Markdown for Writers, 2nd Ed., Rev.

By Gene Wilburn

MARKDOWN FOR WRITERS, by Gene Wilburn, is for anyone who finds word processors complex and frustrating and wishes the mechanics of writing could be simpler.

This guide introduces Markdown -- a system of notation that enables you to italicize, boldface, create lists and tables, enter footnotes, link to URLs, and set heading levels -- all while using a plain text editor. Markdown notation can be used on every writing device available: MacOS, iOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, and Android. The Markdown text you create transfers flawlessly between your devices, and is readily turned into PDF documents, Web pages, and ebooks in ePub and Kindle formats.

MARKDOWN FOR WRITERS explains Markdown syntax, and introduces you to popular Markdown text editors that help you recover the intimacy between writer and written word by removing the distractions of ribbon bars, menus, and unnecessary features. If you've been looking for a return to simplicity in your writing life, MARKDOWN FOR WRITERS is an ideal guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gene Wilburn
• Release date: Jan 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781895934151

Gene Wilburn

Gene Wilburn is a Canadian writer, photographer, and computer specialist residing in Port Credit, Ontario, near Toronto. His work has appeared in Small Print Magazine, PC Week, Shutterbug, Infoworld, InfoAge, Toronto Star, Quill & Quire, Computing Canada, Computer Paper, Access, Here’s How! and Photo Life.He is the author of Northern Journey: A Guide to Canadian Folk Music on CD, Recreational Writing, and Markdown for Writers. He is a co-author of Red Hat Linux System Administration Unleashed, and he wrote the popular Linux for Newbies and Linux Inside columns for The Computer Paper (Canada). He is co-author of Shift Happens: Essays on Technology.

Book preview

Markdown for Writers

A Concise Guide

Gene Wilburn

Second Edition, Revised

Copyright © 2022

ISBN: 978-1-895934-15-1

Markdown for Writers

Introduction

Is Markdown Very Technical?

Is Markdown Standardized?

Prerequisites

What’s Ahead?

Notes on the 2nd edition

About the Author

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Selecting a Markdown Editor

Setting Up Your Writing Environment

Markdown Basics: A Gentle Tutorial

Paragraphs

Emphasis (Italic)

Strong (Bold)

Strikethrough

Superscripts and Subscripts

Dashes

Horizontal Rule

Block Quotes

Heading Levels

Links to URLs

Code Blocks

Character Literals

What’s Next?

Chapter 2: Advanced Markdown Notation

Images

Footnotes

Citations

Definition Lists

Tables

Poetry

Math

Chapter 3: File Conversions and Collaboration

Input Once, Output Many

Pandoc

Converting Markdown to Other Formats

Converting Word to Markdown

Pandoc Made Easy

Advanced Pandoc Markdown

Markdown Collaboration

Google Docs and Markdown

Chapter 4: From Markdown to Ebook

Prelims

Ebook Reader and Editor

Creating a Cover

Creating a Title Page Info File

Building a Book

Calibre

Adding ISBN (Optional)

From Epub to Kindle AZW

Creative Commons

Title Page

Cover

Table of Contents

Introduction

As a writer, you may have heard of Markdown and are curious to know more about it. Or you may already be using Markdown in an editor such as iA Writer or Ulysses, and would like to know how Markdown files can be leveraged to produce ebooks or print books. Even Scrivener users may be interested in understanding why Scrivener has the option to export its files to Markdown format.

In essence, Markdown is both a method and a philosophy of writing. The method consists of using a plain-text editor, rather than a word processor, and inserting markup notations into the text to indicate things like emphasis and strong, or, if you prefer, italic and bold. The philosophy of Markdown is to use lean, fast text editors that put a minimum number of distractions in front of you while you write. The resulting text files can be read by any other text editor. In terms of simplicity, it’s nearly the diametric opposite of writing in Word, Pages, LibreOffice, or Scrivener.

Markdown for Writers is a concise guide for writers who would like to learn Markdown. It introduces basic Markdown notation along with several of its more advanced features, and later chapters explain how to export Markdown a variety of different file formats, and how