Ebooks can be an effective way to extend your marketing reach. Here are 11 tools you can use to publish your own.

FlexPaper

FlexPaper, by software creator Devaldi, is an open source flip book creator that allows you to take a PDF and turn it into an attractive, professional looking online “book” or catalog with pages that the user can turn. FlexPaper supports viewing documents on desktop PCs, laptops, and touch screen mobile devices.

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2EPub

Ebooks are published in multiple file formats, depending on where you are publishing them, and for which device. 2EPub is a free service that allows you to take a Word document, a PDF, or a text file, and convert it to many of the popular file formats utilized by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and others.

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SimpleBooklet

The free version of SimpleBooklet contains advertising and watermarks. But at $30 annually, the Pro Version allows a user to upload multimedia and text and compile an attractive online book. Simple tools allow you to share your work across social media and other websites and platforms.

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PressBooks

If you’re familiar with the WordPress, PressBooks will make creating an ebook a breeze. The process is free. But in the future some specific designs and formats will be at a premium. PressBooks also offers promotion and submission services at a price, starting at $99.

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Calibre

Calibre is a free download, and supports the management of multiple ebooks, conversion of your text documents to ebook formats, and includes an ebook viewer. The software also allows the import of information from the web for later use in an ebook. This allows you to utilize portions of your website, for example the RSS feed of your blog, in future publications.

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Lulu

Lulu is an online collection of ebooks and other multimedia. Lulu allows for a user to upload content, create a cover, and set a price for their work. Lulu also has a full range of paid services for more advanced users.

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Atavist

Atavist is a popular platform for pushing ebook-style content across the Internet without the “limits” normally associated with traditional ebooks. By allowing users to publish stories, images, and other multimedia, Atavist has been the base platform for many popular national publications, including The Wall Street Journal.

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Scrivener

Software publisher Literature and Latte is offering a free trial of Scrivener, its writing tool. From outlining, to text editing, to storyboarding, Scrivener allows a marketer to fully develop the concept of an ebook and create it, all in one place. The full version currently retails at $40.

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Booktype

SourceFabric, a creator of free open source software tools as well as commercial applications, offers Booktype, a collaboration tool for organizations looking to publish content in ebook formats. The software can reside on your own server, allowing you complete control of the format and contents. For collaboration, live chat and messaging provide a conduit for authors, editors, and proofreaders to communicate easily.

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Scribd

As the self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Online Library,” Scribd makes it simple to upload and share your ebook or other digital content. Scribd integrates with Facebook seamlessly, allowing readers of your ebook to recommend it to others with the click of a button.

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Smashwords

Smashwords distributes ebooks to multiple delivery platforms on your behalf, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and Sony. The service is free to use, but Smashwords does take a percentage of the revenue earned after distribution, if you’re charging for the book.

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