Let’s see a show of hands — How many authors would even attempt to build a website? Well, if you are self-publishing your book to epub or mobi format, then you already are.
HTML is the foundation language for epub and mobi AND Internet web pages. If one has a basic knowledge of HTML and stylesheets it is easy to create a well formatted ebook.
An epub or mobi file is essentially a mini-website. While you can create HTML from a variety of sources (Word, Publisher, Dreamweaver), not all produce accurate and quality results.
Bad formatting.
The reason that some e-books are so badly formatted is the author does not understand the foundation of an e-book. It is HTML. So, essentially, it is a WEB PAGE.
Problem.
One point of contention
is the breaking of
lines when
there should not
be breaks.
Unless you are purposely creating these breaks as in poetry this is NOT what you want your readers to see.
One reason for this is the e-book was converted (without correction) from a PDF file. PDF files are an end-product and thus are not intended to be converted into anything.
Other problems stem from using automated conversion programs or poorly formatted word documents.
Solution. What you see on the screen may not convert to what you want in HTML. Use the pilcrow ¶ feature in Word and see where you have your paragraph breaks – you may be surprised that you have breaks that should not be there.
Missing Table of Contents
While this may see to be a moot point to authors, readers like a TOC, especially if reading a non-fiction book.
An example of a linkable TOC is a Frequently Asked Questions page on the Web. The links at the top are like the table of contents. Where they link to is the page or location in the book.
Problem. Having to scroll page to page to find what they want.
Solution. Setting up a Linkable table of contents is easy. It uses basic HTML links to a page or anchor in the book.
An example of how the HTML looks for a table of contents:
Page Link
<a href=”chapter1.xhtml”>Chapter 1</a>
Anchor Link
<a href=”chapter1.xhtml#location”>Chapter 1: Location Information</a>
Note: there needs to be a corresponding anchor tag on the page <a id=”location”></a> where you want the toc #location link to go.
Missing TOC.ncx file
In addition, many e-books are missing the toc.ncx file, which allows the reader to jump from chapter to chapter. While not a necessity for most fiction books I HIGHLY recommend it for non-fiction.
Problem. Having to scroll page to page to find what you want. This can be tedious and frustrating.
Solution. Additionally, you should have a toc.ncx file set up for easier navigation through your book. The best way is to use SIGIL open-source program. It builds the toc.ncx file automatically.
Missing Cover
I don’t think this is such a major issue, as most people don’t look at the cover after they buy the book, however, there is not excuse not to include it.
Problem. Not professional. Every book should include the book cover and in color.
Solution. If uploading a word file, zip the image together with your Word and publish. Proof before publishing.
KINDLE:
Kindle offers the ability to insert your Product cover image directly into your e-book. There is a checkbox you can select after uploading your Product Image. So that should take care of any missing Kindle e-book covers.
Note: The Product image is what will display in the Kindle Store.
HTML:
Insert the image on your page with this code:
<img src=”cover.jpg” id=”cover” title=”coverimage”>
Make sure the location to the image in the source (src) is correct.
