How to Format an Ebook the Simple Way

Word iconby C. K. MacLeod

@CKmacleodwriter

One of the easiest ways to format an ebook is to begin with the tool you probably already have—Microsoft Word. 

I know, I know. HTML & CSS enthusiasts and InDesign evangelists everywhere have just engaged in a collective shudder. 

But hear me out. Not all self-pubs have access to expensive design software or the time or interest for the required learning curve. Many of them do have access to Microsoft Word, though. Why not begin where they’re at? That’s what Joel Friedlander and Aaron Shepard have done. You’re welcome to take it up with them. wink

So, having gotten that out of the way, if your manuscript is in Microsoft Word, there are several things you can do to ensure a smoother transition from Word to ebook. Your first step is to clean up your book in Word. Here’s what you need to do:

Quick-Steps

  1. Remove headers, footers, and page numbers.
  2. Remove underlining in headings.
  3. Remove footnotes.
  4. Remove two spaces after end punctuation.
  5. Remove manual tabs and spaces.
  6. Remove text boxes.
  7. Remove tables formatted in Word. Reinsert them as images instead.
  8. Avoid using the list buttons on the ribbon to create bulleted and numbered lists.
  9. Choose photos over clip-art.
  10. Decide if you need an index.
  11. Use italics to emphasize words—but sparingly.

Read more at the Beyond Paper blog.

2 Ways to Read an Epub on a Tablet

Google Play Books iconSo, you bought an ebook from a distributor other than Amazon, and you want to read it on your tablet* or smartphone. How do you do that?

Ebooks that you buy or download for free from Kobo, Lulu, Nook, Google Play, and the Apple iBookstore are delivered to you in epub format. So you’ll need an app that can read epubs.

Kobo, the Apple iBookstore, and Nook have apps that you can install on your tablet to read their books. You’ll be able access books purchased from these sites by just opening their apps on your tablet.

Alternative Apps

But what if you’ve downloaded or bought an epub from Smashwords or Lulu? They don’t have designated tablet or smartphone apps that you can use.

You’ll first need to download the epub file to your computer from the Smashwords or Lulu site. You can then read the epub file with one of these two apps:

Both of these apps are platform agnostic, meaning that you can read any epub on them, provided the epub doesn’t have DRM applied to it.

However, how you get a book into each app on your tablet is different:

Google Play Books Quick Steps

  1. Download the Google Play Books app onto your tablet or smartphone.
  2. Open the app on your computer (go to the Google Play store to find it) and then upload the file from your computer into the app. The computer app and tablet app will sync.
  3. Open your the Google Play Books app on your tablet and you should see the book you just uploaded.

Bluefire Reader Quick Steps

  1. Download the Bluefire Reader onto your tablet or smartphone.
  2. Upload the book file to a file storage site, like Dropbox.
  3. Open the Dropbox app on your tablet and then tap on the book file you just uploaded to Dropbox. Your tablet should direct you to an app that can read the book file. Now that you’ve downloaded Bluefire Reader onto your tablet, it should be one of the choices. Tap the Bluefire app to to open the book.

Google Play Books and Bluefire Reader are simple e-reading apps, with not too many features — but that just might be what you’re looking for.

*The instructions in this post work for an Android tablet. You many have to experiment a little if you have an iPad. If you’re an iPad user, let me know if there are differences I should know about.

How to Read an Ebook

by C.K. MacLeod

EbookPbook

If you want to publish an ebook, you should probably read ebooks. This post will get you started.

  1. Set up an account with an ebook distributor or retailer if you don’t already have one. Accounts are free.  Some options are
  • Amazon
  • Apple iBooks
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Kobo
  • Lulu
  • Smashwords

2.  Choose how you will read your ebook. You can read your ebook on a

  • computer
  • designated e-reading device (Kindle, Nook, Kobo)
  • hand-held device (iPod/iPhone, Android phone)
  • tablet (iPad, Android)
  1. Choose a book to read.  Each of the distribution sites listed above will have free ebooks. Authors will often offer the first book in a series for free as a way of building a readership.

  2. Download your book. You have a few options here. If you’re reading on a designated e-reading device, you can download the book to your computer and transfer it to your e-reading device with the USB cable that came with it. Or, you can simply download the ebook directly to your device if you have wifi and your device is wifi enabled. If you’re reading on anything other than a designated e-reading device, go to Step 5 and download an e-reading app.

  3. Download an e-reading app. Use the table below to help you decide if your e-reader needs an app. Search your ebook distributor site to find the app you need.

E-reader Need an app?
Computer Yes
iPod Yes
Kindle No
Kobo No
Nook No
Smartphone Yes
Tablet Yes
  1. Open your ebook with the recommended app.

Image by Maria Elena

Retrieving a Backup File in Scrivener

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by C.K. MacLeod

Can’t open your Scrivener book file?

Not all is lost. Here’s how to troubleshoot this problem.

Check for Updates

Lots of tech glitches can be solved by ensuring that your software is up to date. I use Scrivener for Windows, so to check for updates I go to Help, Check for Updates. Update your software and see if you can open your Scrivener file now. If you can’t, it’s possible that your file is corrupted, which means you’ll need to retrieve a backup of that file.

Where’s my backup file?

Scrivener can be set up to automatically back up your file to a location of your choice. I have Scrivener set to back up to Dropbox (which is in the cloud), but I can just as easily have it set to back up to a folder on my computer’s hard drive, or to an external hard drive or memory stick.

If you have Scrivener set to automatic backup, your file will exist somewhere. Your first job will be to find out where your backup files are being stored.

Here’s how:

For the Windows version of Scrivener, go to Tools, Options, Backup. For Mac, go to Scrivener, Preference, Backup. You should see the directory in which your files are being saved:

Scriv backup

You can see that my files are set to back up to Dropbox. Once you know where your file is being stored, you can follow the path to retrieve it.

Open Your Backup File

Your next step is to open your backup file.

Note: Scrivener backup files are often saved as .zip files, which means they’ve been compressed to save space. You’ll need to unzip that file before you can open it.

In Windows, I can right-click on a .zip file and then click on Extract All. For a Mac, you’ll need to download software that will unzip your file. Mac user and Scrivener Coach Joseph Michael recommends Unarchiver.

Once the file is unzipped, I find the file with the .scriv extension and then double click on it to open it in Scrivener. You’re now ready to resume writing.

Not being able to open a book file that you’ve worked hard on is a terrifying thing. Scrivener’s automatic backup feature can offer you some extra insurance.

Image by Carlos Luz

Ebooks Made Easy: Word to Jutoh in 10 Steps

Jutoh Ebook Editorby C.K. MacLeod

Updated. Originally posted at Beyond Paper Editing.

Have you discovered Jutoh? Jutoh is an elegant and inexpensive piece of software ($39 USD) that allows you to convert Word docx files or ODT files to epub and mobi ebook formats.

Jutoh will work for fiction that’s mostly straight text, but it will also handle nonfiction texts with

  • pictures
  • headings
  • bulleted and numbered lists, and
  • internal and external hyperlinks

Word to Jutoh Workflow

Below is my Word-to-Jutoh workflow. Unless otherwise stated, I perform most of these steps in Word 2010.

1. Tag any special formatting that you’d like to retain, such as headings, italicized and boldface words, and hyperlinks. JW Manus suggests a system for tagging special formatting. Use what works for you. The idea is that you want to be able to search and replace for these items later.

2. Nuke your Word doc. Word is infamous for creating formatting gremlins that can show up in your ebook. Zap ’em. Copy your entire book into Notepad (comes with Windows) or another text editor and paste it into a brand new Word document. I then execute a Clear All from the Word Styles menu for good measure.

A bit much? Maybe. But I’ve noticed that a nuke doesn’t always remove hidden fonts. How do I know? CrossEyes (free for PC users) helps me to see what lies beneath…

3. Clean up any extra uses of the space bar and Enter key, such as extra spaces between words and after end punctuation, or extra paragraph spaces. Clean up tabs, too. You can use a copyeditor’s trick and do this automatically by using tools like the Editorium’s File Cleaner or the Wiley Publishing Cleanup Tool (free). You can also use Word’s Find and Replace feature to clean up extra tabs and spaces.

4. Set heading and paragraph styles in Word. If you want to use an indented paragraph style, be sure to set your indents in your paragraph style. Use fonts that are ebook-friendly and copyright free. Times New Roman is always a safe bet. Remember, readers can adjust fonts on their e-readersyou want to choose a font that plays nicely with conversion software.

5. Resize images in an image editor. I use Paint.NET, but GIMP is another good free option. Check your distributor (Amazonor Lulu, for example) for image width and height restrictions.

6. Insert images into your Word file (Insert, Image). Images can really increase your file size so you may need to compress them. You can compress them in your image editor by setting the image quality to 75%.

7. Insert external, or off-book hyperlinks where you’ve tagged them. Shorten links using a link shortening service, like bit.ly or Pretty Link. Shortened links have a better chance of surviving your chosen distributor’s converter.

8. Address any cross-references, or internal hyperlinks in your book using Word’s bookmark feature. If you forget to do this in Word, you can use Jutoh’s indexing feature.

9. Page through your document with with the Show/Hide feature activated (Pilcrow). Look for any extra spaces you may have missed (or re-introducedit happens).

10. Export your file to Jutoh. If you’ve carefully formatted your document in Word, your file will export almost seamlessly, with styles, images, and hyperlinks attached. Tip: some font styles won’t export. If you use the ebook-friendly fonts recommended by the Jutoh manual, your fonts will transfer over.

Jutoh is designed to play nicely with Word. If you follow good ebook formatting practices in Word, your book file will convert seamlessly.

A New Kind of Mouse for Writers

By C.K. MacLeod

Genius Pen Mouse
Genius Pen Mouse

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) can be caused by too much mousing. You can reduce the amount of mousing you do by using keyboard shortcuts, but sometimes it also makes sense to change the way you mouse.

Switch Hands

My editing colleague, Adrienne Montgomerie, suggested I try mousing with my left hand. While that first day of mousing with my left hand was horribly inefficient, it did take the strain off my right hand. Sometimes, though, with the work I do, I need to be precise and controlled with my mouse movements (something my left hand cannot yet do), so I still need to use my right hand, at least some of the time.

Try New Hardware

If you change your hardware, you can change your hand position. So I set off in search of a different kind of mouse, and discovered the Genius Pen Mouse. It’s not a traditional mouse—the kind you palm—but it’s one you hold like a pen.

Initial Concerns

I’ll admit it, I had some reservations about switching my mouse. Could my fingers and brain adapt? The reviews of the Genius Pen Mouse were mixed, and I wondered if I’d be bothered by having to put down and pick up my mouse each time I wanted to use it. For $40 (and prompted by my throbbing wrist), I decided to give it a try.

Pleasantly Surprised

When the pen mouse arrived (start viewing this video at the three-minute mark), it took me about ten minutes to set it up and learn how to use it.The instructions were clear and to the point, and the onscreen prompts were helpful.

It took a bit more time to get my fingers to coordinate the movements for right-clicking and scrolling (left-click is a breeze), and after two days of practice, I’m still developing the finger dexterity required to master the right-click. (If you’ve studied piano, you’ll know what it’s like to develop finger dexterity for specific movements). But I’m of the opinion that anything worth learning takes a bit of time and commitment.

Tip: Still can’t master that right click? Another way to right click is to hold down the Ctrl key while you execute a single click.

Oh… and picking up and putting down the mouse didn’t bother me at all.

Overall Impressions

My overall impressions? The Genius Pen Mouse is surprisingly precise and easy to control. I think it’ll be particularly helpful for proofreaders who do PDF mark-ups because you have more control with it than a traditional mouse. It appears to be sturdy, and the price is fair.

In terms of helping with repetitive strain injury: changing hand positions is always a good idea. There’s no doubt that I could develop hand strain with this mouse, too, but if I switch between my right and left hand (you can do this with the pen mouse), and switch my hardware to mix things up, I have yet another strategy for reducing hand and wrist strain.

Have you tried something other than a traditional mouse?

A Self-Editing Toolkit

Toolkit

by C.K. MacLeod

Editors use a wide variety of tech tools to improve writing and to create a consistent reading experience for the reader. Below is a list of tools in many a professional editor’s toolkit. Writers can use these tools, too.

Many of these tools will take of bit of time to learn and use, but the initial investment of time can pay dividends later. Other tools are quick to assimilate into a writing and self-editing workflow. I’ve marked those with an asterisk (*). Give these tools a try, and bring out your inner editor!

Microsoft Word

The current best tool for editing, mostly because it has a variety of robust built-in tools, and it can run useful editing macros and plug-ins (see below).

Word’s Built-in Editing Tools

FileCleaner* (free trial)

Cleans up formatting mishaps such as extra spaces between paragraphs and sentences, changes two hyphens to em dashes, and much more, all with a click. Runs as a Word plug-in. This tool and other editing tools are created by Jack Lyon at the Editorium. Lyon is currently in the process of developing his tools for Mac users. Check his website for details.

Wiley Publishing offers a free clean-up tool* with some similar features to those found in FileCleaner.

PerfectIt*

A consistency checker that checks for typos that spell check won’t catch, and helps you determine if you’ve made consistent style decisions (e.g. spelled a word the same way) throughout your document. For PCs only. The full version is a Word plug-in, and a free lite version, called Consistency Checker* by Intelligent Editing, is available as an Add-on through Google Docs.

EditTools (free trial)

Combines 25 macros into one customizable tool. Created by Rich Adin. Recommended by editor Ruth Thaler-Carter.

Phrase Express (free for personal use)

Corrects typos in all applications, and automatically keys in phrases that you tend to use a lot. It prevents you from keying in phrases and unwieldy terms again and again. I learned about this tool from editor Hilary Cadman.

Bibme (free)

Helps you build your reference list and saves you hours of time by styling your references correctly. This tool works best if you use it while writing your book.

Word 2010 also has a powerful reference-building feature. You can access it in the References tab, Citations & Bibliography area.

ReferenceChecker

Checks that references and citations match up—particularly helpful if you’ve written a nonfiction book for print. This tool helps you to sort out your references after you’ve written your book.

Writing Macros* (free)

A list of writing macros that we’ve been experimenting with at Beyond Paper. Run them in Microsoft Word. Do macros scare you? This free 20-minute macro course will get you using macros in no time.

CrossEyes*

A reveal codes-type tool that helps you see the formatting that lurks in a document’s background. This is particularly helpful for solving mysterious formatting problems that arise while formatting an ebook.

Computer Tools for Editors (free)

An instructional book with a variety of macros designed to handle all sorts of editing challenges. FRedit is one worth trying. Created by Paul Beverley.

Copyscape

A plagiarism checker. Your content is your own, right? Run it through this tool to see if you’ve wandered too close to the line.

Adobe Reader XI

A PDF mark-up tool for proofreading a print PDF before it’s printed. Some editors use Adobe Acrobat Pro, but I’ve found that Adobe Reader XI and PDF XChangeViewer (both free) do the trick. Adobe XI is available as a tablet app, and iAnnotate is also useful for proofreading on a tablet. See this post for PDF mark-up in action.

Proofreading Stamps (free)

Used with with Adobe Reader XI or PDF XChange Viewer. Proofreader Louise Harnby has designed proofreading stamps for British English and Wiley Publishing offers a free set of American English stamps.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary online* (free and subscription)

To check spelling, definitions, and word breaks. Many editors use the online version, but the tablet app’s voice look-up makes it much faster to look up a word. The app is available for Android and iPad.

Link Checker for Microsoft Word (free trial)

Helps you to efficiently check the validity of ebook hyperlinks. You can also export a list of all the links in your book to a spreadsheet.

Editor Ken Endicott has a designed a series of free Microsoft Word utilities, one of which will help you to check the validity of your links.

Editors, do you have a favourite tool that I’m missing? Feel free to add it to the comments below.

Image by zzpza

How to Make Word Behave Like Scrivener

2775952906_5ba8ce091f_mby C. K. MacLeod

@CKmacleodwriter

There’s been much to-do about Scrivener lately. And for good reason. Scrivener appears to be able to solve some problems that traditional word processing software hasn’t been able to adequately address.

One of Scrivener’s strengths, its Binder feature, allows writers to manage and keep track of sections of a book-length work rather easily.

ScrivenerBinderWhat many writers don’t know is that Microsoft Word 2010 has a similar feature: the Navigation Pane.

Word’s Nav Pane isn’t ready-to-use when you first open Word, but a few simple tweaks can get it working for you:

Quick Steps

  1. Open Word. Sketch out your book outline by listing chapter titles, scenes, plot points, or story beats.
  2. Using Word’s Style menu, apply a heading style to each item in your outline.

Word 2010 Styles menu3. Open the Navigation Pane in Word by using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + F and clicking on the left tab in the Nav Pane. This is Word’s answer to Scrivener’s Binder.

WordNavigationpane4. Click on entries in the Nav Pane to navigate the document, and when you’re feeling wild and crazy, move them around. Moving entries in the Nav Pane results in moving sections around in your running document.

In sum, by setting up the Nav Pane, you’ve essentially set up Word to behave like Scrivener’s Binder.

There are ways to tweak Word so that it serves you better. Learning how to use the Navigation Pane will make book-length works easier to manage.

For further discussion on setting up Word’s Nav Pane, read more at the Beyond Paper blog.

4 Ways to Customize Word for Writing and Editing

Customized sneakers

by C.K. MacLeod

You can customize Microsoft Word* so that it’s more efficient for writing, editing, and self-publishing. Here’s how:

1. Turn off AutoFormatting.

Out of the box (or with a fresh download), Word attempts to be helpful. Only it isn’t. Unless you change its native settings, it will format your writing in unintended ways. For example, Word may misinterpret a keystroke and insert a bulleted list or table where you don’t want one, or capitalize a word that’s meant to be lowercase.

Word’s AutoFormatting feature is to blame for these shenanigans.

To turn off AutoFormatting, go to File, Options, Proofing, Autocorrection and uncheck most of the options in the AutoFormat and AutoFormatAsYouType tabs. In the AutoCorrect tab, uncheck the box next to Replace text as you type.

Word autoformat window
Word’s AutoFormat window

Tip: It’s best to insert symbols, such as a copyright symbol, into your writing manually. You can do that by going to the Insert tab, selecting Symbol, and choosing the symbol you wish to insert.

2. Turn off grammar check.

If you’re a native speaker of English, your knowledge of grammar will be better than Word’s. Guaranteed. Don’t let Word tell you otherwise.

To turn off grammar check, go to File, Options, Proofing, and uncheck both of these items: Mark grammar errors as you type and Check grammar with spelling.

No more squiggly green lines under sections of your text. You’re welcome.

3. Turn on the Navigation Pane.

Word’s Navigation Pane can can help you to move around sections of your book easily. This is especially helpful during the revision stage of writing (Scrivener users who are familiar with Scrivener’s Binder will attest to the value of this function).

Word's Navigation Pane

Ctrl + F opens the Navigation Pane. It isn’t ready-to-use when you first open it, but if you know how to apply heading styles as you write, you’ll be able to harness the power of the Nav pane. This article offers some how-tos.

4. Install editing add-ins.

You can buy add-ins that are designed to work in Microsoft Word. Some add-ins can automate many editing and document clean-up tasks. These add-ins can help you polish your writing and get your manuscript ready for print and ebook formats:

Clean-Up Tools

These tools allow you to remove tabs, spaces, paragraph returns and styles not in use in your document and more—with a few key strokes.

Self-Editing Tools

There are many ways to customize Word. These four tweaks can turn Word into a writer’s tool.

Note: *I use Word 2010. Instructions for your version of Word might be slightly different.

Image by woodleywonderworks

Scrivener Cheat Sheet (Downloadable)

Scrivener

by C.K. MacLeod

@CKmacleodwriter

Scrivener is a wonderful tool for writing and producing book-length works. It allows you to

  • move chunks of text around with ease
  • organize research notes, references, and even notes to yourself—in the same project file
  • convert your book to ebook, web, and print formats

Help for Beginners

When you first open the program, though, it can seem a little confusing. This downloadable cheat sheet will help you to begin using Scrivener right now. Print it and stick it on the wall next to your computer.

You’ll notice that I’ve listed the commands associated with the more common “writing moves” and grouped items by stages of the writing process.

Did I miss a Scrivener move in my cheat sheet? Feel free to leave a comment below.

A version of this post was originally posted at the Beyond Paper blog.

Image by Alan Reyes