Ebook Dilemma

[pcparanormal]

Here's my problem. I created a beautiful 46-page ebook using backgrounds, photos and text. I exported as a PDF, looks great, then I went to submit it online to Lulu to convert it into an ebook, and the conversion messed up the formatting, throwing all the images around and creating a disaster. I looked into other converters, same issue. I also tried converting to DOCX, RTF, etc., same result. So then I figured I'd export each page in Express as a JPG and convert it to EPUB (which is required to publish) in Google Docs, then I used Calibre to merge the EPUBs together, but now the pages are smaller and there's a lot of empty space, but at least they're in tact. 

I only started using Express because it was advertised to create ebooks, but I'm shocked that an EPUB export isn't possible. How do I work around this issue and turn what I created, and how it appears, from PDF format into EPUB without losing the integrity of my project and maintaining the proper page dimensions (since they have colored backgrounds to fit the 1600 x 2560 ebook template I used)? I'm at my wits end after spending 5 hours on workarounds. Thanks to anyone who can help. 

[pcparanormal]

After doing more research, I came across InDesign, and I'm installing it now. Is there a way to import what I've created in Express so I don't have to start from scratch all over again? I'm also looking into a professional service to convert the PDF into a proper-looking EPUB. 

[pcparanormal · Accepted solution]

Okay, this is the only workaround I came up with. I downloaded each page as a separate JPG. Then I downloaded the desktop version of MS Word, changed the page size to match the dimenions of JPGs, then inserted one JPG per page, so it took up the entire page. I then submitted this as a DOCX and the publishing service converted it to EPUB and kept the fixed layout aspect of the project. The only downside to this is that there is technically no text, just an image of text, so "read aloud" services don't work on e-readers. I've decided to scrap the project for now and go with a more professional ebook creating software that exports directly to EPUB format. I'm not sure why Express PDFs won't format correctly when converted to EPUB, and hopefully this helps others who are also in this dilemma.