How to create proffesional looking e-books, for free?

[InFlames20]

What free software do you use for creating e-books? And how to make e-book to look professional and attractive?

[JduncanMD]

Paint.net but it will obly create the front page. Be ready to create some 3D for you

[JayXtreme]

I've yet to find free software for doing this to an acceptable and professional looking standard..

A few people use G.I.M.P. (BUM alternative for Photoshop)..

I much prefer to outsource the work to a skilled graphics guy..

Like:

eCoverNinja - Deadly Graphical Assassin

or

Mubarak, here:

Mubarak Waseem (mwaseem) on Twitter

Peace

Jay

[EDIT] if you're talking about the actual composition of your book, as pointed out by Paul Myers below..... you can't go far wrong with http://openoffice.org

[Paul Myers]

If you want to do your own covers, take a look at the WSO that Thomas has going on: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...n-scripts.html

That may not be the question, though. The OP may be referring to the look of the content of the book itself.

For that, the best free software is Writer, part of the OpenOffice suite. You can get that at http://www.openoffice.org

I'll leave the tips on typography and layout to others.


Paul

[Jillian Slack]

Create your ebook in Microsoft Word and, when you are finished, click:

Save As

PDF

[Michael J Ottman]

Microsoft word is expensive if you don't have it so using Open Office is the way to go for the free route. Plust it has been updated throughout it's life since it's an open source project.

There are many people who give tutorials to show the benefits of using Open Office. Give it a try, my books are done with it.

Michael J Ottman

[Paul Myers]

Michael,

Give it a try, my books are done with it.

Mine are as well. I have MS Office, but Open Office is more secure and it's open source, both of which I encourage people to support. It does the job every bit as well as Office.


Paul

[ppc4profit]

Open Office has a great template system also which can be valuable to you.

Applying a template to an existing Open Office document can take an ordinary looking e-book and make it look professional with very little effort.

Once you have created your ebook you also have the opportunity to change the template and create a different looking ebook with the same content.

Why is this valuable - segmentation. You can target different looking e-books at different sub markets and vary your pricing according to that market.

[vicone]

Colin Evans has posted a WSO which comprises 2 manuals (or Guides) for using Open Office and several other free tools.

This WSO still has an active sales page and, for producing professional looking ebooks, it would be the best $7 you'd ever spend!

Easy Step-by-Step Guides - How to Make Money with Simple Step-by-Step Guides

Ivan