Author Replaces Word, InDesign, and Kindle Create with a Git-Based Book Pipeline

A self-published novelist describes abandoning the conventional Microsoft Word → Adobe InDesign → Calibre → Kindle Create chain that had forced him to maintain four parallel source files and shuttle between operating systems for every minor revision. The breaking point came when even small edits demanded re-exports across four proprietary tools, and key programs refused to run on his Linux daily driver.

The pivot came after discovering Standard Ebooks, an open-source project with a strict, lint-driven Manual of Style and a command-line toolchain. Converting his DOCX manuscript to a clean EPUB and running it through Standard Ebooks’ pedantic linter produced version-controlled XHTML source files that build into a high-quality EPUB compatible with Kindle, eliminating Kindle Create entirely. He compares the experience to using a linter for code or a copyeditor for formatting.

For revisions to earlier books, he moved authoring itself to LibreOffice on ODT, leaning on semantic paragraph and character styles—for songs, letters, foreign phrases, prayers, thoughts—that carry meaning beyond italics and feed directly into Standard Ebooks’ accessibility requirements. The result is a fully open-source, Git-tracked production pipeline that treats a novel manuscript like a software project.