Semantic before visual
The author confirms title matter, chapters, appendices, and back matter before rendering begins.
About BookSetter
Book software should explain how the edition was made.
BookSetter is an independent publishing compiler built by Tom Maciejewski. Its job is to turn a confirmed manuscript structure into deliberate print and ebook editions, then show the author what was selected, validated, and left for manual review.
The mission
Build editions, not merely files.
A technically valid PDF can still have weak front matter, awkward chapter openings, detached captions, or unbalanced spreads. A valid EPUB can still have poor semantics, broken navigation, or brittle CSS. BookSetter measures both structural compliance and rendered-page quality.
Deterministic at the core
Parsing, layout recipes, rendering, and validation remain reproducible. AI can critique or rank; it does not silently rewrite the manuscript.
Separate by format
Print receives deliberate typography and page architecture. Reflowable ebooks preserve reader control and reading-system compatibility.
Evidence with every release
Reports expose text integrity, font policy, accessibility, EPUB conformance, PDF preflight, and unresolved risks.
Independent and clean-room
Public standards are the specification.
BookSetter is an independent publishing platform. External products can establish broad market expectations, but BookSetter does not copy third-party templates, fonts, ornaments, assets, application code, wording, or trade dress.
EPUB 3, accessibility guidance, PDF inspection, retailer documentation, and public validation tools define the technical baseline.
Production fonts are approved through a registry that records source, license, bundling, and embedding rights.
BookSetter uses independently designed systems such as Classical Humanist, Modern Classic, Fine Press Minimal, Swiss Editorial, Scholarly Classic, and Poetic Chapbook.
Proof over positioning
Judge BookSetter by a real edition.
The public History of Slavery build shows the input excerpt, rendered pages, candidate decision, selected-page PDF, word-integrity result, font inventory, EPUBCheck output, and PDF preflight.
Bring a manuscript, not a layout degree.
Start in Quick mode, confirm the Book Map, and add advanced controls only when the edition needs them.
Organization and product facts reviewed July 15, 2026.