For over two decades now, I have dreamed of publishing a book. When the Kindle and iPad burst onto the scene, I knew that my dream had changed. Getting published on paper seemed daunting; however, getting published digitally seemed so very simple…except for the actual formatting of the book.
I tried to code and compile my own Kindle book several times. It took so much time to edit, proofread, and then recompile the book to only have to do it again the next time I see an error. Then, for Valentine’s Day, I made a book for my wife using a simple Amazon’s Send to Kindle app. That worked fairly well, but again, I had to go through several drafts before I found the formatting that worked best.
Into this malaise of formatting errors, a hero has emerged, a hero named PressBooks.com!
What’s so cool about PressBooks?
I’m so glad you asked, but if I may, a better question might be “What isn’t cool about PressBooks?”
Simple Interface
Have you ever used WordPress? Then, you know pretty much all you’ll need for PressBooks because it’s built on WordPress! Awesome, right?
Tons of Export Options
Want to sell you book in the Kindle or iBooks store? Go for it. You can export from PressBooks as a MOBI or EPUB, but you can you also export as a PDF if you want to go the “print-on-demand” route. Plus, if your file type pallet is a bit more refined, PressBooks has you covered.
Formatting Made Easy Easier
I think that formatting has to be the hardest part of ebook publishing, and PressBooks, by virtue of being built upon WordPress, does a lot to fix that. It’s not perfect, but it’s still pretty good. Of course, if you know HTML and CSS, you may not experience many formatting problems.
Open Source and Infinite Possibilities
My interest in PressBooks was born a few weeks ago when it became free for users. But at the same time, it became open source, which means that you can download the software and install it on top of your own WordPress Multi-Site installation, giving you full control over your publishing experience.
I’m very excited about PressBooks as it is now and for what it could become. I really think that services/systems like this are going to completely revolutionize ebook publishing, making it even easier for your church, your pastor, or even you to publish a book.
I’ve passed my book on to several friends, and as soon they’re done editing, I’ll be uploading my first book to the Kindle store. How cool is that? I hope you decide to take this awesome opportunity to publish a book as well.
Here’s a small gallery of screenshots from PressBooks.
Could you or your church use a service like PressBooks?
Have you used something like this before? What did you like/dislike?
Learn more on the PressBooks website.
[HT WPDaily]
**Update: You can now get my first PressBooks book at Amazon.**
Hugh McGuire says
Hi Phil, Thanks for this! … can you tell me what problems you were having with styling/formatting?
Hugh.
Phil Schneider says
Hey, Hugh.
The issue I was having may have been my fault, but what I was trying to do was use the Clarke theme but slightly customized. So I activated the Custom theme and pasted the Clarke CSS into the editor. I know that the Custom theme is a child to Luther, but I thought that the CSS in Custom would overwrite Luther.
Anyway, that’s it. A bit convoluted, I know.
Regardless, I’m very happy with the finished product.
Hugh McGuire says
oh, aslo, could you … maybe make a live link to PressBooks? 😉 …. will make it easier for your readers to get to PressBooks.
Phil Schneider says
I’m not sure what you mean. The link posted at the bottom of the article works for me.
Eric Dye says
Some sneaky ChurchMag Editor may have added it after he commented … or magic.
Josh Robinson says
I’ve been using pressbooks for the past few months to write. I am in the finishing phases of it. Does anyone have any final products to look at? What did you use to finish it and upload?
Phil Schneider says
I’ve got my book on Amazon, and it looks pretty sweet. If you’d like some screenshots of how it turned out, shoot me an e-mail.
As far as your last question, I’m not quite sure of what you’re asking. Sorry. It’s early, and I haven’t had (much) coffee.
Josh Robinson says
okay cool, my email is [email protected]
My question was more about how you designed the cover/insides of the ebook inside of pressbooks
Phil Schneider says
Screenshots are on the way.
Regarding the cover, I just googled a Kindle cover template for Photoshop and got to work on it. The insides I left up to the “Themes” that PressBooks offers. I think I used Clarke. Does that make sense?