epub creation software list

[lordmax]

Hi to all

I'm an old time lurker, a writer and a writing coach

I'm looking for a list of epub creation software
Not software to read epub but to make epub

I know there' s some forum for some of them but not what I'm searching for
I know some software like

Writer's café
ywriter
jutoh
Mobipocket Creator
ePUBee Maker
TreePad Exe-eBook Creator
Scrivener
eBook Maestro
ultimate ebook creator
E-Book Compiler

What I'm searching is, in first a list of software like the one before and, second, experiences about them
I know and used Writer's café and it's a really good one.
I've used Jutoh and it's good but too limiting
I know scrivener and I can't recommend it due to it's working limitation

At now I'm using libreoffice with writer2epub extension and Sigil but I need somethign I can use from the beginning of the process so also for researching, outlining and notes
At now I'm using also Zim for notes, freemind for mindmap and writer's café for timeline. They are too much different software to be really efficient

Thanks to all

[JSWolf]

Forget trying to find a do-it-all program. You can use Word if you use properly created styles. If you don't use styles correctly, you'll have a load of cow dung to deal with. Then you can use Sigil to make the ePub.

[lordmax]

Hi

I don't use word 'cause I use libreoffice thats way more powerfull for epub creation and yes, I use styles properly.

But my search isn't 'bout word or styles
I don't want to use an editor created for office's documentation to create something totally different
Office, libreoffice, google docs, notion, textmaker, pages, abiword, they're all good software but they're not intended for ebooks creation. They're intended for office works.
They are the wrong instruments

Good instruments are sigil, writer's café, ywriter and so on
They are created with ebooks in mind
This is what I'm searching for

[DiapDealer]

You are looking for an authorial tool that is also doubles as a full-feature epub editor. Such a beast doesn't really exist (and shouldn't, in my opinion).

One should use authorial tools to write books, and use import/export tools to create epubs from those books that can then be edited/tweaked (if necessary) with Epub editor software.

I'm one of the maintainers of Sigil, and I would never recommend it as an authorial tool.

[Turtle91]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

...
I'm one of the maintainers of Sigil, and I would never recommend it as an authorial tool.

... But Sigil, and Calibre Editor, are among the best at editing ePubs. And they're free!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm one of the maintainers of Sigil, and I would never recommend it as an authorial tool.

Originally Posted by Turtle91

... But Sigil, and Calibre Editor, are among the best at editing ePubs. And they're free!

And I use both programs for editing epubs. I would not create the original document in either unless forced to. Create the document in a word processor(*), save or convert to epub and then apply the finishing touches in Sigil or calibre. IMNSHO, this makes for a much better end product.

Use an epub editor to take a look at the craptastic output from Vellum to see why I would never recommend an all in one program. Half the styles in the html files are not in the stylesheets for starters as one major issue.

* Hoping the creator uses styles correctly. A boy can hope, can't he?

[Quoth]

What DiapDealer and DNSB says ^^^^^^^

Writing and editing is best with Word or LO Writer. For resources I use a tabbed text editor (Notepad++ in Windows, KATE in Linux). I also have a local copy of mediawiki, but don't use it much. Some info is in spreadsheets.

You can maintain the complete source text in LO Writer or MS Word with styles for eBook and easily do a version for PDF for POD paper.

If you use styles properly, then you can simply import the docx to Calibre and convert to epub2. Then convert epub2 to Dual Mobi & AZW. No editing needed.

If you are doing something more complex, more than a novel with illustrations, then you import your source to Sigil or Calibre and edit the CSS.

More complex than that, or interactive, or multimedia, then the WP text is source for a custom App.

A one does everything tool tends to be proprietary and ultimately less flexible.

I fell into this trap in the 1990s for a while, creating the content in custom programs. I went back to using a real wordprocessor, far more flexible. Create a template with all the stuff you need for an ordinary eBook. It's less than 30 min to take the ebook source and adapt a version for paper.

Avoid expensive proprietary all-in-one programs. Especially rented ones!

Use tools that work on Windows MacOS or Linux, or where one part of the tool chain can easily be swapped (Notepad++ and KATE for pure text notes, Jota on Android)

[BetterRed]

MS Word + Toxaris's add on + Transtools addon shouldn't be dismissed. See the Useful Tools sticky in the Workshop forum.

The PageEdit gadget from the Sigil camp can be used in conjunction with both the Sigil and calibre epub editors. Useful for Copy Editing/Proofreading phases.

BR

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

... But Sigil, and Calibre Editor, are among the best at editing ePubs. And they're free!

I just meant that I wouldn't use either of them to write a book. Or to annotate one, or outline one. Both are great at editing/importing/manipulating content that already exists and was written using more traditional authorial tools.

[Quoth]

To enter proof annotations:

1. Open KATE/Notepad++ session for the project
2. Kobo Utilities to quickly read annotations only for the selected book. (in Calibre)
3. Copy & Paste into a new KATE/Notepad++ tab (added to session)
4. Save (annotate)_<title>_<version>.txt, in book directory use Regex to have annotations in format desired. Save.
5. Open book. SaveAs with updated version prefix if last version = annotation version.
6. Have annotations in left window (KATE or Notepad++ tabbed editor). Can select other tabs for cast, events, timeline.
7. Right window is Word or LO Writer.
8. Use ¬ to mark bits needing re-written or added, with comment, but otherwise only edit typos. Mark off note in Annotation window with *. The source txt of highlight is used in WP search.
9. Then when annotations all used up, remove it from session.
10. THEN do rewriting, but if any passage is to be deleted: Save, then Save As with version increment.

1. Check all anchors / TOC links still are correct
2. replace 2 space with 1 space till not found.
3. Then run regexs to find all other typos, leading spaces, trailing spaces etc.
4. Spelling and Grammar check.
5. Save As Docx if Writer (use ODT native), or use Docx native in Word.
6. Import to ePub2 conversion (Calibre / Sigil). Try NOT to edit, if MUST edit, only edit CSS.
7. Leave aside for a week or two and then proof/annotate on eReader again. H2O, Libra or Forma.

Save regularly. Esp at each step.
Create other eBook formats from epub2.
POD/Paper/PDF: Use a Save As copy of source and edit ONLY the styles. If for paper, remove all links.
Backup to elsewhere a couple of times a day, ALL changed files.
If you think you need fancier than KF8 or epub2, then maybe you need a PDF (many big colour images, or text book or fixed layout) or a custom app (multimedia).
Though most ebooks are read on phones and tablets, the point is that they are books that should reflow for 5" to 14" screens.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Quoth

<snip>
If you use styles properly, then you can simply import the docx to Calibre and convert to epub2. Then convert epub2 to Dual Mobi & AZW. No editing needed.

<snip>

If you want to maintain the WP style hierarchy and names in the CSS (calibre flattens the hierarchy and discards the names) try the Sigil DOCX Input plugin. You have to define the mapping but if you reuse the WP styles template, and why wouldn't you, you only have to do it once.

for the rest

For me interoperability has always trumped all-in-one. It's a losing battle though, today every user wants every app, to have a button for every feature they ever saw in every other aoo they ever used. Far too much effort is duplicated just to save 2 mouse clicks, or even worse a single keystroke.

BR

[Quoth]

NO package will teach you work flow or what the elements of a page are.
It was rather amusing teaching trainee secretaries Wordperfect on MSDOS a million years ago.
I concentrated on teaching them the elements and workflow, not the commands. Not one of their work experience placements used Wordperfect. Till then they thought I was eccentric.

Sadly most computer application courses seem designed by the Marketing Depts, not by people actually doing a day's work with a tool.

[BetterRed]

Some tools are designed by Marketing Departments - and I'm not thinking of the usual suspects.

BR

[DaleDe]

Atlantis Word Processor does a good job with ePub creation and is a pretty good word style editor as well. I like it better than libreoffice.

[lordmax]

ok
Thanks to all for your responses

I admint that my hope was to find something different but well, maybe it's not possible to get always our dreams
^__^

I would just explain that my workflow it's pretty coherent

I use freemind to create first step of book idea and brainstorming (solo or in team)
Next I use Zim Desktop for researches and note taking (it works with txt and markdown so it's almost perfect for this)
I use a text editor for first draft (typically notepad++ on windows and Geany on linux but sometimes my old love emacs)
I use libreoffice with perfectepub and writer2epub (2 wonderfull extension, I'm Italian I've partecipated on w2e develop)
I use writer's café for timeline (and sometime trello when timeline is not to much complex)
I use generally Sigil for epub final optimization and kindlegen for modi convertion
I don't use bluegriffon 'cause I don't like it, to me it's too rigid.

And in all of this I try to maintain a coherent workflow (ok, sometimes shit happens but it's life. ^__^)

But well, it's little fatiguing
And I'm a writing coach in first, can you imagine how it's hard to teach all this workflow to someone new to the authorial world?
More than that, explain why it has to be so complex to someone that thinks writing process is like 'i sit and i write and all will be fine'


P.s. sorry for my bad english