making an ebook... need advice

veryfunnybonesveryfunnybones
edited February 2010 in conversations
I've been asked to create an ebook for sale on a website, but I know hardly anything about this. Any advice about formats or other stuff? Just making a PDF is just too easy I think, right? Because there's no piracy protection?

Comments

  • nickonicko
    edited 6:45AM
    I don't have any experience in online publishing, but this might help: Locklizard
  • chrischris
    edited 6:45AM
    PDF allows for various security systems to be put in place, mind...
  • bluesheadblueshead
    edited February 2010
    I hate trying to read a .pdf as an ebook, It just sucks.. All the online books that I buy are in EPUB format. I use Stanza in OSX to read them.


    Features
    ▪ Free and open
    ▪ Re-flowable (word wrap) and re-sizable text
    ▪ Inline raster and vector images
    ▪ Embedded metadata
    ▪ DRM support
    ▪ CSS styling
    ▪ Providing alternative renditions in the same file
    ▪ Use of out-of-line and inline xml islands to extend the functionality of EPUB

    Basically, EPUB internally uses XHTML or DTBook (an XML standard provided by the DAISY Consortium) to represent the text and structure of the content document, and a subset of CSS to provide layout and formatting. XML is used to create the document manifest, table of contents, and EPUB metadata. Finally, the files are bundled in a zip file as a packaging format.
  • rbernatorbernato
    edited February 2010
    InDesign can produce ePub documents... or rather books -- I made an ePub book from a print project I am working and it is a pretty easy task, simply choose "Export for Digital Editions" from the File menu ;)

    I found out that exporting a print project to ePub will truncate most images, and making a table of content is also tricky if you are sloppy with applying styles, so you might need to plan ahead, and structure the project accordingly. If you have a book project involving mostly copy and a few chapter headings exporting to ePub will be just like exporting to PDF :)

    If you need to preserve a very complex layout and there are no requirements concerning document format or the likes I'd go PDF with a couple of DRM options checked ;)
  • veryfunnybonesveryfunnybones
    edited 6:45AM
    Thanks, that InDesign solution might be a good one. I haven't yet received the book in digital format so I don't know how it will go. I know it's a kids book so will have lots of images to deal with. Do people object to needing a special reader for this (or any) format? That's why I was thinking PDF.... it is so easily readable by most people's set up.
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