Back in the day, Vellum was the best and most loved book formatting software.
However, things have changed, and it no longer gets my #1 recommendation nor is it the one I use.
It's now the most expensive option, lacks features that others formatting software has, and still only works on Mac. Furthermore, there are other options that not only surpassed Vellum, but have future features coming out that will be incredible.
So, if you're looking to get Vellum, I wouldn't recommend it. You're paying too much for too little.
If you'd like to see what I mean and see how this compares to others, then check this out. Otherwise, read on to see what Vellum can do and what it can't.
What is Vellum and Who is it For?
Let's start by talking about what it is and how I used to it. Vellum is a simple book formatting software that I think is absolutely intuitive.
Having used Vellum for a number of years, I can say without a doubt that you can create elegant print books and eBooks that can be quickly exported to the required format. Unfortunately, Vellum only works on Apple computers.
Furthermore, while you can write your book in Vellum, I definitely wouldn't recommend it. It doesn't have a lot of the writing tools or functionality to do that. So, you're best off doing what I used to do, which is just write your book in another tool, and then import it into Vellum so as to format it. But this starts to add more costs and can cause version control issues as you switch from program to program.
I think Vellum works well for a majority of all fiction authors, and most nonfiction authors. If, for some reason you need even more functionality than you get with Vellum, you'll need to bump up to the super complicated and more expensive Adobe InDesign.
Velum Review: My Take
As I said above, Vellum is a great book formatting tool. It absolutely lacks as a writing tool, but is pretty robust when it comes to formatting books. However, before I get into some of its features and how I used to use it in the past, let me start by discussing some of the issues you need to be aware of.
Pricing and Is it Worth it?
First, the pricing. While Vellum gives you the ability to use it for free, when you go to export, that's when you'll need to pay. That's not a bad model in that you can get to try it out for free, right? Well Vellum can get away with this because, as I said above, no one wants to write a book in Vellum.
They just want to use it to format and that's it. But when it comes time to pay, it is VERY expensive compared to other formatting tools out there.
- Vellum Ebooks costs a one-time fee of $199.99. It allows for unlimited eBook generation but no print editions.
- Vellum Press costs a one-time fee of $249.99. It allows for both unlimited eBook and print edition generation.
As you can see, you'll need to pay $249.99 to format both your book and ebook – yikes! Especially when a tool like Atticus costs over $100 cheaper and does the same thing if not better!
Vellum Costs over $100 More Than Other Comparable Tools
System Requirements
Another issue I have with Vellum and has been mentioned before is that you have to have a Mac computer to use it. There is a way to use it on a PC, HOWEVER, doing that is not only complicated, but also adds a monthly cost, and requires you to have internet connection at all times when working on Vellum. So, in the end…
Vellum Does NOT work on PC 🙁
Some of My Favorite Features
Okay, let's start with some of the things I love about Vellum and what they do right…starting with importing.
As I said earlier, most authors use a different writing software, and then import their Word doc into Vellum. Well, if that's how we use it, then it better be easy to import right? Well, yes. But…you need to follow their instructions on how to properly import a doc. You can't just take a full Word doc that hasn't been broken up into chapters appropriately. But, if you follow their steps, your writing should be broken up with the right chapters and should keep all your bold, italics, and underlined formatting.
Another fan favorite is Vellum's Previewer. At this point in book formatting, the ability to see what your ebook or print book will look like is a must. But Vellum does a better job at this than most. Not only can you select different types of ereaders to preview. You can also select between their quick mode or more accurate mode. What I mean by this is that in quick mode, their previewer sort of ‘guesses' at what it will look like but because it isn't doing all that crunching, it can show you faster. While the accurate mode makes it crunch each time you update but will be a more accurate representation of what your book will look like.
One thing that will make many serial fiction authors happy is that it has box set creation in mind and its done pretty well. Another feature they came out recently is the ability to make mobile text messages, which for many romance authors is especially cool. Not much use for me though.
One of the thing that Vellum does really well is come with pre packaged themes. What I mean by this is that while you can customize a bunch of things, Vellum has a few prepackaged themes you can select and apply to your book. For those authors who just want something quick, this can be excellent. I personally like to dig deep and work to make my books look as unique as possible but I know a lot of authors who would prefer the easy route and using these themes will do the trick.
Also, I think Vellum does a good job handling your meta data and book information. In that section (see below), you can enter the necessary information for your book which will be key for the marketplaces you send the book to.
And finally, a thing that makes Vellum stick out from some of the cheaper formatting software is two page image spread (PS: Atticus does this too). This is the ability to take one image that covers over two pages (for print book). Most authors love to do this with their chapter page. This way on the left is the image and on the right starts the chapter with the second half of the image in the background. I personally think this one feature, when done right with a good look image, is the difference between a blasé book and an impressive professional looking book.
What I Don’t Like About Vellum
While Vellum definitely serves as a decent tool to format your books, it has a couple of detractors that make it where it didn't even make my list of top book formatting software.
First, as I've said above, there is no Windows version and it is also one of the most expensive options on the market.
Plus, my biggest gripe is the limited customization and control. As an independent author, I like having control over my author brand. Despite its speed and elegance, Vellum only offers 8 book styles. As a matter of fact, a lot of books produced by Vellum users will look similar…I've even seen this complaint online. There's some ability to customize within styles. But at the end of the day, you're stuck with limited formatting options and fonts.
Furthermore, as I mentioned above, this is not something you'd want to write in. But I can hear you saying “it's a formatting tool, why are you hitting it for not being good for writing too?” And I'd respond with…because other tools have advanced beyond this, and now you can get a book writing and formatting tool all in one. This way, you don't have to pay for two sets of software, and then have to learn two sets of software.
Which leads me to my next point, Vellum does not have the ability to collaborate. So, do you want to work with another author on your book? Or an editor? Well, not with Vellum. So, definitely keep that in mind. It was because of this, that I moved off of Vellum and worked on Atticus instead. Atticus was built with authors in mind
So, What Do I Recommend?
As you can see, Vellum is a decent tool but lacks a lot of important capabilities to justify the higher price. However, there is a much cheaper option that not only has most of Vellum's capability, but also excels and offers more: Atticus.
Just check out the side-by-side comparison:
| Feature |  Vellum |  Atticus |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | ||
| Exporting Options | ||
| Importing Options | ||
| Number of Chapter Themes | ||
| Number of Fonts Supported | ||
| Number of Trim Sizes | ||
| Volumes and Parts |  | |
| Custom Chapter Theme Builder | | |
| Offline Use | | |
| Text Message builder | | |
| Full Bleed Images | | |
| Footnotes | | |
| A Dark Mode | | |
| Call Out Boxes (Non-fiction) |  | |
| H2 - H6 Headings | | |
| Large Print (all features) | | |
| Cloud Storage and Backups | | |
| Collaboration | | |
| Cost | $249.99 USD | $147 USD |
As you can see, with Atticus coming in at over $100 cheaper, and being more robust, Atticus is the much better book formatting choice.
Final Verdict:
While Vellum is a good book formatting software, it is too expensive, limited in use and customization and not and robust.
So, in summation of this Vellum review, here is a list of the pros and cons:
Pros:
- Beautiful eBooks and print books formatting
- Full free trial lasts until you want to generate (export) your book
- Ready-made book styles that look professional and impressive
- Built-in box set capabilities
- Import and export are both seamless
- All future updates will be free to those who purchase a Vellum license
Cons:
- Not available on PC, iOS, or Android
- Steep price tag and most expensive
- Separate price points for eBook vs. eBook + print
- Limited customization options
- Not meant for word processing
- Not built for collaboration
Atticus is Honestly Better
As you can see, before Atticus came around, Vellum used to be the premium book formatting software. So much so, that authors would literally buy a Mac computer, or pay for MacInCloud service (which is buggy and lags) just so they could use it. They wouldn't even think twice about paying the premium price for it because nothing could do what Vellum did at that level of ease. That's how good it was.
However, Atticus changed that. You get all the great capabilities that Vellum has, plus more, and it works on all computers (PC users rejoice). Couple that with it being $102 cheaper than Vellum, and you can probably see why authors have been shifting to Atticus over Vellum. The comparison of the two formatting softwares shows this extensively.
So what is the bottom line of this Vellum review? You can check it out, but I recommend Atticus over Vellum based on the above information.
