Vellum: simple software for independent publishing
So you’ve written the book. Now it’s time to hit publish. But how do you make sure your book looks beautiful and professional in both ebook and print? The simplest, most intuitive solution for writers is Vellum.
When I first started creating ebooks for my micro press, Fiction Attic Press, the process of formatting involved complicated html, clunky table of contents creation, and laborious conversion from Word to epub. Fortunately, the time-intensive process of formatting ebook and print book files is a relic of the past. All you need to create gorgeous, professional ebooks and paperbacks is one super-simple, user-friendly piece of software: Vellum. I’ve used other programs, including the now-defunct Atavist, as well as Reedsy. Both had some great features, but Vellum is hands-down the best, simplest, most intuitive book creation software available. I use it for every book I publish through Fiction Attic Press, from novels and short story anthologies to novel writing workbooks.
Here are a few things I like about Vellum:
- The software works equally well for fiction and nonfiction.
- There are a number of templates, from traditional to modern, that allow you to easily give your book a look that fits your content.
- You can easily scroll between templates to see how your book looks in each design.
- You can easily scroll between views of Kindle, iPad, desktop, Android, iphone, and print versions of your book.
- Inserting links for Amazon, Bookshop.org, other retailers, and your own website is quick and easy.
- One-click formatting allows you to create beautiful block quotes, drop caps, and other elements.
- The Table of Comments is automatically generated.
- Creating a beautiful copyright page, title page, epilogue, endnotes, author page, and other professional-looking pages is incredibly simple. Just select “copyright page” from the content blocks and fill in your information.
The software is free to download and try out. Once you’ve created a book, you’ll need to purchase a license in order to generate your epub, mobi, or pdf file. With your license, you can create unlimited books. At $199, the software isn’t cheap, but considering the dozens of hours you’ll save on each book, it’s worth every penny.