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Even if you print your memoir or autobiography,
you may still want to distribute it as an e-book.
Although the price of Print-on-Demand (POD) books is quite reasonable, converting your memoir or autobiography into an e-book is free. Besides that, many people now prefer reading e-books.
The easiest way to create an electronic document that anyone can read is to save it as a PDF file. The advantage of PDF is that it can be read on just about every e-reader, computer, tablet, or smartphone. Once you’ve saved it as a PDF, you can email it to as many people as you want. If you are not sure how to create a PDF, here are a few videos to show you how easy it is to convert from Word, Google Docs, or Open Office into PDF.
- Convert Word 2013 or 2016 document to PDF (Windows)
- Convert Word 2007 or 2010 document to PDF (Windows)
- Convert Word for Mac 2011 to PFD (Mac)
- Convert Google Docs or Google Drive document to PDF
- Convert Open Office document to PDF
If anyone wants to read your e-book on a Kindle or use the Kindle app, a Word or PDF document can be sent to their Kindle email address. Each Kindle device has a unique e-mail address assigned that ends in @kindle.com . It can be found in the device or app settings. The disadvantage of reading a PDF document on a Kindle is that it doesn’t adjust the font size or text wrapping, which on a small screen can make it very difficult to read. However, if you type CONVERT in the subject line of the email that you send to a kindle.com account, Amazon will convert it into a Kindle formatted e-book. Sometimes this works great and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s definitely worth a try.
If your Kindle e-book doesn’t look good after it is converted, there is a free piece of software called Calibre, that you might want to try instead.
If none of these quick and easy methods give you the result you want, you may want to check out this short online course at Udemy.com that teaches you how to format a Word document specifically for Kindle.
Leave us a comment below and let us know what you did and how your e-book turned out!
