Cheap or Free E-picturebook Template Sought

March 20, 2012 5:54 PM

Is there a quick and cheap template to make a simple but polished e-picturebook that I can offer as a free download / giveaway with a CD product?

I’m looking for an e-picturebook template or format that works nicely with photographs. I want to plug in my own graphics and text into a ready-made format.

I need cross-compatibility for both Android and I-phones / I-pad / platforms. (I'm half-expecting you to tell me there is no such product.)

I’m looking for something simple, WYSIWYG, bulletproof and not glitchy.

I would like to offer the e-picture-book ( an e-book format with both color pictures and text) as a give-away with another product (an enhanced CD).

Ideally it would have some page-turning and other e-book functionality. In other words -- some nice e-book 'bells and whistles' Not possible? Simple and functional is good too. It’s about the content anyway.

What is the most rudimentary e-book format for this sort of e-book? What are my choices?

I don't have a budget for big upfront (or virtually any) production costs. I would like to plug in my own photos and text into a ready-made 'tried and proven' e-picturebook format.

I seem to recall from some time ago that there were e-books formatted as PDF's. Are there templates in the PDF format that in your experience, are good products that work cross-platform and would work with this concept?

Preference for recommendations for templates / formats / products you've actually had experience with rather than sources found with Google.

I'm planning to either include the e-picturebook on an 'enhanced CD' (embedded as data on disc), or as a free-standing download, retrieved with a supplied link.

Thoughts? Experiences?

posted by Muirwylde to Technology (2 answers total)

Best answer: iBooks Author would be a slam dunk for this except that you can only read the books on iPads. But it's free, it comes with built-in templates, it has lots of cool book features, etc.

To create something more portable your best bet might be just to go with PDF. The iBooks app on iOS can treat PDF files as books, with page-turning animations, etc. I expect there are similar apps on Android.
posted by alms at 7:00 AM on March 21, 2012

Best answer: I need cross-compatibility for both Android and I-phones / I-pad / platforms.
I think you should create an .epub file. Actually, if you are including it on a disc, you could include .html, .mobi and .pdf files as well so no one else has to convert it. Calibre is good for converting between these file types. This page suggests writing the book in Word, saving as html and then using Calibre to convert it to .epub.
posted by soelo at 8:06 AM on March 21, 2012