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Shubham Chadokar
Shubham Chadokar

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Best tool to write a technical ebook

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What are best tools or editor available to write a technical eBook?
I recently wrote a tech eBook and struggled a lot to find a good editor. In the end, I used the VS Code with some markdown plugin. I wrote the eBook in md format. The result was good but when I was converting it to PDF or ePub format it was bad. Then I used Typora to convert it to PDF format, the result is good compared to VS Code plugin. But it is good only for PDF. Check here.

This question is basically focused for Windows and Linux user.

I am using Pandoc. I am struggling to converting it to epub or other format with proper formatting. Which tool or editor should i use to do this?

For the Mac OS Bear is a great editor.

Is there any other format than markdown, in which code writing is easy as in md?

Please give your suggestions on this.

Please include your approach, what tools you would use to write a tech ebook. 😃

Top comments (2)

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miguelcoba profile image
Miguel Cobá

Hi Shubham, my recommendation is just to use AsciiDoc instead of Markdown. Markdown is good for html but not for books as it lacks features like tableof contents, footnotes, asides, etc.
I use Visual Studio Code with AsciiDoctor plugin.
AsciiDoctor can generate HTML, PDF, ePub and other formats.
You can also style it to change the final appearance of the document if you don't like the default styles.
Cheers

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ngowi_inc profile image
Emmanuel C. Ngowi

Hello Shubham! It's been over a year already but I just feel like you can still use this answer in finally writing your ebook.
You have three options: Microsoft word, Google Docs and Notion.
Starting with MS Word you can write anything there and since you want to create an ebook you can save your completed work as a PDF.
Challenge of this way is that, you can't access your work if you're not close to your PC.
Way number 2 and 3 have the same approaches although different abit
Google Docs, this platform is useful in writing ebook and you'll like the way your work is directly saved to your drive hence with a simple password you're able to access your work(s) anywhere in the World. (Ain't this cool?)
Notion, I'm still new here but they have a platform which is really beautiful hence you can focus on writing your technical ebook without any problem. It saves your work on your email (I guess) and you can access all of your work by using your email account.

Writing is not easy task but it's a great way to express ourselves to others and assist them to avoid some of the mistakes we have encountered as well as motivating others to capitalize on the impressive opportunities ahead.

All the Best Shubham.