Is Your eBook Ugly?

Posted on May 28th, 2007 by Peggy Duncan

Take your ebook (or booklet) to another level. I’ve seen so many that are downright tacky. If you’re going to do this, do it right. Make your ebook easy on the eyes…a pleasure to read.

Here are some ideas:

Before You Create the PDF (Adobe Acrobat full version has the most functionality and is worth every penny).

Use Word’s powerful desktop publishing features to produce a more professional ebook.
Create a stylesheet to make it easy to format everything (I use Word’s built-in styles and tweak them to fit my needs).
Consider the font (I like Book Antigua for the body and Century Gothic for the headings); font size (I use 12 or 13, especially when it’s a computer book); paragraph alignment (I justify my books and avoid amateurish gaps in text using this tip).
Include a table of contents with Word keeping up with the page numbers as they change.
Improve the look of headers and footers.
Create an index with Word keeping up with the page numbers as they change.
Insert pictures with figure captions with Word keeping up as figure numbers change.
Insert cross references to other pages with Word keeping up as page numbers change.
Insert your actual signature if you add a welcome letter…never a typed one.
Paste information that is updated often as a link to the original so every time you change the original, the information in the ebook changes too (e.g., your bio).
Make all URLs look live (change text color and underline it). You’ll see why below. (Do not underline any text if it’s not going to become a hyperlink later.)

After You Create the PDF

Add attachments to the file (e.g., freebies sent as bonuses).
Create live URLS throughout the document (they’ll also look live if you changed text color and underlined them before you made the PDF).
Create bookmarks to certain pages for easier navigation and display them by default.
Create live hyperlinks from table of contents to pages.
Change the options – how it’s viewed by default.
Set security and protect your document from changes.

If you’re going to do this thing, do it right, giving an expert impression with the look and feel of your book. If you’re interested in learning more, see my computer tips training on my Website.

PEACE.

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