How to prepare your manuscripts to convert standard eBook file formats of eBook?

Considering the wide range of distribution facilities, Standard eBook file formats have proven to be the best format for books with text content. These can be easily shared with the libraries, retailers and for subscription services. The pages do not have a fixed size, so the text fills the page in the right format. So, these can be customized by the reader. Thus, the benefits are numerous.

In case if the book has a style that is to be followed as per the manuscript, you need to convert it to Fixed Layout formats.  A huge number of pro software and programs are available that can help you to convert the Word documents to eBook files. It is essential to know the basics of this transformation before you start converting the text. Here are some expert guidelines that may help you out. These are applicable only in the case of manuscripts that have simple layouts. And if in such a case they are followed religiously, you are sure to get near perfect results.

First of all, you need to remember that the document will be read across a wide range of devices like computers, mobiles, kindles and so on. Therefore, you should keep the page size, font size and other aspects variable to ensure their compatibility with the other devices. Many overlook this and lesser sales is the outcome of such ignorance.

What not to include in the document:

1.            Page numbers
2.            Headers and Footers
3.            Fancy drop-caps and texts of various colours
4.            Multi-column layouts
5.            Text Boxes
6.            Advertising
7.            Page layout

If you have idea regarding how to prepare manuscript for ebook, the next concern is its proper formatting.

Manuscript formatting:

• Do not incorporate separate chapters in the eBook with a single page break.
• When you use different paragraphs, only a single page break is sufficient. Do not incorporate double page breaks here.
•  For separate sub-sections, you can use the star signs. No tabs and multiple spaces are required.

Text styling and fonts

All fonts are not supported in the eReader devices. It is necessary to keep the fonts and styles simple. MS Word has the inbuilt Quick Styles tool, which can be of immense help here and can be used in an effective manner.

Main text of the body

• Times New Roman, Arial, Georgia or any standard font with point size of 10, 11 or 12 will work out perfectly well for the text in the main body.
•  As for the spacing, use single line spacing instead of double line. Never use a space greater than 1.5.
•  If you want the texts to stand apart from the rest, opt for all caps, italic and bold.

Sub-headings and chapters

You can use the Heading Styles that you will find in the Quick Style list. In case you want to use a fancy text in the titles of the chapter, it should go well with the background. This is mandatory or else the appearance would be weird, as per most of the e-publishing outsourcing companies in india. So, be careful in this regard.

Images

Remember these points when you incorporate images in the document.

Although colour images look good, some of the devices do not display them well. Instead, they are presented in greyscale. This should be kept in mind. Apart from incorporating images in the manuscript, you should make different files and supply them. Formats like JPG, PDF, PNG, TIFF and GIF are absolutely fine.  However, make sure not to float the images to the right or left of the text. They should be kept in a single line. This is what companies offering best eBook conversion services also endorse.

Inserting images in ebook Links

Links to email addresses and links can be added within the manuscript. These will function on the devices that have internet connections. If you want to link from a certain place to another within the manuscript, you can use the hyperlink tools and bookmarks of MS Word. Do not use page numbers if you are trying to link it with a different part of the manuscript.

How to add a table of contents

In the case of fiction books, a simple and linked Table of Contents will be added. This is what most of professionals offering epublishing services actually do.  

In the case of non-fiction book, the Table of Contents may be beneficial in:

1.          Navigating the particular book
2.       Showing a snapshot of how the book looks

You should not add the page numbers in the Table of Contents as these will not be required for the eBook version.

A final check

When you are done with these elements, you need to scan the document for any flaw. A spelling check and grammar check will make sure that no mistakes will show up in the eBook. Think of the situation when a reader finds flaws in your book while reading it on Amazon in the form of an eBook. The whole purpose of leveraging Amazon e-publishing is lost. In order to maintain the qualitative aspects, let someone else other than you read the book. The mistakes hiding in the document may not be detected by you. You can assign an editor or a proofreader to go through the eBook. While the eBook is being developed, the scope of editing is quite limited. Therefore, you need to appoint someone competent to deal with this department. An error-free eBook is credible and you can retain the class and standard when you provide error-free eBooks to the readers.

If you want external assistance for ebook formatting services, just be careful regarding quality and ebook conversion cost of the concerned service provider.