pdfconverter/).

[onemoretry]

I'd actually recommend not buying PDF software as it is such a widespread format at this point. The image quality on the other side has a lot to do with making sure compression settings and the like are handled correctly, not PDF technology, and I have used the free 'pdf995' for eBooks in the past and got back crystal clear results for a 200-page, image-intensive eBook, as well as regular business needs. I think spending $100 on pdf software is overkill, especially when Google Documents even offers PDF conversion for free!

I've also heard that 'PrimoPDF' does a decent job as well, but I haven't used the product personally.

My two cents is use 'pdf995', it doesn't cost anything. Also remember that PDF doesn't "do" anything for you. If your eBook copy looks sloppy going in, it will be perfectly reproduced sloppily going out, so concentrate on doing your best design job with whatever word or publishing program you're using.

[phila]

Thanks, this is great feedback. Sounds like PDF is the way to go, which leads me to my next question - do you write your ebooks in word or use publishing software? If so, which software? Also, would anyone who has successfully created and marketed an ebook be willing to have an offline discussion? Thanks in advance!

[Webzu]

I used pdf995 at first and I didn't like the quality (although this was 2 years ago so maybe it's gotten better). I could tell the difference between the quality of the free converters and the paid ones. If you can't afford or don't want to pay the $50 or $100 then for sure just use the friebies. But the difference and ease at using the paid software is night and day. Trust me I've used both and that's why ended up buying the software. It saves me time and the end product looks a lot nicer.

I also like how easily I can take a public domain book that's scanned to PDF and I can easily edit it, add audio and more.

I've heard good things about the Open Office word like product that comes with a PDF converter built in and that's all free but I wouldn't go back to the free ones after trying the paid one.

You get what you pay for. :D

[onemoretry]

Webzu: It sounds like that product does the job for what you're doing (augmenting materials with media, etc.), but in terms of ease of use, any free pdf converter is as simple as choosing it as the 'printer' you'd like to output to from any word processor. I'd actually like to see side-by-side comparisons of images converted in ppf995 vs. the Nuance product, with equal image settings in both.

At the very least you can use the free stuff for now and then after testing your product, add some extras into the mix with whatever tool you feel comfortable with. Adding audio sounds like an interesting idea.

[phila]

So have you both successfully created and marketed ebooks? I'm a little skeptical of them, since I have never bought one. But I have an idea and want to run with it. How long are your ebooks? What about pricing? How long did they take you to write?

[Webzu]

So have you both successfully created and marketed ebooks? I'm a little skeptical of them, since I have never bought one. But I have an idea and want to run with it. How long are your ebooks? What about pricing? How long did they take you to write?

Not yet for me. I'm working on two projects that involve ebooks although one will also include a CD with some audio and will be available for mailing.

One project is based on public domain, the other is my own. I've been working on them since before I read 4HWW, after reading I've done muse testing and the results are good enough to get me excited to finish up. I hope to be ready in the next month. I'll share specifics once I'm done.

Pricing, I'm sticking with the $50 minimum price Tim suggested that is why I'm adding CD's and audio files, etc.

If it's just the ebook it depends on the info and subject I've seen them priced from $7 to $97.

I've paid $50+ for ebooks that were how to manuals with step by step info and screenshots written by experts I respect. On SEO and affiliate marketing.

But if it's thin and filler than you can't expect to sell those.

I have created small ebooks that I've given away but those are embedded with affiliate links to programs I promote for my affiliate marketing websites not my own products like I'm working on now and I made money off the affiliate program commissions not from selling the ebooks.

Test your idea (muse) with Google AdWords and it will give you an idea if you should proceed before you write it and spend money on marketing and website, etc.

[owen5819@comcast.net]

No argument about PDF. What could be more easily distributed to non-buyers than a standard format that can be attached to e-mail? But what can you send out for the buyer to save and read that can't be passed on to someone else? Clue needed.

[kindwomanxx]

PDF's are more portable... I use a mac, and the exe's that people send out now are unusable. Is there a way to make it portable AND secure?

Joann

P.S. I'm looking forward to reading the book once I can unpack it LOL

[onemoretry]

So have you both successfully created and marketed ebooks? I'm a little skeptical of them, since I have never bought one. But I have an idea and want to run with it. How long are your ebooks? What about pricing? How long did they take you to write?

Nope. I did write a 218 page eBook with professional illustrations, companion tables, the whole nine yards. I sold two copies, mind you, I only put the book out on the market for two months, had some partnership difficulties, and decided to scrap the whole thing. I didn't really push the marketing on it to the brink, and didn't even use AdWords, so I have no authority to speak on it.

On the other hand, the muse I'm designing for testing at the moment, is not an eBook, it's a DVD video collection. I am having a hard time justifying a $50 e-book. I agree with Webzu, it feels too light, in order to sell something for $50, I think it needs to have $50 of value in it. :)

[scoby]

As a side note, it is possible to create pdf files using openoffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org) which is a free office suite available for windows, mac and linux.

[jazzdrive3]

Yeah, I'm really hesitant to buy .exe ebooks.

You disable it? Does that mean you need to be online to read it? Do you allow people to print it out?

Really, pirating isn't really that big of an issue if you have a quality product. A lot of people who buy something are just going to turn around and give it away for free. Why should they, since they had to pay for it? It's different, of course, in the typical consumer sector, but the ebook market isn't really typical.

[Webzu]

Yeah, I'm really hesitant to buy .exe ebooks.

You disable it? Does that mean you need to be online to read it? Do you allow people to print it out?

Really, pirating isn't really that big of an issue if you have a quality product. A lot of people who buy something are just going to turn around and give it away for free. Why should they, since they had to pay for it? It's different, of course, in the typical consumer sector, but the ebook market isn't really typical.

I agree .exe are bad news. Feument, I know you like them over PDF but I'll have to disagree with on that. Even if .exe is a lot better it doesn't matter because the perception is that .exe file = malware which is going to infiltrate and damage your computer system. I would never go with an .exe ebook. That is the reason PDF is what most info marketers use. It's easy and it's trusted and most everyone has Adobe reader so they can read the ebook without having to install anything on their computer.

[phila]

Thanks to everyone for their response, although I have to say that now I am a little confused - so should I buy ebook software or just write in word and then PDF it? The book itself will be very straightforward - about 200 pages - and the subject matter doesn't lend itself to audio, video or graphics, so it will be low on the tech scale. Suggestions for an ebook rookie?

[Webzu]

Thanks to everyone for their response, although I have to say that now I am a little confused - so should I buy ebook software or just write in word and then PDF it? The book itself will be very straightforward - about 200 pages - and the subject matter doesn't lend itself to audio, video or graphics, so it will be low on the tech scale. Suggestions for an ebook rookie?

It depends on the person you ask :D

If you ask me, I say 100% go the PDF route. EXE and other executable type files generated by ebook compilers scare customers off. Right or wrong .exe files have a bad rep, PDF do not. All the big guns in info products use PDF's for a reason. Why risk even one sale by using an .exe file format for your ebook?

However others like Feument prefer going the EXE route. And he's made his points clear as well.

You can read the arguments for each in this post and there is also some talk about folks afraid of exe files in this post (http://fourhourworkweek.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=190).

Some quotes from there...
Another problem with using the exe format instead of pdf is that your product is completely incompatable with Mac OSX. Is there any way to offer it in both formats? Thanks.

Also for me personally, I wouldn't install anything from any source until I could read a review or two about it. Exe's are dangerous.

Yeah.... I would purchase this, but I don't really understand what it is and I don't download .exe files if I don't know anything about the source. Maybe you should work on this again?

[SwingDancer]

As a Mac user, I vote for PDF--which, by the way, stand for Portable Document Format, if I remember correctly. It's a format that was invented to be platform-independent. Both Macs and PCs can read PDFs without any trouble at all, and the Adobe PDF Reader is available free of charge.

When I see a download that ends in "exe," I assume it's a virus. (I believe a lot of antivirus programs assume the same thing.) And if it's not a virus, I assume it's a document created by an arrogant PC user who doesn't feel the need to sell stuff to us Mac trolls. ;)

Of course, the issue of piracy deserves consideration. I think you can password-protect documents in a variety of ways (at least, on a Mac you can). And I think there are ways of creating PDFs that are not editable, if you're concerned about someone copying and pasting the text. You may have to buy Adobe Acrobat Distiller to create piracy-proof PDFs. Wait--you may have to OUTSOURCE your job to someone who owns Distiller and knows how to create piracy-proof PDFs. :) Frankly, an item in any duplicatable medium can be pirated. Even real books can be Xeroxed. Do you think this is really going to be an issue, given your subject matter? Is the info in your ebook really that earthshattering?

And to add my final two cents, I just hate e-books. I read real books all the time--I hate being without reading material--but I have gigs of ebooks on my Mac that I've never opened, much less read. It annoys me that the creator of the ebook wants me to pay for the file, and then spend a whole ink cartridge printing it out. And most ebooks are difficult to read on-screen. But maybe I'm just a Luddite. :o

I can't say that I've ever downloaded an ebook that was worth $50. (When is the last time anyone on this list paid $50 for a REAL book?) Having been burned several times, I'm very "down" on the ebook medium right now.

That's my whiney opinion...which is worth just what you paid for it. ;)