What is an eBook?

eBook is short for “electronic book”. An eBook is simply a book that has been formatted so that it can be read on a screen. Until recently, e-books were generally limited to being read on larger computer screens and reading devices. Now, more than ever before, eBooks are being developed exclusively for the screen and not for print. But now, the term eBook is used as a generic term for any electronic book, whether it is in PDF or EPUB format. The term “eBook” will stay with us even after the EPUB format becomes the standard for the publishing industry.

Open Format vs. Closed Format

You need to understand the difference between “open format” and “closed format”. “Open format” means that a wide range of reading devices can display the publication. “Closed format” means that the publication can only be read on the device it was downloaded to, which means that it is owned by a company. Amazon’s Kindle uses a closed format, which means publications must be downloaded to the Kindle or can only be read on a computer or smartphone if the Kindle app is installed.

What is PDF?

PDF is short for “portable document format”. It is a computer program that formats a document to make it easier for computers to share the documents while preserving the original formatting (fonts, text, images, etc.), almost like a photocopy of the original document. PDF is the default format for static documents. The PDF document is independent of the device it is displayed on or the operating system (Apple/Microsoft) used. It’s the standard way for people (businesses, colleagues, clients, students, etc.) to share electronic documents, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Until recently, exporting a publication to PDF was the traditional way of creating eBooks. The problem with e-books created with PDFs is that they can be difficult to read on a small screen, like a cell phone, because the text and images don’t flow gracefully enough to be read on a small screen.

What is EPUB?

An EPUB is short for “electronic publication format.” It is a computer program that formats a document to make it easier for computers and small-screen devices to display readable text; makes the text adapt to each screen size. You can do this because it’s similar to a web page; and an ebook reader is similar to a web browser. EPUB is the default format for reflowable documents. The EPUB format is rapidly replacing PDF as the standard for electronic books. PDF will continue to be the document sharing standard for MS Word and Excel documents, for example. EPUB is becoming the publishing industry standard because it was designed to make a book’s content “reflowable” regardless of the screen size of the eBook reader, portable/mobile device, or computer screen. . The bottom line is that EPUB is becoming the “open format” standard for the publishing industry and is quickly becoming the standard for most reading devices.

What is MOBI?

The MOBI format is basically Amazon’s proprietary version of the EPUB format. As an author and self-publisher, you don’t need to worry about this. When you upload your .doc file to Amazon, they will automatically convert your book to the appropriate format for Kindle. There are also other ways to convert your files to Kindle/MOBI format and then manually upload them to Amazon. But from my experience, Amazon does an excellent job with conversion.

What does this mean for a self-publisher?

As a small publisher, it is essential that you prepare all your publications for print and screen. You will need to be very familiar with PDF and EPUB formats. But most importantly, Amazon makes it very easy to upload and convert your books for inclusion and sale in Kindle format. Fortunately, there is only a very short learning curve to get familiar with each format. With a little effort, it shouldn’t be too difficult to learn, understand, and use all of the formats. But you must learn them, because PDF is essential to running your publishing business, and EPUB and MOBI (Kindle) are becoming the standard format for e-books within the publishing industry.