src/books/guide.md

Books and newsletters templates

Three templates for long-form writing: a non-fiction book (ilm), a novel (wonderous-book) and a one-page department newsletter (dashing-dept-news). A page uses one of them; check its header to see which, and use only that template's section below.

Templates

Book

ilm 2.1.1. Use for manuals, reports and non-fiction books with chapters. Parameters of ilm:

• title ([Your Title]), authors ("Author", a string or an array of strings), date (datetime.today()), date-format ("[month repr:long] [day padding:zero], [year repr:full]"), abstract (none): shown on the cover page.
• cover-page ("use-ilm-default"; none skips it, content replaces it).
• preface (none): content on its own page after the cover.
• table-of-contents (outline(); none disables it).
• appendix ((enabled: false, title: "", heading-numbering-format: "", body: none)).
• bibliography (none; the result of bibliography("file.bib")).
• chapter-pagebreak (true): each = heading starts a new page.
• external-link-circle (true): small circle after external links.
• footer ("page-number-alternate-with-chapter"), paper-size ("a4"), raw-text ((font: ("Iosevka", "DejaVu Sans Mono"), size: 9pt)).
• figure-index, table-index, listing-index ((enabled: false, title: "")): lists at the end.

Novel

wonderous-book 0.1.2. Use for fiction. Parameters of book: title ([Book title]), author ("Author"), paper-size ("iso-b5"), dedication (none, shown on the third page), publishing-info (none, shown at the bottom of the second page).

Newsletter

dashing-dept-news 0.1.1. Use for a short newsletter with a main column and a red sidebar. Parameters of newsletter: title ([Newsletter title], printed in capitals), edition (none, top of the sidebar), hero-image (none; a dictionary with keys image and caption), publication-info (none, small print at the end of the main column).

These values live in the header. Write the page body below it.

Writing a page

Book

• = is a chapter: numbered 1., starts a new page, and its name appears in the footer next to the page number. == and === are numbered sections (1.1., 1.1.1.).
• The cover, preface and table of contents are generated; do not write your own title or contents.
• Body text is 12pt, justified. Equations in $ ... $ blocks are numbered (1).
• Tables get thin grey lines and a small-caps header row; wrap them in #figure(..., caption: [...]) and use table.header. Long tables break across pages.
• Inline code gets a light grey box; code blocks use the monospace font set by the template.
• For an unnumbered heading use #heading(numbering: none)[Title].
• Cite with @key only if the user has a bibliography file set in the header.

Novel

• The template prints the title page, publishing info, dedication and a "Chapters" outline itself.
• = is a chapter: it starts on a right-hand (odd) page with a large bold title. Chapters are not numbered; put the number in the title if wanted (= Chapter One: Mondays).
• Avoid == and deeper: they render like body text and still appear in the outline.
• Write plain paragraphs separated by blank lines; the template indents first lines and justifies.
• Running headers (title on odd pages, author on even pages) and page numbers are automatic.
• Use _italics_ for thoughts or emphasis. A scene break can be a centred line: #align(center)[\* \* \*].

Newsletter

• Everything written directly in the page goes into the main (left) column.
• = is a story headline, == a sub-heading. Headings use the template's display font.
• #quote(block: true, attribution: [Name])[...] becomes a large pull quote with a rule.
• #figure(..., caption: [...]) gets a coloured backdrop and a centred -- caption -- line.
• Links are underlined automatically.
• Short side stories go in the sidebar with article (see Helpers).

Helpers

Book

The header imports everything from ilm.

blockquote: a quotation set off in a light block with thin rules above and below.

#blockquote[
  Knowledge is the life of the mind.
  --- Abu Bakr
]

smallcaps and upper: the template's versions with wider letter spacing. Use them instead of Typst's own; std-smallcaps and std-upper give the plain Typst versions.

The #smallcaps[Board] approved it. Read the #upper[warning] first.

Novel

The header imports only book. There are no helpers; use plain markup.

= Mondays
Liam hated Mondays. He hated waking up to the sound of the old car outside.

He got off the bus and made his way to his locker.

#align(center)[\* \* \*]

That evening, everything changed.

Newsletter

The header imports newsletter and article.

article: puts its content in the sidebar (white text on red). Can be written anywhere in the page; all articles are collected in order. Start each with a = heading and keep it short.

#article[
  = Safety first
  Next Tuesday there is a lab safety training. *Attendance is mandatory.*
]

Main column story with a pull quote:

= The award goes to our department
We are proud to announce the award for excellence in research.

#quote(block: true, attribution: [Prof. Herzog])[
  Our lab has done remarkable work this year.
]

Do not

• Do not add #set page, #set text, #set par or font changes; the template sets them.
• Do not pick your own colours (fill:, rgb(...), text(fill: ...)); the Newsletter sidebar is already white on red.
• Do not draw your own boxes, rectangles or quote blocks: use blockquote (Book), #quote(block: true) (Newsletter) or article (Newsletter sidebar).
• Do not remove or edit the template header between // znote:template and // znote:end.
• Do not use helpers from another template: blockquote exists only in Book, article only in Newsletter.
• Book and Novel: do not write a title page, table of contents or manual #pagebreak() before chapters.
• Newsletter: do not put = page titles in the body for the newsletter name; it comes from title.