vellum

Vellum is a powerful, specialized software application for macOS that is used by independent authors and publishers to design, format, and generate print and ebook files from a single manuscript.

It is renowned for its ease of use, beautiful pre-set designs, and ability to handle complex formatting tasks (like drop caps, ornamental breaks, and customized headers) with minimal effort.

Key Features of Vellum

Vellum simplifies the often complicated process of converting a finished manuscript into professionally formatted book files:

1. Unified File Generation

• Single Source to Multiple Outputs: Vellum takes a single document (usually imported from a Word file) and can instantly generate all necessary files for major retailers from that one source.

• Ebook Formats: Creates clean, ready-to-upload files for:

  • Kindle (MOBI/KPF)

  • Apple Books (EPUB)

  • Kobo (EPUB)

  • Nook (EPUB)

  • Generic EPUB (for other stores)

• Print Formats: Creates high-resolution, print-ready PDF files formatted for different sizes (e.g., 6x9, 5.5x8.5) and ready for services like KDP Print or Ingram Spark.

2. Design and Style Control

• Pre-set Styles: Vellum offers a gallery of professional book styles that control the look of the chapters, first line of text (e.g., drop caps), ornamental breaks, headers, and footers. The author can preview these changes instantly.

• Front/Back Matter: It easily inserts and formats crucial sections of the book, such as:

  • Title Page, Copyright Page

  • Table of Contents (automatically generated)

  • Dedication, Epilogue, Glossary

  • "Also By" pages and Call-to-Action sections (critical for series authors).

• Visual Editor: The application provides a visual editor that shows exactly how the final book will look on various devices (like an iPad, Kindle Fire, or printed page).

3. Ease of Use

• Import Simplicity: It's designed to recognize common formatting elements (like chapter titles and scene breaks) during the import process, minimizing the manual cleanup required.

• Reflowable Layout: The design ensures that ebook text is reflowable, meaning the text adjusts perfectly to different screen sizes and user settings.