Book Export Skill

Export fiction manuscripts to professional book formats (PDF, ePub) with research-informed styling profiles.

What This Does

Wraps the Pandoc MCP (mcp__mcp-pandoc__convert-contents) with professional publishing standards for fiction books:

•Research-informed formatting profiles (manuscript draft → publication-ready)
•Automatic profile selection based on use case
•Fiction-specific conventions (chapter breaks, scene markers, front matter)
•Professional typography and spacing standards
•Multi-format export (PDF for print/review, ePub for digital distribution)

Usage

code

Use the book-export skill to export [file] as [profile]
Use the book-export skill to create manuscript draft from chapter
Use the book-export skill to generate publication-ready PDF
Use the book-export skill for beta reader ePub

What It Wraps

•Pandoc MCP - mcp__mcp-pandoc__convert-contents
•Professional Standards - Fiction publishing conventions (BISAC, margins, typography)
•Profile System - Pre-configured export profiles for common use cases
•Format Detection - Automatic output format from profile selection

Profiles

1. manuscript-draft

Use Case: Internal review, quick iteration Output: PDF Specifications:

•Page size: A4 (21 × 29.7 cm)
•Font: Lora 12pt
•Spacing: Double-spaced (2.0)
•Margins: 1" all sides
•Headers: Author name, page number (top right)
•Chapter breaks: New page, centered

Pandoc Parameters:

yaml

pdf-engine: xelatex
geometry:
  - a4paper
  - margin=1in
fontsize: 12pt
linestretch: 2
mainfont: "Lora"

2. beta-reader-pdf

Use Case: Beta reader distribution, comfortable reading Output: PDF Specifications:

•Page size: 6" × 9" (15.24 × 22.86 cm) - professional fiction standard
•Font: Lora 11pt
•Spacing: 1.5 line spacing
•Margins: 0.75" all sides (simplified, no binding consideration)
•No headers/footers: Clean reading experience
•Chapter breaks: New page, centered

Pandoc Parameters:

yaml

pdf-engine: xelatex
geometry:
  - paperwidth=6in
  - paperheight=9in
  - margin=0.75in
fontsize: 11pt
linestretch: 1.5
mainfont: "Lora"

3. beta-reader-epub

Use Case: Digital beta reader distribution Output: ePub3 Specifications:

•Fonts: Lora embedded
•CSS: Minimal styling, 1.5em first-line indent, 1.5 line-height
•Cover: Optional
•Table of contents: Linked navigation
•Scene breaks: Centered ***

Pandoc Parameters:

yaml

css: beta-reader.css
epub-cover-image: cover.jpg (if provided)
epub-embed-font:
  - Lora-Regular.ttf
  - Lora-Bold.ttf
  - Lora-Italic.ttf
  - Lora-BoldItalic.ttf
toc: true

CSS Specifications (beta-reader.css):

css

body {
  font-family: "Lora", Georgia, serif;
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  text-align: left;
}

p {
  text-indent: 1.5em;
  margin: 0;
}

.no-indent {
  text-indent: 0;
}

h1 {
  font-size: 1.5em;
  text-align: center;
  margin-top: 2em;
  margin-bottom: 1em;
  page-break-before: always;
}

.scene-break {
  text-align: center;
  margin: 1em 0;
}

4. publication-print

Use Case: KDP/IngramSpark print-ready Output: PDF (press-ready) Specifications:

•Page size: 6" × 9"
•Font: Lora 11pt
•Spacing: 1.5 line spacing
•
Margins (300-500 page book):
- •Inner (gutter): 0.625"
- •Outer: 0.5"
- •Top/Bottom: 0.75"
•Front matter: Copyright, dedication (lowercase Roman numerals)
•Headers: Chapter title (left), book title (right), page numbers
•Chapter breaks: New page, centered 1/3 down page

Pandoc Parameters:

yaml

pdf-engine: xelatex
template: print-template.latex
geometry:
  - paperwidth=6in
  - paperheight=9in
  - inner=0.625in
  - outer=0.5in
  - top=0.75in
  - bottom=0.75in
fontsize: 11pt
linestretch: 1.5
mainfont: "Lora"
toc: true

Requirements:

•Metadata file (metadata.yaml) with copyright, ISBN, BISAC codes
•Custom LaTeX template for headers/footers
•Front matter structure (copyright, dedication, etc.)

5. publication-ebook

Use Case: Amazon/Apple/Kobo distribution Output: ePub3 Specifications:

•Fonts: System defaults (Georgia fallback) - respects reader preferences
•CSS: Minimal, relative units only
•Line height: 1.5 (1.2 minimum for Kindle compatibility)
•Cover: 2,560 × 1,600 px REQUIRED
•Metadata: Full (ISBN, BISAC codes, description, keywords)
•Validation: EPUBCheck required post-export

Pandoc Parameters:

yaml

epub-cover-image: cover-2560x1600.jpg
css: publication.css
toc: true
toc-depth: 1

CSS Specifications (publication.css):

css

/* Minimal styling - respect reader preferences */
body {
  font-family: Georgia, serif;
  font-size: 1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  text-align: left;
}

p {
  text-indent: 1.5em;
  margin: 0;
}

.no-indent {
  text-indent: 0;
}

h1 {
  font-size: 1.5em;
  text-align: center;
  margin-top: 2em;
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}

.scene-break {
  text-align: center;
  margin: 1em 0;
}

/* Kindle compatibility */
p {
  line-height: 1.2; /* Minimum for Kindle */
}

/* Hyphenation control */
.no-hyphen {
  adobe-hyphenate: none;
  -webkit-hyphens: none;
  -moz-hyphens: none;
  -ms-hyphens: none;
  -epub-hyphens: none;
  hyphens: none;
}

Post-Processing Required:

bash

# Validate ePub
java -jar epubcheck.jar output.epub

# Convert to MOBI (if needed)
ebook-convert output.epub output.mobi

When to Use

•manuscript-draft: Quick exports for internal review, iteration speed priority
•beta-reader-pdf: Comfortable PDF reading for beta readers (no print intent)
•beta-reader-epub: Digital reading on e-readers/tablets for beta readers
•publication-print: Final print-ready PDF for KDP, IngramSpark, or print-on-demand
•publication-ebook: Final ePub for Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo stores

Context Savings

Before: ~5-8k tokens (Pandoc parameters, format handling, professional standards research) After: ~1-2k tokens (profile selection + file path) Savings: ~75% context reduction

Parameters

Required

•input_file - Source markdown file path
•profile - Export profile name (see Profiles section)

Optional

•output_file - Custom output filename (default: derived from input + profile)
•metadata_file - YAML metadata file for publication profiles
•cover_image - Cover image path for ePub exports
•font_files - Array of font file paths for ePub embedding

Markdown Structure Requirements

For optimal conversion, structure markdown as:

markdown

---
title: "Book Title"
author: "Author Name"
---

# Book Title

## Front Matter Section

### Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Author Name. All rights reserved.

### Dedication

For [person/group]

## Part I

### Chapter 1: The Opening

First paragraph (no indent).

Second paragraph (1.5em indent).

***

Scene break marker.

First paragraph after break (no indent).

### Chapter 2: Continuation

...

Heading Hierarchy:

•# - Book title (appears once at start)
•## - Part/section divisions
•### - Chapter titles (triggers page breaks in PDF)

Scene Breaks:

•Use centered *** or # for scene breaks
•Markdown: *** on its own line, or wrap in div: <div class="scene-break">***</div>

First Paragraphs:

•After chapter breaks: No indent (automatic in CSS)
•After scene breaks: No indent (use .no-indent class if needed)

Font Installation

Lora Font (required for PDF profiles):

macOS:

bash

brew tap homebrew/cask-fonts
brew install font-lora

Ubuntu/Debian:

bash

sudo apt-get install fonts-lora

Manual Installation:

•Download Lora from Google Fonts: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Lora
•Install TTF files to system fonts directory
•Verify: fc-list | grep Lora

Advanced Usage

With Metadata File (publication profiles)

Create metadata.yaml:

yaml

---
title: "The Hush"
subtitle: "A Cosmic Horror Novel"
author: "Author Name"
date: "2025-01-01"
description: |
  Book description for back cover and online stores.
  Can span multiple lines.
keywords: [cosmic horror, dark fantasy, transformation]
subject: "Fiction"
rights: "© 2025 Author Name. All rights reserved."
publisher: "Publisher Name"
language: "en-US"

# Publication metadata
identifier:
  - scheme: ISBN-13
    text: "978-1-234567-89-0"

# BISAC codes (up to 3)
category:
  - "FIC015040 - FICTION / Horror / Occult & Supernatural"
  - "FIC009120 - FICTION / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy"
  - "FIC015050 - FICTION / Horror / Psychological"
---

Usage:

code

Use book-export skill with metadata.yaml to create publication-print from The-Hush.md

Custom Output Location

code

Use book-export skill to export chapter.md as beta-reader-pdf to /path/to/output/review-copy.pdf

Multiple Chapters

For multi-file books, concatenate before export:

bash

cat chapters/*.md > complete-manuscript.md
# Then use skill on complete-manuscript.md

Output

Returns:

•Conversion success/failure status
•Output file location (absolute path)
•File size of generated document
•Profile used
•Any conversion warnings or errors
•Validation results (for publication-ebook profile)

Professional Standards Summary

Based on research findings:

Print Standards:

•6" × 9" is industry standard for fiction novels
•Gutter margins scale with page count (0.375"-0.875")
•Chapter breaks MUST start new page
•First paragraphs after breaks: No indent
•Scene breaks: Centered ornament or ***

ePub Standards:

•Respect reader preferences (no forced fonts for publication)
•Relative units only (em, rem, %)
•Line-height ≥1.2 for Kindle compatibility
•Cover image: 2,560 × 1,600 px minimum
•EPUBCheck validation required

Metadata Standards:

•ISBN-13 format (13 digits with hyphens)
•BISAC codes: Up to 3, most specific categories
•Edition statement: "First Edition" even if implied

Troubleshooting

"Font not found" error:

•Install Lora font (see Font Installation section)
•Or edit profile to use different font: -V mainfont="Times New Roman"

"PDF engine failed":

•Ensure LaTeX installed (TeX Live, MiKTeX)
•Verify xelatex command available: xelatex --version

ePub validation failures:

•Run EPUBCheck: java -jar epubcheck.jar output.epub
•Common issues: Missing cover, broken internal links, invalid metadata

Chapter breaks not working:

•Verify markdown uses ### for chapter headings
•Check heading hierarchy (# → ## → ### progression)

Related Tools

•Pandoc MCP: mcp__mcp-pandoc__convert-contents
•LanguageTool: Grammar/style checking before export
•EPUBCheck: ePub validation (download from https://github.com/w3c/epubcheck)
•Calibre: Multi-format ebook management and conversion

References

•Research findings: 2025-11-05 professional book formatting standards
•User requirements: A4, Lora font, chapter page breaks (from reference conversations)
•BISAC codes: https://bisg.org/page/BISACEdition
•Pandoc documentation: https://pandoc.org/MANUAL.html