You would write and design your ebook first in MS Word. If you have many illustrations, you can use Pagemaker or Quark. MS Word is the most commonly used word processing program. You would also require software that would convert Word files into PDF format. Ideal choice is adobe Acrobat Professional but that is quite costly. There are free options available fortunately.
At www.pdf995.com you can create PDF files for free.
Creating An EXE or HTML Ebook:
For HTML ebooks an ebook pages are created like pages of a web site. For HTML ebooks you would have to make sure that you select a good software package that allows you to include hyperlinks, graphics, search, and forms. Two of good softwares that I would recommend are Ebook Pro and Ebook Compiler. HTML ebooks are fancier than pdf ebooks and you can add many effects which may be liked by the reader.
Exe or HTML ebooks do not work in Mac computers.
Whatever format you use for ebook creation, you would need to keep these tips into mind.
-Page size: E-book pages are typically between 5x7 and 6x9 inch. You can set the page size in Word's "Page Setup" menu.
-Margins: You should set margins to a minimum of 0.75 inch on all sides. It is also customary to place a header and footer at each page. Title of the book and the page number are most commonly used headers.
-Font: You should use standard fonts such as Times, Times New Roman, Century/New Century Schoolbook, or Palatino. You should use a minimum of 11 points for text, and 12 to 14 points for subheadings.
-Graphics: For graphics use .gif or .jpg files. Use images of appropriate size and of good resolution. Check your image resolution by enlarging your Word document to 150%. Your image should look good and undistorted at this magnification.
-Front Matter: These are the pages that come before your first chapter. These would include
* A title page
* A copyright page
* Acknowledgments, if you want
* Table of contents
-Back matter: This comes after the last chapter. You can put an index, your own bio, contact information and advertisements for any other books that you are selling.
Whatever format you choose, please do keep in mind the basic principles of good writing.
I hope you would be able to create a good and presentable ebook with these tips.
