An accessible EPUB project begins with the manuscript and its supporting material. The cleaner the relationship between the book's structure and its source files, the less time the conversion team needs to spend reconstructing the author's intentions.
This does not require the author to become an ebook developer. It requires a final content version and a clear explanation of the features that matter to the reader.
Make the hierarchy explicit
Use consistent heading styles to distinguish chapters, sections and subsections. Avoid communicating that hierarchy only through font size or bold text. If two headings perform the same role, treat them consistently in the source.
Review the table of contents against the actual manuscript. Identify any introductory material, appendices or reference sections that should be part of navigation. A clear source structure gives the conversion team something meaningful to preserve.
Supply original images and their purpose
Keep a separate folder of the original image files and label them so they can be matched to the manuscript. Include captions and explain what each substantive image contributes.
For a chart, provide the data or an explanation of its intended comparison. For a diagram, identify the relationships a reader should understand. The conversion team can help shape descriptions, but specialist meaning often needs the author's input.
Mark purely decorative elements as such in the handoff notes. This lets the reviewer assess them intentionally rather than guessing from appearance alone.
Keep tables and notes editable
Provide actual table data where possible instead of screenshots. Explain headers, units and abbreviations that may be obvious to a specialist but unclear out of context.
Keep footnotes and endnotes linked consistently in the manuscript. Check for missing notes and duplicate markers before conversion. If the book refers readers to printed page numbers, supply the final print edition and say how the digital edition should handle those references.
Separate content choices from fixed appearance
A reflowable ebook needs to respond to changes in screen size and reading preferences. A design that depends on a paragraph appearing beside one specific image may need a different relationship in the digital edition.
Tell the conversion team which associations are essential to meaning. The goal is to preserve the connection between content elements even when their exact visual position changes.
Finish the handoff with a feature inventory
Include the word count, languages, number of images, tables, notes and any mathematical or interactive material. Supply the final title, author information and publisher requirements. Identify unresolved content separately.
COLONFILM's reflowable EPUB packages start at $349 for a primarily textual book up to 60,000 words. More complex content is assessed before the quote is confirmed. A complete feature inventory makes that assessment more useful and reduces the chance that a difficult chapter is discovered only after production has begun.
Send your source material for a written quote confirming the supported scope, final price and delivery schedule.
Explore Accessible EPUB 3 Conversion & Remediation for the scope and enquiry details. Continue reading: A Valid EPUB Is Not the Whole Accessibility Assessment.