LM Book 0.8.5 Beta: Plan, Write, Design and Export the Whole Book
LM Book now guides the full book journey: choose a book path, plan with the right framework, write chapter by chapter, design the interior, organize publishing matter, preview the reading flow and export real PDF + EPUB files.
What changed in this beta
Front matter and back matter now live directly in the Book Binder around the chapters, so selecting Copyright, Dedication, Epigraph, Contents, Preface, Introduction, Acknowledgements and other pages opens a guided page editor instead of making writers hunt through settings.
Choose from ten starting paths: fiction, nonfiction, biography/memoir, Christian/faith, cookbook, journal/planner, children’s, study guide, documentary/true story and custom.
Use planning frameworks for seven-point stories, three-act stories, 15-beat stories, nonfiction transformation, memoir timeline, devotional rhythm and study guides.
Write in a chapter binder with drag-to-reorder chapters, rich text, chapter notes, images, charts, word count, estimated pages, readability and progress.
Choose trim size, interior style and page density. Those settings now affect the generated PDF instead of existing only as mock controls.
Upload front and back cover art, organize front/back matter, and see a real publishing-readiness checklist.
Preview the reading order with a lightweight flipbook-style viewer before exporting.
Download a print-oriented PDF and a real reflowable EPUB 3 package from the same project.
Record whether the intended distribution is private review, free, members-only or an external purchase link while native LM Books checkout remains clearly marked as not yet enabled.
What this can do for writers
The value is not simply having more settings. LM Book tries to remove the hidden publishing checklist writers usually discover at the end. The same project now carries the manuscript, chapter order, matter, design choices, cover references and export metadata so the final stage is less of a scavenger hunt.
What LM Book does not pretend to do yet
It does not claim native LM Books checkout is live when it is not.
It does not invent sales, download or review analytics before real distribution events exist.
It does not guarantee that one PDF automatically meets every printer or retailer requirement; destination-specific bleed, spine, barcode and policy requirements still need to be checked.
It does not replace an editor, attorney, tax professional or publishing contract review.
What we want beta testers to test
Start the kind of book you actually want to finish and tell us whether the starting path feels right.
Switch planning frameworks and tell us which one helps without becoming formulaic.
Write or paste a long chapter and check whether the editor stays responsive.
Reorder chapters and inspect the reading preview.
Turn front/back matter items on and off and confirm the export order makes sense.
Try the different interior styles and page densities, then inspect the generated PDF.
Open the EPUB in another reader and test navigation, headings and images.
Tell us where you hesitate, what feels like unnecessary publishing jargon and what book tool you want LM to build next.
Use the beta on real work.
The most useful feedback is not “I like it.” Tell us where you hesitated, what took too many clicks, what did not save the way you expected, and what would make this useful enough to return to next week.
