Desktop Publishing Software Recommendations Needed

I am writing a book. It's about 300 pages and I'm using Pages. It looks pretty nice in pages, but Pages is not desktop publishing software. It can be awkward when trying to change the objects or backgrounds in numerous sections (not as awkward as Word though). It also doesn't create an index.

I can't afford $500 to $1000 for one of the name brands.

Please recommend some DTP software that might be useful in creating a book that I've written in Pages. I'm looking for something that might make my workflow more efficient.

Thank you.

iMac Intel, Mac OS X (10.6.2), Pages 09

Posted on Nov 18, 2009 11:38 AM

69 replies

Dec 3, 2009 9:59 AM in response to Scott Grabinger

Thanks for everyone's serious and variety of responses to help me figure this out. End result: I'm staying with Pages and will upload to publisher as ps file.

Dec 3, 2009 4:42 PM in response to Scott Grabinger

Scott:

Thanks for this thread.

I am facing the same issues and would really like to use Pages for my book.

I won't have any pictures, but will have drawings done by an artist.

I'm thinking about using lighteningsource.com for the publishing because I've heard a lot of good things about them.

What is going on with your book now?

Thanks!
Fred

Dec 3, 2009 7:52 PM in response to Scott Grabinger

Scott Grabinger wrote:
Thanks for everyone's serious and variety of responses to help me figure this out. End result: I'm staying with Pages and will upload to publisher as ps file.

I'm curious why you are going this method.

Have you checked with the publisher, and tested it with a sample?

Peter

Dec 4, 2009 4:48 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

I'm curious. Has anyone here ever tried NeoOffice? It seems to offer some things that Pages doesn't. And, it can be used for free or donation.

I don't write books though, so I don't know if it would work well for that.

Dec 4, 2009 4:58 PM in response to linda2009

Yes I have and after having recommended it for over a year, have switched my recommendation to OpenOffice.

Unless you are writing a book that has a lot of graphics and are an experienced designer I recommend you +do not+ do your own DTP, especially in any cheap software that depends on OSX's output.

A professionally published book should be written in whatever word processor you feel comfortable with and handed over to the publisher's designer to produce with commercial DTP software.

Anything else and you can count on extra expense, a bad result or both.

Peter

Dec 4, 2009 5:06 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

Sounds like good advice. I think I read somewhere that that's what Stephen King does! 😉

Curious again, why did you switch your recommendation to OpenOffice?

Dec 4, 2009 6:07 PM in response to linda2009

NeoOffice is ugly and badly documented.

I tried a relatively simple task of selecting a column of data which is easily done in MsWord and wasted an entire afternoon just trying to get it to show its Help/Manual only to find that the contents were useless.

I am a designer who specialises in clarifying technical issues and find the lazy, self centred, lack of thought that seems to be the accepted norm for much of this material quite unforgiveable.

At least you don't have to pay once you realise it isn't worth it.

Peter

Dec 7, 2009 7:39 AM in response to Fred Miller2

Fred2:

Thanks, it's generated a lot of good information.

What have a done related to this discussion? Little. I'm testing out using a postscript file with the site I'm working with now, lulu.com, but Peter warned me that that will not necessarily create a high quality product -- in terms of how it looks.

None of the DTP free/shareware software discussed here does everything that an author needs and I can't afford the big boys. So, I'm putzing around, looking at this and that including moving from Pages to Word. But, since I just got back from Italy, I'm taking my time with it -- don't plan to do much until after Christmas when I want to try some of the DTPs at lulu and see what happens. Also looking at different publishing sites.

Dec 7, 2009 7:59 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

I have experimented. I created the ps file from Pages. Upload went well. Then lulu takes the ps and converts to a .ps that works with their system.

I downloaded the conversion. My book is 6X9, but the download looked like 8-1/2 X 11 with the 6 X 9 area beginning in the lower left corner. I asked several days ago if this represents the file and will be trimmed to 6 X 9 -- no answer yet.

The image looks fair to good on 20 lb 96 bright paper.

I then printed on Kodak matte photo paper and it looked very good: purer color, sharper text. However, if anyone wants to actually buy a paper copy (b/w or color), the verdict will be fair to good, not very good. So, I'm still searching and experimenting. Perhaps a different online publisher is higher quality. This isn't something I really wanted to spend a lot of time on rather than writing. c'est le vie.

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Desktop Publishing Software Recommendations Needed