Recently I was asked how I made the books I created.
After regaining my composure and getting up from the fetal position — which I must have stayed in for a couple of minutes because when I looked up, they were now holding a fresh cup of coffee — I started babbling.
I quickly realized the fire-hose was too much and I should probably write this down as a primer, and so here we are.
The file format you want is epub. It’s basically a zip file but for books and using software (Sigil) you can even open them up and see all the files inside. It allows for everything you can do in a web page but formatted and readable, with pagination, as a book. PDF can also be used but these files are often bigger, but if you find that epub just won’t format and place graphics where they exactly need to be, pdf is probably what you need.
Writing and Creating the eBook
Scrivener – This is the program I use to write my stories. It also is how I export them into ebook format. Since they are mostly short stories and limited graphics, it works great. I really like this program and it has a lot of great features to help organize the writing process.
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
Affinity – This is my go-to graphics suite. It has a single license (one time purchase) for windows and IOs devices, which means you pay once and can install it on your desktop windows machine and on your tablet, with the same license, and the files can be worked on in either program.
This suite includes Photo (Photoshop), Designer (Illustrator), and Publisher (InDesign), offering professional-grade software at an excellent price. While I haven’t used Publisher extensively—mainly because I could accomplish what I needed in Scrivener and Publisher doesn’t export to EPUB yet—my goal for next year is to use it for developing a book. The project will be in PDF format and highly graphic-intensive, so I’m eager to see how the program performs. The other programs have been used extensively for graphic work in my stories and other business endeavors.
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/
Previewing the epub file
Kindle Previewer – kdp.amazon.com – This tool will open an epub file and show you how it will look on any device that can run the Kindle app.
Sigil – another tool to preview and make final edits (mostly for indexing and table of content type stuff, but also full on HTML edits within the epub itself, or adding graphics without having to re-export the entire file) and compatibility. It will show warnings and issues that may be in your epub file that should be fixed. Sometimes this can be fixed with a setting in Scrivener, and sometimes you have to research and create a work-around for it. Understand that every program that creates an epub will have some warnings at some level. This is a great tool to work those out before selling on a portal (Smashwords for example). Amazon (which I’m only on because it’s a huge platform) will reject an epub if it has some serious warnings, as will Smashwords. I have an entire document filled with errors that required correcting and the solutions. Should I post these to the site? Let me know if you’re interested.
https://sigil-ebook.com/sigil/download/
Calibre – Calibre is a management tool for organizing and checking your ebooks. I use it for this purpose, as well as to review my final EPUB files. Note: Be sure to work on a copy of your final document because when Calibre ‘loads’ the file, the file will open to the last page you checked during your review on Calibre, regardless of the ebook reader you use to open it next. You don’t want a customer’s final download opening to a random page due to format checks. Always use Calibre on copies of final files, not the FINAL file itself.
https://calibre-ebook.com/download
Graphic formats
SVG – You can significantly reduce the size of your EPUB file by using SVG graphics, especially for simple designs or decorative elements like florets between scenes or in chapter titles. I reduced my EPUB file from 8 MB to under 2 MB by switching to SVGs. While not every image can be an SVG, it’s worth using them whenever possible. SVG is a native digital format that is ‘read’ and displayed efficiently by EPUB files, and it can be laid out just like a raster image.
Art work
I like hiring a human to do artwork and did so with my short stories The Discovery and The New Unknown, and plan on it going forward. I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of AI artwork here suffice to say it has its place and for me that is not in my stories. That being said where do you get an artist if you have no talent for drawing?
Deviant Art – I do a brief search of what I’m looking for; for example ‘octopus’ and then start browsing. When I find an artist or two I like, I reach out to them through their website.
Imprints and ISBN
Ingram Sparks – This company is used to Print on Demand (aka POD) the physical copies of your book. Do you know who else uses them, Amazon. So cut out the middleman and do it yourself through them.
I highly recommend that if you do use them, make sure you get proofs of your book before finalizing it for publication. Yes, it costs money, but ordering 100 copies of your book and discovering a type-setting error or formatting problem when people start returning them is not when you want to learn about it. All sales are final is well and good but if your product is flawed – not a good look.
There are many sites out there to obtain an ISBN but the official US agency is Bowker.
Short stories do not need ISBNs but if you have a book you’ll want one. Anthologies of short stories should have them even if the short stories were published as individual epub files before – it is a new interaction of the material.
If you sell books through Amazon and use the KDP “isbn” provided by Amazon, many bookstores won’t accept them as a valid “isbn” and are unable to order the books in physical form and sometimes through their website. This was true as of 2018 or there abouts, but not sure now a days. Still just get your own and be sure it is yours. You are the publisher.
Don’t forget the United States Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/ and send them a single copy of any book you create.
Combine all the above with twenty-five years in web development, computer graphics, and an education and career in technology and you’re all set. Well done. You’ve created your first ebook. Now go out there and sell a million books.
Marketing and Selling a Million Books
How do I sell a million books? I’m glad you asked and in my next post I’ll tell you …. actually I have no idea. If I was selling a million books I’d be posting more often. If you have any thoughts on the matter let me know.
-Malcolm
PS (The jab about 25 years of experience is only mildly in jest. It helps with flattening the learning curve but people are really great at learning what they want to learn and nothing in these programs is beyond you. Peruse and ask questions on the forums of the specific programs, duckduckgo the internet, and most of all RTFM.)
PPS (It should be noted that I received zero money from any of the above companies and am not affiliated with them in any way (except for the Amazon affiliate links on this website of course). I just like them.)
Scrivener – https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
Affinity – https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/
Kindle Previewer – kdp.amazon.com
Sigil – https://sigil-ebook.com/sigil/download/
Calibre – https://calibre-ebook.com/download
Deviant Art – https://www.deviantart.com/
Ingram Sparks – https://www.ingramspark.com/
Bowker – https://www.bowker.com/
United States Library of Congress – https://www.loc.gov/
