Electronic book building system and method

1. A method for building a custom publication comprising:

receiving a selection of units of content for inclusion in a custom publication, each unit of content selected from source publications;

accessing a library of electronic source publications, the library having defined units of content within the same publications and storing source publication metadata for the defined units of content, wherein the custom publication includes references to defined units of content associated with the selected units of content;

creating a set of custom publication units for an unpublished custom publication, wherein creating the set of custom publication units comprises copying the selected units of content and associating the copied, selected units of content with the unpublished custom publication;

including additional content in at least one of the set of custom publication units of content;

publishing the unpublished custom publication, wherein publishing the unpublished custom publication comprises:

for common structural elements in the custom publication units, including the at least one custom publication unit including the additional content,

determining corresponding structural element type, and

applying consistent styling to each of the common structural elements in the set of custom publication units of content, including the at least one custom publication unit including the additional content, based upon the determined structural element type, to create a published custom publication with consistent styling; and

providing the published custom publication in an electronic format.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the published custom publication comprises at least one non-text portion.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying consistent styling includes reflowing content into a specified format and size.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic format is a format that can be consumed by an e-reader, a format that can be consumed by a web browser, or a print format.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the set of custom publication units that includes the additional content includes both the additional content and at least one of the copied, selected units of content.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the additional content is specified by the user.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the additional content is a reference to a source of the at least one of the copied, selected units of content.

8. A system for building a custom publication, comprising:

a processor;

a data store, storing a library of electronic source publications having defined units of content within the source publications, the library storing source publication metadata for the defined units of content, wherein the custom publication includes references to defined units of content associated with the selected units of content;

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a set of instructions executable by the processor for:

receiving a selection of units of content for inclusion in a custom publication, each unit of content selected from one of the source publications;

creating a set of custom publication units for an unpublished custom publication, wherein creating the set of custom publication units comprises accessing the library, copying the selected units of content and associating the copied, selected units of content with the unpublished custom publication;

including additional content in at least one of the set of custom publication units of content;

publishing the unpublished custom publication, wherein publishing the unpublished custom publication comprises:

for common structural elements in the custom publication units, including the at least one custom publication unit including the additional content,

determining a corresponding structural element type, and

applying consistent styling to each of the common structural elements in the set of custom publication units of content, including the at least one custom publication unit including the additional content, based upon the determined structural element type, to create a published custom publication with consistent styling; and

providing the published custom publication in an electronic format.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the published custom publication comprises at least one non-text portion.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein applying consistent styling includes reflowing content into a specified format and size.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the electronic format is a format that can be consumed by an e-reader, a format that can be consumed by a web browser, or a print format.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one of the set of custom publication units that includes the additional content includes both the additional content and at least one of the copied, selected units of content.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the additional content is specified by the user.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the additional content is a reference to a source of the at least one of the copied, selected units of content.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for:

receiving a selection of units of content for inclusion in a custom publication, each unit of content selected from source publications;

accessing a library of electronic source publications, the library having defined units of content within the source publications and storing source publication metadata for the defined units of content, wherein the custom publication includes references to defined units of content associated with the selected units of content;

creating a set of custom publication units for an unpublished custom publication, wherein creating the set of custom publication units comprises copying the selected units of content and associating the copied, selected units of content with the unpublished custom publications;

including additional content in at least one of the set of custom publication units of content;

publishing the unpublished custom publication, wherein publishing the unpublished custom publication comprises:

for common structural elements in the custom publication units, including the at least one custom publication unit including the additional content, determining a corresponding structural element type, and

applying consistent styling to each of the common structural elements in the set of custom publication units of content, including the at least one custom publication unit including the additional content, based upon the determined structural element type, to create a published custom publication with consistent styling; and

providing the published custom publication in an electronic format.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the published custom publication comprises at least one non-text portion.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein applying consistent styling includes reflowing content into a specified format and size.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the electronic format is a format that can be consumed by an e-reader, a format that can be consumed by a web browser, or a print format.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the at least one of the set of custom publication units that includes the additional content includes both the additional content and at least one of the copied, selected units of content.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the additional content is specified by the user.

21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the additional content is a reference to a source of the at least one of the copied, selected units of content.