New technologies like the Internet offer countless business opportunities like finding information fast, work from home, real-time communication… One of those advantages is e-publishing with special aspect on e-books.

E-book is file or application that can be downloaded from the Internet and which enables that users can read and learn about different topics using computers, Pocket PC or even mobile phones! Many people read e-books while they are waiting someone or something or while they are traveling.

E-book can be made with different extensions. The most used extensions are in .pdf and .exe extensions, depending on the software that is used.

How to make an e-book

There are several ways how you can make an e-book. You can make an e-book using the simplest html or pdf editor or using specialized software which will compile, for example, several html files in one exe file.

Useful software for making e-books

Any text editor or html editor like Macromedia Dreamweaver http://www.macromedia.com

Adobe Acrobat for books in pdf format http://www.adobe.com

In case you want an e-book with exe extension

Web Compiler http://www.webcompiler.com

Ebook Compiler http://www.ebookcompiler.com

Ebooks Writer http://www.ebookswriter.com

Ebook Gold http://www.ebookgold.com

Exebook http://www.exebook.com

Making an e-book using above mentioned compilers have several advantages. When you make an e-book using an e-book compiler you will have a user interface similar like Internet Explorer. So, comparing with pdf documents people who download your e-book won’t need additional software for reading it.

More quality e-book compilers offer more opportunities for e-book protection which enable you to protect the whole book or only some parts with 128-bit protection. Opportunity to assign different password to different users, disabling printing, copying and right-click. Also, you can set an “expiration date” that is common thing with shareware programs. When we are speaking about protection we have to say that some e-book software offer a so called “lock to PC” feature, protection with a personal key that disables using your e-book on some other computer. Some software offers Digital Signatures feature and a search feature.

Why you should make an e-book

If you think that you have what it takes to write a good e-book – good knowledge, something interesting to write about and talent for writing you should consider writing your e-book.

Read carefuly: e-book, like every other book or business project, if it is done right offers many benefits for the author that can be material or non-material. Please be aware that non-material benefits often can be much bigger than material benefits. Under non-material benefits we mean goodwill and branding of the author. Depending on e-book critics it will influence on your image in your business. You can be considered as an expert in your industry. We don’t have to mention that successful e-book can get you benefits like invitations to seminars and conferences as a speaker, writing for well-known magazines, consultant jobs…

One more reason is that e-books are cost-effective. Simply, it is cheaper and there are much less risk involved than in writing a so caled “real book”. In case that you don’t have a publishing house that will finance your book, you will have to pay for your book publishing without knowing what will be your return-on-investment (ROI).

Free or fee-based

This is important decision that can influence on your e-book success. When you make a free e-book it is most likely that many more people will read it than if it is fee-based. That’s why you can make a revenue with selling ads. Beside selling your ad inventory, you can make partnerships with web sites or email newsletters that focus on similar topics like your e-book. You will place their ads and they will place your ad. For this purpose there is useful feature that every quality ebook software has and that is a so called re-branding or ability that the site that promote your e-book customize your e-book look for their needs. They can make it like if they are your general sponsors of your e-book and give it away to their readers and clients as a value-added service. You can do the same. You can use your e-book as a way to say “Thank You!“ to people who have subscribed to your email newsletter or bought your products. Many authors use e-books to syndicate first several chapters of their “real books” and use them as free trials for their books in order to have better sales.