Arrange an On-line Ebook in WordPress (Be it Novel or Non-Fiction)

Let’s say you’ve written (or are writing) a ebook. However as an alternative of publishing it in a standard approach, you determine to “put it on-line.” By that I don’t imply you make it right into a PDF book or a digital ebook. I imply you determine to show your ebook into a web site.

Utilizing WordPress for this undertaking may work effectively, however WordPress straight out of the field will most likely not fit your wants precisely. And so on this publish, we’ll go over the way you may construction your ebook in a WordPress surroundings.

Proceed studying, or soar forward utilizing these hyperlinks:

Totally different Strokes for Totally different Of us
Why Posts?
Constructing Your Web site

Altering Posts to Swimsuit Your Wants
Eradicating the Date from Your Posts
Publish Posts in Chronological Order
Use Classes for Your Chapters and Main Sections
Enhancing Chapter Construction (i.e. Classes)
A Plugin for Additional Assist
Customized Menu Creation
Displaying All Sections
Ordering Your Posts within the Backend
Setting Up Your Time Stamps
An Instance
Including Earlier & Subsequent Navigation
Some Plugins to Take into account

Totally different Strokes for Totally different Of us

There are variety of methods to go about turning WordPress into an acceptable platform for an internet ebook. On the most elementary degree, you will have to determine whether or not to make Posts, Pages, or Customized Posts your precept constructing block. There could possibly be arguments made for every, however on this tutorial we’re going to make common WordPress Posts the first constructing block – i.e. we’re going to make use of Posts to publish the content material of our ebook.

It must also be famous that totally different folks could have totally different preferences and totally different wants in line with their state of affairs. Some might have lengthy chapters whereas others have many brief chapters. Some might have various totally different sections in every chapter whereas others forgo chapter sections altogether. … And the listing goes on.

Due to this fact, the suggestions listed on this tutorial are simply that – suggestions. You will have to alter them to fit your specific case, however on the very least, they need to offer you some concepts.

Why Posts?

The explanation I selected to go along with Posts for this tutorial is that you simply usually have extra flexibility with Posts.  In fact you can get Pages and Customized Posts to just about be as versatile as Posts, however that might take some further work.

Constructing Your Web site

OK, sufficient with all of the disclaimers. Let’s get to really constructing the positioning.

Altering Posts to Swimsuit Your Wants

Whereas Posts have a number of flexibility, they arrive with two traits that you simply most likely aren’t going to need:

They normally have a date affixed to them.
They publish in reverse chronological order (i.e. the newest publish seems first).

Eradicating the Date from Your Posts

There could also be a couple of exceptions (akin to these writing a travelogue, for instance), however most individuals will wish to take away the date stamp from their posts. You are able to do this manually (check out this publish).

Publish Posts in Chronological Order

In addition to eradicating the date stamp out of your posts, most can even need their posts to publish in chronological order (i.e. the primary publish stays on the prime).

Use Classes for Your Chapters and Main Sections

Maybe the simplest solution to arrange all you content material is, after all, together with your classes perform.

In case you are breaking your ebook into main sections (e.g. Half I, Half II, Half III, Half IV), then it would be best to make classes for every of these.

Underneath every of these classes, you’ll create a baby class (aka sub-category) for every of your chapters in that a part of the ebook. For instance, I’ve created a hypothetical ebook with 4 main sections and twelve particular person chapters.

The define for my hypothetical ebook appears to be like like this:

Half I – Start (father or mother class)

Chapter 1 – January (little one class)
Chapter 2 – February (little one class)
Chapter 3 – March (little one class)

Half II – Beginnings

Chapter 4 – April
Chapter 5 – Could
Chapter 6 – June

Half III – The Thick of It

Chapter 7 – July
Chapter 8 – August
Chapter 9 – September

Half IV – The Finish

Chapter 10 – October
Chapter 11 – November
Chapter 12 – December

And right here’s how my class set-up appears to be like within the backend.

Enhancing Chapter Construction (i.e. Classes)

In fact you’ll wish to plan issues out upfront as a lot as attainable, however one of many good issues about classes is that they’re straightforward to edit. You’ll be able to simply change a baby class right into a father or mother class or vice versa. It’s also possible to simply add new classes to your father or mother classes, make sub-sub classes, and extra.

Some will wish to (or must) pay extra consideration to classes and sub-categories than others. All of it relies on what you wish to obtain. Nonetheless, a minimum of some fundamental consideration to this total construction will provide you with a sound basis behind the scenes. This sound basis will enable you extra flexibility down the highway and make it simpler so that you can lead your guests by means of your ebook in a logical approach (or give them clear navigation to allow them to soar round as they like with out getting misplaced).

A Plugin for Additional Assist

Writing is a messy enterprise, and infrequently you’ll discover that you must add a bit right here or rearrange a couple of sections there. As you may be utilizing your classes for the totally different chapters and sections in your web site, meaning it’s possible you’ll wish to rearrange them sooner or later. WordPress doesn’t do that by default, however the Class Order and Taxonomy Phrases Order plugin will assist you to do this.

Class Order and Taxonomy Phrases Order screenshots.

Customized Menu Creation

After getting your ebook’s major sections and chapters laid out (i.e. your father or mother classes and little one classes), you’ll wish to show them, so your guests can clearly observe the circulate of your textual content in the way in which you supposed it to be adopted.

A sound class construction will provide you with the flexibleness to make the most of many issues (too many to listing right here, or to even think about), however maybe the simplest solution to put a transparent, easy navigation menu in your web site is to make use of the WordPress Customized Menus system. (Look > Menus)

When your classes are laid out logically in your backend, they can even seem logically in your Customized Menu system, making it straightforward to each create an unique menu, in addition to add new sections when wanted.

Check out how clearly the whole lot is organized on my Customized Menu web page.

From there it’s straightforward to create an equally organized Customized Menu.

I can then pull that Customized Menu right into a widget on my sidebar. (Look > Widgets)

And right here’s what it appears to be like like in motion.

Displaying All Sections

In fact totally different folks could have totally different wants, however one factor that will work for some is to additionally show ALL of your sections (i.e. all of your posts) in a single lengthy column down the sidebar.

There are some things to notice about this technique. The primary is that it’s going to NOT separate your sections out into totally different chapters. It’ll merely listing all of them in an undifferentiated column. Nonetheless, it is going to listing your sections (your posts) within the right order from starting to finish – so long as you will have them ordered appropriately within the backend. (Extra on that later.)

You are able to do this through the use of the default “Latest Posts” widget and growing the variety of posts to a quantity that shall be excessive sufficient to incorporate the variety of posts/sections you will have. (Look > Widgets)

And right here’s what it appears to be like like.

Ordering Your Posts within the Backend

As acknowledged originally, one of many causes to make use of Posts over Pages (or Customized Posts) is that they might afford the typical consumer a little bit extra flexibility out of the field. And one benefit that Posts have over Pages is that they’re maybe simpler to order and reorder on a big scale … if you realize the trick.

So what’s the trick?

Properly, Posts, as you most likely know, are ordered by date. Whether or not you’re going in chronological order or reverse chronological order, WordPress nonetheless appears to be like on the date and the time on the publish with the intention to decide find out how to organize it in relation to all the opposite posts.

Due to this, you may make the most of time stamps to get your posts within the order you need them.

Setting Up Your Time Stamps

When you write a publish in WordPress after which publish it instantly, the publish will get stamped as being printed at the moment. Nonetheless, you may change the time stamp in your publish to any date. You’ll be able to management the time stamp on the Write/Edit web page or within the Edit Posts web page.

When beginning out, my suggestion could be to publish every publish with a time stamp a minimum of a day aside. In that approach, you may simply add new sections anyplace into your current listing of sections. All you must do is to select a time stamp that relaxation between the time stamps of the posts on both facet.

An Instance

So, let’s say I’m going to begin posting a ebook to my web site at present (Could 9 at 1 p.m.). I have already got fifty totally different sections written that I wish to publish; due to this fact, I’ll wish to set the time stamp on the primary part to be fifty days up to now (March 10 at 1 p.m.). Then for the second part, I’ll set the time stamp to be for forty-nine days up to now (March 11 at 1 p.m.). And the third shall be for forty-eight days up to now (March 12 at 1 p.m.), and so on.

On this approach, if I determine that I wish to add a bit that comes after the primary part however earlier than the second part, I can then simply simply choose a time stamp that rests between the 2 current time stamps (i.e. AFTER March 10 at 1 p.m. but BEFORE March 11 at 1 p.m.). So, for instance, I’d choose March 10 at 9 p.m. I nonetheless wish to go away myself clear room on both facet in case I determine so as to add one other part.

Once I do that, my new part (my new publish) robotically turns into the second part in my ebook, and it pushes the unique second part to 3rd … and on down the road for one another part.

(Notice: In case you are utilizing Customized Menus, then you should still must manually add your new sections into your navigation, relying on the way you’ve set issues up.)

Including Earlier & Subsequent Navigation

One thing else you’ll little doubt wish to do is so as to add “Earlier and Subsequent” navigation hyperlinks to the underside of your posts. Some themes will include these hyperlinks included, however many don’t, so we’ll rapidly go over how one can get them in your web site.

There are plugins you may seek for that can do that for you, however you can even manually add a little bit little bit of code to the underside of your theme’s single.php file. (Some themes nowadays name in a loop file to the only.php file, and so relying in your theme, it’s possible you’ll wish to place this code there as an alternative.)

There are alternative ways to find out precisely how your Earlier and Subsequent hyperlinks show, and so you may try extra information on it at WordPress if you happen to like.

Within the meantime, we’ll go over some code that ought to give you the results you want. Place the next on the backside of your single.php file. (Look > Editor > Single – single.php)

<?php previous_post(‘<< <<; %’, ”, ‘sure’); ?> | <?php next_post(‘% >> >> ‘, ”, ‘sure’); ?>

 It’ll output hyperlinks for you want this:

Some Plugins to Take into account

I’m certain there are tons of plugins on the market that would assist you to current your on-line ebook in a greater approach, however I’ll one which appears pretty elementary. That is extra for non-fiction books than fiction.

A-Z Itemizing

The A-Z Itemizing plugin helps you create an index of your web site very similar to an everyday ebook would have.

Right here’s a take a look at it in motion.

A-Z Itemizing screenshot.

Pagination

And at last, not a plugin, however a little bit built-in WordPress trick. It’s also possible to select to interrupt a really lengthy publish into a number of pages. It’s a easy trick that you may be taught right here.

The outcome appears to be like like this (the fashion will range in line with your theme):

Ultimate Phrases

In fact the whole lot above is only a fundamental blueprint. And you will have to determine on issues like your homepage, however this fundamental information ought to assist you to get began. In reality, it might be lots sufficient for a lot of. It would be best to watch out about including an excessive amount of navigation and too many bells and whistles. You don’t need your guests to get confused.

Maintain it easy, make it logical, and supply navigation that shall be apparent to your customer.