Best Online eBook Authoring Software for Publishers

Plain text is a thing of the past. Reading an interactive eBook with images, videos, and other custom features is way more interesting than reading a Word document.

Ever since Amazon launched Kindle, it leveled the playing field for publishers. Printed books not only take forever to get published but also incur huge costs. Today, you can bypass all that and make your content readily available to millions of readers online.

Whether you are a novice or an expert, online publishing lets you create e-magazines, e-comics, eBooks, etc., at a nominal cost and a generous royalty. Not just that, you get to promote your content and analyze its performance in real-time. With a host of authoring software available nowadays, it isn’t easy to pick one that meets your needs.

1. KITABOO

This cloud-based eBook authoring software lets you create mobile-ready interactive content in no time. The multimedia-rich digital content can be read across Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems. Besides, KITABOO offers secure B2C, B2B, and B2B2C distribution.

Thanks to its powerful user insights and analytics, you can figure out which eBook or e-magazine is performing the best and why. You can integrate any payment gateway with this eBook creation tool and manage your promotions, prices, and categories.

Other key features of KITABOO include:

• Compatibility with all devices and platforms
• DRM-protected content
• Easy collaboration
• Online and offline access
• Zero setup time

2. Zoho Writer

Second, on our list of eBook authoring software is Zoho Writer. If you prefer a minimalistic writing interface, then Zoho is your right pick. You can create your content without hiccups while editing the flow, format, and style effortlessly.

Besides, you can import your MS Word documents into Zoho and proceed with the editing. Not just that, you can collaborate with your peers in real-time, making the process a lot easier. Even so, you can choose to hide portions of your document that team members shouldn’t access.

If you don’t want to reveal your edits before you’re ready, you can always turn off collaboration. Another cool feature of this tool is the ‘focus mode.’ You can dim your text so that you don’t need to focus and concentrate on the current paragraph that needs to be edited.

There are several other features, including:

• Night mode for better readability
• Various writing modes – distribute, review, compose
• Over 350+ fonts and tones of other editing tools
• AI-enabled virtual assistant to help with word suggestions and grammatical errors
• Lock a document to cease the editing process

3. Calibre

Third, on our list of eBook authoring software is Calibre. You can create and edit all sorts of comics, magazines, newspapers, and eBooks on this platform. Besides, you can import your existing content, edit metadata, and convert that into multiple formats, including AZW3, CBZ, DOCX, MOBI, ePUB, HTML, and PDF.

You can change the meta description, tags, title, and cover image in the metadata. Calibre also offers an easy scrolling option by letting you add links to different sections in the table of contents.

Thanks to its in-built cover creator, you can customize your eBook’s cover picture. Moreover, you can play around with different font styles, sizes, and much more. It works pretty well on Mac, Linux, and Windows.

Other noteworthy features include:

• Auto-add metadata wherever missing
• Search and replace tool for easy error rectification
• An inbuilt eBook viewer that serves as a preview

4. Scrivener

Scrivener is an incredible eBook authoring software used by translators, non-fiction writers, screenwriters, novelists, lawyers, journalists, academics, students, and more. You can create anything from a screenplay to an eBook with ease.

It’s a perfect tool if you’re working on a long writing project. You can jump right in and create manuscripts, outlines, characters while leaving the structure to this eBook creation tool. Besides, you can drag and drop paragraphs or even whole sections anywhere.

Whenever you need help, Scrivener lets you open your draft and your research content in the same window. Beginners may find it a little intimidating. That being said, getting used to this remarkable tool may bode well for your future publishing works.

Other features include:

• Saving complex formatting to use later
• Importing Word documents
• Ability to add sound files, movies, images, and links to web pages
• A simple Word-like editor

5. Adobe InDesign 

Compatible with both Mac and Windows platforms, Adobe InDesign has plenty of eBook layouts for you to try. You can create a powerful reader experience by adding media instruments such as animations, slideshows, video, and audio.

Authors find Adobe InDesign quite intuitive to adapt and resize the layout to achieve their desired custom styles and spacing. Apart from that, you can choose the perfect typography style for your eBook amongst several other options.

What’s more is that you can integrate Adobe InDesign with Illustrator, Premier Pro, and Photoshop to create a catchy cover that’s worth opening! The ePUB formats offered by Adobe are flexible with Kindle, Apple iBooks, and many other platforms.

6. Ultimate eBook Creator 

Ultimate eBook Creator is an eBook authoring software that helps you publish PDF, ePUB, and Amazon MOBI eBooks. It is equipped with many options and tools for creating picture books, digital guides, and eBooks.

Besides, you can import PDF manuscripts and MS Word documents and convert them into online publishing formats. Its built-in editor allows you to embed video, audio, bookmarks, tables, hyperlinks, text, and images within your eBook.

Also, you connect with eBook publishing outlets, establish trial periods, and add branding icons to your piece of content.

Depending on your publishing needs, preferences, and experience, you can choose the best eBook authoring software from this list.

In an ever-changing digital publishing landscape, investing in eBook authoring software is a sure-fire way of gaining a huge reader base. Given the minimal cost of writing, publishing, and marketing, the popularity is bound to rise for years to come.