What is an Interactive eBook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Create One

Interactive eBooks are proving to be very effective in the field of education. They are books that go beyond the age-old combination of text and illustrations and take the act of learning to new and fun heights. The fun aspect aside, these eBooks have also been found to increase engagement levels and knowledge retention among students.

If you are looking for a step-by-step guide on how to create these eBooks, then this blog is for you. 

Table of Contents:

• Interactive eBooks – In A Nutshell
• A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating an Interactive eBook
  1. Create a Plan
  2. Gather, Organize, and Prepare Your Content
  3. The Design
  4. Publishing
• Summing Up

Interactive eBooks – In a Nutshell

Interactive eBooks are essentially eBooks that incorporate various interactive elements in it. These elements can include anything from animations, videos, interactive 3D models, quizzes, feedback mechanisms, and more.

The interactive learning strategies behind these eBooks are put in place to achieve one thing: to draw the reader in and provide a truly immersive and stimulating learning experience.

Also Read: 7 Best eBook Conversion Tools that are Compatible with Multiple Formats

A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating an Interactive eBook

Let’s begin by getting one thing out of the way. You don’t need coding skills to create interactive eBooks. Most authoring tools on the market today come with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop functionality, eliminating the need for any prior knowledge.

That said, let’s get started:

1. Create a Plan

The first step to creating an interactive eBook is to visualize the end product and have a plan in place. To do so, take into account the following factors:

1. Your target audience
2. What do you intend to achieve with the ebook?

A well-defined end goal will help you organize your content and structure your eBook logically and coherently. Creating a plan will help you stay on track and avoid wasting time and resources on unnecessary or irrelevant elements.

2. Gather, Organize, and Prepare Your Content

When it comes to interactive eBooks, you can add various elements to increase engagement. However, there are a few things you need to consider when it comes to each.

Text

While interactive technology in education does have its benefits, you must not forget that the text is still the meat of the content. The other interactive elements help better explain the content of the text in a more fun and engaging manner.

If you already have a draft in place or a static eBook that you want to overhaul, it makes your work easier. Most authoring tools allow you to directly import your existing content to their tool. 

If you are starting from scratch and writing is not your strength, hire a professional ghostwriter and an editor to ensure your content is top-notch. 

Multimedia Elements: Images, Audio and Videos

Multimedia elements are great additions to an interactive ebook. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when including them in your ebook.

1. File Size: Audio and Video elements can significantly increase an ebook’s overall file size. The key is to find the right balance between adding as much informative multimedia content as possible and keeping an eye on the overall file size of your ebook. A good idea is to optimize or compress the files before you add them to your ebook.
2. Copyrighted Content: Stay away from copyrighted content. Unless, of course, you have permission to do so. 
3. Online vs. Offline: One way to tackle the file size hurdle is to embed links to audio or video content rather than the content itself. This trade-off is that your eBook will need an active internet connection to work effectively. 

All of the above apply to the other elements you add to your interactive ebook.

3. The Design

Studies have shown that colors and sensory stimulation in the right amounts can have significant positive effects on children’s development. Go overboard, and it can have a detrimental effect. 

The above factors must be considered when working on the design of your interactive ebook. This applies to everything from the cover design to the color of the text and everything in between.

Another crucial design decision to make is the layout of your ebook. You have two options to choose from:

1. A fixed layout: A fixed layout implies that everything will remain in place regardless of the screen size or the orientation of the device your eBook is viewed on. 
2. A reflowable layout: A reflowable layout will optimize the content of your eBook based on the screen size and the orientation of the device it is being viewed from. 

Each layout option has pros and cons, and what you choose should depend entirely on the type of interactive eBook you are creating and the intended target audience.

Once you have all the content in place and laid out based on your design and preferred layout, you move on to the next and final stage – publishing.

4. Publishing

The final stage of creating an interactive eBook is publishing. Here, there are two main routes: self-publishing or using professional editorial and digital publishing services.

1. Self-Publishing: The self-publishing option is the more economical option of the two. An additional benefit is that you also have full creative control over every aspect of your interactive ebook. That said, this route comes with a caveat: you must do all the work. 
2. Using a Professional Digital Publishing Service: While being a jack of all trades does have its advantages, sometimes it is best to leave some aspects of publishing to the experts. A professional publishing service will have a team of dedicated and experienced instructional designers and editors who can add that extra bit of sophistication to your final work.

If you are serious about creating an interactive eBook that will reach a wide audience, engaging a professional service to publish your book is the way to go. 

Check out this EXCLUSIVE Case Study: Hurix Digital Converts 40,000 Math Content Pages and Creates an Interactive Flipping eBook

Summing Up

Creating an interactive eBook can be intimidating. However, if you start with a clear goal and a plan to achieve it, it isn’t. The steps outlined in this blog should help you get started on your next eBook project and will help you create it in no time.

Want to create an interactive eBook from scratch? Or do you already have an interactive eBook, and are looking for a professional service to help you refine and publish it? If so, look no further than Hurix Digital.

With a range of solutions to transform your content, you can create engaging and interactive eBooks in no time. Contact us to know more.