Why should we pay so much money to software packages like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, or Norton Antivirus where there are already very good and free alternatives? Today I would like to share my top 5 free software with you:

• Avast! 4 Home Edition – Free Antivirus Software:

According to recent security and privacy researches almost 50% of the PC’s do not have an installed antivirus software. There are a lot of reasons to this. High costs of antivirus software, facing with a lot of problems when installing such a software. It is not a good idea to keep your PC vulnerable where there are thousands of PCs are attacked by viruses every single day.You can use Avast!4 Home Edition antivirus software and keep your PC secure against the latest virus attacks. The only weakness of a free antivirus software is that you download the latest updates a few hours later than the paid subscribers. A few hours delay is not a serious problem when your PC’s security is concerned.

• jZip – a Free WinZiP Alternative:

Are you get bored of using zip softwares like WinZip and WinRar due to being interrupted by a lot of registration notifications? Then you better start using jZip. It is only 2.7 MB long, and takes up little space in your hard drive. Yet still capable of doing every tasks that WinZip and WinRar can do. Why should you use them anymore? You can download it from here: Jzip

• Foxit Reader -an Adobe Reader Alternative:

I get sick of downloading Adobe Reader updates almost every now and then. Since long time I have been looking for a good quality alternative, and I found Foxit Reader. It is capable of doing what Adobe Reader does and takes little space in your hard drive. Why should you bother yourself with never-ending updates of Adobe Reader?

• Paint.Net -a Photoshop Alternative:

Paint.net was started as a .NET improvement project for Windows Paint. Then the project went so well that even Microsoft supported. The final version (v3.36) is a very good alternative of Adobe Photoshop with its filtering and layering capabilities. No need to pay so much money for Adobe Photoshop. This free software is more than enough for most of the PC users. Download PaintNet v3.36

• Open Office Writer – A Microsoft Word Alternative:

Open Office Writer looks very similar to Microsoft  Word. Yet writing an ebook, and converting it to PDF format is a lot easier with this software. Why should you pay for Microsoft Word where there is a free alternative? You may download Open Office by now.

Please share your past experiences with above listed softwares. What are your favorite free applications?

In this part i would like to introduce you Open Office Writer. You will start writing your own ebook with an Open Office Writer template which we will import shortly.

I assume you have already downloaded your free Open Office package. If you haven’t, please do it now. Don’t worry, this post can wait until you finish your installation. You may download Open Office by now.

Open Office Writer – Open 24 Hours!

Well, this is the snapshot of Open Office Writer in action. It looks very similar to your favorite Word Processor, right? Yes, indeed, it is more or less the same as Microsoft Word. Yet writing an ebook, and converting it to a PDF is a lot easier with this software.

As you can clearly see from the snapshot, Open Office is very similar to Microsoft Word. Even the menus are more or less the same. So there is no need to be afraid of using this fairly new Word Processor on your ebook journey.

You will see a few extra menus and icons when compared to Microsoft Word. One of them is very important for us. It is called “Export Directly to PDF”. This is going to convert your Open Office Writer document into a PDF ebook by one click.

Where To Find a Cool ebook Template?

Apart from the sources i gave you in Part 2, there is one more reliable source i suggest you to take a look at. Lulu.com has great Open Office templates and some of them are free. I used a fancy looking Open Office ebook template for Bloghology. You may check and download it via this link Blank OpenOffice 6×9 book – .sxw file template

How To Import an Open Office ebook Template to Open Office Writer?

Okay, let’s go step by step:

• Download an Open Office template from one of the sources i suggested you
• Please note the file extension for these documents are .sxw
• From the main menu, you should choose File > Templates > Organize
• In the box on the left, double-click the folder into which you want to import the template
• Click the Commands button which opens the context menu
• From the context menu, choose Import Template
• Find the template that you downloaded and then click Open. The template appears in the selected folder.
• You are free to type a new name for the template or leave it as is.
• Click Close to close the Template Management window.

How to Start Writing Your Own ebook by Using an Imported Template?

Believe me, this is the best part. You will work with a template which will make things easier for you. Now, let’s go step by step again:

• Open your Open Office Writer
• Choose File > New > Templates and Documents.
• In the box on the left, click the Templates icon if it isn’t already selected. Your template folder will appear in the center box.
• You should double-click the folder that contains the template that you want to use
• Click the template you imported and Click Open.
• This will open a new document based on the book template in Writer.
• That’s it! Edit and save your ebook

After you finish compiling your ebook, you need to convert it to a PDF file. There are two ways to do it; one is from the main menu: Go to File > Export as PDF. This will open a menu for you to calibrate your PDF file. You may compress your images in order to reduce your ebook’s file size.

As i mentioned before, the other option is clicking on the “Export Directly to PDF” icon. If you are comfortable with your document, then you may just click on this icon and convert your document into a PDF file by saving it as a PDF file.

That’s all folks. You see it is not so difficult to write your ebook. However it may take some of your time to get familiar with Open Office Writer. Should you have any questions regarding Open Office Writer and editing process, please do not hesitate to ask me. It will be my pleasure to assist you when you face with a problem.

Part 4 will focus more on editing. Part 5 will mainly focus on how to promote your ebook. Enjoy reading!

In part 2 i would like to go into detail about how to compile your e-book. Let’s go step by step:

What to Write About?

You are the only person who can answer this question. My answer is; write on something you feel comfortable about. Like switching from blogger platform to WordPress or making money online based on your past experiences.

The problem with ebooks is that there are already a lot of ebooks in the market. If you replicate what has already been said, you have no chance at all to stand out from the crowd. I suggest you to be original. Present your ideas in creative ways that have never been used before.

There are key elements you should summarize before starting the whole process:

• Be original, use your own content, do not copy or steal from other books
• You better demonstrate proof, give your readers examples they can learn from, do not write something you have never tested before, do not cheat people
• The quality of your book’s presentation is very critical for ultimate success.

Above all, you need to focus on how your ebook can add value to other people. Find a good answer to this question and do your best to realize it.

How Can You Make an Ebook?

PDF is the best format for an ebook. The most common way of compiling an ebook is to write it in Microsoft Word and then convert it to PDF by using some free software.

I tried this while i have been trying to compile Bloghology. No way! It is not so easy if you are not a Word Processing genius.

How did I Compile Bloghology then?

I found that Open Office has recently become a standard for compilation of ebooks in the blogosphere. Frankly speaking, it is much more easy to compile your ebook with Open Office Writer. If you are familiar with Microsoft Word, it will take 5-10 minutes to start using Open Office Writer.

The good thing is it is completely free. You don’t need to pay for using Open Office package.

Another good thing about compiling an ebook with Open Office Writer is that you can find an ebook template serving your own needs for free. This is an incredible time-saver. You will understand better when you start writing your own ebook.

How To Download Open Office?

Follow this link first, and select your operating system: Download Open Office

Where to Find ebook templates for Open Office?

You are so lucky, i already found quite a few good ebook templates and tutorials for you. Please follow the links below to get them:

Open Office Templates and Tutorials

Open Office Ready Made Templates

Don’t worry, in Part 3 we will go into detail about using Open Office Writer and ebook templates. By the way, have you found what to write about?