Self Publishing Software Options

How to Convert Your Book Template to PDF for FREE

What about self publishing software? There are many options, but honestly, you can self publish your book using free software available online - like I did. If you have the money and want to purchase additional software, I will also share a list of recommended self publishing software options below.

The Self Publishing Software I Personally Use:

Microsoft Word - to type and format the self publishing book template. If you don't have this installed on your computer you can also use the free OpenOffice.org software.

PDF995.com - to convert the Microsoft Word template into a PDF file to upload to the publisher (more on this below). However, the most commonly used self publishing software for PDF conversion is Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Photoshop - to convert images to print quality (300 ppi) and the size needed. I also do the book cover design work in Photoshop to create bookcovers. I was given this software as a gift for free, but you can also use free graphic image software like Picnik.com or Paint.net to accomplish the same result.

BoxShot3D - to convert my bookcover into an ecover and CD cover for my website. Great quality and fairly easy to use, it does have a one-time cost of $60. However it will save you money over time. Instead of paying a graphic designer to convert your book cover into an ecover or CD cover, you can easily do it yourself!

Audacity.Sourceforge.net - free audio recording and editing software to record the written book into an audio book.

Site Build It - website design and hosting for effective book marketing

Self Publishing Software Tip:

How to Convert Your Book Template to PDF for FREE

Most book publishers, like CreateSpace will want your final book draft uploaded to their website as a PDF document. You are most likely familiar with PDF and have probably downloaded many PDF documents online.

PDF is simply the acronym for Portable Document Format. It is the most common format used for ebooks and document downloads because it maintains the formating of your book or document on any operating system and between various versions of software.

As I mentioned above, the most common self publishing software for creating PDF documents is Adobe Acrobat. It truly is the gold standard for PDF conversion and your best bet to guarantee the best quality for your book.

However, the Adobe Acrobat 9.0 standard edition currently has a list cost of $299. Many times you can find it cheaper on Amazon.com or Ebay.com but if you are on a shoestring budget like me, then $300 is a big chunk of change.

Therefore, I researched all the free PDF conversion software to find another viable option for self publishing books.

And I found one. PDF995.com. And that's what I used to publish my first 5 books. However, I've now begun using the free OpenOffice software to convert my documents to PDF. Check out my list of free PDF conversion software here.

Easy Steps to Convert Your Book Template to PDF

Why pay lots of money for self publishing software to convert your book template to PDF when you can do it for free? Right?

There are many different types of free PDF conversion software available, so it should be easy. However, it isn't as easy as it looks. That's because you need to save your PDF in the same size your book will be printed. Most free PDF conversion software does not allow you to customize the page size. But, the good news is I found a way! It is possible with PDF995 when you are publishing a book that is 5.5 x 8.5 inch size.

Here's how:

Download PDF995 software and install it on your computer

Create your self publishing book template in Microsoft Word as 5.5 x 8.5 inch size (download mine for free here).

Choose File, then Print

Once the print screen opens, choose PDF995 from the drop down menu of printers

Click on the properties button

Then, click on the advanced button

In the advanced screen, choose "Statement [5.5 x 8.5]" from the dropdown menu for paper size

Click "OK" three times

Choose where to save your PDF document and press save

If using the free version, an advertisement will then pop-up. To make this go away, you can pay $19.95 for the full version.

Congratulations! You're book is now saved in PDF format for the 5.5 x 8.5 inch size and ready to upload at your self publishing company of choice.

I personally use and highly recommend Createspace for self publishing. Read why I choose Createspace here.

More Self Publishing Software Options

BookDesignWizard.com - Helps you easily create your book interior in Microsoft Word with just copying and pasting.

NewNovelist.com - Software to help you write a fiction book.

Turn-page.com - Software that turns your book into a digital book where the reader turns the page using flash technology. Great for magazines and online brochures. Can even insert audio and video.