Typeset, layout, format, create or build.

Greetings,

Personally, I think the world has enough novels already, and it would
be better served if would-be novel writers set themselves to something
more useful instead; perhaps bricklaying? I proffered my personal
philosophy to you as a way of warning you that you probably don't want
to put too much stock into my insights on the nescient novelist.

Still with me? I guess you really are desperate for opinions! <g>

Of the choices you supplied, I think the one mentioning "typesetting"
is the only one worth considering. The rest not only fail to define
what TeX is, but they also do not supply enough information for a
guess, let alone to titillate your (hopefully) future customers.


"Build Novels with TeX": Is TeX an industrial grade stapler? A type of
glue? A style guide?

"Create Novels with TeX": Who is TeX and why would I want to spend
good money on learning how to collaborate with him? *

"Format Novels with TeX"/"Lay out Novels with TeX": Why would I want
to format/layout** my novels with this TeX thing when I have MS Word?
*

Of course, I don't mean to suggest that "Typeset Novels with TeX" is
the best title a book could ever hope to have (assuming books hoped
. But, IMveryHO, it represents the sort of title to strive for.


Cordially,
Richard Kanarek

P.S. While I have come to think of TeX as WordStar without even the
pretext of user friendliness, I still harbor a slight interest in it.
Perhaps you'll let me/us know when its published? And, of course, good
luck!!!


* Obviously, I'm being facetious. This post was, for example, composed
with TextMaker.

** Per http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=layout&x=0&y=0
"layout" is one word.
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

I would look or search under 'typeset' or 'typesetting' - that would be my
keyword.

I have just completed a 165,000 word book and I am considering having it
typeset before self-publishing.

"John Culleton" <john RemoveThis @wexfordpress.com> wrote in message
news:itSdnae6nfXpHmTZnZ2dnUVZ_qGdnZ2d@adelphia.com...
I am
> looking for a title word that will be understood by first time
> authors. I assume that they may never have heard of TeX.
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

Personally, I think the world has enough snide newsgroup posters already and
it would be better served if they set themselves to something more useful,
like picking their noses. If you can't help with the query, zip your lip.

"Richard Kanarek" <FirstInitialLastName.RemoveThis@Spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:jo1lf2tkfb8pap1f7uhpje7m08lfnjcgu7@4ax.com...
> Greetings,
>
> Personally, I think the world has enough novels already, and it would
> be better served if would-be novel writers set themselves to something
> more useful instead; perhaps bricklaying? I proffered my personal
> philosophy to you as a way of warning you that you probably don't want
> to put too much stock into my insights on the nescient novelist.
>
> Still with me? I guess you really are desperate for opinions! <g>
>
> Of the choices you supplied, I think the one mentioning "typesetting"
> is the only one worth considering. The rest not only fail to define
> what TeX is, but they also do not supply enough information for a
> guess, let alone to titillate your (hopefully) future customers.
>
>
> "Build Novels with TeX": Is TeX an industrial grade stapler? A type of
> glue? A style guide?
>
> "Create Novels with TeX": Who is TeX and why would I want to spend
> good money on learning how to collaborate with him? *
>
> "Format Novels with TeX"/"Lay out Novels with TeX": Why would I want
> to format/layout** my novels with this TeX thing when I have MS Word?
> *
>
> Of course, I don't mean to suggest that "Typeset Novels with TeX" is
> the best title a book could ever hope to have (assuming books hoped
> . But, IMveryHO, it represents the sort of title to strive for.
>
>
> Cordially,
> Richard Kanarek
>
> P.S. While I have come to think of TeX as WordStar without even the
> pretext of user friendliness, I still harbor a slight interest in it.
> Perhaps you'll let me/us know when its published? And, of course, good
> luck!!!
>
>
> * Obviously, I'm being facetious. This post was, for example, composed
> with TextMaker.
>
> ** Per http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=layout&x=0&y=0
> "layout" is one word.
>
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

Greetings,

Regarding your recent post:
On Sun, 03 Sep 2006 14:14:03 GMT, "Gardner" <anon.TakeThisOut@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>Personally, I think the world has enough snide newsgroup posters already and
>it would be better served if they set themselves to something more useful,
>like picking their noses. If you can't help with the query, zip your lip.

Personally, I think the world can never have too many snide people (a
conjecture I would have thought you'd agree with). We spur progress
and make time pass more pleasantly -- well, at least less boringly.
Otherwise, I'm in complete agreement with you.

In my previous post, I corrected a serious (but quite forgivable)
typographical error, and I presented what I thought was, and what was
intended to be, a well reasoned reply to Mr. Culleton's query. Where
was the utility of your post?

Cordially,
Richard Kanarek
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

Gardner wrote:

> I would look or search under 'typeset' or 'typesetting' - that would be my
> keyword.
>
> I have just completed a 165,000 word book and I am considering having it
> typeset before self-publishing.
>
> "John Culleton" <john DeleteThis @wexfordpress.com> wrote in message
> news:itSdnae6nfXpHmTZnZ2dnUVZ_qGdnZ2d@adelphia.com...
> I am
>> looking for a title word that will be understood by first time
>> authors. I assume that they may never have heard of TeX.

Cutting through the usual froth it would seem that typesetting
rings the bell with the majority. That was my first choice.

Why don't I add the word "Your" as one had suggested? That pesky
25 character limitation comes in play. While less important for
an e-book it still carries weight. And nobody searches on "Your."

the original title/subtitles were:
---------------------------------------------------
Can You Type \Bye?
Typeset Your Novel with TeX.
A TEX typesetting tutorial for absolute beginners.
-------------------------------------------
--
John Culleton
Able Indexers and Typesetters
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

"Richard Kanarek" <FirstInitialLastName.TakeThisOut@Spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:pnlnf2t5stk6j4rv38qq83ch2920g0klku@4ax.com...
> Greetings,
>
> Regarding your recent post:
> On Sun, 03 Sep 2006 14:14:03 GMT, "Gardner" <anon.TakeThisOut@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> >Personally, I think the world has enough snide newsgroup posters
already and
> >it would be better served if they set themselves to something more
useful,
> >like picking their noses. If you can't help with the query, zip your
lip.
>
> Personally, I think the world can never have too many snide people (a
> conjecture I would have thought you'd agree with). We spur progress
> and make time pass more pleasantly -- well, at least less boringly.
> Otherwise, I'm in complete agreement with you.
>
> In my previous post, I corrected a serious (but quite forgivable)
> typographical error, and I presented what I thought was, and what was
> intended to be, a well reasoned reply to Mr. Culleton's query. Where
> was the utility of your post?
>
> Cordially,
> Richard Kanarek

I have to agree with Richard here and in the same spirit I would suggest
that you transgress the 25 character limit and make a name for yourself by
going with:

_Pretty Print your Magnum Opus with Knuth's Truth_

then you could follow that with:

_How to out-Joyce Joyce with Emacs Aleatory Prose Plug-ins_

Ed, less than seriously
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

Richard Kanarek wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> Personally, I think the world has enough novels already, and it would
> be better served if would-be novel writers set themselves to something
> more useful instead; perhaps bricklaying? I proffered my personal
> philosophy to you as a way of warning you that you probably don't want
> to put too much stock into my insights on the nescient novelist.
>
> Still with me? I guess you really are desperate for opinions! <g>
>
> Of the choices you supplied, I think the one mentioning "typesetting"
> is the only one worth considering. The rest not only fail to define
> what TeX is, but they also do not supply enough information for a
> guess, let alone to titillate your (hopefully) future customers.
>
>
> "Build Novels with TeX": Is TeX an industrial grade stapler? A type of
> glue? A style guide?
>
> "Create Novels with TeX": Who is TeX and why would I want to spend
> good money on learning how to collaborate with him? *
>
> "Format Novels with TeX"/"Lay out Novels with TeX": Why would I want
> to format/layout** my novels with this TeX thing when I have MS Word?
> *
>
> Of course, I don't mean to suggest that "Typeset Novels with TeX" is
> the best title a book could ever hope to have (assuming books hoped
> . But, IMveryHO, it represents the sort of title to strive for.
>
>
> Cordially,
> Richard Kanarek
>
> P.S. While I have come to think of TeX as WordStar without even the
> pretext of user friendliness, I still harbor a slight interest in it.
> Perhaps you'll let me/us know when its published? And, of course, good
> luck!!!

Just fyi the first title I considered was "Can you type \bye?",
based on the fact that one can typeset text with just one tag at
the end.

TeX and InDesign share one near-exclusive capability, either one sets a
entire justified paragraph and makes end-of-line and hyphenation
decisions on a paragraph basis, not a line by line basis. The
same two layout engines share the capability of using optical
margins, where small characters, usually punctuation, can be made
to protrude into the margin providing the optical illusion of a
perfectly straight margin. Adobe acknowledges that its paragraph
building routines were taken from TeX. TeX is Open Source so this
is not plagiarism.

A few more little niceties not found in WordStar or Quark, or
AFAIK InDesign:

I can set a single statement at the beginning of the file that
insures that any short line at the end of a paragraph will not be
shorter than the indent of the next paragraph.

I can allow slightly more spacing after a punctuation mark than
after a word. This is how all books were set prior to about
1930. I can control the exact amount of extra space per
punctuation mark, leaving more after end of sentences than after
commas.

In one form of TeX called Context I can take the same document
and set in in different forms using a command line switch.
Bimonthly I create a newsletter that is set as a half sheet size
pamphlet with pages arranged for duplex printing, or a letter
sized document set for straight printing. I also exclude material
from the letter size document (the page for address labels) using
the same mechanism.

I can have a master file which calls subordinate files, which in
turn can call other subordinate files and so on. The absolute limit of
levels of such subdivision is about 22.

It is not possible to have a program crash or even a system crash
that destroys your document. You can turn off the computer or
kick the plug out of the wall and not damage your document.
You have to crash the hard drive to lose or corrupt your file.

All code that creates the document is on view at all times. Thus
there is no "reveal codes" function.

And so on.



--
John Culleton
Able Indexers and Typesetters
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

John Culleton wrote:
> I am writing an e-book describing the use of the TeX typesetting
> system for creating finished pdf files from a manuscript. The
> target audience consists of novelists and memoir writers. I am
> looking for a title word that will be understood by first time
> authors. I assume that they may never have heard of TeX.
> Here are some title choices:
>
> 1. Typeset Novels with TeX
> 2. Lay out Novels with TeX
> 3. Format Novels with TeX
> 4. Create Novels with TeX
> 5. Build Novels with TeX
>
> Which of those front words would a newbie search under?
>
> There will be an explanatory subtitle, but the title must stand
> by itself in getting the newbie's attention and basic
> understanding. And it must be 25 characters or less including spaces.
>
> I have been the business long enough that I can't grok what a
> newbie's reaction to a title might be.
>
> -- John Culleton Able Indexers and Typesetters


Why would a novelist or Memoir writer have any interest in layout?

My editor would laugh herself off her chair if I presented something
other than a straight, properly spaced MS. My job is writing the
material, not setting it up for press. I use InDesign, but only for
doing things like laying out annual reports or brochures, never for real
writing.

Wouldn't you be better served by a target market of other eBook publishers?

Regards

Jeff
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build. 

Jeffrey wrote:
> Why would a novelist or Memoir writer have any interest in layout?
>
> My editor would laugh herself off her chair if I presented something
> other than a straight, properly spaced MS. My job is writing the
> material, not setting it up for press. I use InDesign, but only for
> doing things like laying out annual reports or brochures, never for real
> writing.
>
> Wouldn't you be better served by a target market of other eBook publishers?

These days, there are tens of thousands of writers who are choosing to
self-publish, instead of selling the rights to a traditional publisher
or paying a subsidy/POD publisher. These would be his target market,
as I understand it.

I'm not sure that most of them would follow this path, if they truly
understood what they were getting into, but that is neither here nor
there.

Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
www.GropenAssoc.com
 >> Stay informed about: Typeset, layout, format, create or build.