I just participated in a webinar about Apple’s new fixed layout for illustration-type eBooks put on by Aptara. It was really well done and I walked away with a lot of great ideas for a couple of new books that I am producing.

While traditional ePub formatting is perfect for novels and non-fiction titles where text needs to be searchable and re-flow to fit any reading device, Apple’s new fixed layout specs allow you to create more “PDF-like” layouts that stay true to the look-and-feel of a print version (while remaining searchable). This is great for illustrated children’s books, comic strips, etc. where the layout and typography is key to the reader experience.

I’ve published five traditional eBooks on iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon so far, but I have an idea for a cookbook, and fixed layout seems like the perfect fit for this new project since I want beautiful, full-bleed images of the meals to be the highlight of the experience. It’s proprietary to Apple and so it only works on iPads and iPhones, but I can create a simplified version for Kindle.

I’m in New York City attending the IDPF Digital Book 2011 and BookExpo America (BEA) 2011 conference and shows this week. I’m looking forward to networking at the IDPF event more than anything else. It’s going to be a ‘who’s who’ type of event with all of the leaders from the digital publishing industry in attendance. Can’t wait to rub elbows with some smart and forward-thinking people.

Rumor has it that they will also announce the final recommendation for the ePub3 Standard. It will be interesting to get everyone’s take on how quickly the current eReader players will adapt to, and support the new features.

I’ll post a comprehensive review of the conference on 24PageBooks.com soon.