Cool Package That Makes Your Ebook Template Designs Stand Out

What’s The Right Size For Background Images In OOo Templates?

Well, more often than not, it really is a case of “to each his/her own”. Trial and error. All that jazz.

For me though, and the designs I like to do, I find that a 670 pixel width by 910 pixel height works dandy.

You may feel differently, but the 670×910 layout area to work in shows up nicely for every page inside the default settings in OOo Writer.

Also, another point to ponder is what type of background design element you are incorporating into your ebooks.

If you are using a seamless, tiling background image, then really, the size of the actual OOo Writer text document is of little consequence.

Speaking of seamless, tiling background images, I’m creating a few and will be adding those later on inside the freebie area for download.

But, while you wait, there are other places to find some great looking seamless, tiling backgrounds. Here are just a few:

And remember, as with anything titled “free”, it’s really best to check any and ALL “terms of use” BEFORE you decide to use the images :-).

TipsNo Comments » How To Make Your Own OOo Writer Ebook Templates: Part 1 Posted by Tracy on May 1st, 2008 Before we get into the actual creation of our very own OpenOffice Writer Template, we’re going to need a few tools.

Now, for the basis of this, and other tutorials available freely on EZebookTemplates.com, I’m going to make some assumptions about the tools you actually have. I’m going to assume that you have the same tools I do.

But don’t worry, I’ll also have alternative suggestions for the higher priced tools that I use ;-).

But, having the right tools can make a huge difference in what types of OOo ebook template creations you can come up with.

4.) A Good Resource For Color Schemes — like www.colorschemer.com

5.) A Slammin’ Place To Generate Web 2.0 Stripe-y Backgrounds — www.stripegenerator.com/

6.) A Few Extra Graphic Resources — like Photoshop Layer Styles, Photoshop Brushes, Ebook Cover Actionscripts (that’s for Photoshop too ), Royalty Free Images that can be included inside “for sale”, or “commercial”, template designing, a place to help with template ideas, etc.

Now, if you’ve got good resources like those listed above, coming up with killer OOo ebook templates is much easier to do.

But, don’t be fooled. It’s still kind of tricky to do, and does take some time. However, it’s nothing you can’t learn with a little bit of help ;-).

So, if you don’t have the things on the above list, it’s time to let you in on where to get them and some great cheaper alternatives to some of the tools.

1.) OpenOffice Writer Alternatives Um. Okay, why would you need one??? It’s FREE dammit! Plus, it’s really the entire basis of this tutorial, and the entire site, so if you don’t have it and you want to continue on, then GO GET IT!!

2.) Photoshop 7 Alternatives Really, I think you should be using Photoshop when following along, but I know it’s pretty expensive. Even for the older version I’m using.

However, there are certain things that we’ll be using in the following parts of this tutorial that will require you to have Photoshop, like Brushes, Layer Styles, and Actionscripts. Those are designed to work solely with Photoshop, so it may be a good idea to download a free 30 day trial of the program from Adobe.

At least that way you’ll have 30 days to play around and learn how to use Photoshop :-).

3.) Iconico.com’s Color Picker Tool Alternatives Well, I don’t know why you’d need an alternative since the tool is free. But, if you do, you can purchase a similar tool from www.colorschemer.com. But again, you really don’t need an alternative to free. . . . .do you??

4.) Good Resources For Color Schemes The color schemer site isn’t the only place to check out cool color schemes. There are a few more places. Oh, and every one of them is free to check out the color schemes, so there’s no worries about cost here!

ColorBlender.com - for those of you that prefer to create your own unique color schemes

ColourLovers.com - a terrific place to spy all kinds of neato color schemes, patterns, and other cool colorful stuff

5.) Web 2.0 Stripe-y Generator Tool Alternatives Well, again, the Stripe Generator site online tool is free to use. Plus you can browse other people’s stripe designs and get some great ideas of your own. So, I think this one is the only one you need

6.) Extra Graphics Resources You can never have too many of these sites bookmarked. The tricky part is finding sites that offer free, or not too expensive, graphics to use inside designs you plan to sell. Those are few and far between at this juncture, but I’ll do my best to provide you with a few places . . . .

SXC.hu - this use to be a great place to pick up some free images to use within your template designs, but they have since changed their terms and this is no longer allowed.

but, you can get some great ideas for desiging by browsing through their gallery.

and, if you’re just making ebook templates for your own use, then adding their images is all right, so long as you’re not reselling it? messy stuff, i know!

feel free to read through their terms of use, maybe you can decipher the usage rights.

Big Stock Photo - this site is a little bit more lax with their terms of usage, but if you’re going to be reselling your template multiple times, then you’ll need to purchase one of their “special licenses” for every photo/image you use.

again, check out their terms of use before using any images in your “for sale” products.

bsilva’s Squidoo PS Brush List Page - even though you’ll have to pay $9.99 for each commercial brush set you want to use in any resellable works, b includes some really nice free Photoshop brush sets you can play around with, along with tutorials and other interesting stuff

Free Web 2.0 Layer Styles - the best web 2.0 styles I’ve found anywhere online, free or otherwise. i prefer to use these on my text and sometimes within a header/footer design. they’re fantastic!!

I know. But think how much more prepared you’ll be when we start designing our very first ebook template. And how much simpler it will be.

Tomorrow we’ll start getting into creating a simple design that doesn’t use a whole mess of extra graphics.

Then, future tutorials will include creating more complex graphics and how to turn them into killer ebook templates.

How To Edit EZ Ebook Templates - Part 1

All right. Several people have asked me about how to edit the EZ Ebook Templates, and really, it’s not that complicated at all. That’s why I call them “EZ” Ebook Templates ;-).

But, if you are on the fencepost as to whether or not you should purchase the package due to a “learning curve”, this two part tutorial might help you make a clearer decision.

This section will explain to you how to go about making use of any EZ Ebook Template.

First, let me say that each of the included ebook templates were saved in .ODT format. The reason for this is to make using them much easier for those that are well seasoned in using OpenOffice Writer, and for those that are not.

You can save them as a “template� for reuse in your version of OpenOffice Writer in just a few easy steps.

I would recommend though that you first get the template looking just as you want it to before saving it as a template for OpenOffice.

To do this, simply navigate to the folder that contains the .ODT file you wish to open.

Then just double click on the ebook template file you want to open, as pictured above.

Then you can make any further settings necessary such as template name, etc.

Again, saving these .ODT ebook templates as actual “templatesâ€� isn’t a necessity to use them. Most people are going to want to simply open them up, make adjustments to them by adding their text, images, etc., and then hitting the “One Click PDFâ€� button to generate a PDF ebook.

You may want to adjust the font settings to something more suitable to your ebook needs. The font being used throughout many of the included .ODT templates is called Myriad. And in two different styles: Myriad Pro and Myriad Pro Condensed.

Myriad Pro Condensed is what is being used for these words as you see them here.

It has been set at a 13 px size. Again, this can be adjusted to your liking. You may decide to go with something a bit easier to read.

You can make adjustments to the fonts by highlighting all the text you wish to change by left clicking and dragging over the text area with your mouse, and then selecting a different font from the drop down menu on the text tool bar above in the upper left hand side (as pictured below).

You can get more information on how to make further adjustments with the EZ Ebook Template Manual that is included with the EZ Ebook Template Package #2.

In the next part, I will explain in greater detail how you can make adjustments to the header and footer graphics for the templates using Adobe® Photoshop® 7 or higher.

TutorialsNo Comments » How To Add New Colors To OpenOffice Writer Color Palette Posted by Tracy on April 20th, 2008 In this first tutorial, I’m going to show you how to add new colors to the default color palette of OpenOffice Writer.

I have to say, I haven’t tried this method with the other OOo tools, so you may have to try it and see if it works for them as well.

Step 1: Open Up OOo Writer You can do this by opening up a new Text Document. And, once done, you should see this:

STEP 2: Select >> Tools > Options On The Main Bar To do this, click the Tools Link as pictured below, and a drop down menu should open.

From that menu, at the very bottom, you should see the Options Link. Click it.

You will need to select the word “Colors” from the left hand menu. Like this:

STEP 3: Add A New Color To do this, simply click on the “Add” button. A new window might pop open that says you already have a color with that name and to change it to a new name. If not, when you hit the “Add” button, you should see a new color swatch image show up at the bottom of the color palette list, like so:

You can also simply change the color by pressing the up/down arrows to the sides of the RGB or CMYK percentages.

Then, all you need to do is hit the “Modifiy” button and your color swatch will now be set to your specifications and added to the default color palette.

If you’re looking for premade color schemes, a great place to find some are at the Color Schemer Website.

While ColorSchemer is a terrific tool, it is only trial ware, and will expire. Therefore, I suggest you pick up the Color Pic tool from www.iconico.com.

Using it, you can pick up any color anywhere and have the RGB and CMYK values right there to add inside of OOo color palette.

I do hope this tutorial helped you, and be on the look out for the next one!

WSO Section Password Protected

I wanted to keep things fair to all other Warriors and not blantanly make my WSO (Warrior Special Offer)’s available to anyone NOT a fellow Warrior.

So, in order to see all the WSO’s available, you’ll need to have a private password.

Sorry, but that’s the only way you’ll gain access to that section of my site.

Now, it doesn’t cost anything beyond you taking time to send me a quick email to access the page. But, if you want to buy one of the WSO’s listed, you’ll have to pay the Warrior, just like everyone else.

To get the secret password, simply send me an email with “WSO Password” in the subject line to: and I will personally send you back the password.

New Template Pack Screen Shots

I figured I’d add a few screen captures of the ebook templates that will be included inside the #2 pack for you to take a look at.

There may be a few “throwbacks” with the images above and I may use those in a different package later on that focus on specific themes.

Tags

What’s The Right Size For Background Images In OOo Templates? 05-06-2008

Recent Comments

James Myers: This looks Great, glad to find someone else who has been usi...

Gaida: Hi Tracy, I also love using Open Office especially as you c...

Donna Maher: Tracy... what a great blog... thanks for sharing so much coo...

Designing Backgrounds That Enhance Readability

When adding background images to your ebook templates, readability should always be your top priority. A busy or high-contrast background can make text difficult to read, which frustrates readers. The key is to use subtle patterns, soft gradients, or light textures that don’t compete with the content.

For seamless tiling backgrounds, you can create your own using tools like the Stripe Generator mentioned earlier. These patterns repeat smoothly, so you don’t have to worry about image size or resolution. Just set your page background in OOo Writer to use the image, and it will tile automatically.

If you prefer a fixed background image, stick to the 670×910 pixel dimensions that work well with default OOo Writer settings. Make sure to test your template on different screen sizes and print previews to ensure nothing gets cut off or distorted.

Organizing Your Template for Easy Navigation

A well-structured ebook template includes more than just styled text. You should also include navigation aids like a table of contents, page numbers, and headers/footers. In OOo Writer, you can insert these elements easily using the Insert menu. A table of contents can be generated automatically based on your heading styles, saving you time and ensuring accuracy.

Consider adding a title page and a copyright page as standard sections. These give your ebook a professional feel and protect your work. You can also include placeholders for images, quotes, or callout boxes that you can fill in later.

If you plan to sell or distribute your ebooks, make sure to include links to your website or other resources. Hyperlinks in OOo Writer are simple to add and can be styled to match your template’s design.