Creating An E-Book: Part One

As one component of our Fall 2011 e-publishing technology course, myself and three teammates -- Ellen, Sarah and Lia -- are learning how to create and style an e-book via the open-source EPUB packaging format, with the help of various technical tools to facilitate the process. We'll ultimately be responsible for demonstrating that the completed e-book displays correctly in at least two different e-reader devices.

Highlights of our progress thus far are as follows: 

-- Following our first group meeting on Sept. 27, we selected the public domain children's book The Bobbsey Twins at School as our content base for this project. By visiting Project Gutenberg online, we were able to easily download and save the HTML code for the book.

-- We are utilizing the online Basecamp project management program to schedule tasks, establish due dates, share ideas and store our files in a central location. After using the program throughout the past week, we agree that Basecamp has been a huge asset, dramatically reducing our volume of direct email communication.

-- With the help of e-book creation programs Sigil and Calibre, we've converted the initial HTML into a complete EPUB file, which we are currently in the process of editing, formatting and styling.

-- After reviewing the styling options available at ePub Zen Garden, we've selected the classic Gbs as the most visually compatible choice for our book.

In the coming week, we'll work to finalize our content, design a cover, test the finished book on a variety of devices to ensure compatibility, and outline our presentation to the class. Stay tuned for additional updates as we continue to make progress!

(Photo Credit: www.treehugger.com)