The e-book creation process is relatively straightforward. As with traditional books, the hard work is in the preparation of the content - text, images, diagrams etc. Indeed, creation of the content has changed very little with the introduction of new technology. Difficult decisions must still be made. What is the focus or purpose of the book? Who is it being written for? What form should it take? What content is required - text, images etc? What type of presentation and layout are most appropriate? How long should the book be? A famous author once said that he wrote a long book because he did not have time to write a short one!

One approach is to begin by writing notes on what material might be included. Keep going until nothing else comes to mind. Then sort all the notes in to categories and group related ideas and facts together in an organized manner. These groups of notes might form the basis for chapters. Then go through each group of notes, or chapter, filling in more detail related to the facts or ideas, expanding the notes where necessary until they become guidelines for writing the full text. Also, note where illustrations or other supporting material might be required.

Undertaking a process of this sort inevitably raises all sorts of questions for an author, like who is the book being written for, and whether the scope should be reduced or increased. Eventually, the author should feel ready to start the full typescript. If the preparation and organization has been done well, the typescript should not be too difficult to complete. A good synopsis has at least a chance of producing a good book. A poor synopsis rarely leads to a good book.

Once the material for a book has been completed, it is just a matter of getting everything in to the required format. This is best achieved by using one of the established on-line e-book companies such as Blurb, Lulu etc. Their websites offer standard templates for e-books as well as systems that allow for customization or full creative control by the author. detailed instructions are provided to guide authors through the creation process.