latex-book

name	latex-book
description	Convert markdown/HTML manuscripts to arXiv-compliant LaTeX with memoir class, biblatex citations, professional typesetting, and parallel agent swarm conversion. Use when converting a multi-chapter markdown book to LaTeX for academic publication, arXiv submission, or print-ready PDF.
triggers	["/latex-book","convert book to latex","arxiv submission","memoir class","markdown to latex"]

LaTeX Book Conversion Skill

Converts markdown manuscripts to arXiv-compliant LaTeX using memoir class with professional typography, biblatex/biber citation management, and parallel agent swarm conversion.

Document Class & Packages

Always use memoir for books on arXiv — not article or book. It provides chapter styles, drop caps, microtype, and fine-grained layout control without fighting LaTeX defaults.

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper,twoside,openright]{memoir}

% Typography
\usepackage{fontspec}           % XeLaTeX font selection
\setmainfont{EB Garamond}       % professional serif; fallback: mathpazo
\usepackage{microtype}          % hanging punctuation, optical margin alignment
\usepackage{lettrine}           % drop caps for chapter openers

% Citations
\usepackage[backend=biber,
            style=numeric-comp,
            sorting=none,
            maxbibnames=99]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}

% URLs and links
\usepackage[hidelinks]{hyperref}
\usepackage{url}

Typography Conventions

Convention	Rule
Dashes	UK spaced endash: -- not --- (emdash)
First paragraph	No indent (standard book typography: \setlength{\parindent}{0pt} for first para after heading)
Scene breaks	Custom \scenebreak command replicating CSS * * * asterism
Drop caps	\lettrine[lines=3]{F}{irst} for chapter openers

% Scene break (replicates CSS "* * *")
\newcommand{\scenebreak}{%
  \vspace{1em}
  \begin{center}*\quad*\quad*\end{center}
  \vspace{1em}
}

Chapter Styles (memoir)

\makechapterstyle{dreambook}{%
  \renewcommand{\beforechapskip}{30pt}
  \renewcommand{\afterchapskip}{20pt}
  \renewcommand{\printchaptername}{}
  \renewcommand{\chapternamenum}{}
  \renewcommand{\printchapternum}{%
    \centering\Large\scshape\thechapter
  }
  \renewcommand{\afterchapternum}{%
    \par\nobreak\vskip 6pt
    {\centering\rule{0.4\textwidth}{0.4pt}\par}
    \vskip 6pt
  }
  \renewcommand{\printchaptertitle}[1]{%
    \centering\huge\itshape ##1
  }
}
\chapterstyle{dreambook}

% Suppress running headers on chapter-start pages
\aliaspagestyle{chapter}{plain}

Citation Patterns

Footnote-Based Sources (Journalism / Newsletters)

Key insight: URL-heavy sources from newsletters/journalism convert to \footnote{} with inline \url{}/\href{} — NOT to \cite{} keys. These go in @online or @misc biblatex entries only if they appear multiple times.

% Single-use URL citation → footnote
\footnote{\href{https://example.com/article}{Author, ``Title,'' \textit{Publication}, Date.}}

% Repeated citation → biblatex entry
@online{smith2024ai,
  author  = {Smith, Jane},
  title   = {The AI Revolution},
  url     = {https://example.com/article},
  urldate = {2024-01-15},
  year    = {2024}
}

cite_mapping.json Pattern

For automated footnote-to-citation conversion across chapters:

{
  "chapter_01": {
    "1": "smith2024ai",
    "2": "jones2023ml",
    "3": "url_only_footnote"
  }
}

"url_only_footnote" signals that footnote 3 stays as \footnote{} — no cite key.

BibTeX for 1000+ Citations

% In preamble
\usepackage[backend=biber,
            style=numeric-comp,
            sorting=none]{biblatex}

% Compile sequence
% latexmk -xelatex -biber main.tex

Build Command

latexmk -xelatex -biber -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex

# Watch mode during editing
latexmk -xelatex -biber -pvc main.tex

Parallel Swarm Topology

For 30-chapter books, split conversion across agents running in parallel:

Agent	Task	Runs
skeleton-builder	Main main.tex, preamble, chapter stubs	First (blocking)
bibtex-extractor	Extract all citations → references.bib	Parallel with skeleton
chapter-conv-A	Chapters 1–6	After skeleton
chapter-conv-B	Chapters 7–12	After skeleton
chapter-conv-C	Chapters 13–18	After skeleton
chapter-conv-D	Chapters 19–24	After skeleton
chapter-conv-E	Chapters 25–30	After skeleton
front-matter	Preface, intro, ToC setup	After skeleton
appendix-conv	All appendices as one batch	After skeleton
citation-index	Endnotes / citation index chapter	After bibtex-extractor
design-consultant	Refine chapter styles, typography	After skeleton
diagram-engineer	TikZ diagrams, Mermaid Wardley maps	Parallel
market-analyst	Python matplotlib charts → PDF	Parallel
research-verifier	Web search citation verification	Parallel
wardley-mapper	Strategic Wardley map generation	Parallel
image-upcycler	Gemini API enhancement of diagrams	After diagram-engineer

arXiv Compliance Checklist

• memoir class with compatible packages
• All fonts embedded (XeLaTeX with system fonts or lmodern fallback)
• \pdfoutput=1 in preamble for arXiv detection
• No \write18 shell-escape dependencies
• Bibliography compiled with biber, .bbl file submitted
• Images as PDF/PNG/JPG (no EPS without conversion)
• No absolute paths in \input/\includegraphics
• Source compiles clean with latexmk -xelatex

Folder Structure

book/
├── main.tex               # Root document
├── references.bib         # All citations (biber)
├── chapters/
│   ├── ch01.tex
│   ├── ch02.tex
│   └── ...
├── front/
│   ├── preface.tex
│   └── intro.tex
├── appendices/
│   └── appA.tex
├── figures/
│   ├── wardley/           # .mmd + rendered .png
│   ├── tikz/              # .tex TikZ sources
│   └── charts/            # matplotlib PDF outputs
└── cite_mapping.json      # footnote→cite key map

Related Skills

• latex-documents — general LaTeX compilation (Beamer, articles)
• wardley-maps — Wardley map generation and LaTeX integration
• book-publishing — end-to-end pipeline including image upcycling
• art — Gemini API diagram enhancement
• browser — PDF preview and Mermaid rendering via sidecar