Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What's new on Ourboox?

Thanks for asking! We keep adding new features to make your writing and reading easier and more enjoying.

Here are the last updates you should check:

  • Premium authors can now allow others to download their pdf books, and replace pdf file of a book, keeping the same url.
  • Premium authors can add PayPal account email to their personal profile and get support from readers who liked their books.
  • Check out Mel Rosenberg’s collection, with his greatest books and recommended reads.

How do I reset my password?

You can reset your password by going to following link: http://www.ourboox.com/forgot
Insert the email address of the account you used to sign up to Ourboox.
You will receive an email with a link. Open the link. Then you’ll receive another email with the new password.

Can I publish the same material elsewhere?

​We have no problem if you publish your own material elsewhere, even in its entirety. ​

Can I remove my published material?

Yes, just click on the “Remove” button, but keep in mind that you will lose that book. ​

Can I share my book privately with family and friends?

​Yes, you can click the button to make the book private and share the private link with only those who you want to see the book. Keep in mind that if they share that link, others will be able to see it too.

 

How can I embed video, sound, pictures, games, etc. in my book?

Just click open the source code icon <>​ ​and paste in the embed code from any of hundreds of websites that allow you to embed material.

Can I embed my book in another website?

In order to embed an Ourboox book into a website:

– Go to “My Books”
– Beside each book there will be action buttons, click “Embed”
– Copy one of the two embed code options.

Paste this code to you blog / website

Can I use pictures from the internet?

You should only use artwork that is your own or that you are allowed to use freely. ​
Some photography websites such as Getty Images allow you to embed photos for free if you don’t use them for commercial reasons. ​

How can I find illustrators for my story?

​There are several ways. One is to publish your story and to reach out within your own networks. The second way is to click on the “books looking for illustrators” category. The third is to join our Facebook group “Making Books Come True” and post there. ​The fourth is to look for illustrators on Fiverr or similar websites. Or you can write us and we’ll try to help.

Is there a limit to the length of a book?

​There is no limit to the length of a book.

Can I download or backup a copy of my book?

We suggest that you keep a separate copy of your material. ​We back up all the books on the website on our servers. Currently, you cannot ‘download’ the books.

How do I know that my book will be available in the long term, and that my content is safe?

​Ourboox is a private initiative of Mel Rosenberg, his wife Shulamit and CTO and co-founder Ran Shternin. Mel is a well-known scientist, inventor and writer. Mel and Shuli have a personal commitment to the future of Ourboox and the community. Ourboox does not have any loans that it has to repay. We are in it for the long term. The very long term.

Can more than one person work on the same book?

​Yes, you can share your name and password and thus allow other(s) to work on the same book. We do not suggest that you work on the same book at the same time, however. When this happens, the last person to ‘save’ erases any changes that are being made at the same time.

Can I add to/change a book once it is published?

Of course, if it is an interactive HTML book! There is no limit to the number of times you, as the writer, can go in and make as many changes or additions as you wish. Yours is a living book!

If you upload a PDF book, however, it cannot be changed. You will have to remove it and upload an edited version.

 

How do I enable readers to support my books through Paypal?

This option is available only for Premium users. Check out our Premium plan here.

Go to your “Edit Profile” page by clicking on your avatar in the top right corner:

In the “Edit Profile” page, look for the field “Paypal Account Email“.  Please make sure to put a valid Paypal account email address. You will not be able to receive payments if this field is wrong or empty!

Click “Save Changes

Now an icon will show up on all of your books that will allow people to support your work through Paypal

What are the advantages of Ourboox Premium as compared with the free version?

You can see all the premium benefits here

How do I add pictures on Ourboox?

It’s easy to add pictures in the editor of the interactive e-book editor.

All you do is choose “artwork”, and drag in or select your pictures (jpeg, png or gif), individually or together. You can then select the one you want to use.

Note that choosing artwork for a page will erase any text that is already on it. For more details, check here.

And be sure to check out this video as well.

 

How do I Add a Cover?

There are two tabs in the Ourboox creator. The second allows you to add a cover, change the direction of the book from left-to-right to right-to-left, and to select categories for your book and choose the main language of your book.

When you click on “add cover” you can add and select the jpeg, png or gif file you have prepared. In the interactive HTML books, you just choose any of the previous pictures you have already added.

See here for further explanation.

To add text to a picture, please see here.

Why are the books on Ourboox free to share?

The books on Ourboox (over 170,000) are created and shared freely for the benefit of our users around the world.

Search engines can readily scan the contents and promote them.

Premium authors can receive donations and support for their efforts. For more details, check here.

Check out this video, as well:

Why Choose Ourboox to publish your book?

Ourboox is simple and fun to use. You can publish an interactive HTML5-based e-book in minutes, or upload a pdf directly, in seconds.

Ourboox is highly ranked by search engines.

Books are free and easy to share via their url or embed code.

For more details, please check here.

Have a look at this video, as well.

How long does a book have to be?

On Ourboox your book can be a few pages long, or a hundred pages long. It’s entirely up to you.

See here for more details.

Check out this video, as well:

Can I use Ourboox to make a dummy book?

Ourboox is a great tool to create your dummy book, with or without pictures.

Be sure to make the book private if you want to share it only with a select group of people.

For more information, see here.

How to choose a title for your book?

With Ourboox, you select the title of your book when you create it. This title becomes the url of your book. For example, if you title your book, “Mel’s Ten Tips on Oral Presentations”, the url will be https://www.ourboox.com/books/mels-ten-tips-on-oral-presentations/.

We suggest that your title have up to five or six words that describe your book to the readers and to the search engines.

In order to attract interest -be as specific as you can.

If your book is in a non-Latin language we still suggest that you name it initially using Latin lettering, in order to have an optimal url.

You can always change the text of your title, in any language, but the original url will remain the same.

For more details, check here.

And be sure to have a look at this video:

 

 

How to choose a subject for a book?

You can write a book of any length, in any language, on practically any subject (we don’t allow pornography or hateful content, please consult our Terms of Service). Please make sure that you have copyright permission to use the content you are uploading. Some ideas for topics are listed below.

  1. Your favorite trip – find a dozen of the finest photos from a recent trip (jpeg or png) and create a page-flipping book in word and pictures. Embed Google Maps of the places you visited. And don’t forget – this all will pass, and someday soon we will be able to travel again.
  2. Perhaps you have poems and stories gathering dust in your desk or on your desktop. Isn’t now the best time to share them with the world? I promise you, we will love them all.
  3. Are you a collector? Ribbons, match boxes, cars, dolls, embroideries? Now is the time to take pictures of your collections and share your hobby with the world.
  4. Do you have memories that you want to keep for yourself? Photos that you want to preserve? You can create a book, keep it private and share with those you love.
  5. Ourboox loves recipe books, especially ones with pictures of your delicious desserts.
  6. How about your own drawings, paintings, illustrations? Ourboox is a great place to create a portfolio of your artwork.
  7. Write about a special occasion in your life.
  8. Have you read a great book lately? Watched an awesome movie? Write a review. We love them.
  9. Can you teach us a skill? Share tips, insights? Ourboox is the place.
  10. There are many reasons to write a book, especially these days. But this last reason is the best of all. Connect with your muse, your creative spirit, the child in you, the dreamer in you. Use our free platform to fly. Write because writing is engaging, fun, liberating. We are waiting.

How do I join Ourboox Premium?

You can join Ourboox Premium via this link.

You can see the benefits of Ourboox Premium here.

 

Why should I upgrade my Ourboox account to Premium?

Upgrading to Premium enables you to write unlimited number of books, create your own author homepage (see one here), add live hyperlinks to your HTML books, see the number of book views, and get rid of advertising associated with your books.

More features are coming soon. In future, making books private may also be a premium service.

See here for details.

I can't log in. What do I do?

Refresh.

Make sure you are not signing in.

Type the email and password you signed in with initially.

If all else fails, please contact us at [email protected] .

Where can I find Ourboox terms and conditions?

You can see our Terms of Service here.

How do I create my personal homepage? 

Upgrade to Ourboox Premium.

Click on the portrait icon at the top right of the screen to access your personal homepage.

How do I edit my profile?

Click on the portrait icon at the top right of the screen.

Choose ‘edit profile’ from the scroll bar.

You can also upgrade to your own personal author homepage by joining Premium.

How do I create a new account on Ourboox.com?

If you are in an existing account,  click on the portrait icon (top right of the screen) choose ‘logout’ in the scrollbar.

If you aren’t logged in, just go to the Ourboox homepage and click on “Sign Up”. When signing up, please remember your correct email and password.

Signing up on Ourboox is a free service and allows you create and share up to 3 books. Upgrading to Premium allows you to write unlimited number of books.

How do I contact an author?

To contact an author, leave a message by clicking the “comment” button when reading one of the author’s books (you have to be signed up to leave a Comment).

Leave your contact details (these will be public) and ask for the author to get in touch with you.

How do I find books on a given subject?

The best way to search for books is to use an external search engine and look for the author, the subject, etc.

Right now we not have an internal search capacity.

Can people download my books?

The interactive books on Ourboox are not to be downloaded. We keep them on our server, where they are accessible to readers, whether signed in or not.

We believe that this protects the authors, while giving maximum access to readers.

In the future we may allow authors to download their own books as a premium service.

However, PDF books are downloadable, if the author chose to allow it for the readers.

How do I embed a book from Ourboox in my own website or blog?

Books on Ourboox are embeddable, which means they can be embedded in websites, blogs or other books.

To embed a book, copy one of the ’embed code’ options and then embed it in a suitable i-frame.

An explanation is here.

Can anyone download and print my pdf books?

Until recently, no one could download your pdf books on Ourboox. But now, we are offering our Premium members the option of allowing the public, or individual people you choose to download and print your pdf books.

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