I wrote an ebook for the Auto Pilot Cash Streams giveaway (as a reader of the blog, you can get it here without signing up for the giveaway: Link Cloaking 101).
It took a bit of research to figure out just how to create the PDF for the ebook, so I wanted to share the results of the research with you. That way, you won’t have to waste that time but can start writing your ebook quicker.
I decided to use Open Office rather than Microsoft Word, because Open Office has an export to PDF built into it. With Word, you have to install a printer driver, too. You can download Open Office and install it, or if you don’t want to install another program on your system, go to OpenOffice.org Portable to get a version that you just unzip and use.
The next step is to find a nice template to use. An ebook really should have some consistent graphics from page to page, not just be black text and white page. I used a template from the EZ Ebooks Template Package #5. It’s well worth the $4 for the templates so I didn’t have to fool with creating graphics myself (although I did end up needing to modify one of the images slightly, so it fit on the page better).
Note that the templates in the package are not templates in the Open Office sense. You don’t install them as templates and then create a new document using that template. Instead, you just open the template file like any other document, save it to a new file name, and then start typing in your contents. Each template has instructions in it if any of the images or anything needs to be modified before use. Pick a template you like the looks of, and get started writing!
When you’re all done with the ebook, use Open Office’s File->Export To PDF option to create a nice looking PDF from your document.
In later posts, I’ll go through the process of setting up your autoresponder, creating an opt-in form, and getting your PDF in the hands of your subscribers.
I am going to read your book. BTW thank you for sharing with us how to create the PDF for the e-book, this information may be useful for me. I am going to write my ebook soon.