The Baker E-book Framework allows designers and developers to turn fixed-width HTML5 pages into an e-book format and publish the finished product. After that, all you need to do is follow the App Store submission guidelines, and you're on your way to e-book greatness.
To design for the Baker Framework, simply build HTML5 pages with a fixed width of 768 pixels. You can test your HTML versions on an iPad using the Safari browser and iterate accordingly.
Don't own an iPad? No problem. You can even test your e-book in a regular web browser without an iPad; just download the 768px-support ZIP file from Baker's site.
E-book files are then packaged in the HPub format. You give Baker one folder containing all your HTML files and other materials, named 1.html, 2.html, etc. The HPub format is still under development; the developers on this project say the final format won't require every page to be named in this way.
Finally, you download the Baker Framework, rename the Xcode project and include your book and icon. At that point, your e-book is ready for App Store submission.
To see an example of a Baker-created e-book, check out this free title, 5x15 Tokyo [iTunes link]:
"HTML5 is out there," co-founder Davide Casali wrote us in an e-mail. "Why is nobody really making the convergence between the publishing industry and the web, and why are we confined to those crappy designed epubs?" he asks.
Casali and his team hope their creation will lead to more beautiful e-books and digital magazines on the iPad, and for other WebKit-enabled devices later.
You can download all the Baker Framework files at the official site, and you can get involved with the project itself on GitHub.