CREATING EBOOKS
Creating ebooks is easy. Some have their own page layout facilities, but most simply compile pages that have been created in other programs.
Ebooks serve two purposes: they keep pages together for easy reading, and they prevent those pages being tampered with, i.e. copied and taken under new ownership.
To make the best choice of programs for creating ebooks, you have to know what features are needed, and whether they're worth paying for.
In general the field separates into two:
Creating Ebooks: Adobe's Acrobat System
The advantages are:
popular: customers feel safe with the software
an industry standard: many printing companies will accept the pdf format
versatile, producing good screen displays and paper printouts
wide range of software add-ons have been developed
works on the Windows, Mac and Unix platforms
The disadvantages are:
software is fairly pricey
proper security add-ons are even more expensive
pdf files can be bulky
Creating Ebooks: Webpage Compilers
A few ebook creation programs will accept text or MS Word files, but the majority compile HTML pages. That means:
programs can be reasonably cheap
But also that:
layout is more restricted (or calls on considerable HTML authoring skills)
pages that look good on the screen won't always print out neatly
Ebook Facilities
In assessing the wide range of software that now exists for ebook creation, the key features to consider are:
1. type of computer / operating system the e-books will be read on:
desktop PCs and laptops: operating systems:
Windows
Macintosh
UNIX / Linux
e-book readers: operating systems:
Windows
Windows CE
Linux
Proprietary
handheld devices: operating systems:
Palm
PC
HPC
Windows CE
Linux
2. layout precision required: program
compiles HTML pages
simple formats only
complex formats preserved
employs own layout language
through editor
requires hand-coding (not listed in table below)
3. e-book content
text only
text and graphics
basic multimedia
flash and/or videos
includes .pdf Acrobat files
4. e-book functionality
individual pages can be hidden/password protected
printing can be disabled
copying can be disabled
indexes easily created
search facility can be added
5. level of security required
password protection of whole document
password protection of individual pages
time expiry of e-book
expiry after certain number of times used
access restricted to single machine/user
user tracking
Many of the programs have free trials or demo versions, which are well worth testing.
Creating Ebooks: Security Considerations
Once the password is provided, what's to stop your e-book from being unlocked and copied/sold across the Internet? To be doubly safe you'll have to create e-books that will 'lock' into the hard disk specification of the individual PC, or which need to look up a password from a website you control. Details are in the comparison table, but be warned that installation instructions can be both a turn-off and a time-waster. Not everyone wants to be bothered with instructions, and sorting out unlock codes for customers can be exasperating. Many ebook publishers have now dropped the security features, accepting that their work will be pirated, but updating regularly so that previous editions act as publicity.