Re:If you have a publisher, ask them. (Score 1)

I agree with both the parent comment: it's not your call it's the publishers. I just wanted to re-emphasize the point made that there is a reason that publishers have a specific "tool chain". Not only are all of your collaborators (tech editors, copy editors, layout, illustrators) already standardized on a set of tools, but they also are going to have an entire suite of standard procedures and technologies built around those tools. Standard art and layout around the specific Word templates they give you, for example.

When I wrote my book, I ended up using StarOffice on Linux for most of it. (This was before OpenOffice.) But I only did so after I verified that the compatibility would work: that I could take their Microsoft Word templates and use them within StarOffice then submit the results back to them without degrading the layout in any way

The same may very well still be true. But don't presume that you'll be able to pick your own tools: that would be like showing up for a job and saying you were going to ignore the tool chain and languages of your employer. That you were going to use .NET even if everyone else on your team had standardized on Java. Not only would it be rude to your team, but it would also be impossible to integrate your end results into the end product.