by eBookWriter » Thu May 04, 2006 1:55 am
Hi Bob,
People do judge your eBook by its cover just the same as any print book. Some authors use just a flat cover version which is easiest to do. And it's really been the format I've most used. I must confess that I am a fiction author, so flat is what's generally wanted there.
Having said that, I do create 3D covers with RealDraw Pro 4. This program has a very nice book graphic and an easy method of designing your cover. No skewing to make it fit. CompactDraw has templates also, but you do have to skew for that one. Although, it wasn't as hard to do as I'd thought it would be!
eCoverFactory is another program I've used. I also own Kidino's DIY ecover program which uses Photo Elements 2, I think. Maybe it's version 3. . . you can use either. I have version 2. It's a little more work to making thism this way, but fun. I could never get the pages to fill in like he did though.
There are other programs, I've just drawn a blank as to what they are, just at the moment.
As for the format of the eBook itself, PDF or HTML are the two most used formats. There are a few others like Hiebook and MS Reader or .lit format, but you'll probably want to just stick with PDF or HTML at first. I do both, and have experimented with the other two I mentioned.
Most people will say PDF is best, everyone can open them with Adobe's free Reader. However, people who use some sort of eBook Reader or PDA to view their eBooks like HTML better. It seems to adapt better to the small screen size. You could do both, and make more people happy. My readers are pretty much 50/50, so I'll keep offering both formats.
I do use Acrobat -- I didn't have to pay for it, and you can get older versions for reasonable prices on eBay or Yahoo Auctions. Version 7 is the latest, I think. I have 5. Why bother? Because once the file is made, you likely will discover errors you'll want to fix. A simple compile program, to my knowledge, doesn't let you do that. You have to make your corrections in Word or WordPerfect or what ever flavor word processor you like, and recompile. Not fun, as the pages in Word or WP tend to wander off and you end up with a totally unprofessional looking document. It's critical that you look your manuscript over more than once to be sure your words are staying where you want them to be, just as much as you want to check for spelling and other errors.
There are other programs to generate PDFs but I haven't played with them.
I use Activ Ebook Compiler for my HTML eBooks. Ver 5 is in the beta stage. I have version 4.22 which is the latest stable version. There are as many HTML compilers as grains of sand on the beach, the ones most highly recommended are pricey. There are simpler ones, but I keep coming back to Activ Ebook.
You can offer your eBook in Word or WordPerfect, but I'd do that only if I were offering the right to change things in it. Or if I didn't care what they did after they paid me for it. I don't offer anything in this format.
If you don't want to be bothered setting up a website, consider creating a blog. There's plenty of free ones and you can offer your eBook for sale on one.
Join groups that focus on the subject of your eBook. Put links in your signature so people can go check out your offer. Use short excerpts of your book as articles and submit them to article directories. You never know who'll pick it up to use on their site or their newsletter. And if they do, they'll want more from you. Add a signature to those as well so anyone reading your article can find a link to read more and to buy your stuff.
Take out small ads on sites or in newsletters that run similar content as your book's subject.
Submit your eBook to eBook directories. Most are free to sign up at.
There are probably other ideas as well, but it's well past my bedtime, and my brain has opted to get there ahead of me.
If you got a one page site, you'd do for it all the same things you'd do for a multipage site. Submit it to seach engines, use links to it in your email and posting signatures, do pay per click campaigns, use traffic exchangers, exchange links with other people. Give away a rew copies for free to get some good reviews that will generate sales and help get the word out about your eBook.
You could always get a hosting plan that would allow you to build a more content rich site down the road. You may not think you're capable of such a feat, but trust me, once you get into it, it can balloon. My first site was about eight pages to start back in the late 60s. Now it's nearly one hundred pages, and still growing.
I hope I've helped in some small way. My eyes are closing, though, so I'll stop right here . . .
Anita