Their experience is worth the expense, but not all writers or self-publishers can afford such costs, and particularly if they plan to release multiple titles. If you have the money, this is the way to go, especially if you’ve vetted the interior designer. Hire a professional book designer for both your ebook and print edition layouts, which can cost into the thousands of dollars depending on the intricacy or complexity of your layouts. The comparative ease with which Vellum 2.0 , a Mac-only product, creates ebooks and print editions should make all PC authors consider making the switch…or at least befriending one Mac user who’ll let them borrow their computer for an hour.I may be overselling Vellum, but for my money, which I’ve gladly given them on multiple occasions, they have released an app that marries ease of use with fantastic design — both of the app itself and of the ebooks and print editions it’s capable of creating.Here’s my review of Vellum software for self-publishers.Book formatting software and other optionsThose who have yet to experience the joy of using Vellum are relegated to choosing from among a few time-consuming or costly processes: If youre only interested in technical design, you rely on 2D CAD tools, which myriad of.I’m kidding, but only slightly.Learn to lay out your own book in Adobe InDesign, a powerful desktop publishing app that gives you the finest of control over your design. Learn the intricacies of Calibre, a powerful piece of ebook software that’s more usable by programmers than authors. (And then try not to pull your hair out.) You can use it to create beautiful ebooks and print books that you can sell anywhere, including Amazon.The opening screen of Vellum is straightforward.I can click on an already existing project or import a Word file. What is Vellum software?Vellum is a book-formatting software. Grab this FREE 25-Page Non-Fiction Outline Template – the perfect tool for getting your book outlined and written fast, with less headaches. Yes, there’s a better way to DIY your self-published book!While I’d used Vellum to create ebooks before, the release of Vellum 2.0 introduced a game-changing feature: print formatting.Now, the time and expense I have to invest in creating stellar books are, at the very least, halved.Pro Writer Tip: If a Mac isn’t in your future, not to worry. Each one has its shortcomings, either in too much time wasted seeking design perfection or too much money spent waiting for a designer to finally finish the book.So I’m going to share a better option with you.
Is Vellum An App Only Professional Book DesignerRight-clicking within the text brings up a context-aware menu that allows you to add features like Subheads, Ornamental Breaks, Images, Alignment Blocks (for right-justified, left-justified or centered text) and more.Lastly, the most powerful aspect of Vellum is its exporting capabilities.I learned the intricacies (and sometimes maddening nuances) of exporting my first book via Scrivener. But, I believe the provided templates provide enough variation to satisfy any author seeking to create a traditionally formatted book.Adding text features is just as easy. Even when Vellum isn’t quite smart enough to figure out every section or chapter, reorganizing and renaming each part, section or chapter is a breeze.For instance, by clicking on the configuration icon next to a chapter header, I can easily convert the chapter into a number of other predefined chapter types, e.g., Prologue, Epilogue, Afterword, About the Author, etc.The “Styles” panel in the upper left provides multiple templates for the layout of specific aspects of a book, e.g., Heading, First Paragraph, Block Quotation, etc.In future releases, I’d like to see more granular control of these aspects and the ability to save customized templates. Clicking on “Ebook Cover” at the top of the center area allows me to drag and drop the ebook’s cover into the book.When a user incorporates Word’s styles into their manuscript, such as always using the “Title” style in Word for each of the author’s chapter titles, Vellum is smart enough to know to import each of those chapters as separate chapters. With the book title selected, I can edit the book’s metadata. Where is microsoft office compatible window for macCompare this to the options I offered at the start of this post, and you can see why it’s worth considering!Of course, more features abound, but what I’ve shared in this brief review are the features I’ve used the most. How much does Vellum cost?It costs $199.99 to create unlimited ebooks or $249.99 to create unlimited ebooks and paperbacks.But it’s worth the cost, especially if you’re planning to write, format and publish multiple books over your writing career. Here are a few images of the Createspace print edition proof of Sins of the Five Fathers :Unfortunately, the company only makes Vellum for Mac there’s no PC version.If you’re looking for a Vellum equivalent for windows, you might consider Scrivener.While I prefer the ease of Vellum for book formatting, Scrivener provides a similar service, as well as many more features. As you can see below, ebook options include Kindle (.mobi), iBooks, Nook, Kobo, Google Play, and Generic EPUB.For print, Vellum offers a variety of popular trim sizes:They offer additional trim sizes for international books, mass market paperbacks and large print.The proof of any ebook formatting software is in, well, the proof. It can be overwhelming and time-consuming for most authors to attempt.In my opinion, this is where Vellum shines.By going to the top menu and selecting “File > Generate Books,” I can choose which file types and trim size I’d like to export to. I can adjust the manuscript on the fly, choose a variety of finished looks and publish to ebook and print in minutes. Not having a previewer means I go through the same upload, review, make changes, upload, review cycle still.* Write in Scrivener, then export to Word and import to Vellum. Any changes could destroy the formatting, so I figured out this was consuming way to much time.* Write in Scrivener, which I love, but as mentioned above the learning curve of setting up a book (Kindle then Createspace) is time-consuming. I’ve used many processes the past 2 1/2 years to self-publish my books, including:* Word template then publish to Kindle & Createspace, then review, then go back and fix any issues, then rinse & repeat.
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