I want to create an e-book that my fans can download.  This will be to  showcase some of my best photos of 2012.  My question is who here has done one and what can you teach me?  I've been told to just use MS Word and then convert it to a PDF file, and if that is as good as it gets I wonder if there are any resolution (or other) considerations.  Also, is there a stand alone e-book application I should be considering?

Obviously I want it to look nice and have a professional presentation.  Any input, especially if you have been there and done that, would be appreciated.  Thanks

Chris

There are fancy programs that make ebooks with a bunch of foofoo like animated page turning emulating hard copy paper books etc. ..  But, why and what's the need?

Use whatever program to put together your book - MS Word, InDesign, Notepad... depending on your design demands.

Once ready, print a PDF file and have it available for download. That is the simplest, direct and hassle free way you can produce and your fans don't have to go through hoops to read it.

Good luck and best wishes.

When you say e-book are you talking about the flash based animated magazines you see for retail shops, or a downloadable pdf for clients? If the latter you can use InDesign to create a well rounded pdf booklet / downloadable look book.

indesign for the win.

all of my books published through blurb were made with indesign and then exported as a PDF.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1995582

Figure out what company you wish to use, if you are using one (blurb, createspace, etc.), figure out your books size and then see what their guidelines (margins, etc.) are for that size.  Don't forget to account for the title or author name at the top of each page is you wish to include that.   It's much easier to set that up from the get go, than try to reformat everything later.

InDesign is the industry standard, but also more expensive and has a steeper learning curve.   Set your titles, headings, text, etc. as fields so you can change them easily as a batch.

(I'm working on my second print book now, and still learning many of these lessons the hard way)


Also, note that some of the companies may have template systems, that may or may not suit your needs.

As far as I know, Quark Xpress and InDesign are the main applications that are used to create upscale ebooks - although there are many other applications such as MS Word that can be used.

My preference is Quark - but I've used it since the 1980's.

I make my portfolios and books on BLURB... GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE > http://terrygatesart.jimdo.com/ click on the book. It will take you to BLURB where you can see what they offer...

Use Ibook producer. Works great. Easy to use as all Apple things

If you have Lightrooom 4, that can work well for making a pdf ebook.