.FLYINGHEAD ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING
.TITLE Easier methods of ebook authoring
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY From her standpoint of a librarian, Jessica McCurdy Crooks’ recent article, Learn the steps for creating an ebook easily, provided some useful information but was somewhat lacking in any real-world applicability. There are other ebook reader and creator programs on the market that provide a much more user-friendly experience for both reader and writer, and in this article Editor-at-Large James Booth gives you a hands-on learning approach to those applications.
.OTHER
Jessica McCurdy Crooks’ recent article, Learn the steps for creating an ebook easily, provided some interesting and useful information but was somewhat lacking in any real-world applicability. From her standpoint as a librarian, it may have been dead-on, but from the standpoint of a reader, author, and Average Joe, it struck off the mark. There are a few other ebook reader and creator programs on the market, some of them free, that provide a much more user-friendly experience for both reader and writer, and I will give you a hands-on learning approach to those applications in this article.
.H1 The problem with PDFs
Jessica’s statement of PDFs being a universal file format, regardless of operating system, is correct. However, the PDF format carries some major drawbacks for the user; primarily that it is a static, fixed display. Regardless of whether being displayed on a PC, MAC, Palm OS or Windows Mobile device, document structure does not change. In many cases, the print of the document is so small that in order for it to be readable, the user must zoom in. In many of those cases, the display must be zoomed in to the point where the entire page width will not fit on the screen of the monitor or handheld device, requiring the reader to scroll from left to right as well as up and down in order to read the document. Figure A below shows the main shortcoming of the PDF format.
.FIGPAIR A PDF files don’t flow or paginate well.
.BREAK_EMAIL You’ll have to click here to learn more about how to create ebooks.
As you can see in Figure B, the problem is even worse on a handheld; and this one has a 5-inch diagonal screen, it’s much worse on smaller handhelds.
.FIGPAIR B PDF files are even worse on handheld devices.
And let me tell you, being forced to scroll left to right in order to read puts a very large damper on the satisfaction of reading a digital book. Perhaps this is the reason why digital books have not been as widely accepted as this reader would like them to be.
Other document readers will automatically reflow and paginate the document in order for the printing to be readable, yet still fit on the screen of the display device; not so with Acrobat or any other PDF reader I’ve used. If there is one that will do this, I’m simply not aware of it. But there’s no denying that Adobe’s Acrobat Reader is by far the most prevalent of all the PDF readers.
And, as Jessica stated, the cost of the full version of Adobe Acrobat, the version required for publishing your own documents, is not only expensive, for some people it seems downright exorbitant and unreasonable, as seems virtually all of Adobe’s retail software. The full, Standard version of Adobe Acrobat 9 runs $300.00 from the Adobe store. Several other alternatives are capable not only of making a better ebook, but are much more cost efficient in the bargain.
An additional failing of the PDF is that the security parameters can be set in such a way that not only can you not print the document, which is pretty much the default for all ebooks, but you’re also unable to export text, or create notations or bookmarks. More recent versions of Acrobat Reader are including the availability of these options, but the security level embedded in the document can limit or disable these tools.
An alternative is Bullzip’s PDF Printer. It’s a freeware Windows Printer option that allows you to output any printable document as a PDF file. Because it’s freeware, it’s good for both personal and commercial use. Personally, I’ve never used it, but it gets decent ratings on Download.com.
.H1 Microsoft Reader
I can’t say it’s necessarily THE second most prevalent ebook reader, but Microsoft’s Reader is definitely in the running. You’ll find that many books not available in other formats are available for Microsoft Reader. Unlike Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader is only available for Microsoft operating systems, i.e. the Windows Family for PCs, Laptops and Tablet PCs, the Windows Mobile and Pocket PC operating systems; and now for Origami as well. So in this aspect, it’s not compatible with Mac or Palm OS devices.
Being available on both PCs and Windows Mobile devices, Microsoft Reader is able to reach a very large segment of the market. And with free plug-ins available for Microsoft Office, it’s quite easy to construct your own ebooks. A note on the plug-in… it was designed for Office 2000/2003. I was able to install it in Office 2007, but was unable to get it to work.
In any event, all of the document structure that Reader is capable of displaying is retained; images, tables etc., which is a major plus since most writers using the Windows platform will likely be using Office for their writing needs.
Creating books for Microsoft Reader can be as simple as installing the Read in Microsoft Reader conversion add-in if you have an older version of Office, formatting the document the way you would like it to appear, and clicking the button; the plug-in automatically does all the work.
Another method is the free ReaderWorks Standard from Overdrive. ReaderWorks Standard will do pretty much the same work as Read in Microsoft Reader, except it’s a standalone program; so it will work on any Windows OS computer. In Figure C, you can see the interface for ReaderWorks Standard.
.FIGPAIR C ReaderWorks Standard will create Microsoft Reader ebooks for free.
The Standard version is only for personal use though. If you would like to create ebooks for commercial purposes, i.e. to sell, then you’ll need ReaderWorks Publisher, which retails for $120. There are no catches to the user license either. You can create as many Microsoft Reader ebooks as you like, and sell them anywhere, at any cost, with no further obligation to Overdrive.
In addition to only being available on a Windows operating system, Microsoft Reader has a few other failings. First, is that it has to be activated in order to work. Now, this may sound like a simple matter of having an Internet connection and clicking "Activate," but it isn’t always that easy. If you have changed the installation directory for the software, it will not activate properly. I only learned this after much frustration and repeated attempts on my Windows Mobile handheld.
The other disadvantage to Microsoft Reader is that it displays a white border around the text; I imagine simulating a "digital" page. Figure D shows the PC version of Microsoft Reader.
.FIGPAIR D Look at all that wasted screen space.
The downside is that on smaller screens, you end up with very little text actually being displayed. Other readers are capable of filling the screen with text and properly paginating it for the display. You can see the display of Microsoft Reader on a Windows Mobile device; and again, this is a 5-inch display, smaller screens will show even less text.
.FIGPAIR E More wasted screen real estate.
To its advantage, Reader allows you to create bookmarks, notes, highlight and export text, many of the things you would do with a printed book. It even offers text-to-speech for those that are visually impaired or would prefer to listen to the book rather than read. It does tend to sound a bit like a Speak and Spell though.
.H1 eReader
eReader’s digital ebook reader has gone through a lot of names over the years. Originally, it was Peanut Press, then Palm Digital Media, and is now administered by Fictionwise. As its former name implies, eReader was originally the ebook reader designed for the Palm OS, but it now addresses more operating platforms than any other ebook software I have encountered.
It is this multi-platform usage that makes eReader the best of all the ebook software applications. There are versions of eReader for Windows, Palm OS, Windows Mobile and Pocket PC, iPhone/iPod, Mac, and the OQO operating system. There is currently no Blackberry version, but eReader is investigating production of eReader for the Blackberry. And best of all, every version of eReader is free.
Whether on the desktop or handheld, eReader will reflow and paginate the book in order to properly fit the display of the device it’s on. You can have a border, like with Microsoft Reader, or fill the page with text. You can make bookmarks, highlight and export text, and create notes; it will also scroll itself. It has various themes you can apply according to how you want it to look, and you can even buy and load new books directly from the application. Figure F below shows the application on the PC desktop.
.FIGPAIR F eReader on the desktop.
The real benefit of eReader can be seen on a handheld device. No matter the size of the display, eReader will reflow the text and appropriately paginate the document. In Figure G, you can see eReader on that same 5-inch Windows Mobile device; but if the screen were smaller, it would still fill the display with text to make the best use of screen real estate.
.FIGPAIR G eReader is the best ebook reader on handhelds.
When it comes to creating ebooks for eReader, the eBook Studio is available for $30. I’ve used it quite extensively to create ebooks for my own use, and it’s quite simple. I just cut and paste the text from a Word file into the Studio and create the book. You can create chapter links in the Table of Contents, images, footnotes, pretty much any formatting needs you may have in creating an electronic book. Figure H shows the interface for the eReader eBook Studio.
.BEGIN_KEEP
.FIGPAIR H eBook Studio from eReader is a simple ebook creator.
.END_KEEP
.H1 Mobipocket Reader
Finally, there is Mobipocket Reader from Mobipocket. Mobipocket Reader has been around for quite a long time, and like eReader, began life as a Palm OS application. And again, like eReader, Mobipocket now offers their Reader on a multiple of platforms, including Windows, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, and several dedicated ebook appliances. Mobipocket’s Reader is free to download and use, as is their Mobipocket Creator for creating Mobipocket ebooks.
It would seem the ebook applications that originated on the Palm OS seem to have gotten the display right, as Mobipocket Reader will fill the screen with text, reflowing and paginating as necessary. In Figure I below, you can see Mobipocket Reader on Windows Mobile.
.FIGPAIR I Mobipocket Reader knows how to fill the screen with text.
The PC version of Mobipocket Reader offers more than just ebook reading, it also includes an RSS reader and direct access to their ebook store. Just as on the handheld version, the PC version is able to fill the screen with text. In Figure J, you can see the open ebook in a frame, but it is quite capable of expanding to a full screen display.
.FIGPAIR J Mobipocket Reader on PC is more than just an ebook reader.
Of all the ebook creators I’ve profiled here, with the exception of the Bullzip PDF Printer, Mobipocket Creator is the only one that is free for both personal and commercial use. It features PDF, Microsoft Word, and Text file import capabilities; unfortunately, it only imports legacy Word files, not the newer .docx format. And the creation utility is not at all intuitive, unlike all of the other ebook creators.
The other negative Mobipocket has going for it is that it is just not all that prevalent of a format. Pretty much all of these ebook formats are proprietary to the application they were created for, but of them all, Mobipocket has the least amount of content available. I have begun to see more material available for Mobipocket Reader, but the majority of content can be found in the Microsoft Reader and eReader formats.
However, if you’re an owner of the Cybook, iLiad, iRex, Hanlin, or BeBook dedicated ebook appliances, you can use Mobipocket Creator to create your own content. Honestly though, aside from that, the Mobipocket format just does not have a wide enough distribution to be a viable format.
.H1 In conclusion
While there are a number of ebook formats on the market, eReader from Fictionwise is really the best investment for your ebook buck. It’s available for more operating platforms than any other, with the possible exception of PDF; but as shown above, PDF files come with their own set of limitations. eReader’s eBook Studio is a reasonable cost for the return you get on the content it creates, and is the most intuitive of all the creation software I tested.
Regardless of your ebook format preferences, their prevalence will only continue to grow. In time, I’m certain all new print material will be distributed in electronic format as well as traditional hardcopy. There is virtually no production cost, and an entire library can be stored on a single device. I personally have a minimum of eight books (my favorites) with me at all times, as well as the complete Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes collection (also a favorite). I currently have about twenty books on my Windows Mobile device. Try carting twenty paperbacks, let alone hardbound books, around with you everywhere you go and you’ll quickly appreciate the digital format.
By investing in an ebook reader and its accompanying creation studio, you too can take your favorites with you wherever you go. As an author, it will give you the ability to self-publish and distribute your own material. In the corporate sector, companies can create tech and user manuals for distribution to employees, allowing them to have the material at hand at all times, lightening the load employees must carry into the field. The ebook is the future of literature, and that future has arrived.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about [[http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/?promoid=BPDDU|Adobe’s Acrobat PDF]].
Learn more about [[http://www.download.com/PDF-Printer/3000-2088_4-10536746.html?cdlPid=10795109|BullZip PDF Printer]].
Learn more about [[http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/default.mspx|Microsoft’s MS Reader]].
Learn more about [[http://www.overdrive.com/readerworks/|Overdrive’s ReaderWorks]].
Learn more about [[http://www.ereader.com/ereader/software/browse.htm|Fictionwise’s eReader and eBook Studio]].
Learn more about [[http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp?Language=EN|Mobipocket’s Reader and Creator]].
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
