How To Create Your Own eBooks – Easy, Fast, and Free
Tweet- Download and install OpenOffice (free) if you haven’t already. If you already use OpenOffice, you can skip this step.
- Download a free OpenOffice book template from Lulu.com.
- Import the Template you downloaded into OpenOffice Writer’s My Templates by doing the following:
- From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Organize.
- In the box on the left, double-click the folder into which you want to import the template (I suggest My Templates).
- Click the Commands button. The context menu appears.
- From the context menu, choose Import Template.
- Find the template that you downloaded (probably on your desktop) and click Open. The Open Templates window closes and the template appears in the selected folder.
- If you’d like, type a new name for the template.
- Click Close to close the Template Management window.
- Start a new document using the template you downloaded by doing the following:
- From the main menu, choose File > New > Templates and Documents.
- In the box on the left, click the Templates icon if it isn’t already selected. A list of template folders appears in the center box.
- Double-click the folder that contains the template that you want to use (such as My Templates).
- Click the template that you just imported and Click Open. A new document based on the book template opens in Writer. You can then edit and save the new document just as you would any other document.
- File / Export as PDF
That’s it! You now have your own ebook that you can distribute for free or sell. I’ll be discussing lots more about this in the future, including showing other ways to create eBooks, and what to actually DO with eBooks. But for now, you’ve got the quickest, easiest way I know to pump out an eBook without having to pay a dime to do so.
Starting an Online Business to Make Money?
An easy way to make money online is by writing and selling ebooks. In the old days, that meant purchasing expensive ebook making software, but those days are long gone. People want ebooks in a format that’s familiar to them, and pdf fits the bill perfectly. Highly recommended.
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Tags: create ebooks, free ebook template, openoffice, OpenOffice Writer, Writer
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23 Responses to “How To Create Your Own eBooks – Easy, Fast, and Free”
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Very nice mix of inspiration and instructions. I wrote about Lulu and Book Surge on another site recently. The concept prompted someone who had “that book” kicking around inside, but was scared of publishing. By going with Lulu, they fulfilled a burning desire to be published and immortalized the words they had to share.
George
I made a book document using just word, and then I uploaded it to lulu who made it into a printable PDF! Easy and fun!
Here are more info;
http://www.ihanna.nu/blog/?p=584
hi
i can not download the OpenOffice 6×9 book – .sxw file template if u have it can u plz send it to my email by attachment plz so that i can download it ,because i want to create an E-book
Thanks for the tip, I didn’t know you could find ebook templates so easily.
excellent post. I can;t wait to create my first e-book. (right after I figure out what to write about)
Thanks for sharing.
http://www.golfnorwich.com/
Should there be a copyright for the Ebook?
And, is it possible to pay without a credit card, for sales of the Ebook? Also, what is the average price for an Ebook? Why collect royalties for a book, when 100% can be had through an ebook! Makes me scratch my head, with all the big-time authors, who have a name, but choose to collect a percentage, and not the full amount, as possible with, an Ebook?
Sure you can add a copyright to the ebook. And yes, most people use Paypal to allow others to easily pay without a credit card. Average price is hard to say. I don’t have the figures, but my guess is probably in the $30-70 range. Books still sell much better than ebooks, so that’s why authors still choose that method. The publishers of books have the ability to get the word out about the new book, so it makes it easier to sell.
Actually, no you can’t “add a copyright to an ebook”… because the copyright exists in the thing the minute it is committed to tangible form, and you can’t “add” what already exists!
Copyright is a **right**, hence the name, and it exists merely because you put something new and original down on paper (or in a downloadable PDF -the precise form doesn’t matter). You don’t need to register a copyright. You don’t need to claim it. You certainly don’t “add” it to anything. If you wrote it, the copyright’s yours already.
This was not always true in the US, which had its own preculiar copyright laws as a result of it not ratifying the Berne Convention that governs these things in most other places of the world. But that convention *was* ratified in 1989, so the same rules that apply almost anywhere else have applied in the US, too, since that time.
If you want to put a copyright notice on an ebook, you can of course do that: but even that is not necessary for copyright to actually exist (but it makes it harder to sue for breach of copyright if it’s not included).
Rather fuller details available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
Adding a copyright notice is a good idea, even though it is not strictly necessary. It puts people on notice that you are claiming copyright; it provides a name in case they want to ask your permission to use or cite your work; it establishes evidence in case of a dispute. And if you think you might have a dispute and need to take it to court, it’s a good idea to register your copyright claim as well (though again, it’s not necessary – it only gives you additional statutory rights and protections).
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Hey Donna, terrific post! I am an avid user of OOo Writer and LOVE making ebooks with it.
In fact, I dedicated an entire website to the process myself where I give away free OpenOffice Writer ebook templates that can be used for personal and commercial ebook projects.
Thought your readers might want to have this resource as I add new free OpenOffice Writer ebook templates frequently, and there are 8 ready to download right now.
So, if you or any of your readers are interested in getting some high quality ebook templates free of charge, I encourage you to visit my site here:
http://www.ezebooktemplates.com
Go OpenOffice!!
Hi Donna, I just found your site through Google (yeah Google!
). I’m in the process of writing my first Ebook and just want to say thanks for your info here. I see you like Wendy Piersall’s site too, so I know I’ll be visiting your’s more often (Wendy rocks, doesn’t she? 
).
Thanks again, now I’ve got to get to work on that Ebook, and on the 4th of July nonetheless! LOL
Hi, JoLynn. Wendy does indeed rock!
Good luck with that ebook! And Happy Fourth of July!
Hi:
Exactly what I was looking for…. EXCEPT… I can’t locate the OO template on the Lulu.com site. Maybe they aren’t offering it any more, or maybe they have it hidden pretty deeply?
If you know where it is there, could you provide a direct link to it. Your link above seems to end up on Lulu’s home page.
Thanks so much,
kwc
Ooops. My mistake. The reason I ended up on the homepage is that I clicked on the Lulu.com link and not on the 6×9 template link. I’ve found it.
Thank you.
Are you know as Dazzling Donna because of those dynamite blue eyes?
Best,
kwc
LOL, Ken, that’s ok. We all do goofy things once in a while like click on a link that’s obviously the wrong one.
Thanks for the compliment, but no, that’s not it. You can read the story behind the “dazzlin” part of my name over at an interview I did here – http://www.searchmarketingguru.....ntern.html
Nice post, thanks for the info. I have a pdf file now, but how does one ‘secure’ the ebook? I want a user to buy it using paypal, and then download the book, but I dont want to have a single ‘all access’ password that can be distributed. Do you have any suggestions on software to use, or a method to secure things?
Thanks
-F
Francois, to secure it you’ll need to buy an ebook software creator program. I’ve used Easy Ebook Creator Pro in the past (http://www.easyebookpro.com/). I’m not crazy about this method, however, simply because it’s an extra step for the user. And while I understand the desire to not have one’s work redistributed, in reality, it doesn’t happen much. Not enough to really lose sales, imo. But in any case, if you really want to do it that way, then software is the way to go.
That’s interesting, Donna – I’ve often wondered if there are any hard figures or even anecdotal evidence to suggest that DRM is necessary or even helpful to eBook creators, and whether it has any beneficial or detrimental effects on sales. As a user, I’d rather not go through the extra hassle of entering a code to access an eBook; as an author, I’m all for preventing unlawful distribution/posting of my work. Like you, I’ve found that doesn’t really seem to happen all that often. But what if you’re Stephen King?
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Thanks Donna, love this.
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