Vellum Blew Me Away!
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Publishing eBooks and Paperbacks can be a tricky business. Amazon has their own format, as do Apple, Barnes and Noble, and other e-Tailers. Paperbacks in non-standard sizes require a manual template. Vellum creates beautiful eBooks and Paperbacks. It’s so quick and easy to use, the formatting tasks I used to dread have become a pleasure.
I’ve published dozens of books using the old and the new method. I was able to publish three books in less than a day with Vellum. Formatting is no longer the beast it used to be. Drag and drop chapters; switch formats at the click of a button. Changing an element from a Chapter to another format is a right click away. If I hadn’t found Vellum, I might have given up publishing altogether.
You can use the same Vellum document to generate files at the touch of a button for:
<ul><li>EPUB</li><li>Kindle</li><li>Apple</li><li>Nook</li><li>Kobo</li><li>Google Play</li><li>a Paperback in a variety of sizes (if you get the Press version for 50 bucks extra) </li></ul>The software also organizes and overwrites your files automatically, making version control simple.
Pros
- Professional, Tasteful Formatting
- Table of Contents management
- File Management
- Ease of switching elements (i.e. Chapter, Acknowledgement, About the Author etc.)
- Beautiful Style Sheets
- Generating uploadable files quickly and painlessly
- Previewing for a variety of formats and devices
Cons
- Could improve ability to change the look of a design element like Ornamental Break.
- Doesn’t currently output in Smashwords .doc format (but does EPUB).
- Spell Check is rudimentary but accurate - still, it’s much better to use Word or Grammarly.
- If style uses initial drop cap, it doesn’t handle one-letter words well (I, A, O) - repeats letter in sentence. This may be standard practice, not sure.
- There are a couple dozen styles. I would gladly pay for a “Style Pack” to add on additional styles.
Likelihood to Recommend
Vellum is perfect for novels, novellas, short fiction anthologies, and any lightly illustrated fiction. It’s excellent for most non-fiction. It’s great for e-Books and Paperbacks. I haven’t tried using the file for hardcover but it is likely good for that as well.
Vellum wouldn’t be the right tool for coffee-table art books, picture books or children’s illustrated books.
