Vellum Review: Is Vellum Worth it?

In this blog post we will walk you through what Vellum is and is it Vellum worth it?

Self-publishing back in the day was so difficult.

Simply put – there was no such thing as a DIY approach in the hope of selling your book anywhere.

You had to work with an editor and a publishing company to give your manuscript the slightest chance of making it big.

But things have changed because of tools readily available to independent authors.

And while Scrivener, Google Docs, and Reedsy’s Editor are the first to come to mind, they’re not the only viable options.

There’s Vellum, a book creation tool designed for Mac.

What separates this program from the host of other alternatives is its professional formatting capability. In other words, you’re supposed to format your book using Vellum for it to be ready for publication.

Why Format a Book Yourself?

Self-publishing opens two doors for authors: first is the traditional way of working with an editor, and the second is to format the book themselves.

There exists a compelling argument for the latter because hiring an editor will cost you money while formatting a book yourself can be done at a minimal expense (the money you spend to buy software or program).

The issue with the latter option is that it could take a long time to format a book properly.

If you don’t have the luxury of using professional software, you could be looking at weeks or even months to get your book ready for publication.

So, the premise is this: you’re better off formatting a book yourself if you choose the self-publishing route.

But it’s only feasible if you’re armed with the right software program.

Yes, Scrivener and Google Docs help you write your book with a more organized approach and quicker pace, but they’re both limited to a certain degree regarding formatting.

They’re more of a writing assistant than a formatting tool.

Here comes Vellum and its promise to make book formatting faster and easier.

But before we gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of Vellum for self-editing, let’s take a quick look at what it offers.

Vellum works for eBooks and print books.

As a book formatting software, its features revolve around guaranteeing the book looks its best when published.

It’s a comprehensive tool that includes themes, page layout options, and more.

Vellum also makes it easier to submit books for publication to Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and other retailers.

This is where Vellum stands out from the competition.

Once you’re done formatting your book and uploading it to the software program, it’s ready for publication on the said platforms; plus, you can do so in various book styles, i.e., paperback, hardcover, and eBook.

What is Vellum?

Vellum is a book formatting software that helps you create professional-looking ebooks and print books.

It was created by two software developers, Brad Andalman and Brad West, who were frustrated with the lack of user-friendly book formatting software on the market.

They set out to create a tool that would make the process of formatting books as easy and stress-free as possible, and Vellum was born.

What can Vellum do?

With Vellum, you can format your book for ebook and print in a matter of minutes, without any technical expertise. Vellum offers a variety of formatting styles, including drop caps, ornamental breaks, and custom chapter headings.

You can also choose from a variety of fonts, and Vellum will automatically generate a table of contents for your book.

One of the best things about Vellum is how easy it is to use.

The software is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, with a simple interface that makes it easy to navigate.

Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you should be able to use Vellum without any problems.

Vellum also offers a preview feature, which allows you to see how your book will look on a variety of devices.

This can be especially helpful if you’re formatting an ebook and want to make sure it looks good on different e-readers.

Is Vellum Free?

Vellum is a paid software program. A free software version allows you to import files and edit your manuscript.

But that’s about it. Purchasing an upgrade is the only way to export and publish your book into the abovementioned platforms.

You have two available options here: Vellum Press and Vellum eBooks.

Mind you, both options are, by no means, cheap. So, you’ll have to weigh your needs and whether an upgrade is worth your money.

Vellum Press ($249.99) – Don’t let the asking price scare you. It’s a one-time investment that lets you create and export infinite eBooks and paperbacks. Investing in Vellum Press also means access to multiple styling templates and a nifty preview tool compatible with various platforms.

Vellum eBooks ($199.99) – The cheaper alternative lets you create and export as many unlimited eBooks as you want. You don’t have access to this version’s paperback and preview tools. And if you decide to upgrade to Vellum Press, ultimately, you can do so by paying $99.99.

Vellum is No MS Word or Google Docs

One mistake that authors tend to make is thinking that Vellum works like MS Word or Google Docs. It doesn’t.

While it provides tools for editing your manuscript, Vellum’s main function is to help you format and export books ready for publication.

In contrast, both MS Word and Google Docs are primarily writing programs.

If you deal with basic formatting, MS Word or Google Docs will do the job.

If you have no idea what formatting means or how to apply the necessary changes to make your book look great, then you should seriously consider Vellum.

While it’s inaccurate to compare MS Word and Vellum side-by-side, what’s neat is you can import your existing MS Word documents and apply the changes needed to push them through the publishing pipeline.

All you need to do is export your MS Word file into Vellum, then customize its layout and design before you hit the PUBLISH button.

Be reminded that only “.docx” files can be imported, considering that Vellum is designed to work for Mac.

But once you jump through this hurdle, you’d be amazed at how seamless the process is, plus most of the basic formatting from the MS Word document is retained, i.e., font style and size.

Vellum Has Impressive Formatting

The biggest selling point of Vellum is its impressive formatting and design capabilities.

Assuming you don’t want to pay a designer or use the generic themes available, you can take matters into your own hands and customize how your book looks.

Vellum has 20+ page layout options, including typography tweaks, custom headers with images, and many other features you don’t get from other software. It also has a library of professionally designed themes – think of it as a Photoshop-like tool but for books. And if none of these options suit your needs, you can even build your theme from scratch.

More on the Design Capabilities

With Vellum, you can customize your book’s interior, i.e., headers and footers, ornamental breaks, captions, and many visual elements you don’t see in other books. It also comes with a “Table of Contents” feature that supports multiple levels, allowing you to link back to chapters and sections, plus add page numbers for each chapter.

Furthermore, you can apply a colour scheme to the text – something you never can do with MS Word or Google Docs, as these programs only allow for black or white. Aside from its aesthetic benefits, Vellum also helps you save time on tedious tasks like updating your book’s copyright pages and table of contents.

You probably don’t know it, but an interior book designer’s fee can run up to $800, depending on the size of your project. This makes Vellum worth its weight in gold if you want to save a few bucks on interior design and formatting.

But mind you; it’s no easy feat.

For one, a lot goes into making the chapter title design alone.

You’ll need to figure out what works with the text, find an icon or image that helps you make a statement, and experiment with different fonts. With Vellum, you can do all this without having to hire someone. It’s a faster, more cost-effective solution than going the traditional route.

Another example of how challenging it can be to format a book is the cover design.

You’ll want to create something that sets your book apart from the competition, and Vellum can help you do just that. Its collection of templates means you get to customize everything from fonts and images to the overall layout.

Metadata

Though this may surprise you, Vellum lets you enter book metadata into the program.

This includes genre, title, author info, keywords, and other helpful information that helps readers discover your book online. It’s a must-have feature if you plan on selling your book on Amazon or any other online store.

Metadata is also essential for how your book will be displayed on an e-reader, such as the title, author name and occasionally a synopsis of its content. Vellum and any book layout software will require you to enter the necessary information manually.

However, Vellum offers a space specifically designed for this task.

To ensure your print and eBook editions from Vellum Press are distinct, make sure you assign a unique ISBN to each version. Duplicating the same ISBN is not allowed for both formats, a strict rule enforced across the industry.

Previewer Feature

Unlike print books, eBooks are digital products that call for a heightened level of design expertise. eBooks must have “reflowable text,” meaning each page’s size and shape shift according to user preferences or device specifications.

The concept behind the reflowable text feature in eBooks is for the reader to have the convenience of making the text bigger or smaller based on preference. Every content and image in the book must automatically adjust to accommodate any necessary changes without sacrificing a polished appearance.

As a designer for your eBook, you may be faced with an unpredictable outcome in terms of the placement of text, images, and layouts.

It’s likewise hard to determine how many pages the finished product will have when all is said and done.

Retailers also tend to reformat your files to fit their own branding, adding header styles and margins that may be incompatible with the original version of your eBook. In essence, you’re faced with a challenge that you can never overcome without the help of an app or software.

Well, at least Vellum offers a straightforward, albeit very useful, previewer that makes it easy to see what your eBook will look like in the end.

It mimics the display on standard devices like a Kindle or iPad. You get a preview of your design, which tells you if it’ll be compatible with all available platforms. This addresses the propensity of confusing the readers when reading the book.

That said, Vellum’s previewer feature can only do as much as review the look of your eBook.

It doesn’t get into the technical side to determine if any formatting issues need addressing. Also, retailers will eventually find a way to customize your eBook’s overall appearance. You can’t do anything about that, either.

A Multitude of Book Styles

Arguably the most interesting selling pitch is Vellum’s “Book Styles.” Most competing programs will give you fewer than four book styles, but Vellum differs. It lets you access eight book styles, making it easier to come up with a unique look that suits your target audience. Each style is designed for specific genres, so you only need to drag and drop the content into its proper place.

So, this is how it works:

When you have your chapters in order, be sure to explore the “Styles” panel on the left to tailor all other parts of your book’s formatting. To begin, go for one of the classy pre-set options – you won’t run out of options here.

If you’re feeling extra creative, there is an option to customize each and every element of your interior design from this point onwards.

For instance, you can tweak the font size, typeface, line spacing or anything else that affects the look of your book.

It’s a good idea to keep experimenting until you find the perfect balance between readability and aesthetics.

Offline Mode Makes Sense

Most software programs these days are cloud-based, which essentially requires an internet connection to work.

But that’s not the case with Vellum – you can use it even offline. This is handy for authors who like to go places where there isn’t necessarily an internet connection.

This also ties in with the fact that Vellum’s data processing speed is incredibly fast compared to other eBook creation apps.

Furthermore, since all your work-in-progress files are stored locally on your computer or laptop, you can move from one Mac device to another without compatibility issues (provided the device is running Mac).

Vellum’s Limitations

Vellum is the most comprehensive and user-friendly program if you’re looking at self-publishing. However, there are still some limitations worth noting.

It’s only available to Mac users.

The people behind this software will ultimately give in to the demands of Windows users, but for now, you’re stuck with Mac OS.

The inability to import a font style of your choice is worsened by the fact that Vellum has very limited font styles.

So, you have no choice but to stick to what the software offers. Anyhow, the constant updates could eventually fix this.

While formatting is a wondrous experience, the same can’t be said for text edits.

Since Vellum isn’t meant to be a word processor, your best bet is to polish your manuscript content before importing it into the software.

Vellum lacks integrated marketing capabilities, so you must get that elsewhere.

With those restrictions out of the way, you’ll find Vellum the ideal book formatting software if:

• You’re comfortable using Mac.
• You want an easy way to design and produce eBooks for Kindle, iBooks, Kobo and other stores.
• You need a program to convert your Word files into eBook format quickly.
• You want the ability to customize the look of your book’s interior and exterior.
• You don’t have time to deal with the complexities of coding your own eBook.
• You want a stress-free way to ensure your book maintains its formatting even when converted into various mobile formats.

You should consider other options if you:

• You require support for Windows PCs.
• You want to be able to import a font of your choice.
• You need access to integrated marketing tools.
• You want something cheaper.

The Verdict on Vellum

At its core, Vellum is a powerful, albeit pricey, solution for authors who want to format and design their books without the hassle of hiring an interior book designer or cover artist.

While it takes some time to get used to its features, the learning curve isn’t particularly steep, and you can have your books out in practically no time.

While the price and lack of Windows compatibility are deal-breakers for most people, they don’t define how well-oiled the program is.

If you’re looking to self-publish your book, we recommend Vellum as one of the first options on your list.