Design my own eBook?

Katima · April 2019

Hi all,

I'm new to this, so help me out. I'm a seasoned graphic (print) design professional who wants to design my book in InDesign (the latest Adobe Creative Suite). Before I get started I want to know if that is possible to do this using Lulu. Must I use the limited fonts they suggest? I can produce my own PDFs for the ebook... After the eBook will want to do a printed version.

I don't want to start on this to find out it's not possible to create. Please get me up to speed!

Thank you!

Katima

Maggie · April 2019

It's much better to do a print book first, that way you start off with high resolution images and reduce for ebook.

Also, ebook must be an epub, not a PDF. Design options are limited as it's based on reflowable text.

Read up as much as you can here on Knowledgebase and come back and ask questions if you get stuck.

Good luck.

Paul_Lulu · April 2019

InDesign can export an EPUB from your INDD file too. But like Maggie said, the design will naturally want to be more limited to allow for the reflowable nature of EPUBs.

LeonWilliam · October 2019

As @Maggie suggested, first go with the print book option. Later, you may convert your book into the digital version using the guidelines provided by "Lulu". If you find it difficult to convert the book into an ebook format, you may consider hiring experienced professionals for this purpose.

Just Kevin · October 2019

A PDF is an e-book, but you cannot have an ISBN or dist for one on Lulu.

If you opt to do a printed book first, the Wizard for those will create a PDF that you can use for a PDF e-book if you like. The page formats for both are more or less the same, but not at all the same as an EPub. If you upload a PDF for a printed book you can use any font you wish, if you embed it.
You can create an EPub here, but you cannot upload a PDF to the EPub Wizard. http://connect.lulu.com/en/discussion/206709

Font types and page sizes, etc., are irrelevant to many e-reading devices because they have the option to change the font, and they don't have pages, or page numbers, but they do have to have a 'hot' Table of Contents.

http://connect.lulu.com/en/discussion/109443/ebook-creator-guide#latest

Most printed books here and all Epubs can have an ISBN.

http://www.lulu.com/create/ebooks

http://www.lulu.com/create/books

A_A_Cain · October 2019

Just Kevin said:

A PDF is an e-book, but you cannot have an ISBN or dist for one on Lulu.

Edit:
Comment by A.A.Cain (the usual edit format went strange):

Yes you can, in fact.

It serves no real purpose because you can't distribute it, as you say. I wasted an ISBN I purchased from a bureau (in a block of ten) on a pdf version - it was the first book content I prepared. I now know better and would only prepare a pdf if I have pictorial content (which for one of my books, I do). But I do have ISBN registration for a pdf version of my first novel.

Just Kevin · October 2019

Perhaps I should have said a Lulu ISBN? But if the ISBN you have applied to your PDF is searched for on line, does it find it on Lulu?

https://isbnsearch.org/

A_A_Cain · October 2019

Just Kevin said:

Perhaps I should have said a Lulu ISBN? But if the ISBN you have applied to your PDF is searched for on line, does it find it on Lulu?

https://isbnsearch.org/

I guess it would, as it's in the publication data of the book in question, and it's in the Australian ISBN bureau listing. I've not gone looking though - I know it's registered, so beyond that, I've no interest. Except to know not to do it again unless I have images inside the covers, where a pdf might be better than a mobi file.

Just Kevin · October 2019

Mobis are Amazon Kindle.

Design my own eBook?

Comments