Welcome once again to Internet Business DiY’s project on How to Create an eBook. In Part 3 we take a look at some of the tools available to you that can be used to create your eBook on your chosen topic and a few things that you need to be aware of when creating your final eBook file.
Hopefully by now you have determined what you will be writing your eBook about and what your main purpose is for creating an eBook and now we need to get you kitted out with the right tools for the job that will get you started.
There are just two tools that are required to create your eBook – a Word Processor and a PDF Writer. Let’s begin by taking a look at these tools and what they can give you.
Word Processors
A Word Processor is a computer application that gives the ability to type and manipulate text on a computer. This may sound simple and some early word processors for the Microsoft Windows platform were fairly straight-forward, allowing text to be typed, typefaces to be highlighted with bold or underlined text and the text size changeable from large to small. There was also the ability to assign different colour to the text. The files could be saved and printed and that was basically it.
As time progresses things get more advanced and these days word processors allow us to create a multitude of documents with embedded images, weblinks and even allow the import of information from other applications like spreadsheets. With all of the advance in word processor technology though and all my years within the IT support industry, I have never come across anybody that uses these applications to their full potential (both the application and the persons potential!). On the whole, word processors are used just to type letters and envelopes and maybe be used to carry out the odd mail merge, yet businesses still insist on paying the thousands of pounds in licensing fees in order that their staff have the best possible packages.
It has always led me into disbelief as to why companies would pay so much money just so their staff can type letters, when there are other solutions available. This however, is a discussion for another time and a mentality that we can learn from.
Let’s first take a look at some of our options of word processor and then make some educated decisions as to what we actual need to produce our eBook.
Please be aware that prices stated are only guide and are provided from the manufacturer’s website. Prices may of course vary.
Microsoft Word
One of the most popular word processing applications on the planet is undoubtedly Microsoft Word. This application has been around for years and has established itself as the market leader in word processing applications.
Available as a separate application or provided as part of the Microsoft Office Suite of programs, this word processor is the application of choice for most businesses. This has given it the most deserved title of an “Industry Standard” product and other software providers write software that can easily integrate with Word.
With a range of products available providing solutions from “Home & Student” up to Professional Corporate editions, there is a product for everyone.
From around £160 ($250) you can buy the Standard Edition of Microsoft Word. You may opt to purchase one of the office suites that also provides a spreadsheet application (Excel), a presentation package (Powerpoint) and a database application (Access), among others. These suites range in price from around £75 ($149) for the Home and Student edition to £360 ($500) for the Professional package.
Microsoft Word is available for both the Windows and Mac operating systems.
Corel WordPerfect
WordPerfect was the industry standard word processing application years before Microsoft Word was even on the scene, but has been replaced since Microsoft Word has taken the lead during the late 90’s.
For some, WordPerfect is still the application of choice and from my experience, seems to be seen to be more commonly used in smaller businesses.
Not as expensive as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect can be purchased as part of one of Corel’s WordPerfect Office suites from Home & Student, through to Professional for around £57 ($89) to £250 ($399). This will of course also provide other applications for spreadsheets and presentations. Also the type of office suite may vary depending on your country.
WordPerfect only seems to be available for the Microsoft Windows operating system.
Apple iWork
For Apple’s Mac series of computers, their iWork office package provides a word processing application (Pages), a spreadsheet application (Numbers) and a presentation package (Keynote).
Not being overly familiar with Apple software applications, I am not too sure of the functionality. iWork is available for the slightly cheaper price of £75 ($116).
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice is the open-source office package of choice and is available as a free download from the OpenOffice.org website. Supplying all common office applications such as word processing (Writer), spreadsheets (Calc), presentations (Impress), databases (Base) and a drawing package (Draw), OpenOffice is a serious contender for business, home office and personal use.
I have had uncountable conversations with bosses over the years who, wanting to cut costs, would not even consider using OpenOffice to provide their word processing solutions, just because it is free of charge. I have been told that it could not be much good if it was free, even though it seems to be the only application that I have found that will open a corrupt Microsoft Word document and be able to import and use 3rd-party databases and has allowed me to adequately support those same companies.
OpenOffice provides advanced functionality comparable with the top-end word processor packages and is available for the Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris operating systems.
PDF Converters
The other tool that you need is something that will create a PDF file from our word processed document once you have written it. PDF stands for Portable Document Format and is a file format that can be read on any computer that has a PDF reader application installed. PDF reader applications are generally available free of charge, the most common of which is Adobe Reader, supplied and downloadable from Adobe Systems.
A PDF reader will be required to read your eBook so be sure to download and install one. But before you are able to read your PDF eBook, you must of course create one.
Here are some applications that are able to create this type of file.
Adobe Acrobat
Created by Adobe Systems, Acrobat allows documents created in a word processor to be opened and then saved as a PDF document. This application allows a whole host of configuration options way greater then you will ever need to create an eBook. It is the industry standard offering for businesses that need to create PDF files and opens the most popular word processor formats.
If a file cannot be opened by Acrobat, a PDF file can still be created by printing to Acrobats virtual printer. This in effect creates the file rather than prints it.
By experience, Acrobats output quality is very good, but there are some oddities at times. Quality can be adjusted.
Acrobat is priced at around £170 ($260).
Microsoft Office PDF Plugin
Shortly after the release of Office 2007, Microsoft released a plug-in that allowed PDF files to be created using their software. This is not available with the default Office Software that Microsoft provide, as far as I am aware and is required to be obtained by a separate download.
This does the job of creating a PDF file, but options are virtually non-existent and security options unavailable.
This addition to Microsoft Office is available free of charge, but you will need to have a Microsoft Office product that supports it. In this case, at least Office 2007.
PDF Printing Utilities
There are a whole host of PDF printing applications and facilities that allow you to create PDF files. These utilities are sometimes provided free of charge by companies that also sell more advanced software. The idea is that you will use the basic software and then as your needs grow, go back to them in order to purchase the more advanced versions that they provide.
PDF Print utilities were one of the only ways in the early days that people were able to create PDF files cheaply and without having to buy Adobe Acrobat. These provide a solution but security options are usually limited in the free products.
Applications such as PDF995, CutePDF, doPDF, PrimoPDF and HelloPDF all work in a similar way and utilize virtual printers in order to create the file. Their output quality does however vary considerably and if you are considering using one of these options, then it would be best to test each one and choose the best option for your needs.
To create the PDF all you need to do is install the software, then open your document in whatever application you desire and then print to the virtual printer that has been created. It sounds simple and it truly is very straight forward.
If you decide to use one of these utilities, be sure to check the license agreement.
OpenOffice.org
Since fairly early on in its creation, OpenOffice has provided the functionality whereby you can export a document as a PDF file. It does not need to be routed through a virtual printer and the functionality is already inherent in the software and therefore doesn’t need to be installed separately
Security options are available to prevent copy of text, or password protect a document, as are a variety of options designed to configure how the PDF reader application will be presented on start up.
The resulting PDF file is very clear and satisfying and even larger documents are created fairly quickly and accurately.
PDF Output Issues
One of the things that I have learnt during my career in IT, is that when creating PDF files it sometimes pays to have a few options available to you, depending on the content of document that you are trying to create.
I have found that both vertical and horizontal lines can be rendered differently in some PDF creation utilities, especially when there are multiple lines that appear very close to each other, like say in a spreadsheet document or word processor table.
Getting around these issues means playing around with the documents format and sometimes changing the line width and/or colour can resolve these issues. It may be that you need to produce the document using a different PDF utility to get the results you are after, or even reformat the layout of the document completely.
By all means just play. You can’t do any damage and you will learn a lot in the process!
Capability Requirements of the Chosen Software
In order to create your eBook, the word processing software that you decide to use must be able to undertake simple word processing tasks, this may be obvious.
It ideally needs to provide:
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Addition of Headers and Footers that can be different on odd and even pages.
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Automatic page numbering facility
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Insertion of tables
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Insertion of pictures & images
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Section and/or Page Styles
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Master Document & Sub-document handling
The good news is that these days, most of the top word processors provide these functions. Master document handling is not a definite requirement, but if your intended eBook is going to be quite large, contains a lot of graphics or is being written by more than one person, then this functionality will make your job of creating your eBook much easier.
Above all the software that you use needs to be able to accomplish the task that you have set out to attain, in the case writing an eBook. It doesn’t need to be able to function as a coffee maker or a personal assistant. Remember to keep it simple!
The Internet Business DiY Tool of Choice
I have always kept to the view of using the tool that provides the best solution within my specified budget, that provides the functionality that is required to do the job at hand. I really do not see the point of shelling out hundreds of pounds to buy the latest application, especially when it is overkill for what is required.
For this project I am going to recommend using the Writer application provided in the OpenOffice Suite, in order to create our eBook. I have been using this application now for over 7 years and it goes from strength to strength. I also use Microsoft Word but find that I tend to use this much less now that I do not work within a business environment that insists on using it.
OpenOffice may not look as pretty on the screen as some other applications, but it does exactly what I want it to do and more and is also very reliable. It can be installed on your computer in addition to other office applications and does not adversely affect any of them.
The reason why I have chosen this application for this project is because I use it myself as my office package and to create all of my eBooks (and everything else that a word processor provides, letters, invoices, etc.), and it is available for almost all operating system platforms. This makes it much easier for those of you who use different operating systems to follow along with the project and allows me to give guidance and instructions for just one application. What’s more, it provides the abiity to export documents as PDF files without needing to install additional software.
If however, you decide to use an alternative product you can certainly still follow along with the project. You will just need to find out how to do some of the things that may be slightly different. I shall of course, attempt to point you in the right direction along the way.
Get Prepared to Start Writing
Now that we have gone through some of the tools available to use, if you do decide that you wish to try OpenOffice, then head over to their website at www.openoffice.org read about the application and then download a copy of their latest offering for your operating system and install it on your computer, being sure to read the license agreement prior to doing so.
Start playing and get familiar with some of the common tasks such as general typing, typeface adjustments (bold, italic, etc.). Have a look at styles, page numbering, tables, frames and adding pictures and get familiar with how it all works.
Like most new things, it will feel a little unfamiliar at first, but the more you play, the more you get used to it and the more proficient you will become.
Next Week
In the next instalment of How to Create an eBook, we will discuss getting a base template created within OpenOffice Writer that will become the base document for your eBook. This will prove to be a big post as I will be taking you step-by-step along the way and showing you what I do to create my eBooks, together with some of the considerations as to how you will lay out your eBook, depending on your ultimate goal.
Until then, your task is to learn and play with OpenOffice Writer in order to get familiar with it.
Have fun!
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