How is an e-book produced?

Trixi

As others have said the writing and publishing bits are fairly straightforward - I'm just getting my first ebook out there and have not yet needed to use any html (or any paid services/software) to do it.

There are some pretty good paid resources and courses available for wannabe publishers, but I'm sure there a plenty of scams too so be really careful before you pay for anything.

Also, if you are using Amazon to sell then make sure you get a US tax identification number and fill in the relevant forms on Amazon, otherwise they will withhold 30% of your earnings automatically. It sounds really complicated on Amazon but I found a really good explanation of how to do this quickly, over the phone. I don't have the link to hand - I'll see if I can find it tomorrow.

If you like podcasts then the guys on Self Publishing Podcast (I think - Google it...) have some pretty good insights into self publishing/fiction, though their 'inside jokes' get a bit samey after a while. I listen to them while I'm doing housework!