Make Your eBooks Come Out Looking Great With These Tricks
One thing is clear. EBooks are here to stay. Come what may. They are here to bring you the world of technology and the history of publishing, in a perfect combination. They are in many ways the vehicle of past and future, as we pick up age-old publishing and bring them about in packaging for the generations to come.
Therefore, the eBooks will become our legacy and an ode to the technology we’ve designed along the way. The evolution speaks for humanity. Now, coming to the impressive things in hands, we are looking in this article as to what makes the eBooks stand out?
The make and take of it. Make – the way it’s made, and that includes not just the content, but also how it is presented and packaged.
As with any other good, you need to sell it, right? Addressing the elephant in the room here, why exactly are people looking to buy an eBook? The reasons we think to address this are on multi-level,
- To get something more than what physical books offer them regarding ease of readability, usage, and experience.
- To have more regarding technology, as eBooks offer new ways of reading. Take, for example, the zoom options, fonts and layout changes, brightness adjustments, share-ability and interactivity.
- Capacity to enjoy more for less. Practically millions of books (free and paid never mind), carry them around and have fun reading them whenever you want. You get them to work wonderfully well for you.
- One major factor in the whole package of getting an eBook is the ability to socialize with them. Share quotes from them, have people read and recommend them. The possibilities are unlimited.
Everything said done, how exactly, do you make your eBook stand out. Let’s dive in then, and see for yourself.
Put Your Best Foot Forward With Our Visual eBook Tricks
Outstanding Content Is The Key
As they say, Content is Indeed the King. There are no two ways about it. Write something that people, specifically readers, can’t turn their gaze away from. The biggest win for a writer is when he gets the reader care enough to turn to the next page. That’s the thing, right? Buying a book isn’t enough.
You need to make them read. Hell, you got to make them live it. Be it your next big novel, material, research thesis, or anything else. Say, for example, you are thinking of bringing out an eBook towards Achieving Greatest Sales Ever. In this case, for this e-book to garner attention, generate leads and move prospects deeper into the sales funnel, it needs to educate and inform. You can do this by providing research on new industry statistics, trends, and metrics.
Statistically, the eBooks which are highly attractive, fall into two or three categories. Thrillers, Biographies and in an unlikely way, Self Help manuals. There’s no replacement for original and exciting content.
However, if you are a writer who is looking to bring out his next novel, try to be as diverse as possible. Or on the flipside, you could just stick to the formula which worked (optimistically speaking). Overall, you need to be careful of the content you produce and ensure that it connects. The connection is a key.
You can ensure this connection by making a focus group of readers. And rank their reactions to the story. See where they truly feel for the material, and where do they yawn for the most part. Enhance them and make them more intriguing. If having a group read your eBook is a difficult task, then try with rough manuscripts. Shorter excerpts and summaries, help you see the effect.
The question is – Is that all? Is the plain-jane information enough? Start with stats and figures, talks and theories, oh well, you will make them sleep. They need just information, well, Hello Google. Why would they pick up your eBook of all?
Design And Layout
A sexy eBook mission impossible next step (should you choose to accept it), is making it look good. The design and interface need to be impeccable really. You don’t have much of an excuse when it comes to an eBook. It’s either good, or it’s just not worth it. The margin of error is very low.
Hence, the design needs to attract and impress right from the word go. Now, how can we do that? Are there some checkpoints we need to consider? Of course, there are. The below are some pointers which might help. Again, they are just the basic pointers. The level of impressions may vary depending on various other factors as well. Nevertheless, here we go…,
Fonts Are What Appear Of Your Thoughts
Choosing the font for your e-book might seem like a minor issue. However, the correct typography choice can either enhance or detract from your overall message. So, take some focused time to think through the typography that you use for your e-book, then consistently use it for all future e-books. You know the standard of using fonts, but did you know that the industry experts are citing these fonts to be a big No-No.
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Comic Sans: Most widely used, and yet universally despised font really, is Comic Sans. I mean, come on, who are we kidding. Comic Sans is a font you can only use for your Kid’s birthday and on a sponge cake. That’s the last use of it. Just be away from it in any result. And when it comes to eBooks, you are committing a satanic sin, if you even consider this.
- Copperplate Gothic: We’ve got two words for it. God, No! Unless you are bringing in a material which speaks for Medieval culture and civilization, you may consider it. But then, we are done with it. Never take it up, even when you have nothing else. Put these fonts in a hard drive and fry it up. Never access it again.
- Papyrus Font: So, there are some fonts which we hate. And then there is this font, Papyrus, which the whole community of writers and publishers, outright banish. It had its peak time in between, but what rises, falls. And it fell really bad. Never to get up again.
- Gotham Gothic and Proxima: Do you have to know the reason? Take my word for it. People won’t care at all, about you or your work, if these exist anywhere in it. Don’t infect them. Be practical. Go with simpler designs and delete these fonts even if you have them.
Other Despicable Fonts: Here’s a handy list – Trajan, Lobster, Curlz MT, Brandon Grotesque. Never use them in any form, eBook or otherwise.
In this context, let’s make a point very clear. If a font is trending, there are high chances that you won’t need them anywhere in your book. The book to be appealing universally needs to have fonts which you can afford over time.
Which Fonts Are Normally Used For eBooks? – A Highly Preferred Typeset Feature
We don’t have to look far for this one. The simple fonts which Kindle supports and uses for its eBook needs are all we want. A solid list of the said fonts is – Arial, Baskerville, Courier, Caecilla, Helvetica, Palatino, Trebuchet, and Verdana.
These font sets work best with the eBook formats and give you all the ease of reading that you do desire with the eBook readers. You can also embed fonts in your book. This isn’t necessarily a good idea as many readers like to change the font on their Kindle to suit their tastes rather than being forced to stick to your insistence of, say, single-spaced Verdana, which would give me a headache quickly.
How Do You Use Fonts To Best Work For Your Needs?
If you’re making a novel, your choices are straightforward. You need a font for the copy of the main body, and you need a font for the chapter heading. You could use the same font for both, or you could use two different fonts. It’s all up to you, as to how you can best represent your thoughts. Rule of the day is something weirdly accurate – ‘If you use two different fonts, then the general consensus of designers and typographers is not to use two serifs or two sans serif typefaces.’
Text Bodies:
The most highly used Text Body font for eBooks is Georgia. It’s a highly readable font that doesn’t try to impose itself on readers overtly.
The main aim with eBook typography is that the reader should not notice what font you are using. Logic is simple. More they observe, more they pick on it, and end up not reading the book at all. If you use a font type that annoys readers or that they find even slightly difficult to understand, then you are giving yourself problems. In this context, Baskerville and Palatino are sometimes used to give that clear and crisp nature to the work.
Chapter Headings:
We’ve got a clear idea as to which font we can use in Text bodies, and not be beaten up for it. The heading comes next. Care needs to be taken to make a first initial reaction before the reader delves into the thick forest of content. If you use Georgia as your body text, then you should either use Georgia as your chapter heading font or a sans serif face if you follow the basic rule of not mixing your serifs together.
Of course, we’ve got a list which you can readily use. Lucida Sans Unicode, Helvetica, Arial, Trebuchet, and Verdana. All of these fonts have a great way of telling a story, as they come with all the gripping factor, which is bound to go the distance.
Sizes and Shapes of All Things Font-Y:
One thing most of us take as granted is the line and word spacing. Is it truly rewarding when it comes to eBooks? If that’s a question, you have then you are assuming that the print books are different from digital books. That is not the case.
You need to typeset the fonts, their placements and other technicalities which make for a great read. If not anything else, you need to be extra careful with eBooks.
A universally accepted method of doing so is, setting type single-line-spaced doesn’t let the text breathe and makes it difficult to read, while double-spaced is too much space, one and a half lines are just about right.
There’s the case of eBook readers as well. See, with new eBook readers, you get all the options to expand the fonts and spacing, etc., which you may have tuned in. That doesn’t mean, everything you did with the layout counts for nothing. You still can provide a decent framework. Try a few combinations of fonts and find what works for you, but keep it simple and don’t let the typeface come between the reader and the content.
Colors Which Use To Define The Book
Let’s consider that the eBook is about some trends and aspirations of industry standard. It’s quite obvious that you will need to use fonts and colors which are reflective of thought. The logic is simple, an average user (the people you want picking up your eBook) have a fair idea what the book is about.
Naturally, they’ll expect some logos and designs which they already know. Example, the deep maroon hues of Coca Cola, or the red and white combination of Airtel or Vodafone. A book on these cases would be abrupt and incomplete, without using the red and white combination anywhere. The color combination connects at a deeper level. That’s what the experts called the Intuitive Power of writing.
Again, if the book is one of many to come, about an organization, you need to think of the future here. The colors you include in your e-book should imply to your company’s style guide. Naturally, this e-book is going to be a proper component of your content library, so it needs to appear consistent with your other marketing materials and assets.
Page Layout Elements
The final key ingredient of bringing out the best eBook out is the Page Layout. How and when the elements of the book appear within the book is something you need to precisely care for. Make it as easy and effective as you can with bullets, cursives, headings, sub-headings, and so on.
The factor which will warrant your Page Elements is the emphasis. Do you want the reader to breeze out on various aspects, or do you think he should stop and ponder for a while? Don’t go without a break. Divide the whole thing into smart pieces of texts, and there you have it. An involving read into the eBook which every reader would be more than happy to pick up.
Unique and Original Format
Ebooks are just digital books, right? Wrong. They are much more than that. They offer new ways of telling a story. Consider online comics interlaced with videos of superheroes.
Or the way in which enhanced ebooks are formed, which give you appropriate music for the passage being read. Or the way in which you can use eBooks as a FlipBooks, which allows you to infuse pictures and text in the same layout. What’s more, while reading, you also have the ability to interact with the elements.
Another benefit of flipbooks is that some flipbook companies will give you detailed analytics on who is reading your e-book, what pages they are reading, and who they are sharing your content with. This is an easy way to help your e-books to stand out from the crowd.
Some pop-up and show you the meaning or the context. Some other redirect your click to other related matter. While some others also show you media which represents the texts. All for a simple book, a compatible one that is, in eBooks. The types of eBooks which you can come out with are – AudioBooks, FlipBooks, 3D Media Rich Content, etc.
Images and Illustrations – Sketch it up
Seriously, though, don’t sketch it up. Meaning that you don’t have to load all the images, you see into the eBook only to make it heavier. Of course, relevant pictures are always welcome but don’t go overboard with it.
An essential part of any great e-book is the illustrations and images that you place alongside the text. The imagery needs to support and enhance the textual message that you are trying to convey. The visuals can be anything from charts, graphs, screen-shots, illustrations, pictures, and small infographics. The reason that this is so important is that the brain processes images and pictures 30,000 times faster than it processes text.
This concept is vital because not every person that downloads your e-book is going to study the content. Some will scan it for the most important points, some will casually read it, and some will study it in detail. The pictures that you select will help this first group of people that want to scan the information and extract the most important points.
Finally, these visual elements will help keep the reader engaged, support your message, and give real, tangible examples of the concepts that you are trying to explain. Do your best to try to incorporate an image on each page of your e-book.
