eBook Software Generator (eBookGold e-book publisher)

PREPARING YOUR BOOK FOR EBOOKGOLD
:: Converting to HTML and Linking Pages ::

eBookGold 3 is a step by step HTML e-book compiler. It allows you to convert unlimited HTML files and pictures into a deliverable e-book format, with best in class security features.

So why use eBookGold versus a product like Adobe Acrobat's PDF files? PDF files require the end user to download a viewer. eBookGold files are viewable on any Windows 95/98/ME/2K/XP computer. No additional viewer is necessary! PDF files offer limited or no security, so once your file is delivered it can be copied to any number of people.

With eBookGold you have the option to distribute your e-book freely, but you also have advanced security features available! You can password protect your file, and you can even lock your e-book to a single user's computer so it can not be copied! You can even secure individual parts of your e-book, and after an online sale, automatically provide a PIN code which will allow the reader to unlock their copy!

Because eBookGold utilizes HTML, the options to customize your book are limitless. You can embed Flash animations, java script, movies, audio and much, much more.

A few notes before you get started

All of the material covered in this guide IS NOT SUPPORTED BY EBOOKGOLD'S TECHNICAL SUPPORT. We do not provide HTML assistance. It's up to you to have your book prepared and ready to go in HTML format. We're presenting this guide so that even beginner users can produce a great looking product.

So what should I do before I run eBookGold?

Here's the process you should follow in preparing your final product. If the next few steps sound quick, DON'T PANIC! These will all be explained in more detail, but this will give you an idea of the steps involved. It's very easy!

Come up with a great idea! Well, unfortunately we can't help you with this one. We'll assume for the time being you've already come up with something you want to market and distribute as an e-book.
Get it on the computer! Put the coffee on, and dust off the keyboard. Use whatever program you're comfortable with to write your e-book. Don't be too concerned over formatting. Just get the information down. You can format your text more when you get to the HTML stage. If you're adding pictures, wait until the next step when you organize your book into HTML format.

Put it into HTML format. The language of the Internet!
Start by making a folder to keep all of your files in. eBookGold will compile all of the files (HTML, pictures and media) within ONE folder. All sub-folders will also be included.
Copy all of the pictures and files you will be using in your e-book into this folder.
Make an index file. This would be the table of Contents for your book.
Divide your book into separate HTML files. Use your index file as a guide line. For example, put each chapter you've outlined into it's own file.
Add any pictures and formatting you want to include (that are in your e-book folder) as you are separating your chapters into their own HTML files.
Link your book together. Start with your index file and use hyperlinks to connect all the separate files you've created. The goal is to make navigating your book as easy as possible. You should also add a few links inside each of the chapter files to go to the next chapter, back to the previous one, and home to the index.
Compile your e-book folder with eBookGold 3!

For users who know HTML or who have created a web site before, this process can be summed up in one paragraph. Turn your entire e-book into a mini web site. Put everything in one folder (html and graphics). Make an index.html file to use as your table of contents "home page" and hyperlink all the chapters you've listed to their own html files (i.e., chapter1.html, chapter2.html, etc). As you insert your text in the chapter files, add your pictures, setup tables, etc. For better navigation include links to the next html file, previous html file and back to the index file. Run EbookGold 3, and point it to your e-book folder. Select a "HOME" page to start from (your index.html), and then go through each of the steps to select your custom options and choose your security type. eBookGold will compile all of your files into an intelligent and secure file, ready for you to sell or distribute!!

Come up with a Great Idea!	Let's assume you've written your whole e-book and it's saved in a file with your favourite word processor, be it Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, OpenOffice.org, or even Window's Notepad. Have a copy of it open. We'll use it to copy and paste all of your text into HTML files.
TIP	If you don't have a good Word Processor, take a look at OpenOffice which can be downloaded freely for public use. For more information, visit: http://www.openoffice.org/
Get it on the Computer!	This is the most important stage of developing your e-book (other than writing it). The more time you spend organising your information at this stage, the better your E-book will look and function. It is HIGHLY recommended that you use a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) HTML editor. What does that mean? Quite simply, it means that as you're making your HTML files, what you're seeing on the screen, is exactly what you're final output will be. Using a WYSIWYG editor will allow you to get your information into HTML very quickly. For most users, the HTML editor will function exactly like your favourite word processor.
TIP	Many popular word processors like Word, WordPerfect and OpenOffice can save directly into HTML format. However, these programs can sometimes leave residual non-HTML code in the files, which is why we recommend using an actual HTML program.
	When saving a file with Microsoft Word, you can change your file type to "Web Page" and save it as "filename.html" The "Web Page, Filtered" option in Word 2003 tries to clean up some of the non-HTML code left over.
KEY	Even though your book may already be in Microsoft Word, and you can successfully save it to HTML format, you STILL have to create a separate index file and use it to link all of your chapters together!! This is key!! eBookGold does not sort the HTML files automatically, and you must insert links to go from one section to another. But don't worry, it's easy, and we'll show you how in a moment!
Put it in HTML!	It is possible to create your files by entering the HTML code manually, using something as simple as Window's NOTEPAD program. If you would like to try your hand at this, tips-tricks.com has a great HTML code primer called "The Easiest HTML Guide For Beginners". This however is NOT recommended for true beginners. http://tips-tricks.com Most users will find using a WYSIWYG program much easier. A good example is Microsoft Front Page. It's included with many versions of the Microsoft Office suite. http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage There is an online WYSIWYG HTML editor called easyHTMLarea which operates from within your Internet Explorer window, but allows to to save changes and link to other files and pictures on your own hard disk. Please note that depending on your browser and security settings, you may have to adjust your permissions. Read the web site carefully. http://fslactivities.sd61.bc.ca/ezHTMLarea/
TIP	Note that most FREEWARE or TRIAL versions of WYSIWYG HTML Editors leave a "created for free with..." stamp on your HTML files that will be seen by your reader. This also applies to easyHTMLarea! If you don't mind giving credit where credit is due, then go ahead, but a good HTML Editor is a wise investment.
Get Organised - Start by Making a Folder	Start by making a folder to keep all of your files in. This will include any HTML, pictures or media you want to include. When eBookGold compiles your e-book, it will include all the files inside this folder, including any sub-folders. If you only have a few pictures, you can keep them in the main folder along with your HTML. If you have a lot of pictures, you can make a sub-folder such as pics. You can also sort your pictures into sub-folders for each of your chapters or sections. (i.e. chap1, chap2, etc.)
	For the purposes of this guide, we will be using a folder called mybook to keep all our HTML files in, with one subfolder for pictures called pics. Below is a slightly more advanced layout, where mybook will be used to keep the Table of Contents index file, and each chapter will have a sub-folder for it's HTML, and also another sub-folder called pics for only the pictures contained within that chapter.
Copy Your Pictures into Your E-book Folder	Copy all of your pictures into their respective folders. Try to use simple names with no spaces, and avoid using .bmp (bitmap) files which are not compressed and will inflate the size of your book. Opt for .jpg files. Use a graphics program like Photoshop, Paintshop Pro over even the Windows Paint tool. Convert your images to smaller .jpg (j-peg) files and crop out everything you don't need. In our example, we are using five images. Four are small clip-arts we'll include within our text, and one is a larger photo we will link to as a full screen image.
Make an Index File	Now we'll begin separating our written book into HTML files. The first and possibly the most important is your index file. Your index.html file will act as your Table of Contents. It will be the link to all other parts of your e-book and the first page your viewer will see. Spend some time making this page as functional as possible.
NOTE	We'll use the free easyHTMLarea utility mentioned earlier for most of our following screenshots. Menus and terminology for adding objects and links will vary depending on the WYSIWYG HTML editor you choose.

	Here we created a very simple table of contents. You could copy and paste your table of contents from your written e-book here.
TIP	In most HTML Editors, pressing ENTER will go down two lines and start a new paragraph. To make smaller spaces between lines, try pressing SHIFT-ENTER.

	Save this file as index.html in your main e-book directory.
TIP	Depending on your HTML Editor, your files may be saved as .html or .htm There's really no difference, but we suggest sticking with one or the other. When you start linking the sections of your e-book together, this will help to make sure all your links work ok.

Make Your Chapters into Separate HTML Files	Now we'll start a new page, and create the chapters of our e-book using the same procedure.

	Here we've pasted in our text for chapter one. At the top and the bottom, we've added three words for navigating through our book. We'll add links to them shortly.
TIP	You can use any text for navigating your book, and even make links anywhere throughout your book to any other part. Once you get the hang of making links, you find all kinds of ways to use them. And adding pictures (which we'll get to in a few steps) is almost the same! Then you can replace navigation text with clip-arts (i.e. arrows), and add links to them too!
Add Your Pictures, Formatting and Content	As we copy and paste our text into separate chapter HTML files, we'll add pictures and clipart.

	We choose an area where we want to insert a clipart, and easyHTMLarea lets us "right-click" or click the "image box" at the top of the screen to add a clipart. This is the same for most editors, but the terminology may differ.

	When the insert image dialog box comes up, by default it will usually want a web URL. MAKE SURE you "BROWSE" onto your local hard drive to select an image WITHIN your e-book folder. In this case, we're inserting our monitor clipart called monitor.jpg. The insert dialog box also allows for some image manipulation.

	In the above Microsoft Word example, we click on the "Insert Menu", click on "Picture" and then "From File". The procedure is mostly the same with Microsoft Front Page (the HTML Editor). Just ensure you are inserting your pictures from files located within your e-book folder. Repeat these steps to prepare your other chapters into their own HTML files.
Link Your Book Together	This is the most important step you need to complete before running eBookGold. We'll start with the index.html file and link that to all the other pages.

	In easyHTMLarea, we "select" the text we want to create a link from, in this case "Chapter One", and then "right-click" or click the "HYPERLINK" button.

	When the window pops up, we have to change the target type from HTTP to "File" because we are using a file on our local hard disk.

	In many programs you can just browse to your file, in this case we know it's chapter1.htm we're linking to, and we know it's in the same folder as the index.html file we're working on. Your program may or may not show file:// before your file name. If it's there, just leave it.

	Now "Chapter One" is underlined and linked to that chapter's file. Repeat the above steps to link all of the other items in your index. Then we're almost done! ebookgold.com was already underlined because it was automatically recognized as a web URL and hyperlinked by our HTML editor. Users clicking on that hyperlink would be redirected to EbookGold's web site. So feel free to add web addresses anywhere throughout your e-book.
TIP	When adding hyperlinks to Web Sites URLs like www.ebookgold.com, look for the "Target" option (you can see an example in the next screenshot). You can make these web pages launch in a separate browser window, rather than inside your Ebookgold viewer. Just change the "Target" option from "Default" to "New Window".
TIP	In our other chapters, we've inserted clipart directly onto the page. We also have the option of making larger pictures come up alone within the eBookGold. We'll use the EXACT same procedure as adding a hyperlink, but we just link to picture instead of another chapter. In the final product, your reader will be able to use the BACK ARROW built into the viewer to return to the previous page.

	In this case, we're linking to the calgary.jpg file, and we've also added pics/ before so it knows to look inside the pics sub-folder. In your editor, you may be able to just "BROWSE" to the pics folder and select your file.
Link your Chapters Together	Your reader will be able to use the "HOME" button built into the Ebookgood viewer to return to your Table of Contents, however spending the extra time to link your chapters together makes for a much better experience!

	We start by selecting "PREV", and "right-clicking" to insert a Hyperlink just like we've done before.

	Because this is Chapter Two, we choose chapter1.htm as our previous file, and chapter3.htm as our next file. We will make "HOME" link to our index.html file. After you make your links on the top of the page work, save some time by highlighting the whole row, and copy and paste them over the bottom row. Just don't copy and past these buttons into other chapter files, or they won't go in the correct order!
TIP	If you've mastered inserting graphics into your page, try replacing your back, forward and home buttons with clipart images. Use the same procedure as above to turn them into a hyperlink. Just right click on the image after it's inserted into your page, and add a hyperlink!
TIP	Remember that you can add hyperlinks just like these anywhere within your e-book. So if something in Chapter Three references Chapter One, you can insert a link. You may also want to look at "ANCHORS" or "BOOKMARKS" in your HTML program. We won't get into it here, but your program should allow you to place a hidden anchor anywhere within a page, and then you can link to it from anywhere else in that document, or even from another file! It's great for a list of quick links at the top of each new chapter page to other parts within the document, or linking to references at the bottom of the page.
	We can't show you all of the advanced features built into HTML, but once you start to utilize more of these, you will be able to create a very dynamic e-book that will impress your readers! The possibilities for formatting your book are endless. Colors, fonts, tables... experiment with your HTML editor and see what you can do!
	HEY! You just created a mini Web Page too! Many users who reference this guide will probably not know the first thing about building a web site. But guess what? If you've gone through all the steps listed here, you've just created one! You can "double-click" and run the index.html file you created inside your e-book folder, and it will launch just like a web site in your Internet Browser. You'll be able to look at your e-book and test out all the links before you even get started with eBookGold! You're well on your way to making a web site to sell your e-book!

Compile your Ebook with EbookGold 3

Hopefully by now you see some of the advantages of having your eBookGold books stored in HTML format! Now you're ready to run the program and import all the HTML files and pictures you've just created. Please refer to eBookGold's documentation if you need help.

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE SAMPLE E-BOOK JUST CREATED:
[ SAMPLE-EBOOK.ZIP ]

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS GUIDE IN EBOOKGOLD FORMAT:
[ HTMLPREP_GUIDE_EBOOK.ZIP ]

NOTE: These examples are meant for open distribution,
so no security features are enabled.

Remember, eBookgold's support team doesn't doesn't assist with the HTML creation of your e-book. This guide is to help some of our users who need to get their information out there, but need a little bit of assistance getting started.

Once your book is compiled, you will need to promote it! Consider a product like WebSiteWizard which hosts your web site 24/7, includes an easy to use WYSIWYG HTML editor and professional templates so you can have your book online and ready for sale in a few easy steps. Monthly packages are inexpensive, and can they can handle all your payment processing too!

For more information visit: http://www.websitewizard.com