Ready From Start Up

iBooks Author is available for download in the Mac App Store. After downloading the free application, you have the average agreements shown that you must agree to, then you are shown the Template Chooser, as shown above. This page is what you see every time you start up. You have a choice of six templates, all with an educational theme. Less emphasis is put on your previous projects, all confined to a drop down menu at the bottom left of the window. If you have an old iBooks Author project, for example a finished one, you can access it by going to Open an Existing File, and search for the book from there.

iBooks Author’s Interface

The application’s interface gives me many memories of other applications I have used on the Mac. iBooks Author just has that classic Mac app look that we know. This also means that navigation is easy to catch on. You have the top left area that allows you to add a page or section. You can then change the page orientation at the top, edit text, add graphics and graphs, add widgets, and even preview and publish the book by clicking one of the selections at the top. The far right section is where you can access more intricate editing, add photos and other media, as well as customize color and font.

The left side is where you can see the cover, add an introduction photo, and view Table of Contents. This is the point when things get a little confusing. Instead of seeing the Table of Contents of the whole book, you see it for the section. You also have a section for a glossary, showing the application’s emphasis on education. The bottom half of this side allows you to see the full layout of the book, per chapter and section. When focusing on interface, we notice that it’s quite easy to understand. Everything is based on drag and drop. There isn’t a loading time, for example, when I dragged a six minute long video. When you drag multiple photos, the application has blue alignment lines that allow you to align all photos together.

Additional Features

iBooks Author allows you to add widgets into your book. The widgets include photo galleries, videos, the ability to add interactive tests, a Keynote powerpoint, interactive and 3D images, as well as a custom widget through HTML. The widgets section is the feature that allows you to add components that distinguish classic paper textbooks from digital ones. There are many possibilities with using widgets. For example, photo galleries can make the text in your book come alive. Videos can offer a better way of showing the content than what text and even photos can. Interactive tests allow the reader to know if they correctly or incorrectly answered a question, in real time. You also can see interactive images as great for showing off a globe or maybe the anatomy of a body, where the reader can click certain sections and learn more. The possibilities are endless.

The Finished Product

After completing the book, you may want to preview the book on an iPad. Simply connect your iPad, launch the iBooks app, click Preview in the iBooks Author Mac app, select your device, and preview from there. Once done, you have three exporting options. The first option allows you to publish your book on iBookstore. This is where your book is available for mass download/purchase. You then have the ability to export through PDF. Lastly, the whole book can be saved in a text file.

Each option has their benefits and drawbacks. The benefits with iBookStore is that you can publish and sell your books quickly and started making money. The export to PDF option has your book available in a widely shareable format. On the other hand, publishing to the iBookstore means that your content is now partially in the hands of Apple, who get a cut in profits. This also means your book is under their regulations. The PDF option is nice, but you have an iBooks Author tag on each page. The text option is convenient, but interactive content won’t show up.

Our Conclusion

We all want or at least wanted as a child to be an author. iBooks Author has made it incredibly easy to do so. The ease of use will allow Apple to be the gateway for many aspiring authors, creating a new batch of educational content for all to enjoy. However, this ease does come with some drawbacks for the author. If you have read the user agreements (I bet you don’t), it stated clearly that you cannot make money from your book on any other site. This prevents you greatly. Very few well published books stay on just one site. Many are on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other sites. This won’t be possible through iBooks Author. However, if iBookstore is sufficient for you, then you will greatly enjoy the application’s ease of use and accessibility. Why aren’t these eTextbooks available on iPhone? Beyond me, maybe the extra screen real estate, however it won’t be far fetched to see this change soon.

iBooks Author for Mac: Download Link

It’s not like it was ever a bother to launch the apps to read the same material you have on your Kindle. It was never even a second thought until Amazon launched a new Cloud Reader web app that somehow makes the old app outdated. In addition, they launched a new Kindle Store web app to make shopping for ebooks even easier.

You can start off in this new experience by heading to the iPad-optimized Kindle Store page. Sure, you can get the same content at Amazon.com, but it’s doesn’t give you that same rich experience you’ve come to recognize from the iPad. Originally the Kindle app allowed you to buy new ebooks directly from the app, but they eliminated that option last year. Now you can once again have that rich experience, either on Safari or with a created app. It’s your choice.

You can begin this new experience by heading to the iPad-optimized Kindle Store page. Sure, you can get the same content at Amazon.com, but it’s doesn’t give you that same rich experience you’ve come to recognize from the iPad. Originally the Kindle app allowed you to buy new ebooks directly from the app, but they eliminated that option last year. Now you can once again have that rich experience, yet do so in in Safari.

This message lets you know that you might not have enough memory allocated to the web app. However, it guides you through the process of changing that and allowing more memory. Not that it’s a difficult process, as it just comes up with a message letting you know how much additional memory it will allocate, and asking if that’s okay.

Once enough memory is allocated to the web app, it opens up your Kindle library, assuming you have an existing Kindle account. Again, it’s optimized for the iPad, and scrolling through your entire Kindle library is a cinch. It’s now easy to switch back and forth from your library to the store, just as it was with the original app, as a link back to the store is provided in the upper right.

The text of your book is displayed in a very easy-to-read fashion leaving no distractions. Flipping through pages is made simple with swipes. Options are made possible with a long tap. This brings  up a menu across the top that includes bookmarks, and the pages are then indicated at the bottom. It tells you what page you are on and shows a percentage of how much of the book you have read. Sliding the bar left to right advances you through the book or returns you to earlier pages.

You can customize the experience to fit your own preferences and needs. The type size can be adjusted through five different sizes, and the background color can be changed from white to ivory to black. Forget your reading glasses? No problem; just set the type to extra large. When you have them again, return to the type to a smaller font size.

If you don’t like having to access the Cloud Reader and Kindle Store on Safari on your iPad, you can use the Sharing link in the Safari browser to make an app that will sit on your home screen. You can either make two separate apps or just one. You don’t’ have to be limited to just reading on your iPad, however. It’s still just as easy to switch back and forth reading your books on the iPad, iPhone, PC or Mac, and Kindle device, as the place you leave off reading is kept and synced. No matter which device you use to read your book the next time, it will  pick up where you left off.

Over the past few years, I have amassed a great collection of ebooks, albeit in pdf format. I have recently got myself a tablet and found that reading pdf ebooks on the device is a tiring task. While some of the ebooks are formatted properly, others come with 2/3 columns layout and moving from one section to another is rather distracting. Converting these pdf ebooks to epub/mobi format becomes an necessary task.

1. Calibre

Calibre has always been my favorite ebook manager. Without a doubt, it is also the best tool for converting your ebooks from one format to another. Calibre is available for Windows, Mac and Linux and it supports a variety of file formats, ranging from pdf to epub, html, mobi, txt, rtf, zip etc.

To convert an ebook from pdf to epub/mobi, first add the book to your Calibre library. Next click the Convert Books (you can choose to convert individually or to batch convert all your books in the library). Change the output format to either epub or mobi. Edit the metadata and cover image. Lastly, click the OK button.

2. Zamzar

If you want a quick solution to convert your pdf files and is not keen to install any software, Zamzar is the one for you. Zamzar is an online conversion tool that allows you to convert files from one format to another. It supports a variety of files format, ranging from images (jpg, bmp, gif, png), videos (mp4, avi, 3pg, ogg) to ebooks (chm, mobi, epub, pdf), and many more formats.

The usage is easy.

1. Go to Zamzar.com.

2. Upload the pdf file that you want to convert.

3. Select the output format (.mobi in this case).

4. Enter your email address.

5. Click Convert.

The converted file (download link) will be sent to your email address.

3. Online Convert

Online Convert is another online conversion tool that you can use. What makes it different is that you can select the device that you are converting the ebook for so it can format the ebook accordingly. In addition, you can change the ebook title, author, add border to the pages and change the input encoding. Also, you don’t have to leave your email address (for those who are worry of receiving spam). Once the conversion is done, you can download it immediately.

Conclusion

As with all conversion, the final format will not be exactly the same as the original format. For some pdf files that are properly formatted, you shouldn’t have problems with the converted ePub/mobi format. However, for some pdf with complicated or badly formatted layout, you might experience some formatting issue in the converted format.

What other ways do you use to convert your pdf files?

Image credit: BigStockPhoto

This app is by the same folks that run the McSweeney’s literary journal. The website explains it started in 1997 with the purpose of publishing only the literary works that were rejected by other magazines, but soon it became so known for this type of literature, that pieces were being written specifically for McSweeney’s. With a commitment to “finding new voice,” McSweeney’s has developed a following.

With the McSweeney’s app, it allows subscribers to keep up with all their favorite obscure literary work. The download is free, but it requires you to register at the website for a subscription. They give you the first month’s subscription for free to try out the service, but after that month, they’ll hit you up to start paying. Once you register, it notifies you that the subscription is different than the one required at the McSweeney’s website, but they are working on a way to combine the two.

In the McSweeney’s app, it offers you a few different items for free, and also allows you the chance to buy other literature direct from the McSweeney’s store. The store offers a selection of e-books from $.99 on up through $19.99. Clicking “Buy” pays for the app through your iTunes account. Once purchased, the content is included in the Library within the app.

The free content includes everything imaginable, from stories to comics to art to films, and it’s updated daily. This content includes Internet Tendency, a collection of articles from the website. This includes reviews, interviews, contests, and even first-person accounts, such as the one pictured below about one reporter’s trip to Afghanistan.

This content also includes Small Chair, a collection of stories, interviews, films, and more. The e-book pictured below is explained in the app as a “Small Chair Welcome-Mat Bonus Story.” This content from Small Chair is provided free in the first month, but is only allowed after that with a monthly subscription.

If you’re bored with the best-sellers being offered on the Kindle app, and can never seem to find what you want on iBooks, the unique content on the McSweeney’s app could be just what you’re looking for. If you’re away from home and your iPad, the app works just as well on your iPhone.

McSweeney’s App

For Kindle device

1. If you do not have an Amazon account, go to Amazon.com and create an account (skip this step if you already have an account).

2. Once you have registered an account, go to “Manage your Kindle” page and click the “Country Setting” at the left bottom corner.

3. Change your country to “United States”. If all you need is an account to purchase and download ebooks (and not buying physical product from Amazon), it is better to change your address to a US-based address. There are plenty of online services that can provide you with a free US-based address, just google for it. Personally I used USAddressInc.com.

4. Register your credit card detail. It doesn’t have to be a US-based credit card, as long as it is valid.

5. That’s it. You should be able to purchase ebooks from Kindle store now. Amazon does check the IP address from time to time, so when purchasing ebooks, it is best to connect to a US VPN. Bestfreevpn.com is one VPN service that you can use for free.

For Android devices

The problem with Android is that the Amazon Kindle app is not available in the market for devices located outside of United States. The best way is to search for the kindle apk app online and manually install it in your device. XDA developers forum would be the best place you want to visit for this.

Once you have downloaded and install the app, you can follow the steps above to purchase ebooks from the Kindle store.

For iOS devices

The only restriction here is your iTunes account. As long as your iTunes account is an US account, you will be able to download the Kindle app.

1. Follow the steps here to create an App Store account without a credit card. Remember to choose “United States” as the country.

2. Open your iTunes. Log out of your existing account and log in to this newly created account.

3. Search and install the Kindle app. Sync it with your iOS devices.

Purchasing ebooks from the Kindle app in iOS devices

Ever since Apple changed their in-app purchase policy, Amazon has also changed the way ebooks are purchased for the iOS Kindle app. For your info, you won’t be able to purchase ebooks directly from the app now.

To purchase/download ebooks:

1. Open your mobile Safari and go to the Kindle bookstore site.

2. Log in to the US account that you have created. Search for the books that you want to purchase/download.

3. Click the “Buy now with 1-click.” and select your iOS device in the “Deliver to” dropdown field.

4. When you are done with the purchase, you will see a button “Go to Kindle For iPad”. Click on it.

That’s it. Your Kindle app will launch and download the ebook to your collection.

Since buying the device last week, I have the chance to play around with the device and I have compiled a short list of tips and tricks that every Kindle user needs to know. These tips generally apply to the latest generation Kindle, however most of them work with the older versions as well.

Search and Indexing

Immediately after adding books to your Kindle you will notice that the battery meter drops very quickly. This is because after your books have been added to the Kindle, it will start indexing the text inside all the books. This is useful when you want to use the search feature. To check if the indexing has completed, search for a random word (e.g. “qwerty”) and you will see the number of items that are yet to be indexed.

In some cases you may notice that the indexing is stuck at a particular book. In this case you will have to reconnect the Kindle and re-transfer that particular book as it may have been corrupted during the earlier transfer.

Third-Party Apps

Calibre

The Kindle’s biggest failing is that it does not come with any companion software. However, Calibre attempts to fill this void by providing a multi-platform, feature-heavy eBook manager. We have already covered Calibre before, so I will not go into detail on what the software is capable of. Suffice to say, Calibre is the iTunes of eBook management.

Kindle Collection Manager

Another problem faced by Kindle users is the fact that the Kindle does not sort by folders. In fact it can only sort by “Author”, “Title”, “Most Recently Read”, and “Collections”. Collections are essentially custom tags that can be assigned to particular books. So, for example, you could have the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” in a Collection called “Crime” and in another Collection called “Fiction”.

While Calibre has a number of sorting methods, it does not have any way to manage the Collections on the Kindle. Fortunately, a member of MobileRead has taken it upon himself to develop the application Kindle Collection Manager. As the name suggests the sole purpose of this application is to sort the books on your Kindle into Collections.

Taking Screenshots on your Kindle

You will have noticed that I have a number of screenshots from my Kindle in this article.

To take screenshots on the Kindle simply hold the buttons “Alt + Shift + G” and the screen will flash momentarily. To retrieve your screenshots browse to the root directory of your Kindle and navigate to the “documents” folder. This folder contains all your saved books and the screenshots will be saved as GIF files.

Changing Your Default Country

Once you have registered your Kindle, you can manage your Kindle account through Amazon’s online portal.

If you live outside the United States you will find that some content (including certain books) which are unavailable to you. To get around this, you can simply change your country to the United States by adding a dummy billing address based in the United States.

Note: Erez from Download Squad has reported that Amazon is charging a higher price for its books for International users. Thus, no matter where you are from, it might be a good choice to set your country to United States.

Bonus: Games!

The Kindle is hardly a gaming platform but it does come with a few games and you can even download a couple more.

The Kindle comes built-in with Minesweeper which you can start by holding “Alt + Shift + M”. The controls are as follows:

• Up/Down/Left/Right: Cursor Keys
• Mark Mine: M
• Open Cell: Enter
• Restart: R

While in Minesweeper if you press the letter “G” you launch the game GoMoku. This is a variant of tic-tac-toe where you have to create a row of five crosses horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The controls are as follows:

• Up/Down/Left/Right: Cursor Keys
• Place X: Enter
• New Game: N
• Return to Minesweeper: M

Finally, you can also download Shuffled Row and Every Word for free from Amazon’s store.

Shuffled Row

Every Word

The above are the current tips and tricks that I have discovered. If you happen to know of any other useful Kindle tips let us know in the comments.

Illustrations

To insert an image in OpenOffice Writer, simply click “Insert->Picture->From File“.  Then, select the image that you want, and click OK.

By default, the text will wrap around  your picture. If you do not want this or want a different type of wrapping, right click on the picture and choose the appropriate wrap method from the wrap menu.

The next thing to consider is anchoring. By default, your image will be anchored to the paragraph.  That means that if text is inserted or delete above or below your paragraph, that picture will stay with the paragraph as it moves, even to another page. If your image is page-specific, you should right click, move your arrow to “Anchor” and click “To Page”.  You can also do all of this from the Graphics toolbar, if you have it enabled.

One final point to note is that your printing company may have specific requirements for images. Many will require an image to be 300ppi (pixels per inch). It is beyond the scope of this article to teach you about photo management, but you can read more about this issue.

Styles and Formatting

For most books, you will want the same font and font size throughout the entire book. You will also want the same indentation, margins, and other formatting. To begin, do the following:

1. Click on the Styles and Formatting button in the toolbar.

2. Right click on “First line indent” and click “New“. (That will create a style with indentation already set).

3. Give your style a name.

4. Click the Indents & Spacing tab. You can change the amount of indentation and line spacing (most books are single-spaced).

5. Click the Alignment tab. Most books have justified alignment.

6. Click the Text Flow tab.  Because your book will be justified, you will want hyphenation at the end to make the words flow nicely. Orphan and Widow control will keep single lines from ending up by themselves.

7. Click the “Font” tab and select the font, typeface, and size that you prefer. You can also select your language here.

8. Click the “Drop Caps” tab. If you want to display drop caps at the beginning of a paragraph, you can set that here.

Once you have your style the way you want it, click OK.  You will now have a style that you can apply to any text in your document.  By default, each paragraph will start with the previous style that you were using. You can even tweak that setting in the Organizer tab.

Exporting

Most professional printers will not accept Open Document Text (.odt) format. While that might change in the future, for now you will have to rely on other formats.  While some printers allow you to export to Microsoft Word document format, you should avoid this if you can.  Chances are, your styles and formatting will be altered in the conversion. The safest bet is to export in PDF or PS format.

OpenOffice.org has built-in support for PDF exporting.  Just follow these easy steps:

1. Click “File”

2. Click “Export as PDF”

3. Keep it on “Lossless compression”. You should leave the other settings as they are unless you have been specifically told to change something.

4. Click “Export”.

5. Choose a file name and location and click OK.

If you need to export a PostScript (PS) file, use this method:

1. Click “File” and “Print”

2. Check the “Print to file” box.

3. Click “Print”

4. Choose the location and file name.

5. Click OK.

With the skills you have learned in this series, you now have a basic understanding of book layout using OpenOffice.org.  There are other typsetting features, such as frames, that you may want to consider.  There are also typesetting applications like Scribus for more layout-intensive projects (such as magazines).  Depending on what you want to accomplish, there are free software tools available for your needs.  In the end you will have quality work at an affordable cost.

Further reading:

Positioning graphics within the text

Using frames for page layout

There are a couple of things you should consider before proceeding:

1. If you are submitting your book to a publisher, they normally do not expect you to format the book or do any typesetting. That is their job. They just want the raw manuscript. In some cases, they may even insist that you use a particular generic font and not change default margins. Make sure you read their submission guidelines.

2. One of our readers mentioned that he usually formats his books after he finishes writing. This is undoubtedly the best method in most cases. What we created in Part 1 was a basic template that you can use without any further formatting needed before you start writing. Furthermore, if you are working for the publisher or are the publisher, the author might be someone else. In that case, you will take his or her text and prepare it.

Page Numbers

Basic page numbering is very easy in OpenOffice.org.  Just click Insert->Footer, and then click Insert->Fields->Page Number.  You can then left, center, or right align it. What that will give you is a page number at the bottom of every page (or at the top if you choose “Header” instead of footer).

In most non-fiction books, however, the page numbers are right aligned on the recto and left aligned on the verso. The result is that page numbers are always on the farthest ends of the pages away from the spine. The second problem to tackle is that page numbers normally start with the text, whereas the default numbering will start with your title page. This is where OpenOffice.org’s sophistication comes in handy. While it is easy to add page numbers, the available variations are extensive.

As I mentioned above, this particular part of layout is something that you must do after the book is completely finished, edited, reviewed, and ready for printing. Otherwise, you will most likely be wasting your time and will have to go back and make changes.

1. There are three page layout buttons at the bottom of your window. The first shows you one page at a time. The second shows you pages side-by-side, and the third specifically shows you mirrored pages like that of a book.  Click the third, and you should now have the title page by itself and then two pages mirrored throughout the rest of the document.

2. Count the pages preceding your first page of text. In my example, I have six.

3. Insert a header or footer. All of your page-number work will be performed there.

4. Go to your first page of text before proceeding so that you can see the results. Then,  click Insert->Fields->Other.

5. Under Type, select Page, leave it on Page numbers, and As Page Style.

6. This is the important part.  Under Offset enter the number of pages you just counted with a negative sign in front of it. In my example, I entered “-6″.

7. Click Insert. If your first page of text now has the number 1, you are good to go. If not, undo and recount until you are satisfied.

8. When you are satisfied, click Close.

9. Click on Format->Page.

10. Choose the Header or Footer tab, and un-check “Same content left/right“.

11. Click “OK” and scroll down to pages 2 and 3.

12. Highlight the number “3″ and right align it. Page 2 should still be left aligned.

Now all of your pages should alternate their page numbers properly. There is an alternative method of accomplishing this same task. You can read about both methods here.

Paragraph Styles

Another beautiful feature of OpenOffice.org is its extensive use of page and paragraph styles. You can even create styles for specific characters. Click on the “Styles and Formatting” button or simply press F11, and you will see a sidebar with all of the currently available paragraph styles. You can create a style and format it however you see fit. To begin with a style that is already created, right click on it and then click “New”. This will copy that style and allow you to build from it.

This is where you can control indentation, line spacing, alignment (which you will most like want to justify), text flow (books usually hyphenate at the end of lines), fonts, and much more. It is completely up to you or whoever is setting publication guidelines for you.

Give your style a name and select the “Next Style” drop-down menu. This allows you to identify which style the next paragraph will use. You could conceivably have two alternating styles or just the same style automatically applied whenever you start a new paragraph.

I have made a document with everything I have done available for download so that you can actually see and play with my changes. In Part 3, we will cover illustrations, more in-depth style techniques, and export formats.