I'm looking at writing a short book that I would like to self publish on Amazon, but I'm not sure what software to use. I use Windows 10, so it would need to run on that. I was thinking of LaTeX, but I'm not sure if there is anything else out there?
Paging @big soft moose ...BSM is well-versed in this, so he's a good one to ask. At one point there was a thread in Self-Publishing in which he made recommendations, but I'm not sure if it's up to date. What say you, Moose?
One thing I should point out first is that it will be a technical book about programming so I need to include source code within the text. I know LaTeX can handle this but I don't think it can export to .mobi or .epub which is a bit of a downer. If I create a PDF is it possible to turn it into an ebook?
OK figured this out. I'll write the book using LaTeX and convert it to PDF. I'll then import it into Calibre and convert it to ePub. I'll then upload it to lulu.com and that way I can sell on multiple websites all working from one source.
Sounds complicated. Try Sigil. Formatting is done using HTML, so as long as you know how to code, you should be able to include any technical coding elements as long as you have a font to support it, and is saves directly as an EPUB file. Also, I've found when using Calibre to convert from PDF to EPUB, it basically turns each page into a separate image rather than keeping it as text. This may not be a good idea for a few reasons: like one of the advantages of ebooks is the ability to have resizable text, highlight paragraphs, and change colours, which this arrangement eliminates; if you notice any mistakes you'll have to go back to your original files, fix them and reconvert, which would be inefficient and annoying; and file sizes will be substantially larger for most books. It's also entirely possible I've been using Calibre all wrong, too, so if anyone knows otherwise, it would be nice to know. LibreOffice also has the option to export as an EPUB file, but I've never been able to get it to work for me.
Thank you for your reply. I'd really rather use LaTeX as it is the go-to for technical writing in a lot of fields and opens up a lot of doors. Are there any other tools that will convert PDF to ePub which don't have that problem?
Personally i write in libre word for fiction and scrivener for non fiction, but i use vellum for formatting (note that Vellum is £180 and mac only although you can run it in macincloud on a pc)... if you don't want to invest in vellum , Jutoh is the next best bet $49 You can download vellum free to play with - you only have to pay when you need to unlock it to output your first book... on the output front it will do PDF, epubs optimised to various markets needs, and a mobi - this is significantly better than using calibre to convert a file since conversion often buggers up the visual formatting For print although velum will output an ebook and pdf I use adobe indesign to format the pDF if its more than just text (Affinity publisher is a cheaper option which is nearly as good) Also unless you are going into KU - which for a techincal book you probably wouldnt - you should also look at other market places such as Kobo, B&N, apple, google play and so on, rather thn just 'self publishing on amazon. all of these will take an epub
