Glossary
EPUB
EPUB is the open, standard file format for ebooks, a package of web pages, styles and images that reading apps reflow to fit any screen.
What it means
EPUB is a standard kept by the W3C, the group that looks after web standards. The current version is EPUB 3.3. An EPUB file bundles the book’s text as web pages, with its styles, images and fonts, into one file. Reading apps reflow the text, so the reader can change the font size and the page fits a phone or a big tablet.
Most writing tools export EPUB, including Vellum, Atticus and Calibre. A novel is usually a simple, reflowable EPUB. A cookbook or a children’s picture book may use a fixed layout EPUB, where each page looks exactly as designed. A workbook with forms to fill in is often better as a PDF.
Why it matters when you sell direct
EPUB is the file readers can use almost anywhere: Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books and most reading apps open it, and Amazon’s Send to Kindle accepts it. Selling direct with an EPUB means one file works for nearly every reader.
A PDF keeps the print layout but is hard to read on a small screen. Many nonfiction authors sell both, so readers can pick.
How Lanternbee handles it
You upload your EPUB, PDF, MP3 or M4B files to an edition. Readers get them by email and in their reader library. EPUBs are watermarked for each buyer, and readers can send them to their Kindle or open them on Kobo.