--- title: "Book writing software for a novel in Kurdish" description: "Write and typeset a Sorani Kurdish novel: right to left in the Arabic script, a Naskh face that carries the Kurdish letters, and a print-ready PDF." source: https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-kurdish --- # Book writing software for writing a novel in Sorani Kurdish TL;DR Galley sets Sorani Kurdish in the Arabic script, right to left, in a Naskh face that carries ڵ ڕ ۆ ێ. It does not set Kurmanji in Latin as a separate language, and Amazon does not sell Kurdish at all. Both are stated here so you do not find it later. کوردی ## نووسینی ڕۆمان بە کوردی گاڵی ئەو شوێنەیە کە تێیدا ڕۆمانەکە دەنووسیت و کتێبەکەی لێ دروست دەکەیت. لە یەکەم ڕستەوە لەسەر لاپەڕەیەکی ڕاستەقینەی کتێب دەنووسیت. دەق لە ڕاستەوە بۆ چەپ دەنووسرێت، و سێ فۆنت بەردەستن: ئەمیری، نۆتۆ نەسخ عەرەبی، و شەهرزادی نوێ. لە کۆتاییدا PDF ی ئامادە بۆ چاپ و EPUB ی دروستت دەبێت. ڕووکاری پرۆگرامەکە بە ئینگلیزییە؛ کتێبەکە بە کوردییە. ## Why Galley is the right book writing software for a novel in Sorani Kurdish Sorani is written in a modified Arabic script that adds the Persian letters پ چ ژ گ and then its own: ڵ, ڕ, ۆ and ێ. Unlike Arabic, Sorani writes its vowels, which means the text is denser in distinct characters and a face with partial coverage fails visibly instead of subtly. All three Naskh faces on Galley’s shelf carry the Kurdish set, and Scheherazade New, built by SIL for the languages that borrow the Arabic script, has the deepest coverage of the three. Two limits worth stating before you start. **Kurmanji in Latin script is not a separate language setting.** Galley carries Sorani under the Arabic script. If you write Kurmanji in the Latin alphabet you can set the book to a Latin language and get the fifteen Latin faces, but the hyphenation patterns and the EPUB tag will belong to that language and not to Kurdish, and that is a compromise rather than support. **Amazon does not list Kurdish in any format.** So the print-ready PDF and the valid EPUB are the whole product. Everything else is the same app: a [true book page](https://usegalley.com/features/make-the-book) at your trim, the [story bible](https://usegalley.com/features/story-bible) beside the manuscript, a print-ready PDF and a valid EPUB. ## How Sorani gets typeset **Direction is a print decision.** The recto is the left-hand page, margins, running heads and folios mirror with the gutter, and both exports declare right-to-left page progression. **Letters join, so headings do not letter-space.** **There is no italic, no hyphenation and no kashida justification.** Set the book ragged right, which is what justification being off by default already gives you. **Search folds the marks that should fold** and keeps the letters that carry meaning. ## The typefaces you get for Sorani Kurdish Three Naskh faces, all under the [SIL Open Font License](https://openfontlicense.org/). **Scheherazade New** is the one to start with, for coverage. ![Sample sentence in Scheherazade New](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/scheherazade-new-ar.png) **Amiri** is the literary Naskh, modelled on the Bulaq Press types. ![Sample sentence in Amiri](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/amiri-ar.png) **Noto Naskh Arabic** is the broad default. ![Sample sentence in Noto Naskh Arabic](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/noto-naskh-arabic-ar.png) The [typeface documentation](https://usegalley.com/docs/book-design#typeface) lists every face by language. ## Exports for a Kurdish novel - **Print-ready PDF** at your trim, mirrored the correct way, shaped properly, font embedded. - **EPUB 3** with your cover, tagged `ckb`, with right-to-left page progression. - **Store-ready EPUBs** for Kobo and Apple Books. - **Word and Markdown** for an editor or an archive. - **Manuscript format**, double-spaced, running right to left. - **A proofreading PDF** two pages to a sheet, and a **large print PDF**. - **A watermarked copy per beta reader**. The Amazon-shaped tools switch off on a Kurdish book and say why. ## Kurdish punctuation Sorani uses the Arabic comma ، and question mark ؟, both ordinary characters that survive typing and both exports. Chapter headings are still the English default. If you write in Kurdish and want to tell me what the convention should be, [say so](mailto:hi@usegalley.com). ## How long a Kurdish novel is Galley counts words, live, per chapter and per book, and projects a page count at your trim. The [word count to page count converter](https://usegalley.com/resources/word-count-to-page-count) helps here. ## Trim sizes for a Kurdish book Six standards, from mass market at 4.25×6.87 inches to Royal at 6.14×9.21. Regional publishing commonly uses formats near 14×21cm, between the Digest at 5.5×8.5 inches and Royal. The [trim size comparison](https://usegalley.com/resources/book-trim-size-comparison) and the [spine width calculator](https://usegalley.com/resources/book-spine-width-calculator) do the sums. ## Metadata and the copyright page Every field detects its own direction, so a Kurdish title and a Latin ISBN both come out right. The [copyright page](https://usegalley.com/docs/publishing#copyright-page) writes itself from what you filled in. ## Translating into or out of Kurdish A translation in Galley is its own book: its own language, its own typeface shelf, its own ISBN, its own cover, still linked to the original. There are pages on [writing a novel in Arabic](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-arabic), [writing a novel in Persian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-persian) and [writing a novel in Turkish](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-turkish). No machine touches the prose. Galley has [no AI anywhere near your writing](https://usegalley.com/blog/no-ai-in-your-prose). ## Self-publishing and traditional publishing in Kurdish **Self-publishing.** Amazon is closed, so print goes to a regional printer or IngramSpark and the ebook goes to Google Play, Apple Books or Kobo. **Traditional publishing.** Kurdish publishing runs through regional houses and cultural institutions in Iraqi Kurdistan and the diaspora. The [submission package](https://usegalley.com/docs/publishing#where-it-goes) assembles the synopsis, the bio and the opening chapters. The same book exports both. The longer arguments are in [Galley for self-publishing](https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-self-publishing) and [Galley for traditional publishing](https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-traditional-publishing). ## Where to go next - [Writing software for novelists who don’t write in English](https://usegalley.com/blog/write-a-novel-in-your-language) covers every script Galley sets. - [Book design and typefaces](https://usegalley.com/docs/book-design#typeface) lists every face by language. - [Series and translations](https://usegalley.com/docs/series-and-translations) covers the full language list. - [EPUB vs print PDF](https://usegalley.com/blog/epub-vs-print-pdf) explains what each format can do. ## Questions people ask about writing a novel in Kurdish ### Which Kurdish does Galley support? Sorani, in the Arabic script. Kurmanji written in the Latin alphabet is not a separate language setting; set the book to a Latin language you are comfortable with and you will get the fifteen Latin faces, but the hyphenation and the EPUB tag will not be Kurdish. ### Do the Kurdish letters work? Yes. ڵ ڕ ۆ ێ and the Persian additions پ چ ژ گ are all carried by the faces on the shelf. Scheherazade New has the deepest coverage. ### Can I sell a Kurdish book on Amazon KDP? No. Amazon does not list Kurdish in any format. The print PDF goes to a printer in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah or elsewhere, or to IngramSpark. ### Does Kurdish get italics? No. The Arabic script has no italic tradition, so the button is hidden instead of offering a slanted Naskh. ## Other languages - [Book writing software for Arabic](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-arabic)Write and typeset an Arabic novel: right to left, set in Amiri or Noto Naskh, with a complete print pipeline. Including the Amazon rule that catches Arabic writers out. - [Book writing software for Persian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-persian)Write and typeset a Persian novel: right to left, set in Markazi Text or Amiri, with the half-space intact and a print-ready PDF at the end. What Persian asks of a book tool, and where most of them give up. - [Book writing software for Turkish](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-turkish)Write and typeset a Turkish novel: the dotted and dotless i handled as separate letters, Turkish hyphenation, fifteen book faces and a print-ready PDF for a Turkish printer. Start the book. Galley sets it in Kurdish from the first sentence to the print PDF. [Launch Galley](https://app.usegalley.com)