Publishing your book

You've written a book. unipress turns your folder of markdown into the files a publisher or store needs — a print-ready PDF, an EPUB, a shareable digital edition. This guide covers the rest of the journey: what those files are, how to make them well, and how to get your book onto Amazon, Apple Books, and print-on- demand services so readers can buy it.

It's written for authors, not programmers. Where a step needs a command, it's one line. Where it needs a decision (a trim size, an ISBN, a store), it's explained in plain terms with a link to the authoritative source.

This guide is about publishing. For the full list of document.yml settings — every trim, font, and structure toggle — see the book template reference.

The journey

flowchart LR
  W[Write] --> P[Proof]
  P -->|revise| P
  P --> F[Finalize]
  F --> E[EPUB]
  F --> D[Digital PDF]
  F --> I[Print interior]
  E --> SE[Ebook stores]
  D --> SD[Sell direct]
  I --> SP[Print-on-demand]

1. Write and proof. Draft in markdown, compile constantly, read, revise.
2. Finalize. Set your trim size, add covers and front matter, do a layout pass.
3. Produce your files. An EPUB for ebook stores, a print-ready interior for print-on-demand, a digital PDF to sell or share.
4. Publish. Upload to the stores, order a proof copy, set your price, go live.

Two builds: a proof and a final

unipress lets one manuscript produce several cuts — different shapes of the same content — from one folder, using --variant. The recommended setup is two configs side by side:

my-book/
  document.yml         # the PROOF  — unipress compile .
  document-book.yml    # the FINAL  — unipress compile . --variant document-book
  assets/front.png  assets/back.png
  01-…  02-…  (your chapters)

document.yml — your proofing copy (the default). A comfortable single-column read on Letter or A4, generous margins for notes, no covers. Build it with a bare unipress compile . — fast, so you run it constantly while writing. This is where you catch typos, awkward sentences, and pacing.

# document.yml
format: pdf
paths: { pages: . }
book:
  kind: article      # single column, roomy — easy to read and mark up
  trim: letter       # or a4
content: [ ... ]

document-book.yml — your final book (a variant). The real trade 6×9, with covers and full front matter. Build it with unipress compile . --variant document-book. This is the file you send to a store, and — via --format epub — your ebook. Build it near the end to also proof the layout: page breaks, widowed lines, where images land. Things the proofing copy can't show you.

# document-book.yml
format: pdf
paths: { pages: . }
book:
  trim: trade-6x9
  structure: { titlePage: true, copyrightPage: true, toc: true, frontMatterNumbering: roman }
  covers: { front: assets/front.png, back: assets/back.png }
content: [ ... ]

Why this split? You compile a hundred times while writing, so the least-friction default should be the fast reading copy. The polished book — heavier, with full-bleed cover art — is the deliberate "I'm ready to publish" build. There are two kinds of proofreading, and this covers both: content proofing in the proof copy, layout proofing in the final.

Going to print adds one more cut — a cover-less print interior for the print-on-demand service. See Publishing in print.

What you'll produce

Before you publish — a checklist

• Content proofread in the proof copy — spelling, grammar, facts, flow.
• Layout proofread in the final variant — no widowed headings, images in place, chapters start cleanly, front matter correct.
• Trim size chosen and consistent everywhere (Size and layout).
• Covers sized for your trim, front and back (Covers and images).
• Images are high-resolution enough for print (Covers and images).
• Title page and copyright page say what you want, including rights and any ISBN (ISBNs and metadata).
• EPUB validates (Publishing an ebook).
• A physical proof copy ordered and read before you press publish (Publishing in print).

The rest of this guide

• Size and layout — trim sizes, margins, bleed, front matter, and typography. How to pick a shape for your book.
• Covers and images — front and back covers, and images inside the book. Dimensions, resolution, and the difference between the cover unipress makes and the wrap-around cover a printer wants.
• Publishing an ebook — what an ebook is, generating and validating your EPUB, and the stores and aggregators that sell it.
• Publishing in print — print-on-demand explained, the two files you upload, KDP Print vs IngramSpark, and ordering a proof.
• ISBNs and metadata — ISBNs, the metadata stores ask for, and your copyright page.

What unipress does and doesn't do

unipress produces the files: PDF, EPUB, Word, spreadsheet. That's the technical handoff. It doesn't upload your book, generate ISBNs, design your cover, edit your prose, or market your book — those are yours (or a professional's) to do. This guide points you at how.