eBooks

So I'm trying to figure out how to publish my own eBooks. I have found one website, Lulu, that allows self-publication, but I can't format the appearance of my eBook with the cover and other elements the way I want to. Beyond that, I know my book will open in plain old Adobe Reader. The downside to this, is there are three really good eBook programs I'd like to use but can't.

I'd really like my PDF eBook to open in Adobe Digital Editions, but I can't figure out how to do that. My second idea would be to use eReader, but I don't want to pay the $30 for the software because I don't know if my stories will make enough money to cover that cost. Thirdly, I could use the free Microsoft Reader, but the formatting of the finished eBook is hit or miss, and my first attempt ended up with half the title page on one page, the other half merged with the first paragraph on another, and weird text formatting errors.

My other issue, and ultimately the one preventing me from moving farther forward in my endeavors, is selling the stories. Does anyone know an easy way to set up an online store where my stories will be sent automatically on receipt of payment to the purchaser? I could set up PayPal, but I'd still have to manually email out the finished goods. That doesn't go well with the "right here, right now" image eBooks propagate in the first place.

I am open to any and all suggestions as to how I can progress from this point. If I don't get anything, I might just have to go with a third-party publisher like Lulu.