From parchment rolls to paper, from paper to eBooks, books have come a long way from their humble origins. While traditional books were created by felling trees, eBooks are created in a very gentle and agreeable manner. The only thing you need to create an eBook is a good eBook creation software and of course your manuscript.

For a first-time author who is trying to develop an eBook, it seems like quite a harrowing task to find the right tools which can efficiently do the job. And admittedly, it is a tedious task, after months of effort put into writing and creating a manuscript, you finally proceed to the next step in publishing your work.

And now you are confused over which eBook Creation Software to use. Google is kind enough to put across fifty or so software tools for you to choose from. But that doesn’t lessen the trouble of finding out which one is better. You can’t keep trying each and every eBook creation software. So, we have tried to ease your burden by listing a few simple and efficient eBook creation software which will make it easier for you to select the right platform.

Kitaboo is an interactive eBook creator. It is a cloud-based digital publishing platform, where you can create and publish DRM protected content. DRM ensures that your content is secure from thefts and piracy. You can either create an eBook from scratch using Kitaboo authoring platform or you can use their conversion service to convert your digital manuscript into ePUB files. Kitaboo lets you add interactive features such as videos, audio, images, read aloud, etc to your eBook to make it more engaging for your readers. The content you create using this tool is device agnostic and is accessible on all major operating systems.

Related: How to Create an Interactive eBook (Simple Step-by-Step Guide)

This is a free eBook creation software. It is a word add-in which will help you convert your word files into ePUB, Mobi and PDF formats. Once you have installed the add-in in MS Word, you can easily convert word documents to EPUB/Mobi/PDF. When your eBook is ready for distribution, you can transfer it to different reading devices such as Kindle, Nook, Kobo etc. ePUBee Maker can be used as an eBook Editor or eBook Reader. You can import different file formats to read on MS Word. With the help of this tool, you can easily create an eBook from your word file.

Related: Best Formats for Publishing eBooks

This is another interactive eBook creator. The interesting part about this software is that it gives the flipping page effect when you turn to the next page in your eBook. This flip effect comes as an interesting change when compared to normal eBooks. You can add multimedia elements to your eBook files. It allows you to convert PDFs into suitable eBook files for whichever eReader you want. The eBooks can be accessed from any system and platform. You would have to download this software on your Windows, iOS or Android system before using it.

Blurb provides you with an eBook creation software for creating and publishing. You would first have to download their free desktop software package in order to start with book creation. It also gives you the option to upload a PDF and convert it into an eBook. You need a minimum of 22 pages to create an eBook from a PDF. Once your eBook is ready, Blurb even helps you sell your eBook. They handle the logistics, shipping and on-demand printing. You can sell your eBook through the Blurb Bookstore, Amazon, Ingram, and Apple iBook store.

Pressbooks is an easy to use online tool. You just need to sign up and can straight away start making your eBook. If you already have a manuscript ready, you can import the file and paste chapters in this eBook creation software. It allows you to add audio, video and image files. You can also select the look of your page from their list of display templates. After completion of the eBook, you can export it in PDF, ePUB, ePUB3, Mobi, xhtml formats. Once you have downloaded your files, you can submit them to eBook stores or use a third-party distributor to sell your newly created eBook.

Another flip book maker that lets you to create interactive eBooks. It’s an HTML5 digital publishing platform, where you can embed the content with hyperlinks, multimedia, images and animation. It provides a free online hosting service, allowing you to publish your books online even if you do not have a website. Your eBooks can be accessed on all devices and web browsers. FlipHTML5 is a free tool and can convert PDF, MS Office, OpenOffice and Images to HTML5, making your eBook more interactive. It also enables you to create a custom domain for your eBook.

This is an online tool with an easy to operate interface. This tool allows you to create your eBooks right from scratch. You can select the page style and layout and design the cover page. Their price calculation tool lets you set an appropriate price for the eBook. The tool also helps you keep a track of your earnings and the number of books you’ve sold. Notion press allows you to sell the eBook through their own bookstore.

This software is available for free on the Mac App Store. You can create interactive eBooks using this tool for iPad, iPhone and Mac devices. It has a lot of features which you can use to enhance your eBook, such as images, audio, videos, animations, 3D objects, mathematical expressions etc. It helps in creating an engaging and interactive eBook. You can export your eBook in different file formats if you do not want to limit it to an Apple device. It gives you the option to export files in text, PDF, and ePUB format.

You can start creating your new eBook with one of the software packages listed above. All of them are pretty easy to use. If it is a text heavy book like fiction novels or biographies, then you might not have a chance to include a lot of interactivities, but otherwise you could really enhance your eBook by adding some multimedia features. Everyone enjoys a good book with compelling content, and if you could make your user’s reading experience even better by incorporating engaging interactivities, your readers might never put down their reading device.

Related: How to Identify the Best eBook Conversion Services