How to Create and Sell E-Books for iPad

Blurb, a publishing and marketing platform, has announced its forays into the e-book market with e-books for Apple’s iPad and iPhone. 

Not only are the Blurb e-books optimized to display images and text beautifully, they are created using Blurb’s bookmaking tools, Bookify and BookSmart, says the company.  Moreover, any book previously created with these tools can now be output as an e-book, automatically, with a click of a button.

It says until now most self-published authors wanting to create a visually rich e-book had to hire a software developer to produce it, costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars and taking many weeks.

With Blurb’s new e-book offering, the file conversion happens automatically in moments, and costs just $1.99 per download, saving Blurb authors considerable time, money and frustration, believes the company with an attempt to rope in buyers.

Meanwhile, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has announced the availability of the iPad editions of Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food magazines on Newsstand, a key feature of iOS 5. (Read: Martha Stewart Living on iOS 5 Newsstand)

“This is not just an e-book offering, it’s way more than that. Blurb now lets authors create their book once and then output their book to either print or e-book formats, from the same file, quickly and automatically. Fans and customers can then buy whichever version they prefer at the Blurb bookstore. That’s game-changing. Plus there’s more to come,” said Eileen Gittins, founder and CEO.

The company says Blurb e-books include all the design and interaction benefits of Apple iOS technology: two-page spreads, pinch and zoom capabilities and uncompressed images, providing a rich visual experience.

Like all Blurb books, e-books can be listed for sale at the Blurb bookstore. Authors can set their own price and keep 100% of the mark-up from sales, it says. The announcement was made today, Oct. 18.