Format an Ebook with Sigil

Sigil logo

by C. K. MacLeod

@CKMacleodwriter

Updated July 24, 2016: Sigil’s newest version has a different interface from the one you’ll see in this post. While Sigil is a great tool for the right price, I’ve begun to use Jutoh instead. Jutoh is better supported, and it allows me to create epubs and mobis.

It’s possible to build an ebook that’s straight fiction with a tool that many writers already have: Microsoft Word. But for more complex books with headings, endnotes, pictures, and other advanced style features, there’s a better way.

Sigil.

Sigil is a free, open-source epub editor that allows you to create an epub file that you can upload to most distributors (all but Amazon, actually). It’s surprisingly easy to use and if you’re at all interested in having more control over how your ebook looks, Sigil allows you to do a bit of tweaking under the hood.

Here’s how to get your book from Word into Sigil:

Quick Steps

  1. Open your book in Word (I use Word 2010). Go to File, Save As, and save your file as Plain Text (.txt). Select “Other coding” and choose UTF-8 encoding (you’ll need to scroll down in the menu), Click OK.
  2. Now that you’ve saved your document in a form that Sigil can read, copy and paste it from Word into the middle window in Sigil’s Book View.

You’ll find more information about how to begin with Sigil at the Beyond Paper blog.