: Re: What's the best software for self-publishing? I have written a short book on an unusual topic which is definitely not fit for publication with traditional measures. Nonetheless, I still care very

Professional typesetters usually use Adobe InDesign.

I write novels in a program called Scrivener. I normally export from Scrivener directly into MOBI and EPUB (for ebooks), which is supported by Scrivener.

For my print books, I would normally export from Scrivener into Microsoft Word, and then give the Word file to my designer, who would use InDesign.

I'm a programmer by day, and a writer by night, so I decided to see if I could build a solution to automatically typeset the printed book. I exported HTML from Scrivener, wrote some Ruby code to structure the HTML, then styled everything using CSS, and used a program called PrinceXML to turn that into a PDF. However, like LaTeX, this is a complicated, technical solution.

Depending how complicated your book is (just words or lots of structured information and/or graphics), you may be able to hire a designer for as little as 0 or as much as 00.

If you aren't technical, and can't afford a designer, you can do a reasonable job using Microsoft Word if you take the time to learn all the print design principles.

Load Full (0)

: How to get permission for using software screenshots in book? I am writing a book which includes a review of old software and I would like to add a couple of screenshots for some of them.

@Alves689

Load Full 2 Comments

: Cheapest way to self-bind a large book I'm finishing up a 350 page book that I will self publish. I plan on printing my book at a local printing store but they charge to bind each book.

@Alves689

Load Full 8 Comments

: Are there books to improve the style? I've opened a question in another section: https://softwareengineering.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6911/is-this-question-possible-in-this-section The question is

@Alves689

Load Full 2 Comments

: Do I need to copyright a short story before I send it? If I attempt to publish a short story in a magazine, can there be an issue of copywriting? Do I need to somehow "insure" my work

: Re: What's the best software for self-publishing? I have written a short book on an unusual topic which is definitely not fit for publication with traditional measures. Nonetheless, I still care very

More posts by @Alves689

: How to get permission for using software screenshots in book? I am writing a book which includes a review of old software and I would like to add a couple of screenshots for some of them.

: Cheapest way to self-bind a large book I'm finishing up a 350 page book that I will self publish. I plan on printing my book at a local printing store but they charge to bind each book.

: Are there books to improve the style? I've opened a question in another section: https://softwareengineering.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6911/is-this-question-possible-in-this-section The question is

: Do I need to copyright a short story before I send it? If I attempt to publish a short story in a magazine, can there be an issue of copywriting? Do I need to somehow "insure" my work

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top