As well as announcing iBooks 2 yesterday, Apple also unveiled a new way of letting users create content for iBooks 2. The app is called iBooks Author and it is available for free on the Mac.
The key to iBooks Author being successful is the ease at which it lets authors create good looking eBooks. The app doesn’t require that you use it to write and instead, you can opt to write in another text based application such as Microsoft Word. You can then drag that document in to iBooks Author and the software will format and lay it out on the page as needed and dictated by the design you choose for the eBook.
Apple has also included a number of interactive elements with the software allowing you to easily embed video, create photo galleries, questions/answers widgets and pull live data from the web to keep objects up to date.
Apple provides a number of templates for users and also allows you to design your own. By selecting a template you can then enter the text around images and select the correct headers for your eBook.
As well as providing the tools mentioned above, Apple has also allowed the app to work well with voice-over for those with disabilities.
While editing your iBook you can also send it to the iPad to test on the device to see if all looks well. Submitting to Apple for publishing in the iBook store is as simple as a few clicks. Note that you have to go through the iBook store unless your iBook is free in which case, it can be put as a download on your own site and imported in the usual way.
You can grab the app in the Mac App Store now. More details over at Apple.
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