MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Step-By-Step Guide to ePub creation

Quoth · 07-13-2025, 04:42 AM

I show how to setup templates and remove all formatting bars etc and have a style window and navigation outline window set up in LO Writer. Also Notepad++ or KATE (depending OS) for tabbed text edit and show how to customise it for text editing rather than programming.

There is no substitute for training and unfortunately many courses / schools have content driven by marketing and concentrate on features rather than how to do stuff for different jobs. Sadly even many resources of "writing" or built in Grammar checkers are for secretarial work, report writing, journalism, academic thesis etc, not writing a novel.

We explain:
Do formatting for Paper/PDF after (opposite approach is taken by big publishers).
Use a small paper size so a page fits on screen and it's more like the view of 6" to 8" ereader or app on a tablet.
No tabs, never more than one space, no blank lines, no direct formatting.

I've given special lessons on setting up and using styles for poetry/lyrics and scripts (plays or video or audio drama).

I understand where you are coming from on Markdown, but the writers are better off using plain text (not just a file per "chapter" but per scene). More files the better and use a subdirectory for each novel / work / project. Then learning styles when they assemble the 1st Draft.

At business college (1991 to 1993) it was easier to teach those that had not used a computer in school!

The default settings in almost every OS and application are unsuitable for most people.

Want distraction free? Turn off notifications, maybe disable Internet connection. Don't use any tools that need the Internet.

It's so cheap now too compared to the 1980s, in real terms. My main workstation is an upgraded secondhand €130 Dell 7050 with a 23" 4K matt no-shine, no-glare screen under €300. My last laptop was under €300 new and I added a cheap 1T HDD to the SSD. I converted a €160 Chromebook/ChromeOS to run Linux Mint natively. I checked out what a Pi4B was like with a 16" QHD portable screen (I think a cheap laptop would be better and cheaper for most writers).

I've wiped old Windows laptops and set them up with Mint & Mate desktop for people and showed them how to use it for writing etc. And Calibre, plus their eink ereader to proof on. Copy back annotations to KATE or Notepad++

There is no substitute for training and being organised!

Content Content Content. Worry about appearance when the content is proofed.

07-13-2025, 04:42 AM	#34
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,561 Karma: 108666825 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I show how to setup templates and remove all formatting bars etc and have a style window and navigation outline window set up in LO Writer. Also Notepad++ or KATE (depending OS) for tabbed text edit and show how to customise it for text editing rather than programming. There is no substitute for training and unfortunately many courses / schools have content driven by marketing and concentrate on features rather than how to do stuff for different jobs. Sadly even many resources of "writing" or built in Grammar checkers are for secretarial work, report writing, journalism, academic thesis etc, not writing a novel. We explain: Do formatting for Paper/PDF after (opposite approach is taken by big publishers). Use a small paper size so a page fits on screen and it's more like the view of 6" to 8" ereader or app on a tablet. No tabs, never more than one space, no blank lines, no direct formatting. I've given special lessons on setting up and using styles for poetry/lyrics and scripts (plays or video or audio drama). I understand where you are coming from on Markdown, but the writers are better off using plain text (not just a file per "chapter" but per scene). More files the better and use a subdirectory for each novel / work / project. Then learning styles when they assemble the 1st Draft. At business college (1991 to 1993) it was easier to teach those that had not used a computer in school! The default settings in almost every OS and application are unsuitable for most people. Want distraction free? Turn off notifications, maybe disable Internet connection. Don't use any tools that need the Internet. It's so cheap now too compared to the 1980s, in real terms. My main workstation is an upgraded secondhand €130 Dell 7050 with a 23" 4K matt no-shine, no-glare screen under €300. My last laptop was under €300 new and I added a cheap 1T HDD to the SSD. I converted a €160 Chromebook/ChromeOS to run Linux Mint natively. I checked out what a Pi4B was like with a 16" QHD portable screen (I think a cheap laptop would be better and cheaper for most writers). I've wiped old Windows laptops and set them up with Mint & Mate desktop for people and showed them how to use it for writing etc. And Calibre, plus their eink ereader to proof on. Copy back annotations to KATE or Notepad++ There is no substitute for training and being organised! Content Content Content. Worry about appearance when the content is proofed.