How one writer turns a Zettelkasten into a book (2025)

A practical account of starting a book: one long "Notes" file, main notes copied in from the Zettelkasten, a reference note (page, blurb, linked note, topic) for each new book, then grouping under temporary headings and splitting into chapter files once it gets unwieldy. New insights go back into the Zettelkasten as single-idea notes "for future self". A useful look at where the slip-box ends and the draft begins.

Where I'm less sure: it carries a plug for his book near the top, and Sascha Fast's critique is a fair challenge: most of the thinking here happens in the draft file, not in the notes. Whether that matters probably depends on whether you're writing about what you know or trying to understand something new.

Question: Where does your real thinking happen: in the notes themselves, or in the draft you assemble from them?