On Fri, 17 May 2013 17:04:19 -0500 Dale Erwin <dale at casaerwin.org> wrote:
> I've been following this forum for some time expecting that one I > have finished the text preparation in Apache Open Office Writer, I > would be able to use Scribus for the page layout since I need some > things not available in OO, primarily a header that changes with each > page showing the first entry one left pages and the last entry on > right pages. > > Unfortunately, after reading the tutorial mentioned in this post, I > see that Scribus can't handle documents of more than 100 pages. Mine > is currently at over 500 and will probably end up somewhere around > 550. The suggested workaround is making many sections of smaller > pieces and then concatenating the PDF files into the complete > document. This makes me wonder how page numbering would be affected > by such a process. I have written an e-book on using Scribus for book covers and am writing a p-book on using Inkscape for the same purpose. In both cases I used IMO the best free book-writing tool, TeX. I used pdftex for the e-book but am using Context MKIV for the p-book; both of these are useful TeX variants. In large part this reflects my familiarity with TeX, dating back to the 1990s. But the basic approach of TEX, that of a file of text with tags interspersed, is more convenient for book writing. Formatting and text composing are better separated,and of course a file of 1,000 pages and more can be handled as a single entitiy and compiles in seconds. Matters like running headers and multiple TOC, one with just chapter names and another with both chapters and sections listed, are easy to do. Indexing is also easy. I break up a book into chapter segments for my convenience in rearranging or adding chapters. They are all processed together and chapter numbering, section numbering, page numbering and figure numbering are all automatic. Optionally I can use hanging punctuation and/or microtypography to improve formatting and appearance. My speed in composing a book is limited by my keying speed and not speed of the program itself. Scribus of course was and will be used for cover creation. I do not deprecate the virtues of Scribus, including WYSIWYG, ICC profiles, easier access to choice of fonts and the ability to create PDF X/1-a:2001 output as well as the option for CMYK color model with auto conversion of RGB entities. These are essential for cover design and for book interiors heavy on color and complex "arty" design. But I will not invest time in learning the "bookish" features of Scribus until they are more in number and easier in application. In my latest p-book I emphasize the synergism of Inkscape and Scribus: Inkscape for for document templating and fancy vector drawing, and Scribus for converting the final pdf to a form suitable for printing using the features mentioned above. Gimp is of course a factor too for easy use of fancy text objects. -- John Culleton Wexford Press Free list of books for self-publishers: http://wexfordpress.net/shortlist.html PDF e-book: "Create Book Covers with Scribus" available at http://www.booklocker.com/books/4055.html
