So you want to design a book without pages?

Don’t even try it my friend. At the end of the book production process, when you connect to iTunes Producer, you will encounter a file parsing program, just call him EPUB Robot, or E-Bot, if you like.

E-Bot wants to see books with pages and more than one chapter, otherwise he’ll return a nasty error message. And don’t even try to create your own sample book. That will not work either.

Don’t try to get creative with E-Bot, because he’ll break your iPad over his knee.

You might want to protest: “E-Bot, wait, we are publishing a poetry collection, or a series of watercolor reproductions, and all we need are sections or maybe blank pages (a reasonable request).”

E-Bot will frown on such novelties. “Where’s yur’ darn chapter?” he’ll spit out.

How about a book of calligrammes,E-Bot, or haïkus? Something without the gimmicky chapter pictures. Is that allowed? Just a nice book made up for 45 sections in a row, or 30 pages —clean, minimalistic, easy to use.

E-Bot: “That won’t fly either. I can’t make heads or tails of your book, but I want to see them chapters, or else!”

In conclusion, you might not need chapters in your book, because all books are different. But just be aware that E-Bot is waiting at the entrance of the iBooks Store with a mallet in his hand, waiting to parse through the books that he’s been programmed to parse through. He needs structure, and you need to give to him or he’ll break down.

And don’t try to get smart and upload your own creative sample book (made up of pages or sections). That will end under E-Bot’s iron fist.

Don’t try to be a poet, and don’t try to think out of the box, not until the next IBA update at least. Stuff your book with chapters, pictures, etc., and make the Bot happy.

Hope this helps someone trying to get creative with the file parser.