Reading is one of the most common pastimes of many people around the globe and many prefer to take books along with them even when traveling. Now, this has become easy with the emergence of digital books through eBook conversion. eBooks are electronic formats of traditional books available on many eBook readers and tablet apps. Today, eBooks are available on a wide range of topics covering every category. eBooks have revolutionized the way people read books. People now use smart devices like eBook readers, iPads, tablets etc to read their favorite books. So, if you want your books to get more readership, convert your books into eBooks with the help of reliable document scanning services that can guarantee quality output and also help you with creating your eBook.
If you have many good ideas in your mind and want to create an eBook, you can do so with clear planning and strategy. Although it doesn’t involve any set rules of organizing content, it follows the basic structure of a novel or text book. It has a proper system of chapters that should be segmented with sub-headers and images. So, let’s see how to convert your ideas into an eBook.
Writing the eBook
If you have good ideas that are of interest to a targeted group of readers, begin by writing an outline of each chapter so that it becomes easier to structure it later. Write the chapters that come to your mind, it need not be in a specific order. Once all the chapters are done, you can organize them in proper order.
If you are gathering your content for eBooks from blog posts, emails sent to your readers, or essays, then write it as a single document and read it to ensure continuation. Whether you are starting from scratch or gathering the content from elsewhere, it is important to have a proper and interesting introduction. This is because only a good introduction can grab the attention of the readers when they look into the intro section in “Look inside” feature. Once your eBook is ready, make sure to proofread it to check spelling and grammar.
Publishing your eBook
- Formatting: Excellent readability is vital for your eBook so that the readers can easily understand the content. Similarly, choosing a readable font like Arial or Verdana is also important. To make the content more engaging, add apt images. Studies shows that 65 percent of people are visual learners and they respond well to visual content. Makes sure to use free images that do not need attribution and format them properly to avoid common mistakes.
- Proofreading: Proofreading is important to check for spelling and grammatical errors, blank spaces or any minor mistakes. Reading aloud is the best way to find each and every error and this will help your brain to fill the gaps, and correct typos and incorrect words.
- The cover should be attractive: Even though there is a saying,” never judge a book by its cover”, the truth is that readers always fall for attractive book covers. So, having an attention-grabbing book cover design is important. Moreover, a good book cover shows professionalism and makes the readers want to tread the book. The following are some other items that need to be included:
- Choose different colors for the title and the background
- Visual elements should be 300 dpi
- Beware of copyright violation, and use images or design elements that you have permission to use. Use good images and avoid cheap standard stock photography.
- Convert your eBook: Use Google Docs, MS Word or Evernote to write your eBook. Publishers may want you to upload the eBook document to their website in MOBI or EPUB format.
- To convert your document into EPUB format:
- Export your DOC file into a PDF file (in MS Word, click Save as, then click PDF)
- Convert your PDF file into an EPUB file using Pages, MS Word or Google Docs.
- To convert your document into MOBI format:Open your DOC file with Pressbooks and convert to MOBI. Pressbooks are chargeable, but you get a MOBI file, EPUB file and PDF file.
- Watch the sales: Once your eBook is ready, the next step is to make it available to readers. Here are some tips to market your eBook:
- Send out personalized emails to entrepreneurs, bloggers, and authors who may be interested in the topic and ask if they are ready to review it on their blog or website.
- Inform your family and friends about your eBook, and they can convey it to their friends or colleagues.
- Send out emails to your blog or website subscribers about your eBook with a request to review the eBook.
- You can also post about your eBook on your social media platforms with quotes from the book, or post a pic of yourself with the book, or working on the book.
Creating one’s own eBook provides a sense of control and independence to the author. It helps to build authority and improved engagement with readers. In 2018, 1.68 million books were self-published. If you are interested in self-publishing your eBook, the above-mentioned tips should help you achieve your objective. You can also consider approaching a provider of document scanning services that offers cost-effective eBook conversion services.