It’s straightforward to learn, and you’ll get the idea after a few minutes of experimentation. I don’t think I’ll create a full tutorial for Vellum - even if asked. If you only produce one book a year, it’s just not worth the price unless you can subsidise it by selling formatting services to other writers. Those who churn out serial fiction in high volumes (I’m looking at you, romance and erotica writers) will gain the most value from Vellum. There’s an undeniable appeal to being able to crank out good lucking books at record speed. If you’re a Windows user, you have the added financial woes of buying a Mac too - and yes, this software is so revered in the indie publishing world that many authors do just that. Vellum is a hard sell, given its price for me as the Australian dollar declines against the US. Vellum can also produce multi-volume box-sets with ease - something authors publishing via Kindle Unlimited will enjoy. Beyond the basics, you can add elements such as the front matter, with a click. The app does one thing, and one thing very, very well. Vellum impressed me with its design, ease of use and output. That’s not easy to do, and the developer and typographer in me know that a lot of meticulous and complicated programming went into the creation of this app by people who give a damn about aesthetic book design.Īnyway, here’s what I was able to create in Vellum, in less than three minutes (I timed myself). However, I did like what it was able to do, and I appreciated how well it handled things like widows and orphans, and balanced page spreads. Since you can’t customise the designs, I couldn’t make the book look the same as the one I created in Pages and Affinity Designer. It’s enough though to learn the product and get a good sense of what it can do. It’s $250 American, or an eye-watering $410 Australian.įortunately, there’s an unlimited trial version that allows you to evaluate the app, but you can’t export anything. The designs are template-driven with little scope for customisation. However, power and simplicity come at a cost. Simply import your manuscript and Vellum will create a beautiful ePub and paperback with just a few clicks. In terms of its ease of use, it is without peer. If you know nothing about design and desktop publishing, but you still want to create your books, Vellum is the product for you. Note, if you’d like to see a full tutorial about how I created the book in Pages, please let me know in the comments. If you have a Mac or iPad, and you need to create a book, I would seriously start with Pages. The app has almost all the features I need to design a novel - both a paperback and ePub. It’s effortless to use, though a little quirky in places like creating sections. I was able to create an attractive design quickly and with a surprising amount of control. I was more impressed with Pages than I had any right to be.
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