If you’re a self-published author, writing your book is only half the battle. Some might even argue that it’s the easy part of being an author. Indies have been beaten over the head for years now about the need to hire professionals to take the manuscript and turn it into a book, with costs associated with editing, proofreading, cover design, formatting, and marketing. The suggested price tags for those services can be daunting, especially if you’re not a marketing pro who is certain he’ll see a return on the investment.
That’s why a lot of authors have to budget wisely, and go professional for the skill sets they don’t have while learning enough to get by on the ones they do. One area where a lot of authors can save some money–and put it towards something critical like editing or cover design–is in ebook formatting, and Amazon has unleashed a tool that aims to make that process a little easier.
Amazon has launched Kindle Create in beta mode, and its designed to help authors convert a Word document to a publishable ebook in easier steps. One early tester of the tool has said it was almost “push of a button”-easy, but they were admittedly starting with a very straightforward text-based file. The only complaint was that this tool does not actually generate the MOBI file, but Kindle Create’s only function is to make your Word document clean and ready for KDP’s upload process to convert it to MOBI.
Authors who work in both paperback and ebook by going through the CreateSpace platform may not need this step unless their books are rejected for formatting issues, but this will certainly help those who go straight to ebook with their off the page writing. There are options for helping create your table of contents, preview panes that let you see it as it would appear on a device, and even attractive themes for your pages.
The software is currently free to download for both PC and Mac.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
