What features do you need that a word processor doesn't currently provide?
Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
11–20 of 27 posts
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#12html+css+latex(math)+some library for grahps(d3)
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Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#13git, search "using git to write thesis".
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7775881/using-git-for-wr...
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#14Texstudio with tikz for diagrams
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#15I was trying to figure this out for a piece of non-fiction which isn’t technical. I wrote it in Emacs using markdown and it proved to be hard to collaborate and get feedback from non-technical people. I looked at Dropbox Paper and Notion since they also supported markdown and those were also hard to get suggested changes. I looked at Word and document sharing and although that was better it had a few problems with OneDrive file sync even though I really liked the Office app on the phone. Finally, I ended up in Google Docs. It is simple, I can collaborate and it syncs readily. Also, the sidebar table of contents is nice to jump to different parts of the book easily. Sure not markdown but for my current needs since I’m not putting any code in the doc it is totally fine. To be honest I don’t know why I went through all the hurdles. Once it is closer to done I may move it to a markdown file again.
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#16At first I recommend no tooling. Use your favourite editor and start. Once you have content you can figure out what tool(s) you (might) need. Let the content and needs drive the tools - you might find your use case change as you write.
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#17Recommend as simple as possible for the text, and start with pencil & paper for the diagrams. Then move no-longer-draft text into latex (for maths and formatting) and something simplish (maybe inkscape) for the diagrams. You DON'T want to spend writing time doing any formatting and playing with computers ... that's an easy was to burn lots of time. Get the ideas (words & pics) clear and complete, then the formatting…
I agree with the advice for authors not to spend time on formatting—leave that to the editor, book designer, and compositor—but that’s not necessarily a reason to avoid Microsoft Word, which despite its flaws, has extensive facilities for character and paragraph styles, including a Limit formatting to a selection of styles option that prevents direct formatting.
Indeed, many publishers are set up to accept manuscripts in Word documents as the input to their editorial and production workflows, which generally use other software for the actual typesetting and e-book production.
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#18It's not software tooling, but Reading.
Start with Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.[0]
Then read more. Fiction, nonfiction, whatever you like. And when you think you've read enough, read more.
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Writing:_A_Memoir_of_the_Cr...
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#19If you are okay with using markdown, I have a post on how to use pandoc to generate pdf/epub [0]
I also include links at the end for other flows like Jupyter Book, Asciidoctor, etc. Markdeep [1] might suit you better for a simple solution that allows diagrams, equations, etc.
Re: Ask HN: I am writing a book what tools do you recommend?
#20Scrivener. It's biggest advantage over something like Microsoft Word is that a Scrivener project is basically a custom file system for your manuscript, making it incredibly easy to keep chapters and sections in separate files (for speed, focus, navigation and alternate drafts) and combine them seamlessly when necessary.
Word .DOCs are sluggish to navigate when they get long, tempting to get sidetracked when you're supposed to be fixing a specific chapter, and don't provide a convenient place to stash meta-data (notes, outlines, scrap, alternate drafts, etc.)