Sigil is a free, open source, multi-platform ebook editor. It is designed to edit books in ePub format. * It’s website is located here: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/ * It’s current code repository is located here: https://github.com/user-none/Sigil * Translations are located here: https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/sigil/ * Support forums are located here: http://www.mobileread.com/ Sigil is an open-source editor for EPUB e-books developed by Strahinja Marković in 2009 and maintained by John Schember since 2011.[2] As a cross-platform application, it is distributed for the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms under the GNU GPL license. Sigil supports both WYSIWYG and code-based editing of EPUB files, as well as the import of HTML and plain text files.[3][4]
Features
Sigil’s features include:[5]
- Full UTF-16 and EPUB 2 specification support
- Multiple views: book, code and preview view
- WYSIWYG editing in book view
- Table of contents generator with multi-level heading support
- Metadata editor with full support for all metadata entries
- Spell checking with default and user configurable dictionaries
- Full regular expression (PCRE) support for find and replace
- Supports import of EPUB and HTML files, images, and style sheets,
- FlightCrew EPUB integration for EPUB compliance validator
- Integrated API to external HTML and graphics editors
A free SIGIL walkthrough, guiding you step-by-step through the process of creating an ebook first as epub and then as mobi file for Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), starting from a text written in any word processing program (Open Office, MS Word, Pages, …).
I have used this process myself to create my own ebooks as an independent writer. I am very grateful for all the support I have been receiving from other independent writers in facebook groups and via direct contacts. The free SIGIL walkthrough, written by Barbara Krauß in German was particularly helpful for me.
So now its my turn and I have translated it into English and added my own experiences in the process to share it with you.
On the internet there are many how to-books about, explaining how to create ebooks and how to upload them to portals like Amazon and many more. Most of them have been published as ebooks themselves and are out there to be bought.
You will find many good tips in them with respect to marketing, taxes, and many of them are worth their money and a lot of them go for € 0,99 or even $ 0,99 – so you cant go really wrong in buying them.
If you are looking for support to create a clean epub-file, which then can be easily converted into a mobi-file, then you are right here. This free walkthrough guides you through creating an epub-file with the freeware SIGIL and shows you how to easily transform a text-file into an ebook-file.
You do not need to know anything about HTML-code before to do this – I didn’t. 
Because this is what SIGIL basically does for you: it translates your text automatically into HTML-code, which is the base of ebook-files.
This walkthrough is a gift to you. I am grateful to be part of the international online community of independent writers and received great support in the manifold and diversified forums and groups, I am part of. Now I’m glad to offer such support to you.
Announcement:
We do not claim that we cover everything in this walkthrough. Everybody is responsible for creating his or her own ebook. We accept no liability for possible damages.
You need:
An edited text in any word processing program The freeware SIGIL a separate style sheet the freeware CALIBRE a program to create a cover for your book the free Sony Reader App to check your epub-file the freeware epubchecker to check your epub-file the free Kindle-Reader-App to check your mobi-file