Ever wonder what to do so as to create an e-book for mass consumption; or even for your own use?

Just ask an e-book creator (see I present to you....the e-book uploaders of Mobileread.com (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52812) for who they are)!

Need quick & dirty advice from an e-book creator or even a walk through of their work flow, well then, that is the reason for this thread; a psuedo-FAQ for e-book creation.

Pertinent Mobileread threads:
- Why do you upload books? Why don't you? (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=334808) by mtravellerh
- How to create "proper" Mobi books! (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=131042#post131042) by HarryT
- Mobipocket Creator and "The Mystery of the Missing Link" (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=300656#post300656) by mtravellerh
- Book Designer Hints and Tips (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=332016) by Patricia
- Book Designer Hints and Tips (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=334394#post334394) by crutledge
- Creating multiple ebook formats from same source files! (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35112) by nrapallo
- What tool set do you use? (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42968) by crutledge


So, what's on your mind...?

Questions that could be asked (and answered by e-book uploaders):
- Where do you find content (text / html / pdf scans)?
- What technical knowledge would be helpful i.e. (X)HTML, CSS, Python, Perl)?
- What software tools do you prefer to prepare your e-books?
- What are the final steps to create e-book in a specific format and/or muliple formats?
- How do you prepare you posting of that e-book here?

Questions that could be asked (and answered by e-book uploaders):
Where do you find content (text / html / pdf scans)?
I work mainly with .html from websites or Project Gutenberg (the former usually copyrighted and for my own personal use; the latter, of course, is in the Public Domain). The biggest hurdle is adapting someone else's HTML code and CSS to work properly on small screen (6") ebook readers. Also, properly building the "index" is crucial to the ease of navigation within the ebook. A TOC (Table of Contents) is a must!

After many previews or early builds, I weed out (fix) what works and what doesn't; mostly via experimentation. Then, I may add overriding CSS like minimal left/right margins and full text justification, but that's about it. I like to preserve the original's look-and-feel as long as it's not anti-ebook!
What technical knowledge would be helpful i.e. (X)HTML, CSS, Python, Perl)?

For me, a working knowledge of HTML and CSS has been most helpful. I often check the www.w3schools.com (http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp) website for tutorials and syntax.

What software tools do you prefer to prepare your e-books?

I use a powerful text editior, TextPad for my HTML/CSS editing, as well as Mobipocket Creator (for .mobi/.prc), eBook Publisher (for .imp) and calibre (for .lrf/.epub/.lit/ereader .pdb).
What are the final steps to create e-book in a specific format and/or muliple formats?

I use the GUI eBook Publisher and GUI Mobipocket Creator, but the command line 'ebook-convert' from calibre.

How do you prepare you posting of that e-book here?

For multiple e-book postings, I just type the first post and then copy that text for any other e-book format I upload. It's tedious, but also the most rewarding in that more users get to use that e-book!

excellent idea, nick. :) thread stuck.