iSilo eBook Reader

The iSilo reader is a Shareware program for reading ebooks in iSilo, PalmDoc and TXT formats. There are versions of the iSilo reader available for PalmOS, PocketPC and Windows CE for handheld PDA's and Windows on computers. ISilo will read both it's own format and the ubiquitous PalmDoc format.

You get the full blown version for a free 30 day trail period. If you do not register the iSilo Reader will still work and be usable, but several features like hyperlinks will be disabled. Registration costs US $20, which seems reasonable for a polished product like iSilo. Because the reader will still function after the trial period I can recommend it to people without worry.

The iSilo interface is nicely done, although not as elegant as rival eReader but is easily the match for Adobe Reader designwise on a handheld.

iSilo operates smoothly and includes the polish I would expect in a paid for product. I like the hyperlinks, font formating and the ability to change font sizes. Being able to change font sizes could be very important to someone with weak eyesight.


All said I'm pretty impressed with iSilo as a reader and having tested it on my Palm, I intend to register it and use it as my default reader for unDRMed ebooks.

iSiloX eBook Compiler

I finally got around to really sitting down and investigating the iSilo ebook software for reading and converting text into ebooks. It seems that I might have saved one of the best options for last. iSilo offers some of the best features for publishing ebooks I have yet seen.

iSiloX [Compiler] - since this blog is about epublishing I will start with iSiloX which is the compiler (the software that converts your source document into iSilo format.) iSiloX is where iSilo blows the competition away. It offers most of the features that the EReader or the paid versions of Adobe Acrobat offer but it is absolutely free software. Moreover, unlike eReader, there are no royalties to pay for publishing an ebook in iSilo format!

A quick rundown of features:

Image inclusion: Want to put pictures, drawings or cover art in your ebook? You can with iSilo.

Font support: you can use different fonts in your ebook.

Hyperlinks: You can use hyperlinks within your document. This is especially great for short story collections, anthologies and collections of poems because a reader can go straight to the story or chapter they want.

Data Compression: Documents take up less room in memory.

Character formating: Bold, italics, underline are preserved.

Optional DRM: if you really need to copy-protect your ebook you can.

iSiloX converts TXT, PalmDOC and HTML to iSilo format. It is in the conversion of HTML to iSilo that lets you include hyperlinks. As a side bonus you can also capture webpages and read them offline.

iSiloX has versions that run on either Windows or Macintosh so just about anyone can publish ebooks in iSilo format.

Why Not just PDF? A lot of people ask me 'why not just publish in PDF alone and be done with it?' While I recommend always offering a PDF version of an ebook, PDF does not work very well on a PDA. Frankly most fiction readers prefer to read their ebooks on something other than a computer or laptop. Therefore, you really should offer at least one PDA-friendly ebook format.

The support for bold and italics, images and hyperlinks are what set iSilo up over the popular PalmDOC format, which is pretty bare bones.

Is there support for this format? sBookselling giant Fictionwise offers iSilo as one of their multiformat options and the two large free book collections, Blackmask and Manybooks both offer iSilo format so there seems to be some support.

My First DRM eBook

I just bought my first DRM ebook from Fictionwise.com. I have to admit that the experience was a bit complex but painless. I also have to admit that I have been avoiding buying DRM (copy protected) ebooks for some time now.

Anyway the book I bought is in eReader (Secure Palm) format. I prefer to read ebooks on my Palm handheld so I uploaded the file to my Palm Pilot just like I would any other file. With a eReader (Palm) secure ebook it requests your name as it appears on your credit card and your credit card number the first time you try to access the ebook so I typed those in (you only have to do this once) and bingo I'm good to read.

Now there are obvious limitations, if you no longer remember your old credit card number you will eventually loose access to the book. If you collect books that could be a problem. However, I'm running out of room for books here in the house and I have found that I rarely reread a fiction book. So once I have read a novel, I'm pretty well done with it. Therefore, I can live with buying DRM ebooks if I see something I really want, but I can understand why others might hesitate.

This is not a problem with open format (Fictionwise calls them multi-format) books which have no copy protection. You can access them anytime I do give preference to non-DRM ebooks when I shop.

Buying a secure ebook is not as scary as it sounds, and may be worth trying at least once.

ePublishing is For Games too

I am reminded that electronic publishing is also about games too. 25 years ago, when the role playing game industry was still new, offset printing of game supplements made self-publishing an expensive proposition. Today that is so much easier. Check out the link below, I like the way Ronin publishes small inexpensive game aids.
Ronin Arts

Source: Tenebris

Net Publishing Made Profitable

Wired News: Net Publishing Made Profitable: "'Publishing is broken,' he said. 'Sales are low, there's no money, and deadlines and delays are a headache. You have three months to sell a book and then it's obsolete. Last year, I realized all the pieces were there finally for publishing e-books."

This is an excellent article.

Lulu.com Launches an Official Blog

Adventures in on demand publishing - Lulu.com: "It has been a long time coming, but Lulu.com finally has an official blog."

Congratulations to Lulu for launching their blog and best of luck with it.

Source: Tenebris

To ISBN, or Not to ISBN?

I had an interesting conversation with a bookstore owner about self-publishing and purchasing ISBN numbers. His take on it was: for most book shoppers online, if you are not in Amazon you do not exist. He also stressed that if you want people to special order your book from a local brick and motar bookstore you need to make sure your book is listed in Ingram's (the big book wholesaler's) database.

I can see his point, so many book sales come from word of mouth recommendations, where somebody suggests an author and title. The person hearing about an author is going to then look in Amazon or maybe BN.com, or ask their local bookseller. Most small US booksellers prefer to place special orders through Ingram because of consolidated shipping etc. Likewise many people are not going to bother opening an account with you, you publisher or whoever fullfills book sales for you. But they trust Amazon or BN.com and chances are if they buy online they already have an account set up with them making it easier to order. Also do not forget the free shipping and discounts offered from Amazon and the like, if your publisher is charging full price for your book plus full shipping many people will prefer to buy from places like Amazon and take advantage of the dicounts. And that is half the trick to sales is overcoming objections and lowering the bar to purchasing your book.

The question comes down to objectively analysing how good you think your book is and if you think it is worth spending the extra money required to get an ISBN, pricing and barcodes printed on the book.

Which keyword is better?

I have talked about authors' having their own website. Even Better Keywords [download] from SearchGuild is a handy free Windows program that can help you find which keyword or phrase is more popular with searchers. For instance is science fiction more popular than scifi. or is film more popular than movie? It can also suggest other phrases that mean the same but might be easier to target on search engines.

enter some keywords and watch as the utility scans overture to get alternatives and then uses AlltheWeb to calculate how attractive the resultant phrases are in terms of SEO

How is this important? It might be vital in getting search engine traffic to your website.