eBook software: choices and recommendations

eBook compilers - my recommendations

If you're going to create an eBook, you will need an eBook compiler.

An eBook compiler is a program that takes the source files (the content of your eBook) and compiles them into an easy-to-distribute format.

Commercial quality eBook compilers cost from US $30 or less, up to several hundred dollars.

Recommendation #1
There are lots of choices, and price is not always a guide to quality! For example Activ eBook has been independently rated as one of the most feature-rich eBook compilers, but it is also one of the cheapest - costing just US $29.95. This is my recommended software for you. I've tried many compilers and this is not only the cheapest, but it is also the easiest to use, and it produces good results.

The control you get over your eBook is good. It includes password protection, page ordering, the ability to save your compilation parameters (so it's easy to re-compile your eBook after changing your source documents) and a host of other features that I haven't seen in far more expensive products. My only reservation is that all the source documents - including images - must be in one folder / directory. But I can live with that!

The latest development in this software is the ability to allow your readers to co-brand your eBook - see my "Recommendation #2". I found the branding option a little harder to use than with eBook Paper, but it works well.

You can download a copy of Activ eBook for free and try before you buy - the only limitation is the number of pages you can compile. If you like it, you can buy an unlock code online in minutes with your credit card, and you then have a full working copy. You won't go far wrong with Activ eBook.

Recommendation #2
My only other recommendation is eBook Paper. This is not quite as easy to use as Activ eBook (you can't save the compilation parameters, for example), but it does share with Activ eBook the feature of allowing readers to co-brand your eBook with their own website URL, email address, message - and whatever else you allow them to insert. This encourages readers to distribute your eBook with your own marketing messages and links as well as their own. This is a fine example or viral marketing! eBook Paper costs $47. No free trial here, so you'll have to trust my judgement.

Unless you are producing an eBook which is not going to change very often, and unless you intend distributing many copies of your eBook, I do not recommend that you use the Adobe Acrobat .PDF format (see below). The software is relatively expensive, and it can be complex to use. Prepare for a steep learning curve!

eBook compilers - want to make up your own mind?

Rather the looking at every single compiler available, this page will tell you what the choices are, and on what factors to base your decision.

• Compilers which use HTML documents as their source. Some rely on the viewer having a particular browser (usually Microsoft Internet Explorer) installed. Others have their own display engines - see details below.
• PDF compilers. They produce eBooks which need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view
• Compilers which compile other document formats. Bit old-fashioned now, but there are still some around.

HTML compilers

These convert HTML files (i.e. website files) into a format which can be viewed in a web browser.

Having some experience in producing web pages is an advantage if you use this type of compiler, but you can, at a pinch, use the "Save as Web Page" or "Save as HTML" options that many word processors have. And many web authoring programs make it relatively easy to produce web pages.

HTML compilers have these advantages:

• The software is usually easy to use
• You can easily edit the pages and re-compile your eBook. This is useful if your information needs frequent updating.
• You can easily use your existing website pages - or use your eBook pages for a website
• Software tends to be relatively inexpensive (although I have seen prices range from less than $US30 to several hundred dollars).
• You can use the interactive features of web pages, such as JavaScript.

Generally speaking, you produce a separate HTML file for each page of your eBook. The compiler then produces a single file, which is easy to distribute.

There are three main types of HTML comilers:

• Ones which use Microsoft's Internet Explorer's ("MSIE") own display engine. These rely on the reader having MSIE (usually version 4 or higher) installed on their PC, which probably covers 80% - 90% of all PC owners.

  This approach means that your eBook can have all the enhancements that fairly advanced web pages have. And, of course, MSIE is backed by high development resources, so you can be certain that your eBooks will have a regular upgrade path, irrespective of your compiler. A wide range of compilers from the least expensive (including Activ eBook) to high-priced comilers have gone down this route.

• Ones which have their own display engine. This approach probably adds another 5% to 10% to your portential readership, since everything that they need to run and view your eBook is contained in a single file. The file size can be a bit bigger than those using the MSIE viewer software, and you may be restricted as to web features you can add to your eBook. As MSIE develops, this gap is likely to widen, since eBook compilers probably won't be able to keep up.
  
  
• "Zip-up compilers". These cheap compilers are really just another form of the WinZip type of compression programs. They put all your eBook files into a single self-extracting executable file, which are then viewed (after extracting them) in the user's normal web browser. Not a very neat solution, as the reader has normally to create a separate folder just to hold all your eBook's files
  
  

"PDF" is a special file format designed by software company Adobe. Its main use is if you want to preserve the appearance of the original document as much as possible - say a complex word-processed document. You compile your files with the Adobe Acrobat software, which are then compiled into a file which can only be read by the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. This is a free 5Mb download, and it is installed already on many machines worldwide.

PDF eBooks can be read on both PC and Apple Mac computers, and a few other platforms as well. It's a good format if you expect your readers to want to be able to print out your eBook, and if you want to have absolute control over its layout.

But the Adobe Acrobat compiler is relatively expensive - over $US 200, and it is not easy to use if you want to take full advantage of all its features. And it's not a very good method if you want to continually update your eBook.

Read more about the Adobe Compiler - and buy it - from Amazon.com here:

Adobe Acrobat for Windows
Adobe Acrobat for Mackintosh

Other compilers

Some eBook compilers, usually the older ones, ignore the HTML format and compile text files or Rich Text Format files. They lack the interactivity of HTML compilers, and the sophistication of the PDF format. If all that you are doing is presenting plain text, in pages that are to be read sequentially, then these might do for you. But generally, this type has had its day.

However... there is massive interest in eBooks as a more general publishing format, and big bucks and even bigger corporations are taking an active interest in developing mass-market formats. This is not the place to go into these developments in detail, but if you are interested in the shape of publishing to come (maybe!), there's a lot of good info on this eBooks'n'Bytes page

Conclusions

Go for Activ eBook for a good, inexpensive (about $US 30) and easy-to-use eBook compiler. I really can't fault it.

If you do need to allow your readers to co-brand your eBook, thus exploiting the powerful viral marketing technique of distributing an eBook widely, then eBook Paper ($47) is your best choice.