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Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Creating an ePub eBook with Pages (iWork ‘09)
A recent update to Pages '09 (iWork '09) (affiliate link) has added a nice feature to this robust Word competitor; the ability to export as an ePub file. This means quick and easy ebook publishing for the masses. Let's take a quick look at what you can do.
Stay inline.
In my initial test to create an eBook I found rather quickly that floating elements don't jive with the ePub format. When inserting photos or video you need to make sure they're inserted as inline elements rather than floating. This will lock the item in place and won't let text flow around it so you'll need to plan ahead when adding media to your eBook.
A Rich media experience
One of the great benefits of creating an epub book is the fact you can insert photos and video within the publication. When read in iBooks an ebook that contains these rich media elements can help the storytelling experience or aid the instruction of a topic. If you're looking for some ideas to get started, here are a few I think are great launching points:
- Cookbooks
- Home repair guides
- Automotive repair guides
- Craft guides
- Portfolios and demo reels for digital content creators
No headers and footers
In another test, I tried exporting an eBook that a client of mine had written (a raw Word doc.) into the ePub format. The document contained header and footer information that were stripped out of the final publication.
ePub exporting is "desktop only"
I was showing a colleague one of my test eBooks and she asked if that type of export was possible from Pages on the iPad. At this time the ePub export is only available on the desktop version of iWork '09. A future mobile counterpart would be a welcome addition.
