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Publishing
DasBook can export your book as a PDF or EPUB. Each format is generated independently — publish one without affecting the other. Publishing overwrites the current version's output, so you can iterate on your typography settings freely without burning through version numbers.
- Open Publishing in the left sidebar (or Settings > Publishing)
- If your universe has multiple books, select which book to publish from the dropdown
- Configure your settings (see below)
- Click PDF or EPUB to generate that format
- Click the file to open it, or click the green download button to save to Downloads
- When you're satisfied, click Bump Version to lock the current output and start a new version
All settings are shared between PDF and EPUB output. They're saved per universe and remembered between sessions.
- Page Size — 6x9 (standard trade paperback), 5.5x8.5 (digest), 5x8 (mass market), or 8.5x11 (letter)
- Margins — uniform margins from 0.25" to 1.0"
- Binding Gutter — extra space on the inner edge for book binding (0" to 0.5")
Six one-click presets that configure font, spacing, chapter numbers, drop caps, and scene breaks all at once:
- Classic — Liberation Serif, drop caps, word-style chapter numbers ("Chapter One")
- Modern — Lora, left-aligned chapters, numeric numbers, no drop caps
- Elegant — EB Garamond, drop caps, ornamental scene breaks
- Literary — Libre Baskerville, no chapter numbers, drop caps
- Clean — Merriweather, left-aligned, tight spacing
- Manuscript — Liberation Serif, double-spaced, hash scene breaks
Twelve professional serif fonts, all open-licensed and embedded in the output:
- Liberation Serif, EB Garamond, Libre Baskerville, Lora, Merriweather
- Crimson Pro, Cormorant Garamond, Spectral, Alegreya, PT Serif, Source Serif 4, Gentium Book Plus
All four variants (regular, bold, italic, bold italic) are included. Markdown emphasis in your text (*italic*, **bold**) renders with the correct font variant.
- Font Size — 10pt to 16pt
- Line Spacing — 1.0x to 2.5x
- Paragraph Spacing — extra space between paragraphs (0–12pt). Set to 0 for traditional indent-only style
- Chapter Title Style — Centered or left-aligned
- Chapter Numbers — On/off, with format: "Chapter 1" (numeric) or "Chapter One" (word)
- Drop Caps — Large first letter at the start of each chapter
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Scene Break Symbol — Text between scenes (e.g.,
* * *,❧,—) - Chapters on New Page — each chapter starts on a fresh page
- Chapter Start — Right-hand page (recto, standard for print), left-hand page (verso), or next page
- Page Numbers — centered at the bottom of body pages
- Header: Author Name — shows on left-hand pages
- Header: Chapter Title — shows on right-hand pages
- Front matter pages (title, copyright, dedication, etc.) never show page numbers or headers
- Author Name — appears on the title page and optionally in running headers
- Copyright Notice — appears on the copyright page with © symbol added automatically
Upload a JPG or PNG cover image. It appears as the first page of both PDF and EPUB output. In PDF, it fills the entire page.
Optional pages that appear before your chapters (leave blank to skip):
- Half-Title Page — just the book title, centered
- Praise / Endorsements — review quotes
- Dedication — centered on the page
- Epigraph — a quote that sets the tone
- Foreword — written by someone other than the author
- Preface — author's introduction
Optional pages after your chapters:
- Author's Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Also By — list of other books
- Watermark — adds text to every body page footer (e.g., "ADVANCE READER COPY — NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION")
- Uncorrected Proof Notice — adds a disclaimer to the title page
| EPUB | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Print (KDP, IngramSpark), ARC copies | E-readers (Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo) |
| Text layout | Justified, exact positioning, real glyph metrics | Flows per device/reader settings |
| Fonts | Embedded (all 12 families, 4 variants each) | Embedded or reader default |
| Page numbers | Yes (body pages only) | No (reader handles pagination) |
| Running headers | Author name / chapter title (toggleable) | No |
| Binding gutter | Yes (alternates sides for recto/verso) | N/A |
| Cover image | Full-page first page | Standard EPUB cover |
| Watermark | Page footer | ARC notice page |
For books with parts or acts (e.g., "Act II — The Return"), add a Section Break node under your book in the Binder. It renders as a standalone title page in both PDF and EPUB output, appearing in the table of contents.
If your universe has multiple books, use the book picker dropdown above the publish buttons to select which book to generate. Each book produces its own separate PDF and EPUB.
Publications are saved with version numbers. You can see all past versions in the Publishing tab, open them, download them, or delete them. Use Bump Version when you're ready to move to the next version.
DasBook compiles all Books > Chapters > Scenes (and Section Breaks) that have "Include in Compile" enabled. Scenes directly under a book (no chapter parent) are promoted to chapter-level in the output.
Characters, research, timelines, documents, and codex entries are NOT included — they're your working materials.