I spent $4,000 on editors and formatters for my first ebook, Evergreen Affiliate Advertising and marketing, to get it prepared for Amazon. The ebook was essential to me, and I wished to do it proper.
Flash ahead to 2026, and I am able to pump out some shorter kind, non-fiction books,s and I am going the DIY method. I wanted to discover a good resolution to assist with the formatting of my e-book for publication, and after some analysis, two names stood out above all of the others. Atticus and Vellum.
I wasn’t positive which was higher, and I made a decision they had been inexpensive sufficient that I may justify giving each a strive after which sharing my outcomes with you right here.
So, let’s dive into my expertise with Atticus vs. Vellum so you may make the proper resolution on your ebook.
Fast Abstract: Atticus vs. Vellum
I used to be impressed by each Atticus and Vellum. Each did what they marketed and so they did it effectively. I went with Vellum for my ultimate publication however Atticus is the extra strong software program. Atticus provides extra formatting choices, sharing performance, further preview modes, and can be utilized on-line or offline which lets you extra simply work in your initiatives throughout units. Additionally it is barely extra inexpensive that Vellum. You’ll be able to’t go unsuitable with both, however these are presently the 2 severe concerns for severe ebook publishing. I might not attempt to publish a ebook with out having the ability to polish it in one in every of these applications.
What I Preferred about Vellum
The very first thing that stood out about Vellum was its pace and minimalism. I all the time compose my books in Scrivener, which is the other of minimalistic. Scrivener is advanced, however that’s to be anticipated because it’s for advanced writing. Vellum is targeted nearly completely on the structure and design of your ebook.
It provides you adequate choices to type your ebook successfully, however not so many who it’s simple to get sidetracked or overcomplicate the method.
When you like to regulate each element and have a eager sense of design, you would possibly discover this limiting. Nonetheless, I prefer it and imagine this straightforward technique works finest for many writers.
I beloved the moment suggestions I acquired once I made styling adjustments, as effectively. I may instantly see what the ebook would seem like on an precise e-reader.
What I Did not Like about Vellum
I would love a greater spellcheck and grammar characteristic. Vellum does the minimal with checking for typos, however does nothing past that. It will not counsel adjustments to wording or do issues like repair run-on sentences. In equity, most instruments like Vellum don’t. I simply write elsewhere after which deliver the content material into Vellum.
I additionally had a little bit of trouble upgrading to the paid plan as soon as I used to be able to export, nevertheless it wasn’t something so severe that I would maintain it towards them. It was just a bit odd that it was onerous to pay.
Vellum additionally requires you to work on an island. If you wish to collaborate, ship your .DOCX file to your crew, and you’ll’t work concurrently on the identical paperwork like you’ll be able to with Atticus.
What I Preferred about Atticus
Atticus does what Vellum does after which somewhat extra. I beloved it may be used as an app or on-line. Not like Vellum, which is just accessible offline on Mac and would not assist giving entry to an editor, further writers, or beta readers.
Whereas Vellum focuses on one ebook at a time, Atticus lets you view your whole books on the identical dashboard. It feels extra congruent.
Atticus additionally has a greater writing expertise if you wish to really compose your ebook inside your publishing app. It enables you to set timers and targets and nurture writing habits.
Atticus can deal with footnotes for conventional non-fiction books barely higher than Vellum.
Since Atticus is a web-based app, it permits me to make use of ProWritingAid for grammar options and spelling corrections. That is very beneficial. Sadly, Grammarly shouldn’t be supported on Atticus, however I want ProWritingAid anyway.
What I Did not Like about Atticus
The one real difficulty I had with Atticus is that it would not run as easily as Vellum does. That is to be anticipated since Atticus is web-based and Vellum is optimized for Mac solely. Atticus remains to be a lot easy, nevertheless it feels somewhat clunkier once you run Vellum facet by facet. I did not expertise any bugs, however different customers report small bugs which may come up at scale.
Vellum vs. Atticus Facet-by-Facet Comparability
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So, which is best?
This can be a uncommon state of affairs the place I really most well-liked the lesser choice for my present challenge. “Addition by subtraction,” was why I landed on Vellum and really paid barely extra for it. But when I needed to say which is the “higher” choice for many of my readers, I would should go along with Atticus. Once more, you’ll be able to’t go unsuitable with both.
