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Correct E-book formatting advice, please.

by gregsie74
12 replies
Hi

Trying to set up the correct format for:

1. an ebook pdf
2. free bonus ebooks pdf

The questions:

1. is it recommended to put a page header and number on EACH page at the top that looks like this?:

' how to XXXXXXXXXX page X'

Or can I just put the page number?

2. is it necessary to include a disclaimer at the end for either of these and if so could someone tell me if the following disclaimer is fine for both the paid and free e-books:

' This report has been written to provide information to help you (xxx). Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and
accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content.
Also this report contains information on (xxx) up to the publishing date.
therefore this report should be word as a guide - not as the ultimate source of (xxx) information.

The purpose of this report is to educate. The author and publisher does not warrant
that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be
responsible for any errors or omissions. the author and publisher shall have
neither liability no responsibility to any person opr entity with respect to
any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly
by this report.

If you do not wish to be bound by the above, please return this report for a full refund.' ( This last bit wont be used for FREE ebook im assuming)

3. is it recommended I include picture of myself with an intro about myself, for authenticity's sake? and if so, why is this necessary if the salespage has already done this?
4. just after the title page, is it necessary to include my home/office address to prove that i published it?
5. Unless pictures are illustrating a step by step model, is it really necessary to include pictures? Otherwise this will start looking like a newsletter and isnt the point of an e-book to be purely informative and not decorative?
6. any other legal/formatting inclusions ive missed?


Thanks

Greg
#advice #correct #ebook #formatting
  • Profile picture of the author gregsie74
    Hi 17 views and no replies - is this a stupid question or do people not write ebooks anymore? guess ill google it
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    • Profile picture of the author innocent07
      Banned
      Disclaimer can make it look more professional, even though people skip it lol.

      Header and footer? not a must, but it can make a nice touch. Just dont add CLICK HERE to make money or anything too forceful.

      I read an ebook recently which had no footer or header, and it still looked nice.

      aslong as the Content is good in the ebook, then header + footer dont matter that much.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hanz
      You don't need pictures. People are reading the info which is the most important thing. Pics are just extra. Just putting the page number is enough too. Header/Footer is not important.
      A lot of the ebooks I've read hardly have proper formatting.
      A disclaimer at the beginning is good. The one you've written seems just fine. It usually goes at the beginning, not the end. You don't need to include your picture. A little intro where you can talk a tiny bit about yourself is fine. You don't need to include your address or phone number either.
      So basically you have your:

      -Cover page
      -Legal Notice/Disclaimer
      -Table of contents
      -Introduction where you may discuss a bit about who you are, why you wrote this book and what the readers can expect out of the book, etc.
      -Content
      -Closing where you wrap it up and bid the reader good luck
      -Recommended Resources which is optional to direct your readers to good or helpful sites or even display your Affiliate links if you have some unless you spread them throughout your book
      -Back cover

      I think that should be fine.
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      • Profile picture of the author Peeps66
        It'll be worth your while having lots of headings and sub-headings to break it down into readable chunks and also for bookmarking

        Peeps
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Enthusiastic
    I didn't see the original post, Gregsie, it might have dropped off the front page on a busy day.

    I prefer the title and the page number. What happens if someone prints out two different books, then the breeze scatters all the pages? Could they put them back together in the right order? It's a lot easier if the title is on each page.

    Your disclaimer looks fine to me, although I'm not a lawyer. I'd put it right at the beginning, on the title page or the next page.

    A bio with a pic is a friendly introduction. Someone might download the ebook and forget to read it until later. Your bio will be a reminder of why they got it. Or they might send the book to a friend, who never read your sales page. You can include your address in the bio, if you like: "I'm a real person and you can let me know of your comments or questions at... [email, web contact page, physical address, phone]" -- however you want people to contact you.

    Pictures are excellent for how-to-learn books. Pictures might be clutter in a theory book.

    I recommend you sign up for as many free ebook offers as you can. Once you reach 100, unsubscribe to anything that doesn't help you learn. Then go through the books and identify what you liked about the formatting and content. This will give you plenty of great ideas. The Warrior Forum's "Make money online" section has many new free ebooks all the time.

    Also try your questions at the copywriting forum here, it's not nearly as busy as the main forum.

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author SunnySahu
    Have page numbers; some people might like to print your report, etc and thus page numbers are important. Also, if your book is loaded with graphics, I'll recommend you have a printer friendly version too.

    As for the fonts etc, Arial 12 PT is what I use and it works pretty well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tracy Yates
    Hi Greg, let me throw my 2 cents worth in here....

    1. is it recommended to put a page header and number on EACH page at the top that looks like this?:

    ' how to XXXXXXXXXX page X'

    Or can I just put the page number?
    My Answer: If you're going to use a Header and a Footer, why not try breaking up the page number(s) and the ebook title? Place one inside the Header, and the other inside the Footer area(s).

    I do this for my own ebooks, and those that I format for others. It just makes everything seem more balanced, at least to me


    2. is it necessary to include a disclaimer at the end for either of these...?
    My Answer: You can also include your disclaimer(s), and or legal info at the beginning of your ebook(s) instead of at the end. At least in this way, the information is in front of your readers eyes first thing so there are no surprises about what is permissible to do with your ebook(s) on the user/reader end.


    and if so could someone tell me if the following disclaimer is fine for both the paid and free e-books:

    ' This report has been written to provide information to help you (xxx). Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and
    accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content.

    Also this report contains information on (xxx) up to the publishing date.
    therefore this report should be word as a guide - not as the ultimate source of (xxx) information.

    The purpose of this report is to educate. The author and publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. the author and publisher shall have neither liability no responsibility to any person opr entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this report.

    If you do not wish to be bound by the above, please return this report for a full refund.' ( This last bit wont be used for FREE ebook im assuming
    My Answer: Looks okay to me, but hey, I'm no lawyer, so take this answer with a grain of salt


    3. is it recommended I include picture of myself with an intro about myself, for authenticity's sake? and if so, why is this necessary if the salespage has already done this?
    My Answer: If you want to have your "name", which for the purposes of my answer will include your physical image, associated with any product(s) you place on the market, then I don't see any problem with including a photo of yourself.

    Even if you have included a photo of yourself within you salespage(s), I think it's all right to add the same photo, or another of your choosing within your "bio" or "about the author" section if you intend to include one.

    This is a decision that each author has to make for themselves. If they feel comfortable including a "bio" and pic, then I don't see any harm in it.


    4. just after the title page, is it necessary to include my home/office address to prove that i published it?
    My Answer: Again, I'm no lawyer here, so take this advice how you want, but I think if you want to, you can decide to include this additional information, or not. Just depends on what you want as an author and how professional you want your product(s) to look.

    Most ebooks I've read come with a "copyright" page and I've seen them in a variety of formats and include an array of different information on them. Maybe that's what you were referring your question to?


    5. Unless pictures are illustrating a step by step model, is it really necessary to include pictures? Otherwise this will start looking like a newsletter and isnt the point of an e-book to be purely informative and not decorative?
    My Answer: Of course extra images that don't have an immediate purpose can seem like wasted space, but consider this concept....

    Sometimes, if there is a lot of content, or text, within your ebook, you may want to "break it up" a little and give your reader's eyeballs a rest. Now, I'm not saying add an image on every page, but if you use them correctly, then images that don't seem to have any purpose, will then have one. Even if it's simply a strategy to break up your content a bit more if there is an abundance of it.


    6. any other legal/formatting inclusions ive missed?
    My Answer: Can't really think of anything straight off the top of my head Greg. But I would suggest that if you have any other questions that spring to your mind, to ask them. I'm sure there is a Warrior here that has the answer



    Tracy
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  • Profile picture of the author gregsie74
    Hi Thanks all. I really appreciate all your feedback. was getting a bit concerned as my google search results didnt come up with anything specific enough- thanks, again guys!
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  • Profile picture of the author pyles
    Great information here, thanks to all that inputed it. I will be saving this for future reference.

    What about length? How many pages is the average ebook?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kezz
    Ideal length depends on what your goal is with the book.

    If you plan to give the book away to build your list, ten to twenty pages is typically a good length.

    If you plan to sell the book, you would want at least 40 pages, but your target count should depend on how much you charge and how comprehensive your content is.

    As a general rule of thumb, if you want around $30 you should have at least 40 pages of comprehensive quality content. If you want $50 or more you should have at least 80 pages.
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