The panel discussion at the Florence Festival of Books is going to be informative, fun, and fabulous and all about eBooks. And nearly half the time will be devoted to answering audience questions. So, whether you intend to publish an eBook or are simply a reader of eBooks and curious about how they do it, you won’t want to miss “How to turn your book into an eBook.”  And if you’re not a fan of eBooks, you are still welcome! Mark your calendars for September 24, 9 to 10 a.m.

As co-chair of the FFOB, I sometimes wake in the middle of the night stressing over various aspects of the Festival and one night it was the panel discussion’s turn. Since I couldn’t sleep, I got up at 3:15 a.m. and sat at my computer and sent a rambling email to all four panelists with my thoughts on the time constraints and who I thought could do what. I hoped it would pass “the light of day” test.

Well, it couldn’t have worked out better. It got them communicating with me and, more importantly, with each other. And within a couple days, they had it pretty well figured out who would cover what. I was privy to much of it, but since I’m clueless when it comes to eBooks, the techno jargon flew right on by. But I did learn a few things. . . .

I learned that “eBooks” seems to be the most prevalent spelling but “ebooks” is also acceptable, and all eBooks can be in color. I thought you had to hire someone to format your book or manuscript to an eBook. Not necessarily so. You can do it yourself, but it helps if you know what you’re doing. KDP kept being brought up, and I just had to ask what it is and does it connect to CreateSpace. Here’s what I learned from panelist Donna McFarland, “KDP bought CreateSpace awhile back. CreateSpace did print books and KDP did eBooks. Now KDP does both, and CreateSpace no longer exists.” Like I said, I was clueless.

This panel is anything but clueless. They are experts and two of them have written books on formatting to eBooks and one does seminars on the subject. This panel not only has three panelists who turn manuscripts and books into eBooks, but we have an author who has had 14 of his print books formatted into eBooks. So we’ll hear from those who do it and one who’s had it done.

Topics to be covered:

–Overcoming reluctance from author’s point of view.

–Some do’s and don’t’s when doing it on your own.

–When hiring it done, what is expected from both author and formatter.

–Working with children’s books and other books with illustrations and photos.

–The differences between fixed and reflowable.

–Distribution and marketing of your eBook.

–In a nutshell, the process from manuscript to eBook whether hiring or on your own.

Meet the panelists:

—Patricia Marshall with Luminare Press, offers book design and layout, custom covers, editing, distribution, marketing, promo packages, and more in print and eBook format. “I can speak to a variety of ways that an author can turn their book into an eBook.”

–Suzanne Parrott is the owner of First Steps Publishing. She is an illustrator, graphic designer, speaker, and the author of “The eBook Formatting and Publishing Guide,” “The Lost Sigil eBook Guide,” and 10 children’s books. She says, “I have A LOT of experience with eBooks.”

—Donna McFarland, the author of over 15 books, also is a freelancer, formatting print and eBooks for self-publishing authors. One of her books is on formatting to eBooks. “I can contribute information about the differences between picture book eBooks and most other genre.”

–Ron Lovell is the author of 14 textbooks, hundreds of magazine articles, 10 Martindale Mysteries and 4 Lorenzo Madrid Mysteries. He says, “My 14 mysteries all have eBook editions that sell well.” 

After the panel discussion, each panelist will have a table at the book fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.—just in case you wanted to chat one-on-one.

It will definitely be informative but also fun and fabulous, so plan to attend, if you can!