How to make and sell your first ebook in 10 easy steps

How to make and sell your first ebook in 10 easy steps
by Avi Solomon

Preface

Ereading devices like the Kindle, Nook, Kobo and iPad have reached the tipping point of mass adoption. EPUB is emerging as the universal ebook standard allowing content to be rendered on multiple devices (the Kindle mobi format is a variant of EPUB). Ebooks let you keep a bigger share of the royalties (70% on the Kindle) while providing your work directly to readers around the world at an affordable price. You avoid losing sales by drastically cutting down time to market. There is no "backlist" as ebooks are on sale forever!

Making and selling your first ebook need not be a daunting process restricted to a digital elite. There can be many elaborate ways of making an omlette but sometimes you just need to crack the egg and fry it in the pan! This introductory guide aims to equip you with one possible working path through the confusing and esoteric forests of ebook publishing. It provides you with the (relatively) simple steps you need to take to convert your source text (and images) to a valid epub file that is ready to be published for people to buy and read on their ebook devices.

We will be using Sigil, an open-source, multi-platform WYSIWYG ebook editor to make your first ebook. Let's get started!

Prerequisites

You will be using Sigil to make an ebook. Sigil is an open-source, multi-platform WYSIWYG ebook editor. You can download and install the latest version of Sigil here:
http://code.google.com/p/sigil/

You will also need the Kindle Previewer to test and convert your ebook file to Kindle's mobi format.

Step 1: Prepare your Text

-You need to have content for your ebook!

-Do not skimp on editing your text. It's best to have a fresh pair of eyes peruse your text carefully to find typos and provide feedback.

-Use a basic text editor to edit and save your text as a .txt file.

-Make sure that your text file has UTF-16 encoding.

Step 2: Prepare your Images

-Having a good cover image for your ebook is very important. Keep it bold and simple.

-For universal ereader compatibility size your images under 500(breadth) X 600(height) pixels in .jpg format (the .gif format works better on the Kindle though).

-Your images can be in RGB color but preview them in grayscale mode to ensure that they are legible on ereaders that do not support color.

Step 3: Paste your text into the Sigil EPUB editor

-Open Sigil and Save your file as an .epub (Give your EPUB file a recognizable name).

-Use Insert < Chapter Break to create the chapter sections you need.

-Paste the text for each of your chapters into the Sigil chapter sections.


Step 4: Insert Images

-Use Insert < Image... to place the right image at its correct location in the text.


-Again, to maintain universal ereader compatibility size your images under 500(breadth) X 600(height) pixels in .jpg format.

Tip: Complex tables and non-latin scripts can be inserted as images to prevent errors in rendering.

Step 5: Insert the Cover Image

-Insert a new chapter break using Insert < Chapter Break.

-Right-click on the new section in Sigil's Book Browser and Select Add Semantics < Cover.

-Insert your cover image into the cover section.

-Again, to maintain universal ereader compatibility size your images under 500(breadth) X 600(height) pixels in .jpg format.

Tip: Once you have inserted your cover image and added semantics you can safely delete the cover page from Sigil's Text folder (Before deleting the cover page, save the epub with a kindle specific file name). This prevents cover page doubling on the Kindle, which now renders the cover image from the Images folder. For non-Kindle devices keep the cover page in the epub.

Step 6: Create the Table of Contents

-Go to each chapter and select the text you want to be the heading for that chapter.

-In Sigil's Style with Heading box select the appropriate heading level for that chapter (H1 for Titles, H2 for Authors, H3 for Chapters, H4-H6 for Subsections).

-Go to the Table of Contents box and click Generate TOC from Headings. Sigil will automatically create a table of contents from the heading styles you have applied to your sections.

Note: In order to make your ebook complaint with the Kindle you will need to insert an Inline Table of Contents after your title page.

-Right-click in the Text folder and Add New Item

-Move the new section up and place it after the title section.

-Right-click on the new section in Sigil's Book Browser and Select Add Semantics < Table of Contents.
-Go to View < Split View and paste in this sample code to replace the body tags

-Type in the correct chapter headings and section links. To add more chapter links simply copy and paste a line of code as needed.

-You will need to save and test the Inline Table of Contents page in Book View to see that the section links and chapter tiles match correctly and the links work!

-You can also insert a title for the Table of Contents page between the title tags.

Step 7: Fill out Metadata

-Go to Tools < Meta Editor

-Fill out the Title, Author and Language fields.

-Add additional metadata fields if needed and click OK.

Step 8: Validate your EPUB

-Go to Tools < Validate Epub.

-Sigil will check your EPUB file for errors.

-If the validation message says "No problems found!" then you're good to go. Save your EPUB file and close Sigil.

Tip: If you have an error, copy and Google the exact error message in quotes for guidance on how to fix it!

Step 9: Test your EPUB file on an ereader

-This is an essential step - do not skip it!

-Drag and drop your EPUB file onto your ereader. Open the file in your ereader to see if the table of contents works and the text and images are legible.

-If you don't have a Kindle or ereader use Kindle Previewer or Adobe Digital Editions to preview the EPUB on your computer.

Tip: You can drag and drop the EPUB file directly onto Kindle Previewer to automatically convert it to Kindle's mobi format. Make sure that the Cover, Table of Contents and NCX View buttons work. Browse the ebook to see if everything displays and works correctly. Fix any mistakes and repeat until you are satisfied with the output.

Step 10: Publish your EPUB file for sale on the Amazon.com Kindle store

-Register and upload your ebook at kdp.amazon.com (you will need your Social Security number and a US bank account for this).

-You can upload either your final EPUB file or the mobi file generated by Kindle Previewer.

-Allow for one week or less of processing time.

-Pricing: $2.99 sells the best, sales diminish with every dollar added to the price.

-Follow similar procedures to upload your EPUB file to other ebook vendors like iTunes, Nook and Kobo. Remember that your Amazon ebook can be viewed on the iPad using the Kindle app!

Congratulations! You're now a published author with global reach and a passive income stream!