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Friday, June 3, 2011

Converting your file to an ebook.

One of the biggest questions I had at the beginning of the process was how to convert my file to an ebook. Was it something I could do myself? Did I have to hire a company to convert the file for me? If so, what company? Who was offering a file conversion service?

Short answer: there are companies who will convert your file for you. The charge seems to be around $150-$200. Remember, you're just paying for file conversion. You don't have to give up any royalties or control over the process. One such company is eBook Architects (Joshua Tallent) who came highly recommended to me. Wait time for your converted file: 10 weeks.

Joel Friedlander has put together a list of eBook conversion service providers but when I try to put the link in here, it always disappears. Not sure what that is all about, but I'd suggest you Google ebook conversion directory and see what turns up for you.

But I decided not to go with a conversion company. I decided to create a Kindle ebook and distribute my ebook through Amazon. The site is Kindle Direct Publishing. Now, if you watch the Youtube video, it looks really simple and maybe it is. You just load up your doc file (not docx) and Kindle Direct Publishing converts it for you.

Trouble is, some people say you are better off loading an html document into Kindle Direct Publishing. I decided to create an html document rather than run the risk of poor results. I used something called Emerald Editor, also called Crimson Editor, to create an html document. Then I used Mobipocket Creator to edit my html document and preview it. Then I uploaded this version to Kindle Direct Publishing.

So this route is more work than handing over your file to a conversion service, but it doesn't cost anything. It makes sense to do the conversion myself since I'm going to be putting up a series of short ebooks. Thankfully, you can get help from the Community -- a discussion forum on Kindle Direct Publishing. Also, I'm learning about html simply by googling questions like: How do I centre text in html?

It's been a steep learning curve, but at least I found a way that worked and didn't cost me anything.

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