The companies who distribute eBooks have made it relatively
easy to submit a well-formatted Word document and have it converted into the
appropriate file type for the various readers. This offers a simple route to
publishing your eBook but it’s not without its disadvantages. The conversion of
a Word document can lead to some strange results, particularly if your book
contains bulleted lists. If you would like your book to contain specific fonts
or decorative items, Word is not up to the task.
There is a move towards making eBooks look more like
traditional books and today I’m going to have a look at a couple of pieces of
software that help you to take your book to the next level.
Sigil
Sigil is an open-source ePub editor that is available for free for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. It allows you to create a properly formatted ePub document that you can submit to Amazon and Lulu. You can choose to edit the text in a panel that looks much like it would in Word. There is a range of formatting options on the toolbar across the top, which are relatively simple if you understand HTML codes but it may be a little more difficult for those of you unfamiliar with web design jargon.
I used Sigil for the first time recently and was impressed
with the results. I began by converting the Word document to HTML before
loading it into the program. I then had to convert the single file into multiple
files by splitting it at the beginning of each chapter. (An eBook is really a
collection of multiple files.) The formatting is simply a matter of applying
the correct level to the headings, subheadings, paragraphs and lists. The table
of contents is generated from the top-level headings, a much simpler exercise
than doing it in Word.
My experience with Sigil was straightforward but I didn’t
push its capabilities very far and I will have to spend more time with it to
get a fuller picture but I think that it is a step up from what is possible
using Word alone.
Good points: Excellent output; Simple TOC generation; Free
Bad: May be a daunting learning curve for some users
Vellum
Vellum is a new and exciting piece of software that is an
indication of where eBook creation is going. Vellum allows you to take a Word
document and turn it into a beautifully formatted eBook using templates. The
templates each have a different style and customisable areas within them. You
can choose a font for your chapter headings, add drop caps at the start of
chapters or sections and add decorative motifs to chapter headings or between
sections. As you can see from the preview on the right of the screenshot, these little touches can lift
your eBook to a new level of quality and sophistication.
I found it very easy to use although I had one or two minor
problems with the table of contents before it recognised all the pages that I
wanted to include. Unfortunately, Vellum is only available for the Mac at the moment. The
other thing that may prevent it from really taking off is the pricing
structure. Rather than buy the software, you are charged for the final
generation of the eBook, which is done on the company’s servers. With a single
book costing $49.99 and unlimited books at $299.99. it is very expensive if you are self publishing.
The unlimited option has only been added recently and it may
be a sign that people baulked at the original pricing model. Wide adoption of a
software like Vellum will lead to eBooks that are more like their printed
alternatives but it may be that the strategy the developers have chosen works
against them, particularly if other people develop similar products that are
more affordable to indie authors.
Good points: Beautiful templates; easy to use
Bad points: Only available for the Mac; Pricing strategy
If you've come across another alternative to Word, or would like to learn more about these programs please let me know.
You can learn more about how we help Indie Authors and our ‘How
To Self Publish’ courses at Indie Authors Scotland
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