February 24, 2017 Update: I’ve made up a simple six page book after only four days of trying. Following these videos I converted it to a .pdf and the book prints correctly. I have an enormous amount to learn yet I am encouraged. I’ve found these two videos to be the most useful so far. Original post below the videos . . .

inDesign is the industry leader for producing printed material. It can layout anything from soup labels to magazine ads to full length books. It’s expensive, starting at $20 a month. I’m trying to learn it over the next month. I might need to do the layout for a book I am proposing and I’m also  considering self-publishing in another case. But like all Adobe products, there’s scant interest paid to people who want the program to do modest things.

If inDesign were a rocket ship then I could fly it to the Moon and back. But what if I only want to go around the earth once or twice? The scores of of menus and options conspire to create a steep learning curve. Classes are taught in inDesign. You can get certified. I’ve bought a video lecture program. Adobe makes their own book explaining inDesign and it’s simply obtuse. They present online tutorials to go along with the book but I find it impossible to keep any attention on the materials. I just keep drifting off.

There’s good news. If you can figure it all out, a successful inDesign file ensures a print ready .pdf. And the program does support footnotes or banknotes, something I might need. But it threatens to take half my time  from writing, putting the other half into ornament which is layout. I’d farm out the design work but there’s no budget for that. I’m giving my learning a month and then I will evaluate my progress. Perhaps I will be happier then. Let me know if you’ve had any experience with inDesign.