: Least possible editing effort if a text is for multiple media? I want to write a text with some basic styles and images. I plan to use it on a blog, maybe later in a wiki. And there should

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I'd like to suggest Google Docs. It's a simple, usable word processor which allows you to "Download As" several formats (ODT, PDF, RTF, Text, Word, and HTML (zipped)). The only oddity is in the content licensing.

Essentially, you're granting Google rights to redistribute your work free of royalties "for the sole purpose of enabling Google to provide you with the Service in accordance with the Google Docs Privacy Policy.".

You do, however, maintain copyright. (See Google Docs Additional Terms).

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I highly recommend learning TeX and LaTeX. TeX is the typesetting system created by Donald Knuth. TeX can be converted to HTML, PDF, and countless other formats with ease. Personally, I use LaTeX, which is a bunch of macros and extensions to TeX that let you avoid a lot of work by combining a group of commands commonly used together into one.

To learn TeX and LaTeX, I'd start by visiting the TeX User Group and trying one of their excellent tutorials. I highly recommend A First LaTeX Document and The Not So Short Introduction To LaTeX2e in particular.

Also, Mr. Knuth himself wrote The TeXbook, which is the first part of his Computers and Typesetting set.

Don't forget to ask lots of questions at Stack Exchange's own TeX and LaTeX site.

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I would suggest Markdown. It may be a bit geeky (I'm a programmer/designer.), but it's what I write everything in now. It's a minimal syntax markup that you write in plain text, and then can convert it to HTML, and others. It's often used by bloggers, since a lot of the blogging software out there will let you write in Markdown, and then the blog system will convert it to the correct HTML to display on one's blog.

Mr. Gruber created this, and here's the syntax page: daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax
You'd need an editor that understands Markdown and can convert it to other things (HTML/PDF), and I use Scrivener. It's so good. Export to many formats from Markdown. It can "compile" your plaintext work in Markdown into other formats.

Additional references:

A link to the Scrivener forums all about Markdown (and it's varient called Multimarkdown). icetothebrim.com/2010/mac-blog-workflow-scrivener-markdown-textmate/

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Any single-sourcing scheme is going to require some up-front setup in exchange for easier generation of multiple formats later. This Wikipedia page provides a starting point for process and tools.

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