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, including every trim, font and structure toggle, see the book template reference.

The journey

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 is 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 .. It's 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 is 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, with --format epub, your ebook. Build it near the end to also proof the layout: page breaks, widowed lines, where images land. Those are 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 and 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 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.