Posted by Andrew Carver on Jun 13, 2018; 6:55pm
URL: https://discuss.asciidoctor.org/Am-I-missing-something-big-about-book-production-tp6365p6368.html

I can't address your question from relevant professional experience. But one thing is certain: the main, crucial book  on DocBook customization is the one by Bob Stayton, DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide, 4th edition. That book is available in softcover, or online in HTML (http://www.sagehill.net/docbookxsl/index.html). Everyone using DocBook needs to read at least some of that book, if just for learning the ropes, and to have it handy as a reference. By doing so, you'll see that the flexibility and control you have over the styling/functionality is pretty extensive, even using only stylesheet-parameters to customize. (If you're comfortable modifying XSLT, then you have basically complete control.)

Of course, Norman Walsh's book on DocBook itself is pretty important to have. Most editions of it are accessible online, including through at least v. 4.5 (https://tdg.docbook.org/tdg/4.5/docbook.html). As you know probably, the latest version is 5.0.

Beyond those, I think you might find interesting a book I stumbled across recently, DocBook for Writers. It's by Peter Lavin, apparently a Canadian gent with 10+ years as a technical writer--mostly using DocBook. I'm only in chapter 2, but so far my impression is that it's well-done and quite helpful for learning the practical nuts and bolts:

https://softcoded.com/books.php

https://www.amazon.com/DocBook-Writers-Peter-Lavin-ebook/dp/B00SNUNBK0/

Hope that helps address your questions...? Please follow up if not.