How to Format Your eBook for Kindle, NOOK, Smashwords, and Everything Else

by Paul Salvette

Online sales of eBooks have exploded recently, and the trend will only continue with the availability of low-cost technology. Unfortunately, guidelines on how to properly format an eBook to sell on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble NOOK, Smashwords, and other distributors are terse and geared toward web developers rather than self-publishers. Templates and third-party programs advertised to quickly convert a manuscript into an eBook often leave the final product in a dismal state of sloppiness that offends readers. This is because eBooks need to be converted to the same code that is seen on websites, not what is in a word processor.

This guide was designed by an indie author for indie authors in the self-publishing community to provide the adequate knowledge to format an eBook in all major formats. It will take you step-by-step from a manuscript on your computer to the perfect eBook formats you need for Amazon, NOOK, Smashwords, and other markets.

In this guide you will learn how
•Layout your manuscript for conversion into the major eBook formats (i.e. MOBI, EPUB, PDF) for all the big markets (i.e. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and others)
•Add styles to different types of text in your eBook
•Add hyperlinks, bullets, and images to your eBook
•Create a clickable Table of Contents for your eBook
•Generate eBooks using open source software

No prior knowledge of web programming is needed, because this guide provides detailed instructions and images to improve your level of knowledge from the ground up. The following detailed tutorials are covered in this
•Converting your manuscript from a word processor into a text editor
•Markup tutorial (XHTML)
•Add styles to your eBook (CSS)
•Using Microsoft Word for Smashwords
•Using Calibre to convert XHTML into all eBook formats
•Publishing your eBooks on Kindle, NOOK, and Smashwords
•XHTML/CSS source code

For those interested in the advanced methods and techniques of eBook formatting, this guide also provides the following
•Regular Expressions for eBooks
•Creating an EPUB from the ground up
•Using KindleGen to create a MOBI file
•EPUB source code

Buy this 46,000-word (~200-page) guide that comes with over 150 helpful images, and you will soon have a professional eBook.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2011

About the author

Paul Salvette is an author who lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife, Lisa, and newborn daughter, Monica. He grew up in the United States and served in the Navy from 2002 to 2009, with some time in Iraq. His day job involves working at a Thai foundation that focuses on poverty eradication, philanthropy, and education. He hopes to stay in Thailand until he is deported or dies of natural causes, whichever comes first.

Reviews

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is EXACTLY the book I was looking for! I have been trying to teach myself how to format eBooks for years now. After lots of trial and error, I have been (mostly) successful with some formats. And then I got to Smashwords, and I just about gave up. I read this book, and now I have successfully published an illustrated children's book on Smashwords (not an easy task) after only one day. I recommend this ten times over. SO glad I found this book.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually read the eBook Design and Development Guide.