Read it. This is the manual.
Requirements Guidelines Cleanup Editor Notes Ebook Themes Fonts ISBN Cover Languages Examples
You get one pretty print PDF ready to be sent to the printing house, a cover template perfect for your specific book (by all Amazon KDP rules, according to paper thickness), an ISBN code check with automated formatting and barcode, and an Ebook in the universal epub format.
Your manuscript must:
Important: Do not include front matter or back matter (title pages, preface, table of contents, acknowledgements, bibliography) in your docx file. You can add these elements later during the book configuration process.
\\blockquote{blockquote text}
\\blockquote{blockquote text}{author}
Example:\\blockquote{“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”}{Oscar
Wilde}
\\newpage
on a separate line\\newrightpage
on a separate line before the text you want to start on the right-side page.\\addspace
on a separate line before the text you want to start further down the page,
on the same level as chapter titles\\blank
where you want the chapter to start. Format the style of this line as Heading1. Keep in mind that
if you choose auto-numbering for chapters, the missing chapter title will still have a number and
(depending on the theme) a graphic divider. And if you generate the table of contents, this chapter
will have a blank name, of course :)\\newrightpage
\\addspace
\\startcenter
This is a part
\\stopcenter
\\scenebreak
on a separate line
to create a small (and sometimes graphically decorated) pause in the text\\blank
on a separate line (this code
works in the manuscript and also in the section editor)\\startcenter
on a
separate line before the text you want to start centred and \\stopcenter
on a new
line after the text you want to be centred\\startpoem
*. After last stanza, on a new line, insert \\stoppoem
*.* These codes work only inside your docx manuscript. Don't try them in the section editor.
duodécimo book editor is where you edit your book parameters. It can be found in top menu - BOOKS -> Add new book and is structured into 4 sections or tabs. After you make changes into one or several editor tabs, please click the Save Book button before generating a new PDF.
In all four tabs there are small question buttons that provide extra information for a specific parameter. I tried to put explanations wherever I considered them useful. The editor is not complex, but allows for variate parameter combinations to create a wonderful printed book.
I do everything automated. While I can handle common typographic rules, language-specific requirements may vary. Keep in mind that automated orphan and widow line control has limits and can miss some items if exaggerated spacing is required to avoid them.
I only support: Heading1 and Heading2, bold, italic, bolditalic, lists (numbered or bulleted), \\scenebreak
, \\blockquote{}{}
, \\blank
, \\newpage
, \\newrightpage
, \\addspace
, \\startcenter
, \\stopcenter
. If errors occur
during PDF generation, it may have something to do with your manuscript, check it. If you still
encounter problems, write me an email.
Please:
Due to the enormous potential complexity of each book manuscript, if the book pdf is not what it should be, the only other way to satisfy your expectations is to manually typeset your book. Send me an email with details and I will reply with a quotation.
After paying for the unmarked PDF, you can still change the manuscript of your book as well as every other typesetting parameters, but the book must be pretty much the same. The automated system checks and compares text to avoid potential fraud attempts.
Payments are always followed by invoices issued using the information you provided about yourself in the account. You have a download link for each invoice when browsing the BOOKS link in top menu.
Generated epubs do not contain all the graphical particularities of the themes used to typeset the PDFs. Also, each ebook reader formats the content differently, it is impossible to predict how it would look in real life. My ebooks are designed to accommodate generic needs and to be readable everywhere. Tests were made using Apple, Windows and Android most used readers. You can test yourself using the free Kindle Previewer Amazon software, in Google Play Books or Apple Books.
You should treat themes as light touches to the otherwise fairly broad typesetting approach. Some tweaks to headings, scene dividers and headers are all that you need. You cannot override theme spacing and dividers, just select what suits you best and play with fonts and other customizing options. Clicking on an image will give you a quick PDF export of my sample book in that specific theme.
There is one additional theme that you can use for poetry typesetting.
Check below all the fonts that you can use. The first five should be used for text, the other three (sans-serif) can be used for headings. As you can easily see for yourself, some fonts are larger than others at the same size in points. If you care for a recommendation, Latin Modern and Garamond are the most legible and safe to use. Download an A4 pdf file with this image to print it out and decide on font family to use.
You must acquire the ISBN code. I will help you generate the barcode and validate it, you just have to fill in the ISBN.
Initially, I planned to use AI to generate the cover of your book. But tastes are subjective, AI can get things wrong, it costs extra, and things are getting too complicated. Instead of a cover, I’m offering you a free book cover template based on trim size and the paper thickness (ask the print shop about it). You can import the template into any graphic design program on the planet (I’m only slightly exaggerating). The template is built according to Amazon KDP rules.
Technically, I can typeset books in all European languages. Of course I didn't test all of them, so if you encounter any issues, feel free to tell me about them. At least the fonts used to typeset your book support all European languages and autohyphenation should work just fine as long as you fill in the language of the manuscript.
In theory, the supported languages are: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish.
Check out samples of a generic duodécimo book: manuscript, print pdf, ebook, cover template.
Have a look at the duodécimo process here - video coming soon.