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This is the part of a book’s creation I feel takes the most work. There are several ways to format a book. Several ways to format them for conversion based upon what you want to sell them as. An Epub is different than Kindle’s Mobi or AZW formats and now Amazon has a Kindle creation tool they use to help authors get their eBooks to market on their site.

Let me take a minute to go through formatting for each one using MS Word .

A PDF – believe it or not many people still prefer the PDF style.  In many ways I do too. Some of the eBook readers and phones can process this format but a large part don’t. Still, I create a PDF version of any eBook I publish just in case. I find the PDF to be cleaner , neater , and closer to an actual book than any of the other formats.

To format your work in word to create a PDF takes a decision to use the formatting tools in Word or simply write the work out as is. By formatting tools , I mean the tools on the bar Word provides. The best tool for formatting is in the styles part of the Home tab. In it you set the parameters for Heading 1, Normal, Heading 2, Subtitles, etc. This is an important tool when you are formatting your document.

Only you don’t need these to create a PDF. However, if you want to add a Table of Contents (listed most places as a TOC ) then you must use these tools. The Table of Content creator in Word uses headings to detect what to add to a TOC. Still, they are not necessary. For me? They are essential.

I use the navigation pane when I work. Keeps me from roving inside a document searching for some place I highlighted to correct. The navigation pane uses headings as well. I recommend them highly if you’re are going to craft a document for conversion to multiple formats.

In Word you can add pictures , lists , etc. as you create your document. They will be converted as you place them. Word and PDF are quite compatible and when you convert a book from the cover to the end, it is a what you see is what you get style of conversion. Word allows you to save any document as a PDF once you are complete. It does a great job at this. Use the tool when you are done with your work.

Kindle – Kindle eBook readers can process several formats. Especially the newer ones. However, the fall back Format the Kindle uses is called Mobi. You can convert a Word document to Mobi using any of a dozen different conversion tools available online or download. I am fond of Calibre myself. It is the first one I discovered and used, and it works for me.

However, if you plan to convert a Word document to Mobi it needs formatting up the wazoo. Every Chapter must be a Heading 1. Every time you use the space bar or tab bar it is read differently than a PDF converter. You have to remove all the times you use the enter bar to make a space. So much to do when you format a book for Mobi or Epub conversions .

You will want to make the MS Word formatting areas your friends. The paragraph settings , the font settings , the style settings and page breaks are so important it is not even funny.

I could talk for hours on what is necessary to convert a MS Word document to Mobi or Epub or any of another dozen or so eBook formats. It is the tiniest of details which matter when you are converting a manuscript. It is also a huge learning curve.

Now Kindle has gotten smart. Amazon has crafted a tool to create an eBook for sale on their sight. It is a good tool and works only for Kindle uploads , but I recommend it to anyone who wants to publish on Amazon’s Kindle sight exclusively.

It crafts the formatting for use on phones , tablets and eReaders in one shot. For Kindle apps only. You still have to jump through a learning curve and a lot of steps to create a good-looking eBook, but the biggest thing is you have to upload your manuscript unformatted. No headings, no styles, nothing. Write the book the way you want to see it then hit the publish button. You will have choices to make. I don’t like their cover page creator. However, it is usable. So is their table of contents creation tool.

If you plan on publishing on using Amazon exclusively then this is the tool for you. It allows pictures and other items to be inserted into your work but not the cover art or back art. You have to upload your book onto Amazon then go to their cover creation tool and upload your artwork there. It is an added step, but your work will be crafted to Amazon’s wishes.

Epub – Epubs are everything that isn’t a Kindle. Simple really. If you have a Kindle, you need Kindle formatting. If you don’t, you need Epub. Epub formatting on Word uses the same formatting tools as Mobi; headings, fonts, paragraph spacing, etc. It is a lot to do to get it right.

Once you have done the conversion , you need to check it on an Epub validator to see if there are any errors. If there are, I recommend using an older tool on the net called Sigil. It is for Epubs only and it helps edit an Epub until it matches what you need. It too takes a learning curve to use as with all things. Still, it is worth it to learn.

On The Pyrateheart Press we sell in PDF , Mobi and Epub . We can convert our work into any format desired. If you have a manuscript you need to format for conversions or want us to format and convert them for you, we can accommodate this style request. We will look through the work, polish it for any last-minute edits and format the work for conversions.

We wish you the best in your efforts . Be prepared to scream and shout and attempt to throw your computer through a wall. Once you get that out of your system you will find a way to get it the way you need it for conversion.

I’m Ross, Editor at The Pyrateheart Press and I’m out.

P.S. We received no compensation from those we recommended here today. These are our recommendations alone. No one had to bribe us to tell you about them.