I've been reading a magazine book I picked up in WH Smiths about converting text to ebook format. (And yes, I have observed the irony of reading about ebooks in print!)
Obviously, for fiction most still use very plain text, but there are some new ways to format which allow things like dropped characters on the first letter of a chapter. I think that would give an ebook a really professional feel. As a reader, what would you like to see in the formatting of an ebook and as an author, how much time and effort (or even money) are you prepared to put in giving the reader what they want? I suspect there is a little fresh air between the two as almost any format you chose seems to have some sort of restraint and few readers would choose limitations to the presentation. But how far would you go to give the public what they want?
Smashwords give very specific guidance on formatting and seem to only accept Microsoft Word. Apparently it is their way of ensuring they can convert the e-book output into any/all of the world's different devices/formats/platforms.
Apparently no one else is either. I love getting all the details right. It makes the book, for me.
Hi Victoria,
I have to say that I would not be to fussed about formatting I just follow the norm.
boring answer sorry.
PS Its nice to see you back by the way....
Regards