Creating Ebooks from Start to Finish" Part 2
by Greg Spence
(c) 2000 Greg Spence.


In part 1 of this article I discussed Adobe Acrobat and how
it can be used to create your own ebooks. If you missed part
1 you can get it at http://www.getpub.com/issue25.htm .

In this final part I will take a look at my remaining top 3
ebook creation products and give you my recommendation.

Hopefully by the time you finish reading this final part you
will have a clearer idea as to which product is better for
your needs.


CREATING THE EBOOK

Hyper Maker http://www.bersoft.com - this turns your HTML
web pages into a standalone ebook. This means that it can
have web page links, graphics, formatted text and everything
else that you can put on a web page.

Your readers will require a web browser to view the ebook.
Not a problem if your readers found you on the web!

You can also password protect individual pages which is
great if you want to send out your ebook with some of the
chapters available as a demo. Once the reader pays for your
ebook you can then send them a password to unlock the rest
of the ebook.

One downside is it cannot be used on the Mac and it costs
around $195.

Neobook Professional http://www.neosoftware.com/nbw.html -
this is a great option if you are just starting out on the
ebook road. It compiles ebooks from plain old text files so
you don't have to know HTML or any other type of
programming. It also comes with its own reader so your
customers do not need anything else in order to read your
ebook.

Downsides are it is only available on the PC, it does not
have a password protection feature, and the cost is around
$199.

E-ditor Pro http://www.getpub.com/epro/ - this product is
similar to Hyper Maker in that it compiles HTML web pages
into an ebook which can then be viewed via a browser.

It is possible to password protect individual pages or the
entire ebook, and you can include links to other pages of
the ebook, links to web pages, and many multimedia options
as well.

Your readers will require Internet Explorer to read the
finished ebook.

Downside is the software only runs on the PC. However the
cost is around $69.95 much cheaper than its competitors.


MY RECOMMENDATION

If you can afford it Adobe Acrobat provides the most
professional looking ebooks around. Just look at what Ken
Evoy has done with this tool http://www.getpub.com/myks/ .

A cheaper alternative that provides similar functionality is
E-ditor Pro. I recommend this tool in Step 2 of the Get
Published! Online system.

You can learn more about it at
http://www.getpub.com/epro/ .


HOW TO MAKE YOUR EBOOK DOWNLOAD SLICK

Once you have finished your ebook you then need to make it
available on the Internet so your readers can download it.

Make sure that the ebook file is compressed so that the
download time is kept to a minimum. This is especially
important for people living in Europe who generally pay by
the minute for their telephone calls whilst connected to the
Internet!

There are two programs you can use for this.

Winzip http://www.winzip.com - runs on the PC and can both
compress your files and put them into a self-extracting
file. When your reader clicks on the file it will install
itself to any directory they select on their PC.

You can get a shareware evaluation copy from their website.

Stuffit Deluxe http://www.aladdinsys.com/deluxe/ - does a
similar job to Winzip but runs on the Mac.


SUMMARY

So there you have it. Once you have written your ebook and
selected your ebook software you can go into business
selling your books online and reach a truly global audience.

If you need any further help then visit Get Published! and
use the Get Published! Online system at
http://www.getpub.com/pubonlin.htm .

Don't forget you can get a jumpstart and create an ebook
from scratch by taking "The Infoproduct Masters course" a
FREE 5-day email course on how to create an ebook in 10
days.

Send a blank email to timsget-published@sitesell.net and
receive the first lesson today.

Good luck with your publishing venture.

Greg Spence
Get Published! Online Website

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