Blurb’s Free Bookmaking Tools Now Output Rich Media Ebooks in Addition to Printed Books

Create your book once and output to print and ebooks for the iPad®

San Francisco, Calif. — September 17, 2012 — Blurb®, the creative publishing platform, today announced that new versions of its award-winning BookSmart, Bookify and InDesign® Plug-In creation tools will enable customers to simply and easily convert their new or existing print files to ebooks, adding video, audio and live links to enrich the storytelling experience.

Known for helping bookmakers of all skill levels create exceptionally beautiful books, Blurb is a complete platform for those who want a simple way to create, share, and sell their books, whether in print or ebook form. Authors create their book once then publish to print or ebook format, quickly and seamlessly.

“We are at the very beginning stages of the twenty-first century book,” said Eileen Gittins, CEO and Founder, Blurb. “Now that smartphones have created a world where everyone has a still and video camera in their pocket, people want to incorporate this rich media into their books. These ebooks provide the familiar structure and narrative of a book, but with the added vibrancy and immediacy that video and audio can deliver.”

Add video and audio from your phones, computers, or cameras into books made with Blurb BookSmart, Blurb Bookify or Blurb’s InDesign Plug-in. Blurb’s ebooks are optimized to display images and text beautifully, so your work is produced the way you designed it, spread by spread. This is of particular interest for children’s books, cookbooks or how-to guides where design and presentation are critical.

“Contemporary storytelling like this embraces the way we live our lives today, capturing and consuming media in multiple formats, wherever we go. Plus these ebooks can be distributed online,” Gittins said.

Blurb also gives book creators everything they need to share and sell their books easily, from free social tools to post “shows” of their books on their Facebook timeline, blog or site, as well as free listings in the Blurb bookstore. Authors set the price for their book and keep 100% of the markup for a print book, or 80% of the retail price for an ebook when sold at Blurb.com. Additionally, for no extra charge, Blurb will help ebook authors submit their work to the Apple® iBookstore™; thereafter authors are subject to Apple’s terms and conditions.

For more information, and to create, share, promote, and sell your own rich media ebooks today, please visit www.blurb.com/ebook

About Blurb®
Blurb® is a self-publishing platform and creative community that enables individuals to design, publish, share, sell, and distribute photo books, trade books, and magazines in both print and digital formats across the globe using its free, innovative book creation and layout tools. Founded in 2005 by Executive Chairman, Eileen Gittins, Blurb has nearly 2 million independent book authors worldwide, resulting in 3.9 million unique book titles, with more than 14 million units shipped to 80 countries around the world. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and can be found online at www.blurb.com.