# Vellum: the official thread



## Brad Andalman

*Update 6/21/22: Since the site overhaul, we no longer receive reliable notifications about this thread. Because of that, and with the site not as active as it once was, we no longer check this thread regularly.

If you have a question about Vellum, the best way to reach us is via our Contact Page, where we typically respond the very next business day. Thanks!*

Hi there,

We've noticed a few threads in the Writer's Cafe that mentioned Vellum, and we wanted to start an official thread where we can post updates, answer questions, and get your feedback.

Vellum is software for your Mac that allows you to create beautiful ebooks and paperbacks. Import your manuscript from Word or write completely in Vellum's simple, elegant editor. Once you're done, choose from dozens of style options and view your book instantly in the live Preview. After you've purchased, you can generate ebooks for uploading to any online retailer, and print interiors for uploading to print-on-demand services.

Learn more on our website: Vellum. Create beautiful books.

Do you have any questions for us? Fire away! Or, if you'd prefer, contact us directly.


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## Betsy the Quilter

Welcome, Brad!

Welcome to Kboards! [br][br]You're welcome to promote your business and website here in the Writers' Café![br][br]Now that you have an official thread, you'll want to add your listing to our Yellow Pages Listing, found here:[br]http://www.kboards.com/yp/[br][br]The listing is free to KB members and is completely self-service; you can add and edit your listing from the page. More information on our Yellow Pages listing can be found here.[br][br]In your thread here, we ask that the same basic rules be followed as we have for authors in the Book Bazaar: you may have this one thread about your service and must post to it rather than start a new thread each time. New threads about the service wil be removed. Please bookmark this thread so that you can find it again to post to. And, you may not make back-to-back posts to the thread within seven days. If someone responds (such as this post), you may reply but otherwise must wait seven days, thanks![br][br]Betsy[br]KBoards Moderator [br][br]Note that this welcome does not constitute an endorsement or vetting of a service by KBoards. Members should do due diligence when considering using a service, for example, by asking KB members for feedback and doing an Internet search such as "service provider name" complaints.


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## John Ellsworth

I use Vellum exclusively for my books. I used to be a programmer (C#, HTML, etc.) and know pretty much all the tools, but for ease of use and consistency in stylesheets, there's nothing on the market quite like Vellum. Especially where Vellum lets me pick and choose different styles for each facet of my book from all the different stylesheets, meaning I can use multiple styles at once. Wow. There are certain enhancements I'm waiting for, but I know they're being worked up. My latest book even contains a picture of the author--gasp, me--which might actually stunt sales, but there you are. Keep up the great work.


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## MyraScott

Hi Brad,

Any plans for a Windows version? 

Thanks-


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## Brad Andalman

MyraScott said:


> Hi Brad,
> 
> Any plans for a Windows version?
> 
> Thanks-


Hi Myra,

We're currently focusing on our Mac product and, at this time, don't have any plans to create a product for Windows. But thank you for the feedback, and please keep us in mind should you ever find yourself in front of a Mac!


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## Lydniz

Hi, Brad. Is "Any plans for a Windows version?" the question you get asked most often?


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## Twizzlers

There needs to be a Windows version. A lot of people use Windows and hate Mac's with a fiery passion.


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## MyraScott

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Myra,
> 
> We're currently focusing on our Mac product and, at this time, don't have any plans to create a product for Windows. But thank you for the feedback, and please keep us in mind should you ever find yourself in front of a Mac!


That's not likely to happen, but if I am, I'll check it out! Sounds like the market is begging for a similar Windows ebook formatting software. It would be nice if you guys stepped into that void (iOS to Windows conversions for an HTML-based product aren't expensive- check out Elance) but I'm sure someone will soon.


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## Christine_C

Vellum is great. I used it to format my first novel and will use it to format the second. I love how it automatically provides the correct store links for each type of output file. 

Of course there are features I'd like to see. Namely a way to center text (without making it verse), a way to move the TOC to the end of the book, and an improved default stylesheet that plays nice with Amazon's online previewer.

Looking forward to what you do with it moving forward.


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## lostagain

Another endorsement for Vellum. I started using it for my serial and found it quite easy. The installments afterward are even easier because I've already created a template.


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## John Twipnook

Hi Brad,

One of the big selling points of Scrivener's epub and mobi file compiler is that you can create many versions of an ebook using drag and drop content pages. This is useful when creating separate ebooks for specific vendors. It lets you customize links to other books you own, using the vendor's links. That way the ebook buyer can just click on a link and go to the store to buy another book, boom. For example, say my Big Book 3 contains links at the back to my Big Books 1 and 2. On Amazon I want the links for Big Books 1 and 2 to be for those books' particular Amazon sales pages. On Barnes & Noble, I want those links to route to those books' particular Barnes & Noble sales pages. Et cetera.

The interface in Scrivener allows drag-and-drop content pages. So when compiling for Amazon, from a master link Scrivener project file I drag and drop in a folder called Amazon Links at the end of Big Book 3 Scrivener book file and then hit compile. Then I delete the Amazon Links folder and drop in B&N Links folder. Then for Kobo. And so on.

It makes creating sales-channel-specific ebook files quick and easy.

My questions are

1. Does Vellum have any way of doing this, and 

2. If not, can the links be built into a Word doc or docx manuscript file, then imported into Vellum? I might be able to select-and-replace hyperlinks to book covers in Word using macros.

I like the look of Vellum.

Thanks.


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## Brad Andalman

John Twipnook said:


> [...]
> 1. Does Vellum have any way of doing this, and
> [...]


Hi John,

Yes! Vellum has a feature called Store Links that solves exactly this problem. Once you add a Store Link, you can specify store-specific identifiers for the books you want to link to. Then, when it comes time to generate your eBook, Vellum will automatically output links to the appropriate stores. Store Links can even send your readers to the correct Amazon store based on where they are reading your book, which means you don't need to create separate links for US and UK stores.


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## Peter Spenser

Brad Andalman said:


> Vellum has a feature called Store Links that solves exactly this problem. Once you add a Store Link, you can specify store-specific identifiers for the books you want to link to. Then, when it comes time to generate your eBook, Vellum will automatically output links to the appropriate stores. Store Links can even send your readers to the correct Amazon store based on where they are reading your book, which means you don't need to create separate links for US and UK stores.


I would just add (and Brad can correct me if I'm wrong) that it's important to remember that the Nook e-book version that Vellum generates does not have to be uploaded only to Barnes & Noble. It can be used anyplace that accepts an EPUB2 file, which includes Kobo for example. The store link that you add, and the descriptive text that you surround that link with, can just as easily refer to the Kobo store as to the Barnes & Noble store.


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## P.T. Phronk

As an extremely lazy person, I'm a sucker for anything that saves me a few hours. Giving this a download. Thanks!


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## Brad Andalman

Peter Spenser said:


> I would just add (and Brad can correct me if I'm wrong) that it's important to remember that the Nook e-book version that Vellum generates does not have to be uploaded only to Barnes & Noble. It can be used anyplace that accepts an EPUB2 file, which includes Kobo for example. The store link that you add, and the descriptive text that you surround that link with, can just as easily refer to the Kobo store as to the Barnes & Noble store.


Hi, Peter! You are right: the "Nook" version that Vellum generates is standard EPUB2 and can be uploaded to any store that accepts that format. However, if you specify a Nook store identifier in your Store Link, then that link really will direct readers to the Barnes & Noble store. For this reason, if you are going to upload a version to Kobo (for instance), we recommend using Web Links and not Store Links. We have written this up in more detail in the "Aggregators" section of our "Uploading to Stores" help document: http://help.180g.co/vellum/uploading/#aggregators.



CN_Crawford said:


> [...]
> Of course there are features I'd like to see. Namely a way to center text (without making it verse), a way to move the TOC to the end of the book, and an improved default stylesheet that plays nice with Amazon's online previewer.
> [...]


I can't give too much away right now, but I did want to mention that our next minor update - which should be available in a few weeks - should make you some percentage happier!


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## ShayneRutherford

Brad Andalman said:


> I can't give too much away right now, but I did want to mention that our next minor update -- which should be available in a few weeks -- should make you some percentage happier!


No fair teasing. We wants it now. We wants the precious.


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## 25803

I'm another happy Vellum customer. Love the product. Love how easy it is to update back matter. Love how responsive you guys are when I send email asking questions  Vellum has saved me hours of time. Had my son format 5 books for me this afternoon. He did all 5 in around an hour and a half (and it would have taken less time if he hadn't had to ask wait for my response to his questions). And it creates simply beautiful ebooks.


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## Midnight Whimsy

I would really REALLY love to see a Windows version of the program. I hope you will consider making that move soon.

M.W


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## P.T. Phronk

What about print versions? Any plans to add the ability to export something that can be uploaded to Createspace?

(I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but vague hints at a future feature like that would really help me decide how many books to buy. Hint hint.)


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## Donald Rump

This is funny, because I actually just got done writing a program to render XHTML valid EPUB and MOBI source files. Did I just waste my time? Does Vellum do it better? Ugh! Most likely...


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## bethrevis

Phronk said:


> What about print versions? Any plans to add the ability to export something that can be uploaded to Createspace?
> 
> (I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but vague hints at a future feature like that would really help me decide how many books to buy. Hint hint.)


Seconding this. OMG, that would be AMAZING.


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## ShayneRutherford

Phronk said:


> What about print versions? Any plans to add the ability to export something that can be uploaded to Createspace?


Thirding it.


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## John Twipnook

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi John,
> 
> Yes! Vellum has a feature called Store Links that solves exactly this problem. Once you add a Store Link, you can specify store-specific identifiers for the books you want to link to. Then, when it comes time to generate your eBook, Vellum will automatically output links to the appropriate stores. Store Links can even send your readers to the correct Amazon store based on where they are reading your book, which means you don't need to create separate links for US and UK stores.





Brad Andalman said:


> Hi, Peter! You are right: the "Nook" version that Vellum generates is standard EPUB2 and can be uploaded to any store that accepts that format. However, if you specify a Nook store identifier in your Store Link, then that link really will direct readers to the Barnes & Noble store. For this reason, if you are going to upload a version to Kobo (for instance), we recommend using Web Links and not Store Links. We have written this up in more detail in the "Aggregators" section of our "Uploading to Stores" help document: http://help.180g.co/vellum/uploading/#aggregators.


Hi Brad,

Thanks. However, it looks like Vellum's store links feature works with only three stores: Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble.

I get that for direct uploads to all other stores, Vellum's Nook-Epub2 compile would work best. But I don't see "web links" written anywhere in the page you referenced with that Aggregators link. The advice just says if you're uploading to an aggregator, "your book should not contain any Store Links." I guess you can override the store link with some other kind of web link?

However, modifying store links each time for each book for each store kind of defeats the quick and easy object. Especially if one has a 5-or-more book back list. I'm not finding fault or being argumentative, just trying to get to the bottom line. It looks like Vellum's store links are only quick and easy compiles for three stores.

Perhaps a hybrid approach would work best:

Vellum compile for 3 stores: Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble.
Scrivener compile for all other direct uploads: Google Books, Kobo, DriveThruFiction, Xinxii, etc.

It'd be a bit of a hassle to compile with both Vellum and Scrivener though.

Thanks for all your input.


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## John Twipnook

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I would really REALLY love to see a Windows version of the program. I hope you will consider making that move soon.
> 
> M.W


Non-Mac users can use macincloud.com. It's $1/hour or $20/month.


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## Alan Petersen

I'm giving Vellum a try, so I'm happy to see this thread. I need to update my front/back matter. I outsourced the formatting so not sure if that's something that I can bring into Vellum without messing things up.  Stay tuned.


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## Brad West

John Twipnook said:


> Thanks. However, it looks like Vellum's store links feature works with only three stores: Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble.
> 
> I get that for direct uploads to all other stores, Vellum's Nook-Epub2 compile would work best. But I don't see "web links" written anywhere in the page you referenced with that Aggregators link. The advice just says if you're uploading to an aggregator, "your book should not contain any Store Links." I guess you can override the store link with some other kind of web link?


(Just so no one's confused, there are two Brads at 180g. We save money on card keys that way.)

You're right. Authors who are selling at Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble can create a specialized ebook for each using just one Vellum file, but our Store Link functionality is currently limited to those stores. However, we have been hearing from authors who are finding success in additional stores (more than they were just a few months ago), so we are investigating expanding that list.

In the meantime, you can replace the store link with just a straight up web link, either using a separate file or changing the links before ebook generation. You can drag and drop an element of your book (e.g. your "Also by" page) from one Vellum file to another, so some authors just keep a master file with their back matter, similar to what you originally described.



Phronk said:


> What about print versions? Any plans to add the ability to export something that can be uploaded to Createspace?
> 
> (I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but vague hints at a future feature like that would really help me decide how many books to buy. Hint hint.)


As you've probably experienced, preparing a book for print is a very different process than creating an eBook, so it'd be a major endeavor. We don't have any plans to announce, but we're very much encouraged by the interest, and will keep it in mind for the future. Thanks for asking (and to others for seconding and thirding  ).


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## Speaker-To-Animals

What might be a compromise is giving us the ability to download the graphics used in the program so we can use the same scene breaks and chapter heads in our print books, even if we're formatting them ourselves. And/or a Word template.


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## bethrevis

Sarah Aubrey said:


> And/or a Word template.


Yes--just being able to download it as a document file could be a benefit--I could make my own .pdf from that.


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## Tasha Black

bethrevis said:


> Yes--just being able to download it as a document file could be a benefit--I could make my own .pdf from that.


Agreed!

The ability to generate a word doc of the finished product would be awesome! 
(Which sounds odd, since you have to have the manuscript in a docx to import in the first place)

But I would LOVE the ability to be able to spit the whole thing out, with all the end matter and chapter breaks, as a doc or docx.


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## Brad West

Tasha Black said:


> But I would LOVE the ability to be able to spit the whole thing out, with all the end matter and chapter breaks, as a doc or docx.


Brad Andalman alluded to a coming minor update that introduces a few small features. One of them will be a new *Export to RTF* command that you can use to export the text of your entire book. (An RTF file can be opened in Word, Pages, or even used in InDesign.)

We're adding this because we've been hearing more from authors who are making edits or even writing their whole book in Vellum, and they've asked for a way to either use that as a starting point for print, send a file to an editor, or to just have an archival copy in a different format. The exported file will include the entire text of the book along with some basic indicators of chapter headings, etc. I should note, though, that the exported file will not include the styling as seen in Vellum, which is very specific to eBooks. But it should at least serve as a starting point.

As Brad A. mentioned, this update is coming within the next few weeks.



Sarah Aubrey said:


> What might be a compromise is giving us the ability to download the graphics used in the program so we can use the same scene breaks and chapter heads in our print books, even if we're formatting them ourselves. And/or a Word template.


If you'd like, email us at our support address and let us know what style you're using and what software you plan on using for the print version. We can send you back graphics that you can use and let you know which fonts to use as well.


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## JKata

I noticed that Vellum does not allow readers to widen or narrow the space between sentences. Some readers (like me) like a little more space in between sentences because it's easier to read. Does Vellum plan to fix this? The books are really pretty, though, and I love pretty books.


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## MyraScott

RTF would lose all the graphic touches though, wouldn't it?  It only preserves bolds and italics and such.


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## Indiecognito

> We're adding this because we've been hearing more from authors who are making edits or even writing their whole book in Vellum, and they've asked for a way to either use that as a starting point for print, send a file to an editor, or to just have an archival copy in a different format. The exported file will include the entire text of the book along with some basic indicators of chapter headings, etc. I should note, though, that the exported file will not include the styling as seen in Vellum, which is very specific to eBooks. But it should at least serve as a starting point.


I'm one who likes to write entire works in Vellum these days. I started out creating Word files, but I like being able to see the format unfold before my eyes.

It's a great product. And I'm now hooked on my Mac after many years of resistance.


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## Brad West

Justice Joy said:


> I noticed that Vellum does not allow readers to widen or narrow the space between sentences. Some readers (like me) like a little more space in between sentences because it's easier to read. Does Vellum plan to fix this? The books are really pretty, though, and I love pretty books.


Although Vellum doesn't include this in the preview, readers should still be able to adjust line spacing on devices that allow it, which includes Nooks and almost all Kindles (we've observed the line spacing controls not working on some Kindle Fires).



MyraScott said:


> RTF would lose all the graphic touches though, wouldn't it? It only preserves bolds and italics and such.


Yes, character formatting (bold, italic, etc.) as well as basic indication of features such as block quotes will be present in the exported file, but it will not include the styling for headings, etc (all of which is very specific to eBooks).



Indiecognito said:


> I'm one who likes to write entire works in Vellum these days. I started out creating Word files, but I like being able to see the format unfold before my eyes.


Great! Stay tuned for the update!


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## D-C

Brad West said:


> We're adding this because we've been hearing more from authors who are making edits or even writing their whole book in Vellum, and they've asked for a way to either use that as a starting point for print, send a file to an editor, or to just have an archival copy in a different format. The exported file will include the entire text of the book along with some basic indicators of chapter headings, etc. I should note, though, that the exported file will not include the styling as seen in Vellum, which is very specific to eBooks. But it should at least serve as a starting point.


Yay! *does happy dance* I was one of those wanting an 'export to Word' feature, as I make so many minor changes once I've formatted a book in Vellum, that my original word.doc becomes outdated pretty quickly (and updating both as I go along is just silly). For example. I needed to send a word doc to a bundle and it was rather spectacularly out of date compared to the version in Vellum.


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## Speaker-To-Animals

Right now, you can just load a mobi or epub into Calibre and convert to RTF that way.


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## ShayneRutherford

Do you have a graphic/widget/doohickey sort of thing that I could put in my sidebar? Like, 'Made With Vellum' or something. I'd like to help spread the love.


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## SimonPotts

Wow this app looks awesome! Should save me some time during February.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot

Phronk said:


> What about print versions? Any plans to add the ability to export something that can be uploaded to Createspace?
> 
> (I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but vague hints at a future feature like that would really help me decide how many books to buy. Hint hint.)


This is at the top of my wishlist!


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## Brad West

ShayneRutherford said:


> Do you have a graphic/widget/doohickey sort of thing that I could put in my sidebar? Like, 'Made With Vellum' or something. I'd like to help spread the love.


Thank you for the offer! We don't have anything right now, but will let you know when we do!


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## Alan Petersen

I need to update the matter for my book. I had the original manuscript formatting outsourced so I would make the changes on the word doc, right? I can't import the already formatted Epub file.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## bethrevis

I'd like to link to a specific section of my book. I'm writing a non-fiction, and would like to have a note such as "for more information on this, see Chapter 10" with a direct link. Can Vellum do this?

I'd also like to have main sections with individual sections linked in the table of contents. Is that possible?


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## Brad Andalman

Alan Petersen said:


> I need to update the matter for my book. I had the original manuscript formatting outsourced so I would make the changes on the word doc, right? I can't import the already formatted Epub file.


Vellum doesn't import ePub files, but it will import your Word doc. So you can make changes in Word and import into Vellum when you are done, or import into Vellum and make the necessary changes there.



bethrevis said:


> I'd like to link to a specific section of my book. I'm writing a non-fiction, and would like to have a note such as "for more information on this, see Chapter 10" with a direct link. Can Vellum do this?
> 
> I'd also like to have main sections with individual sections linked in the table of contents. Is that possible?


We're concentrating on fiction right now and Vellum cannot currently do either of these things. However, both are features that we'd love to get to when we turn our attention to non-fiction books!


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## Christine Kersey

I'm posting this question here rather than contacting support in case others have the same question.

One of my books has Part One and Part Two. I'd like each Part to start at Chapter One. How can I do that? Do I have to manually enter "Chapter One" "Chapter Two" etc within each Part? (I used the uncategorized Element to add a page that says "Part One" and "Part Two".) If there are chapters with the same name, will that cause a problem when I create my epub, or is there an easier way to deal with Parts?


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## Brad Andalman

Christine Kersey said:


> I'm posting this question here rather than contacting support in case others have the same question.
> 
> One of my books has Part One and Part Two. I'd like each Part to start at Chapter One. How can I do that? Do I have to manually enter "Chapter One" "Chapter Two" etc within each Part? (I used the uncategorized Element to add a page that says "Part One" and "Part Two".) If there are chapters with the same name, will that cause a problem when I create my epub, or is there an easier way to deal with Parts?


We hope to have better support for Parts eventually, but, right now, manually entering "Chapter One", "Chapter Two", etc. within each Part is the best solution. It's completely legal to have chapters with the same name, so you won't have a problem with your generated ePub.


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## Michael Alan Peck

Another +1 for Vellum. I used it for my book and was very happy with how it came out. (And the Brads are very responsive to questions and suggestions. Or maybe I've only corresponded with one of them all this time. I'm easily confused.)

Bonus: They also included my novel in the Created with Vellum section of their site.


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## Christine Kersey

Brad Andalman said:


> We hope to have better support for Parts eventually, but, right now, manually entering "Chapter One", "Chapter Two", etc. within each Part is the best solution. It's completely legal to have chapters with the same name, so you won't have a problem with your generated ePub.


Thanks, Brad!


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## WDR

Overall: I recommend _Vellum_ for ebook generation.

I note there have been additions and updates to _Vellum_ since I last looked at it. 

A couple of questions:
[list type=decimal]
[*]It was mentioned earlier that _Vellum_ outputs to an ePub 2 file. Apple's _Pages 5_ outputs to a flawless ePub 3 (flawless in that it passes epubcheck with no issues). Will _Vellum_ be updated soon to keep pace and output an ePub 3?
[*]The Kobo has an odd rendering engine and ePubs that render fine on the iPad and Nook tend to have issues on the Kobo. What I usually do is set my ePub files so they render properly on the iOS and Nook, then I manually tweak the CSS in a different ePub file for the Kobo so it renders properly. Any possibility of adding a preview for the Kobo for your device list?
[*]In a couple of my titles, I have embedded fonts. Not too difficult to add by hand to the final product before release, but it would be nice if I could do this via an editor. And, yes, I am aware that the user can override the publisher settings on an ebook, but I like to do it anyway so it will match the print version of my book. Any chance of adding in the capability to embed a font and apply it to selected text?
[*]How do you define the text indents for a paragraph? I prefer using the _em_ so when the user increases or decreases font size to their preference, I want the paragraphs to be proportionately indented. Nothing bothers me more than to increase the font size and watch the paragraph indentations disappear because it is measured in fixed pixels.
[*]You use the DOC format as the default input file. Can you add Apple's _Pages_ format so lazy people such as myself don't have to export first? I'm always concerned about losing formatting when exporting to one format or another. I admit, a key flaw in my request is I use _Pages 4_ to write and _Pages 5_ to generate the initial ePub file. Apple dropped too many features from _Pages_ in the upgrade to _5_ that I relied on for novel writing. The issue there is that Pages 4 and Pages 5 use different formats for their files, making it a pain to import the format if it has to be update each time Apple makes a change. (Yes, I realize I pretty much answered my own question there&#8230
[*]What file format does _Vellum_ generate for the Kindle? MOBI or AZW?
[/list]

I admit, I didn't use _Vellum_ to generate the ePub files for my first book. I have a serious obsession with Q.A. and I couldn't justify throwing away $30 just to see if _Vellum_ was generating a proper ePub file. Seeing now there are a good number of ebooks that have successfully been launched, I feel a little better about it. So, the next book will be launched via Vellum.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot

WDR, it outputs a mobi for Kindle, epub2 for Nook, and epub3 for iTunes.


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## Brad Andalman

WDR said:


> [...]
> A couple of questions:
> [...]


Thanks for your questions, WDR! I'll do my best to answer them below.

[list type=decimal]
[*]As SevenDays mentioned, Vellum uses ePub3 when generating for iBooks, so we're already ahead of the game!
[*]Though Vellum doesn't have a specific Kobo export right now, you can use the "Nook" version (which uses standard ePub2) when uploading for Kobo. And, yes, we're definitely looking into adding official Kobo support in a future version.
[*]Vellum includes eight Book Styles, each of which can be further customized. Many of those style customizations include embedded fonts, all of which we've vetted to ensure that they can legally be included in eBook form (not as easy as you might think!). We don't have any current plans to allow users to include their own fonts, but it is something that we've discussed.
[*]Rejoice! We define text indents in _ems_, so that your paragraphs will be properly indented when readers change their font size.
[*]Apple's Pages uses a proprietary file format - whereas .docx actually uses an open standard - so we have no plans to support it. As you mentioned, we recommend converting from Pages to Word, and then importing into Vellum. We haven't encountered any real issues doing this.
[*]Vellum generates .mobi files for the Kindle.
[/list]

Hope that helps!


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## Evan of the R.

Hi Brad (and hi Brad), 

I was glad to get the email today about the new Vellum 1.2.2 update -- it looks great. 

The ability to center text (e.g., "The End"), right align and left align text is a big plus -- thank you. Also, the "Export to RTF" function is much appreciated. (It should help keep final corrections and changes from creeping back into the text with later editions, like if we generate PDF copies for reviewers.)

I do have one question: is there a recommended file format (PNG? JPG?) or size (?) we should use when we add illustrations and photos to Chapter Headings through the "Add Heading Image" function? 

Evan


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## Brad West

Evan of the R. said:


> I was glad to get the email today about the new Vellum 1.2.2 update -- it looks great.
> ...
> I do have one question: is there a recommended file format (PNG? JPG?) or size (?) we should use when we add illustrations and photos to Chapter Headings through the "Add Heading Image" function?


Hi Evan,

The easy answer is to just add the image you have: PNG, GIF, TIFF, JPEG, and even most Photoshop files can be dropped into your book. If necessary, Vellum will convert the image to a format supported by the platform at generation time.

Pretty much the same goes for size. If your image is too large for the platform (e.g. iBooks specifies a max of 4 million pixels), Vellum will resize it down to fit. If it's too small, you'll see a warning, similar to what's shown for Inline Images in this doc:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/inline-images/#warnings

(There are some situations where one format works better than another. For example, simple black and white graphics can sometimes be smaller if you use a GIF. In most cases, though, you can just Vellum take care of it.)

Glad to hear the update will be useful!

P.S. For those who are not on our mailing list, here are more details about the update - available now - that Evan is referring to (and that we mentioned earlier in the thread as coming soon): http://blog.180g.co/2015/02/vellum-1-2-2/


----------



## WDR

I think you already answered this question earlier, but I just want to clarify.

If I use a book credit on a particular title, but the only words I have in the narrative are, "It was a dark and stormy night…", when I add 140,000 words to it the next week, I can still output it as an ebook?

Essentially, the title and ISBN are ready for the book and it is about to go into editing. As changes are made, I can simply re-output the ebook as many times as I want. My point being, I like to test the ebook before actually sending it up for sale. And while editing is going on, I tend to get itchy just sitting there and waiting between corrections. So, I use that time to test how the various iterations of the book look in an ebook reader.

Also, I tend to find mistakes more quickly when reading the narrative on an ebook reader as a book than I do when reading it via the word processor I used to write it.


----------



## WDR

Feature request: when the focus is on the "Preview" pane, simulating various ebook readers, allow the user to flip through the pages using the arrow keys on the keyboard.

It's a bit more ergonomic than having to click with the mouse.


----------



## Brad West

WDR said:


> If I use a book credit on a particular title, but the only words I have in the narrative are, "It was a dark and stormy night...", when I add 140,000 words to it the next week, I can still output it as an ebook?


Yup. If you make use of a 1-book or 10-book package, you'll be asked to lock in your book's title, subtitle, and author before you can generate eBooks. After you do so, you can change anything else about your book: fix typos, update backmatter, change the cover, or add another 140,000 words. You can find learn more about that process and other questions related to purchasing here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/purchasing/#book-packages-changes

(and note that this only applies to 1-book and 10-book packages. No locking is performed with Unlimited.)



WDR said:


> Feature request: when the focus is on the "Preview" pane, simulating various ebook readers, allow the user to flip through the pages using the arrow keys on the keyboard.


Sounds like you're really making use of the Preview, so we can see how the arrow keys would be useful. Thanks for the suggestion!


----------



## Silly Writer

I know I've said this before, Brad... But you're leaving a CRAPLOAD of money on the table by not offering Vellum to PC Users. I can count 11 people right now that I personally know who are hoping for it. Especially since the new Surface Pro 3 came out


----------



## lthanlon

I downloaded Vellum and am very impressed with its ease of use, the quick learning curve -- and the overall beauty of the application. I've hit one snag, however. When I preview my book, a table of contents is only generated in the Kindle Paperwhite simulation. By comparison, when I compile and output a mobi file of the same book in Scrivener and open that file on my iPad and iPhone, the table of contents is just fine. Is there something I'm doing wrong in Vellum?


----------



## Brad West

lthanlon said:


> When I preview my book, a table of contents is only generated in the Kindle Paperwhite simulation. By comparison, when I compile and output a mobi file of the same book in Scrivener and open that file on my iPad and iPhone, the table of contents is just fine. Is there something I'm doing wrong in Vellum?


In short, Vellum will always generate the files necessary for your Table of Contents, which will very much resemble what you see in the Navigator (sidebar on the left) of Vellum. You don't need to do anything to create them (and you aren't doing anything wrong).

The specific files that are included, however, depend on the platform.

The iBooks version of your eBook won't contain the Table of Contents as a page in the book. Instead it contains what's sometimes called a _logical_ Table of Contents. Rather than a page in the book, the logical ToC is a special file within the eBook that iBooks (and other software) uses to display its own Table of Contents, e.g.:










Newer Kindles can use a logical ToC as well, but older ones cannot. That's why, per Kindle Publishing Guidelines, Vellum includes both a logical ToC and a traditional Table of Contents as a page in the book.

What you're seeing in Vellum's preview is that the iBooks version (displayed with an iPad or iPhone) won't contain the Table of Contents as a page in the book. The Kindle version (displayed with a Paperwhite) will.

In every case, though, a reader will have access to the Table of Contents.

Hope that helps. We have a similar explanation and a few more details in our Table of Contents Help Page.


----------



## lthanlon

Thanks, Brad. That clears it up.

Leigh


----------



## Brad West

Adam Croft said:


> Considering purchasing this and justifying the cost, but Vellum at $199.99 is about the equivalent of £129. Yet you charge £159.99 for us in the UK. Can I not just pay in dollars and avoid paying £30 more than people in the US?


Hi Adam,

Thanks for your interest. We recently adjusted our Direct prices for users in the EU to be VAT-inclusive. This policy (and price) matches that of the Mac App Store.

You're right: at today's rates, 199 USD is about 129 GBP, but with 20% VAT added on, you get something closer to the price that you're seeing.

Hope that helps in understanding. Let us know if we can answer any other questions.


----------



## harker.roland

Can I just say that my mind has been blown with this thread?

I have been considering converting a lot of my backlist to various formats but have not been too excited about the tedious DIY project. I am looking forward to taking a look at Vellum as soon as I get home.


----------



## WDR

harker.roland said:


> Can I just say that my mind has been blown with this thread?
> 
> I have been considering converting a lot of my backlist to various formats but have not been too excited about the tedious DIY project. I am looking forward to taking a look at Vellum as soon as I get home.


Vellum would serve you well in this regard.

I'm one of very few writers who can actually hand-code (e.g. assemble manually) an ebook file (ePub). Much easier was to use Apple _Pages_ to generate the ePub file and then go in and refine the typography by tweaking the CSS embedded in the ePub file.

Vellum does all this for you automagically. And it even generates drop caps for you if you want them-something I always had to do by hand if I wanted them.

And just to add the cherry on top: not only will it generate a quality, to-standard ePub file, it will also generate MOBI files for Kindle as well. That makes my life SO much easier.

Yes, Vellum is well worth the money. If you have a backlist, I strongly suggest forking over the $199 because you will easily exceed more than 10 books at the $99 tier, making it more economical in the long run as you create new stories.


----------



## Alan Petersen

There is another thread about formatting which states that Vellum formatted ebooks "are not supported by older Kindles or older ePub devices". Is that accurate? I found this on your site regarding older Kindles:

http://help.180g.co/vellum/kindleformats/

Does that mean people with older Kindles will see a well formatted Vellum generated ebook?


----------



## Brad West

Alan Petersen said:


> There is another thread about formatting which states that Vellum formatted ebooks "are not supported by older Kindles or older ePub devices". Is that accurate? I found this on your site regarding older Kindles:
> 
> http://help.180g.co/vellum/kindleformats/
> 
> Does that mean people with older Kindles will see a well formatted Vellum generated ebook?


Hi Alan,

If you are referring to this comment, then I believe that quote was in specific reference to the SVG images used in some of Vellum's styles, which indeed aren't visible on the oldest Kindles. We chose to use SVG for these ornament images because they take up little space, work at any resolution, and fully support transparency, but in doing so we are admittedly favoring current and future devices over older ones.

That said, the Help Page you link to does provide a good example of the difference between formatting that's possible on current Kindles and on the older ones that do not support Amazon's current "KF8" format. As you can see, everything should still be readable, but the embedded fonts, ornaments, etc. will not be in place.

And just to be clear, the "older Kindles" in question are the first two (white) generations and the Kindle DX. Every other Kindle back to the K3 "Keyboard" supports KF8.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Brad West said:


> Hi Alan,
> 
> If you are referring to this comment, then I believe that quote was in specific reference to the SVG images used in some of Vellum's styles, which indeed aren't visible on the oldest Kindles. We chose to use SVG for these ornament images because they take up little space, work at any resolution, and fully support transparency, but in doing so we are admittedly favoring current and future devices over older ones.
> 
> That said, the Help Page you link to does provide a good example of the difference between formatting that's possible on current Kindles and on the older ones that do not support Amazon's current "KF8" format. As you can see, everything should still be readable, but the embedded fonts, ornaments, etc. will not be in place.
> 
> And just to be clear, the "older Kindles" in question are the first two (white) generations and the Kindle DX. Every other Kindle back to the K3 "Keyboard" supports KF8.
> 
> Hope that helps.


That was the post and your response did help, thank you.


----------



## AkBee

LOVE Vellum! 
I also write inside Vellum and then export to RTF. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


----------



## Brad West

MzPiggy said:


> LOVE Vellum!
> I also write inside Vellum and then export to RTF. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


Hi April,

And _we_ love hearing from authors writing within Vellum! Glad to hear that Export to RTF was a useful addition.


----------



## Hasse Mori

Hi Brad, 

I've been struggling with something in Vellum, and can't seem to figure this out, so maybe you could help.

How do you set, or make sure, that every time someone opens a Vellum formatted book for the first time, the book opens at Chapter 1? For some reason my latest book always opens at the second page of the contents, and can't figure out the reason for this. A minor thing, but annoying, when someone opens the book and it awkwardly starts at the end of the contents and they need to turn a few pages to get to chapter one.

I've tried this by sending the mobi files to my kindle, and don't know if Amazon re-formats the book so that the problem's gone, but at least I get the problem with Vellum exported mobi files.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Brad West

Hasse Mori said:


> How do you set, or make sure, that every time someone opens a Vellum formatted book for the first time, the book opens at Chapter 1?


Hi Hasse,

The answer unfortunately isn't a simple one, so I'll try to explain in two parts: how Vellum declares the start page for your book, and how that declaration may change through Amazon's publishing process.

You may have discovered this already, but for those who haven't, Vellum uses the Elements in your book to determine what to declare as the _Main Text_, and therefore the start of your book. (More on this can in our Element Types help page.) Typically Chapter 1 is declared as the start, but it may be earlier if your book has an Introduction or a Prologue.

The best way to test what Vellum has declared as the start of your book is to load the file generated by Vellum *directly* into your ereader of choice, and then use the *Go To > Beginning* command within the Kindle App. The Kindle App for Mac is a quick way to do this, though we have instructions for other devices on our Proofing help page.

For iBooks and Nook, this is the end of the story, as publishing and proofing these versions won't affect the start page. For Amazon, though, steps in the publishing process may alter the start page that has been declared.

The first way the start page can be altered is by using *Send to Kindle* feature or by downloading the *Preview* version of your ebook from the KDP dashboard. These converted versions will often have the start page set, inexplicably, in the middle of the Table of Contents.

This can certainly be alarming, but as far as we know, it only is the case for these versions. In most cases, the published version of your book as seen by readers will use the start page that was originally declared. We have heard of some cases where, as a result of the publishing process, the start page is altered again to instead be the Title Page (though only on some devices). We have yet to see a published book starting in the TOC.

So to summarize, we'd recommend loading your mobi file directly to see that the declaration is what you'd expect. If it is, we'd recommend ignoring how this can be altered via the Send to Kindle feature, as this is not representative of what the start page will be for published books.

Hope that helps,
Brad

Edit: After receiving a few more questions about this, we added a new page to our documentation: http://help.180g.co/vellum/start-page/


----------



## Hasse Mori

Brad,

Thank you for this! Certain parts of the process are much clearer now, so definitely helpful.


----------



## KGGiarratano

Are there video tutorials available for Vellum?


----------



## Brad West

KGGiarratano said:


> Are there video tutorials available for Vellum?


Hi Kimberly,

We don't have any video tutorials at the moment.

We do, however, have a written tutorial with plenty of screenshots here: http://help.180g.co/vellum/tutorial/

That includes a link to sample documents you can use to quickly bring a complete book into Vellum and play with Book Styles, make edits in the Text Editor, and see how a final ebook will appear in the Preview. Since Vellum is a free download, you can go through the entire tutorial without making a purchase.

Hope that helps you get an idea of how Vellum works,
Brad


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

What's great about Vellum is you don't really need a tutorial. It just works.


----------



## KGGiarratano

I'm checking out the sample book and playing around with it. It does seem very easy.


----------



## D-C

Hi folks,

Has anyone had experience with formatting a boxset in Vellum? I'm about to format a x5 novel boxset and wondered if anyone had any tips?


----------



## Brad West

D-to-the-C said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> Has anyone had experience with formatting a boxset in Vellum? I'm about to format a x5 novel boxset and wondered if anyone had any tips?


We let D-to-the-C know that we're working on improvements for this right now, and sent some suggestions to use in the meantime. If anyone else has a similar question, email us and we'll be happy to send those suggestions along.


----------



## szaxe

Hi, very interested in Vellum, just have a few questions if you don't mind  

I noted further back that you said you use SVG? Does Amazon support SVG?

If you do use SVG is it possible to add images in SVG?

If not could you advise the best resolution and size for black and white images? They are very basic graph like.

The thing is I can save them as anything from Serif Drawplus. I can tell you that the images will be full page width, so I imagine only the width is an issue as the images are all different fractions of a page length ... I am assuming if I get the page width right the software will scale correctly the different heights?

At the moment I just save my images as an SVG file, at 300DPI (Is that high enough?) from images that span the full width of a Serif Drawplus  A4 page. I then paste into LibreOffice and then export from LibreOffice into a PDF ... I get excellent results.

Just a ballpark opinion for a page width and format (PNG etc), for a good crisp image across the different platforms Vellum supports, would be of great help to me  

Regards Szaxe.

Ps. I would rather pay Amazon a little extra for file size than have a poor image


----------



## Brad West

szaxe said:


> Hi, very interested in Vellum, just have a few questions if you don't mind
> 
> I noted further back that you said you use SVG? Does Amazon support SVG?
> 
> If you do use SVG is it possible to add images in SVG?
> 
> If not could you advise the best resolution and size for black and white images? They are very basic graph like.


Hi Szaxe,

Vellum does use SVG images for ornaments in headings and scene breaks, and these can be displayed by any Kindle that supports Amazon's modern "KF8" format. That's pretty much anything but very-old Kindles and the Look Inside feature, which use the older "mobi7" format. (We have some comparison images and more details in our help page describing Kindle Formats.) On these older devices, the ornaments won't be displayed, but because they are just ornaments, a reader using one of these Kindles doesn't really miss out on any of the content of your book.

SVG is not currently supported as an option for images you add to your book, however. These images are likely more integral to the content of your book, so a reader using Look Inside or an older Kindle would likely be confused if they were absent.

You can, however, drag images in a number of different formats - PNG, TIFF, and even many Photoshop files - into Vellum, and they will automatically be converted into a format usable by the platform. (For Kindle, this is typically JPEG.) Vellum will provide feedback about whether the image has enough resolution based on how large you want the image to be in the book, as seen here:









More details can be found on our help page for Inline Images



szaxe said:


> Ps. I would rather pay Amazon a little extra for file size than have a poor image


Agreed that high resolution images are best for high resolution devices, but I should note that, because Kindle charges you based on low-resolution versions of your images, they aren't always more expensive. You can read more about this on our blog entry discussing Three Myths about Amazon Delivery Costs and on our help page about File Size Considerations

Hope that's useful, and please let us know if you have other questions we can answer.

P.S. You mentioned Serif Drawplus, which I believe is Windows-only. As such, I should probably note that Vellum is only available for Mac.


----------



## szaxe

Brad West said:


> P.S. You mentioned Serif Drawplus, which I believe is Windows-only. As such, I should probably note that Vellum is only available for Mac.


Hi, thanks .... I have windows as my main platform, but I also have a mini-mac with Yosemite installed


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Does anyone know a comparable program for paperback formatting?  I currently use scrivener, and it is not very user friendly.  Big learning curve.  Does work, but limited in how beautifully you can format your book.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

I don't believe you can do anything similar with a print book, the variables are too great.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

I'm sure it can be done. The ebooks are more complicated than paperbacks, and Vellum did a fantastic job. But I guess there isn't anything out there yet. What a shame.



Speaker-To-Animals said:


> I don't believe you can do anything similar with a print book, the variables are too great.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Just found these people who offer online formatting for paperbacks and ebooks. Prices start at $10.

http://www.fastpencil.com/company/packages


----------



## AriadneW

Software that did easy paperback formatting would be great. I set up a template for the size book I use in InDesign and just change the fonts and images. 

My whole process is so much faster now I'm using Vellum for e-books, having something similar for paperbacks would be awesome.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

The above might work. I tried InDesign for a resume. But it is only free for 30 days, then big bucks. Also a learning curve.

Glad you found a way to get around it.



AriadneW said:


> Software that did easy paperback formatting would be great. I set up a template for the size book I use in InDesign and just change the fonts and images.
> 
> My whole process is so much faster now I'm using Vellum for e-books, having something similar for paperbacks would be awesome.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Playing around with Fastpencil.com.  They have a free membership as well.  You can choose from several formats, and choose the book trim (5x8, 6x9, etc.).  The output looks AMAZING.  Just found my paperback version of Vellum!


----------



## WDR

Most book manufacturers (not _printers_, but _manufacturers_) can take a PDF of your book and use it for offset printing. You are no longer required to use specialized-and expensive-printing setup programs like _QuarkXpress_ or _Adobe InDesign_ to set up the printing layouts. If your writing program can set the internal and external margins, then you pretty much have all you really need to generate a printable PDF.

It's the internal margin that requires the most attention when generating a PDF to be used as the master for printing. It has to be set according to how many pages are in your book and the weight of the paper that will be used for print. The more pages and/or the thicker the paper, the thicker your book will be and thus the larger the internal margins must be.

Your book manufacturer can let you know what you need to set when you have worked out how many pages your final setup will require. They can also advise you on the best choices and practices you need to follow to create the best product for your customers.

Apple's _Pages 4_ does allow the writer to fine control the inner and outer margins. Much to my frustration, _Pages 5_ does not. I believe _Word_ can set inner and outer margins.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Margins are not the issue in my case. I was looking for a way to "beautify" my output like vellum. Something automatic and easy, with templates to choose from. Fastpencil does that. My only issue with them is they add their information on the copyright page. I also need to find out if you can skip adding the book cover and still create the paperback. I've contacted them to see how to do that. But otherwise, I'll be using them to create my paperback interior.



WDR said:


> Most book manufacturers (not _printers_, but _manufacturers_) can take a PDF of your book and use it for offset printing. You are no longer required to use specialized--and expensive--printing setup programs like _QuarkXpress_ or _Adobe InDesign_ to set up the printing layouts. If your writing program can set the internal and external margins, then you pretty much have all you really need to generate a printable PDF.
> 
> It's the internal margin that requires the most attention when generating a PDF to be used as the master for printing. It has to be set according to how many pages are in your book and the weight of the paper that will be used for print. The more pages and/or the thicker the paper, the thicker your book will be and thus the larger the internal margins must be.
> 
> Your book manufacturer can let you know what you need to set when you have worked out how many pages your final setup will require. They can also advise you on the best choices and practices you need to follow to create the best product for your customers.
> 
> Apple's _Pages 4_ does allow the writer to fine control the inner and outer margins. Much to my frustration, _Pages 5_ does not. I believe _Word_ can set inner and outer margins.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

FYI: Not sure www.FastPencil.com is the answer.  They may force you to publish with them.  Also, they ignore emails and support tickets.  

Anyone know a paperback interior designer/template service that is online or software?


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Just purchased as I liked the way the images can be manipulated within the s-ware program.  BUT, what you see within the program is the opposite of what is compiled.  Right now it is a mess.  The images pop onto other pages, the first letter of the paragraph which is enlarged and decorated, lands on another page, away from the first paragraph.

Frustrated as my book releases July 2 and I have unusable files.  Anyone with advice or suggestions for handling images in vellum?  I have also emailed them regarding the issue.


----------



## Brad West

PatriceWilliamsMarks said:


> Anyone with advice or suggestions for handling images in vellum? I have also emailed them regarding the issue.


For those following along, Patrice encountered a scenario where the combination of a drop cap and a floating image too large to fit on a page produced some surprising effects. Unfortunately, the effects only manifested in situations when the page size was relatively short (e.g. using iBooks for OS X) and weren't visible from within Vellum's Preview (which typically displays an iPad in portrait orientation).

We're investigating better ways to handle this situation in a future version of Vellum, but in the meantime advised Patrice to reduce the size of these floating images and to not use drop caps in these chapters.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

This option did indeed work.

Note: If you plan on using vellum files to upload to Draft2Digital and Google Play, use the NOOK-compiled epub for better results.



Brad West said:


> For those following along, Patrice encountered a scenario where the combination of a drop cap and a floating image too large to fit on a page produced some surprising effects. Unfortunately, the effects only manifested in situations when the page size was relatively short (e.g. using iBooks for OS X) and weren't visible from within Vellum's Preview (which typically displays an iPad in portrait orientation).
> 
> We're investigating better ways to handle this situation in a future version of Vellum, but in the meantime advised Patrice to reduce the size of these floating images and to not use drop caps in these chapters.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Can you comment with more information on what is going with Vellum and KENPC? I updated Vellum, re-generated the Kindle ebook, and uploaded the new version. That part was easy, but not sure if this is something that I need to keep a closer eye on?

Discussion about that here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,219509.0.html


----------



## Brad West

Alan Petersen said:


> Can you comment with more information on what is going with Vellum and KENPC? I updated Vellum, re-generated the Kindle ebook, and uploaded the new version. That part was easy, but not sure if this is something that I need to keep a closer eye on?
> 
> Discussion about that here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,219509.0.html


Thanks for making sure we knew about it, Alan. We just posted a response in that thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,219509.msg3065858.html#msg3065858


----------



## Alan Petersen

Brad West said:


> Thanks for making sure we knew about it, Alan. We just posted a response in that thread: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,219509.msg3065858.html#msg3065858


Thanks, Brad! That was very helpful.

I hate tweaking CSS, formatting HTML, etc. so it's nice to just be able to update Vellum and re-generate the file to re-upload in mere minutes.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Hi, just tested Kindle link on my new book I'm about to upload. Doesn't work. page does not load in Chrome or Safari. Get the error:

Warning: simplexml_load_file(https://freegeoip.net/xml/76.213.231.234): failed to open stream: Connection timed out in /home/oneeightyg/webapps/get/blink/index.php on line 24

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/oneeightyg/webapps/get/blink/index.php:24) in /home/oneeightyg/webapps/get/blink/index.php on line 195

This is pretty serious if our store links no longer work.

Please advise.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Hi Patrice,

When we construct links for Amazon, we use a service (freegeoip.net) to determine the reader's location. It looks like that service is a little slow right now, and the connection is timing out. We've seen this happen once or twice before, but it fixed itself fairly quickly. Would it be possible for you try again in a little bit?

If you are worried about such failures in the future, one way around this is to uncheck *Detect local store* in your Store Link Preferences. However, if you do that, then German users won't be detected to the German Amazon store (for example), which we think is unfortunate.

We are currently investigating ways to isolate Vellum from these rare outages!

Thanks for your patience.
Brad


----------



## ChrisWard

I was recommended Vellum by a couple of writer friends and have never looked back. Just love it. It's so user friendly.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Will try again. Yes, unfortunate if a buyer clicks and can't buy or leave a review... even if it is rare. Hope there is an easy workaround for you.

Thanks.



Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Patrice,
> 
> When we construct links for Amazon, we use a service (freegeoip.net) to determine the reader's location. It looks like that service is a little slow right now, and the connection is timing out. We've seen this happen once or twice before, but it fixed itself fairly quickly. Would it be possible for you try again in a little bit?
> 
> If you are worried about such failures in the future, one way around this is to uncheck *Detect local store* in your Store Link Preferences. However, if you do that, then German users won't be detected to the German Amazon store (for example), which we think is unfortunate.
> 
> We are currently investigating ways to isolate Vellum from these rare outages!
> 
> Thanks for your patience.
> Brad


----------



## Shei Darksbane

Adding to the "We want it on Windows!" crowd. I'm a happy Windows user. I'd love to have Vellum as an option. But alas. :c


----------



## SugarBear57

Shei Darksbane said:


> Adding to the "We want it on Windows!" crowd. I'm a happy Windows user. I'd love to have Vellum as an option. But alas. :c


I'm a big fan of Vellum and use it for all of my books. Some of my friends have bought Macs ONLY because they need it for Vellum. It's honestly worth it. It saves so much time.

That said, I haven't really had a problem when I go to another Amazon store in another country. For example, if I look for one of my books in the UK, then there's a little banner at the top that asks me if I want to go to Amazon.com. Same goes in Amazon.jp or Amazon.fr. So while of course it's ideal to automatically direct customers straight to your product page in the appropriate country, Amazon itself will try to do it if you land on a product page for an Amazon store that's not in your country.


----------



## Brad Andalman

PatriceWilliamsMarks said:


> Hope there is an easy workaround for you.


Just wanted to follow-up and say that we've rolled out a fix to our backend that we hope will prevent these "timeout" errors. Now, if the location service we use is down or slow, the link will just use your default Amazon store.


----------



## Steve Voelker

I know someone who bought a Mac just for Vellum as well.
Between that and iTunes producer, it makes a cheap mac a good investment for an indie author. 
To me, Vellum just has that Mac feel to it. 
You see how everyone dislikes the Windows version of Scrivener. I'd hate to have a second class version of Vellum out there.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

I want to buy this software (played with the demo and I love it), but I'm running into one major problem.

Can you make the font larger, in the text editor window?

My eyes are bad, like _*really*_ bad, and the text is tiny. I want to edit my books using the app (before exporting). But I can't read anything inside the editor. Also, Command + doesn't work.

If this isn't a feature, it should be one. Blind people like me need a way to increase the font size in the editor


----------



## Brad West

D. Zollicoffer said:


> If this isn't a feature, it should be one. Blind people like me need a way to increase the font size in the editor


Hi D. We hear you, and we've got something coming soon. Stay tuned, and thanks for the feedback!


----------



## Monique

Am thoroughly loving Vellum (I'm in the beta). 

Requests would be the usual. More ability to customize and a few more choices for templates, but most of all PRINT. If you could manage to create a good Createspace-friendly pdf at 6x9, I'd marry you.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

Brad West said:


> Hi D. We hear you, and we've got something coming soon. Stay tuned, and thanks for the feedback!


Thanks for the fast reply. I'll definitely be picking it up soon (the unlimited option). I want my new books to look pretty


----------



## Brad West

Monique said:


> Am thoroughly loving Vellum (I'm in the beta).
> 
> Requests would be the usual. More ability to customize and a few more choices for templates, but most of all PRINT. If you could manage to create a good Createspace-friendly pdf at 6x9, I'd marry you.


Hi Monique,

Since you're in the beta, you know we've been working on some new features for ebooks (many of them driven by user requests and suggestions!), so our focus right now is getting those finalized and available to every one.

But we always like hearing that print would be a valuable addition, especially since it would be a significant undertaking for us.

Thanks for the feedback, and glad to hear you're loving Vellum!

P.S. Boyd, sorry we didn't answer you sooner, but hope this answers your question as well.


----------



## Brad West

Boyd said:


> It does... I as well, would have your babies, if you can provide print on demand support in formatting


I've logged this in our database.


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## Monique

Brad West said:


> I've logged this in our database.


Hee!


----------



## KinkyWriter

If only if they were cheaper or had a monthly plan option


----------



## Gibson Morales

Vellum seriously sounds like the name of a Pokemon.


----------



## blubarry

Wait... babies will get us the ability to use Vellum for print? Throw mine in, too! Vellum is awesome, and I'm loving the easy ability to create box sets in the beta. One of the best pieces of software I use.


----------



## WDR

Okay, I'll throw my hat into the ring: I'd also like to see Vellum add a "To Print&#8230;" option.

*Authors*

Keep in mind that there are some standards the book _manufacturers_ adhere to when printing a book. The standard reference book format model used by book manufacturers is the U.S. Trade 9x6 hardcover book. This is why in all my posts about print, I always start with the US Trade 9x6 as my example. Everything else is merely a variation thereof, whether you change, add, or remove features, size, format, etc., the price for printing a book will go up or down from that standard point.

Once you have the X-Y dimensions of your book set, the Z-axis of your book (the thickness) will be determined by the number of pages and the type of paper used. The number of pages will be driven primarily by the font size.

The standard font size used in a 9x6 US Trade is 11.5 points. Children's books, beginning reader books, and books for the sight-impaired generally use a larger font. If your document is huge, then a smaller font can be used to reduce the number of pages (and thereby the weight and cost of the printing), but that can lead to eye-strain and make your book difficult to read. Using a larger font to make a short book have more pages is considered amateurish and ill-advised.

In smaller-format books (the venerable "Paperback", known in the industry as a _pocket book_), a smaller font size is generally selected to keep the thickness of the book to a minimum.

A book manufacturer and a POD facility such as Createspace will give you guidance on what settings the recommend for their given printing process.

One of the numbers they give you is based on the paper type you choose for your printing. The paper has a thickness to it and when that thickness is applied to the number of pages, you will know the spine thickness of your book.

The spine thickness can affect your cover art! If you have a wraparound cover, you need to take the spine thickness into account. It is best when working with an artist that the artist create an image that is slightly larger than what will actually be used. This gives you same wiggle room to shift the image around so it fits one size format or another.

The spine thickness (Z) and X-Y dimensions of your book will affect the margins inside your book. The inner margins must be made larger or smaller depending on the resulting spine thickness for the given format you are going to print. If your book is thick, you will need a larger inner-margin so your text won't be lost in the center fold. If your book is thin, you don't want a huge amount of white space in between the pages (waste of paper and money and it looks ugly). The outer-margin and the top- & bottom- margins must nicely balance the inner margin. If the perceived thickness is different, the reader will find looking at your book to be unpleasant. This will effect how they perceive your story as being good or bad.

This is why good typography is so vital! An awesome book can be destroyed by bad typesetting. If it is unpleasant or straining to the eye, the reader will emotionally and subjectively view your book as not being that good. And as we all know, that can affect your sales. This is why I like Vellum so much, because the program allows me to generate a well-typeset ebook for readers.

When you talk to a book manufacturer or set up your book with a POD printer such as Createspace, pay extremely close attention to the recommended settings they give you for formatting your book. If you wish to deviate from those recommendations for artistic purposes, that is your choice.

*For the Brads at Vellum (and authors):*

Your customers are going to come back with two primary numbers: the font size and a number-I'll call it *Z*-used to multiply the number of pages to determine spine thickness.

Z is based on the thickness of the paper being used for print. This number varies from time to time, because the paper stock being used can vary from lot to lot. One-tenth of a millimeter might seem minuscule, but over 400 pages of print that becomes another 4mm of thickness. Because Z will change each time a printer gets a new shipment of paper stock, it is unlikely that the PDF generated for one print run can be reused for another print run.

These changes will affect the margin settings of the book. Margin settings for the outer-, top-, and bottom-margins will generally remain the same depending on the X-Y format. But the varying thickness of a book will change the inner-margin setting. The inner-margin should be able to be calculated on the fly and automatically set, but this might vary depending on the book manufacturer's or POD printer's process. So you might want to make this a third variable that the author can use to override an automatic setting.

*To ALL:*

I recommend you actually contact a book manufacturer and discuss with them what they need to be set up for a successful print run.

A *book manufacturer* is how the industry refers to a large-scale printing facility that prints books for commercial sale using offset or other printing methods.

If you are looking for a printer to create your books for you and you enter "Book Printer" as your search query, you will get listed every local and sub-standard business document printer; shops that really can't handle the quality printing of a commercial book. You should enter "Book Manufacturer" and that will yield the results you are looking for.

In the United States, there are only about 35 book manufacturers.

Offset printing is significantly cheaper than you think! For 1,000 US Trade hardcover books with dust jacket, it can be less than $5.75 per book. Softcover books will be even cheaper. The problem is, you have to front all the money for the print run. POD printing is done on a book-by-book basis and requires no front money, but is much more expensive if you want a box of books to autograph at a public event. If you think you can sell all those books, then it might be worth your money to go directly to a book manufacturer for your printing needs.

Book manufacturers get it! They are much more open to self-publishing authors today than they were even ten years ago. Lets face it, do you want to be printing for only 5 big customers who could easily shut you down if you don't agree to their pricing requirements? Or be working with thousands? Most book manufacturers will give you the same printing costs they give the Big-5. Having many smaller customers is more lucrative and stable than having just five big ones (with big attitudes to match).

The book manufacturer I am working with completely blew away my expectations when I contacted them. I couldn't believe how low their pricing was compared to what I was expecting. Much of what I note above, I learned from this printer. They even offer POD printing services. I initially dismissed POD printing, but now that I am seriously considering it, I aim to get a quote from them so I can compare my costs to Createspace. They use an industrial inkjet printing system, not laser printing, so the pages are actually ink-in-fiber, not toner-on-top. If I can save three or four dollars per book on POD printing, that could be the way to go when I am visiting book clubs, reading groups, or conventions where I want to sell books.

(Soap-box powers, deactivate!)


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change of TOS.


----------



## thesmallprint

That's a great post, William, thanks.

Adding my vote for print (minus the babies)


----------



## RBK

Another vote for print. Please!


----------



## Steve Voelker

KinkyWriter said:


> If only if they were cheaper or had a monthly plan option


A monthly plan would be TERRIBLE!
I would hate to have one more monthly fee to pay until the end of time. 
Vellum will help with every book you ever write, and it only costs as much a cover for one!
For what it does, Vellum is reasonably priced, especially if you catch them during a discount. But even if you don't, think about the cost per book compared to hiring someone to format for you, or the hours you might spend fiddling around with other software for an inferior result. 
If you only ever plan on publishing one book, I guess it's a little steep. But once you get a few books under your belt, that per book cost starts to look pretty good!

If they manage to add in a print formatting option, this would be THE killer app for indie authors.

I would MUCH rather see that than any attempt at a windows version. A single version, on a single platform, that does its job extremely well, is good enough!

Multiple platforms will only add to development and support times, and devalue the overall product. Some of the best things about Vellum are the responsiveness of the support and the constant innovation and improvement. I would hate to see them get bogged down with the development headache that is windows.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Voelker58 said:


> A monthly plan would be TERRIBLE!
> I would hate to have one more monthly fee to pay until the end of time.
> Vellum will help with every book you ever write, and it only costs as much a cover for one!
> For what it does, Vellum is reasonably priced, especially if you catch them during a discount. But even if you don't, think about the cost per book compared to hiring someone to format for you, or the hours you might spend fiddling around with other software for an inferior result.
> If you only ever plan on publishing one book, I guess it's a little steep. But once you get a few books under your belt, that per book cost starts to look pretty good!
> 
> If they manage to add in a print formatting option, this would be THE killer app for indie authors.
> 
> I would MUCH rather see that than any attempt at a windows version. A single version, on a single platform, that does its job extremely well, is good enough!
> 
> Multiple platforms will only add to development and support times, and devalue the overall product. Some of the best things about Vellum are the responsiveness of the support and the constant innovation and improvement. I would hate to see them get bogged down with the development headache that is windows.


I agree. So many things are going down the subscription model.

I believe Vellum has an option for $30 for one book, which seems reasonable, you should be able to make that back by selling 15-30 books (depending on price). Especially with the money saved in hiring a formatter or spending hours doing it yourself. I realize we have a lot of expenses with covers, editing, etc. but you can go that route until your making more enough to buy the multi-license version or the unlimited version.


----------



## Guest

Brad West said:


> I've logged this in our database.


YES, PLEASE!!!!


----------



## Guest

Boyd said:


> Wait, I really can't biologically give him babies. I was ... er... nevermind!
> 
> But if Vellum can provide POD (print on demand) formatting as well you will see a massive influx of people buying or renting MAC's and buying Vellum. I'd buy stock in Apple if that happens


Ha Ha!

~~~

I'm a customer of Vellum for life if they do that.


----------



## Justawriter

Brad West said:


> Hi Monique,
> 
> Since you're in the beta, you know we've been working on some new features for ebooks (many of them driven by user requests and suggestions!), so our focus right now is getting those finalized and available to every one.
> 
> But we always like hearing that print would be a valuable addition, especially since it would be a significant undertaking for us.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback, and glad to hear you're loving Vellum!
> 
> P.S. Boyd, sorry we didn't answer you sooner, but hope this answers your question as well.


Brad, another Vellum lover here! Am wondering if you are also working on a way to format a boxed set using Vellum? I don't see a way to do that yet?


----------



## Brad Andalman

PamelaKelley said:


> Brad, another Vellum lover here! Am wondering if you are also working on a way to format a boxed set using Vellum? I don't see a way to do that yet?


Hi Pamela,

We are! Our next version of Vellum includes features that make formatting box sets much easier. We are busy putting the finishing touches on it, and hope to release in late September.


----------



## Monique

The box set formatting was wonderful and why I purchased Vellum. (I'm part of a beta for the new features.) You'll love it, Pamela. It was so easy and the finished product is so elegant.


----------



## Justawriter

Monique said:


> The box set formatting was wonderful and why I purchased Vellum. (I'm part of a beta for the new features.) You'll love it, Pamela. It was so easy and the finished product is so elegant.


Wonderful! Thank you. I am excited about this!


----------



## KinkyWriter

I'm finally about to buy Vellum and super stoked!

For their KENPC changes, is that already implemented in their software or would I need to buy Vellum and update it somehow?


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

That updated and fixed this already.



KinkyWriter said:


> I'm finally about to buy Vellum and super stoked!
> 
> For their KENPC changes, is that already implemented in their software or would I need to buy Vellum and update it somehow?


----------



## KinkyWriter

PatriceWilliamsMarks said:


> That updated and fixed this already.


Thank you, just wanted to confirm.


----------



## thesmallprint

Forgive me if this has been raised before: I used Vellum to format my book with beautiful chapter headings and drop caps. I uploaded to Amazon and they took the beauty right back out again - no fancy headings or drop caps. Is that just Amazon, or did I miss doing something I should have done?


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## Speaker-To-Animals

How are you looking at it? Look inside and the Kindle Cloud Reader won't show any of the advanced features. Neither will some early devices that never got updated to KF8 features.


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## thesmallprint

Ahh, good question - I just checked the Look Inside sample...would it not appear there?


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## Monique

The Look Inside feature butchers things with regularity.


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## Brad Andalman

thesmallprint said:


> Ahh, good question - I just checked the Look Inside sample...would it not appear there?


The reason you don't see the drop caps and other design elements there is that Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (as well as other places, like the Kindle Cloud Reader, as Speaker-To-Animals mentioned) uses its older "mobi7" format, which can only display very basic formatting. You can learn more about the difference here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/kindleformats/

Readers who purchase your book, even if they just download a sample, will see the full formatting, however.

Hope that helps!


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## thesmallprint

Thanks, Brad, Monique, and STA - that is reassuring. Vellum makes a chore a pleasure...I bought it


----------



## Penelope Redmont

PamelaKelley said:


> Wonderful! Thank you. I am excited about this!


Wow, count me excited too. I've been looking at Vellum, it looks wonderful. I know that David Hewson uses it, so I've been dithering about whether or not I should. When the box set goes live, I'm in.


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## D. Zollicoffer

Went ahead and bought Vellum, couldn't stop thinking about it 

This question has probably already been answered (no time to look through the thread), but is there anyway to save a template? Or a way to make it remember my settings by default?


----------



## Brad West

D. Zollicoffer said:


> Went ahead and bought Vellum, couldn't stop thinking about it
> 
> This question has probably already been answered (no time to look through the thread), but is there anyway to save a template? Or a way to make it remember my settings by default?


Thanks for your purchase!

We have had heard the suggestion to be able to define a template for new books. We think that's a great idea, but it's not something in Vellum right now.

One tip, though, is that you can drag and drop chapters (and other elements) to copy them from one book to another. This can be particularly handy if you've set up an Also By page with links to your other books:










Hope that helps.


----------



## KaiW

Any update on the box set formatting? Had one of mine rejected by ibooks because I had so many chapters labelled as untitled in the tOC cos I can't alter the chapter sequence in subsequent books after book one


----------



## WDR

KaiW said:


> Any update on the box set formatting? Had one of mine rejected by ibooks because I had so many chapters labelled as untitled in the tOC cos I can't alter the chapter sequence in subsequent books after book one


This is just off the top of my head&#8230;

Try renaming the chapters to reflect the book they are in:

Book 1-Chapter 1
Book 2-Chapter 2
etc....

You can replace "Book #" with whatever title the given book has.

Okay, it isn't very elegant (e.g. It's labor intensive), but it will allow you to delineate the different books.

I can think of another way to do this, but I haven't actually tried it-I'm talking off the top of my head here:

Reorganize the books in your word processor. Set the books' title pages as "TITLE" in your word processing document and set the chapters as "Headings". This will have the result of treating the book titles as chapters in the ebook and the chapters of each book will become a sub-section to that. You will have to make sure there is a page break between each chapter. But without trying this myself, I'm not sure how Vellum will treat this. In theory, it should allow the Table of Contents to be generated.

I might just mess around with this to see what happens, now that my curiosity has been piqued.


----------



## KaiW

Have tried variations on this but still looks weird to have third book in set beginning at Chapter 181 or some such....


----------



## Brad Andalman

Hi KaiW,

There are certainly ways to accomplish what you'd like in the current version of Vellum. However, as WDR points out, they involve some manual labor that is not ideal.

Our next release makes creating box sets much easier and should be available within a week. Does that work with your timeframe? If not, please get in touch with us directly.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

Brad West said:


> Thanks for your purchase!
> 
> We have had heard the suggestion to be able to define a template for new books. We think that's a great idea, but it's not something in Vellum right now.
> 
> One tip, though, is that you can drag and drop chapters (and other elements) to copy them from one book to another. This can be particularly handy if you've set up an Also By page with links to your other books:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hope that helps.


Thanks, it does. I'll just have a few default pages saved on my desktop, no biggie 

Programs like this remind me why I use Macs. So simple and easy to use.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

While we have you here to harass you.  

Any comments on the new layout engine and the KFX standard? I notice the two books I have that are done in Vellum haven't been updated and all of my other books have. I'm not necessarily complaining btw. I like Bookerly, but really dislike the overhyphenation. There are also reports that they're reformatting and defeating choices people have made in their books, which I'm not thrilled with.


----------



## KaiW

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi KaiW,
> 
> There are certainly ways to accomplish what you'd like in the current version of Vellum. However, as WDR points out, they involve some manual labor that is not ideal.
> 
> Our next release makes creating box sets much easier and should be available within a week. Does that work with your timeframe? If not, please get in touch with us directly at [email protected]


Brilliant to hear thank you, can certainly wait till then. Cheers Brad &#128515;


----------



## Brad West

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> Any comments on the new layout engine and the KFX standard? I notice the two books I have that are done in Vellum haven't been updated and all of my other books have. I'm not necessarily complaining btw. I like Bookerly, but really dislike the overhyphenation. There are also reports that they're reformatting and defeating choices people have made in their books, which I'm not thrilled with.


Unfortunately, Amazon has released very few specifics about KFX beyond their initial press release. In fact, even the _name_ KFX is something that was only determined after some intrepid readers unpacked the contents of some of the enhanced mobi files.

We're hoping that will change, and should they release any technical information, we'll definitely look into how that might affect the eBooks we generate.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

The price drops by $50 a few days after I buy it? Come on, no fair!!

Ha-ha, I'm kidding! Love the program -- worth every penny -- and thanks for the update! You don't know how happy I am, the ability to change the text size in the editor is a game changer for me! Now I can set it to '36' and save my eyes


----------



## amdonehere

I checked out Vellum a little while back and was really impressed. Here is my issue: 

One of the reasons I bought Scrivener was precisely because it has the compile feature and I can use it to format for different uses. I have been writing my WIP in Scrivener. The drawback of Scrivern is that they don't make the output beautiful like Vellum.

So now what? If I want to use Vellum when I finish, do I compile in Scrivener to a Word format and then upload the Word to Vellum? I don't even know if the Word file would look right/ready to covert to Vellum when it is being generated by Scrivener. I created my WIP so far based on Scrivener's Book with Parts. It all just seem so confusing. I'm not techy as it is.

I also don't know what happens when Scrivener converts to Word. Another reason I use Scrivener is to avoid pesky Word formating that might mess up the ebook version when uploading to Amazon. All I know is Amazon does not accept files with formattings, especially some embedded in Word. So what happens if Scrivener compiles to a Word format? Will I now create all the formatting issues I tried to avoid in the first place? Will those issues go away when I upload it to Vellum?

Anyway, these are the reasons I haven't looked back at Vellum. The transfer out of Scrivener to Word then transfer into Vellum scares me as to the technical side, and feels like extra work on the multiple transfer/retransfer. 

If there is an easy explanation/ resolution I would reconsider.


----------



## Liz French

AlexaKang said:


> I checked out Vellum a little while back and was really impressed. Here is my issue:
> 
> One of the reasons I bought Scrivener was precisely because it has the compile feature and I can use it to format for different uses. I have been writing my WIP in Scrivener. The drawback of Scrivern is that they don't make the output beautiful like Vellum.
> 
> So now what? If I want to use Vellum when I finish, do I compile in Scrivener to a Word format and then upload the Word to Vellum? I don't even know if the Word file would look right/ready to covert to Vellum when it is being generated by Scrivener. I created my WIP so far based on Scrivener's Book with Parts. It all just seem so confusing. I'm not techy as it is.
> 
> I also don't know what happens when Scrivener converts to Word. Another reason I use Scrivener is to avoid pesky Word formating that might mess up the ebook version when uploading to Amazon. All I know is Amazon does not accept files with formattings, especially some embedded in Word. So what happens if Scrivener compiles to a Word format? Will I now create all the formatting issues I tried to avoid in the first place? Will those issues go away when I upload it to Vellum?
> 
> Anyway, these are the reasons I haven't looked back at Vellum. The transfer out of Scrivener to Word then transfer into Vellum scares me as to the technical side, and feels like extra work on the multiple transfer/retransfer.
> 
> If there is an easy explanation/ resolution I would reconsider.


I'd really like to know the answer to this too - I have used Vellum and love it. I'm thinking about transferring to Scrivener for its extra features (not formatting) but wouldn't want to screw up the Vellum bliss.


----------



## blubarry

AlexaKang said:


> I checked out Vellum a little while back and was really impressed. Here is my issue:
> 
> One of the reasons I bought Scrivener was precisely because it has the compile feature and I can use it to format for different uses. I have been writing my WIP in Scrivener. The drawback of Scrivern is that they don't make the output beautiful like Vellum.
> 
> So now what? If I want to use Vellum when I finish, do I compile in Scrivener to a Word format and then upload the Word to Vellum? I don't even know if the Word file would look right/ready to covert to Vellum when it is being generated by Scrivener. I created my WIP so far based on Scrivener's Book with Parts. It all just seem so confusing. I'm not techy as it is.
> 
> I also don't know what happens when Scrivener converts to Word. Another reason I use Scrivener is to avoid pesky Word formating that might mess up the ebook version when uploading to Amazon. All I know is Amazon does not accept files with formattings, especially some embedded in Word. So what happens if Scrivener compiles to a Word format? Will I now create all the formatting issues I tried to avoid in the first place? Will those issues go away when I upload it to Vellum?
> 
> Anyway, these are the reasons I haven't looked back at Vellum. The transfer out of Scrivener to Word then transfer into Vellum scares me as to the technical side, and feels like extra work on the multiple transfer/retransfer.
> 
> If there is an easy explanation/ resolution I would reconsider.


It's easy in Vellum to import a docx file. I simply drag my file onto the icon, and there I go. So far, I haven't noticed any formatting issues doing it that way. The question really is how well scrivener generates a word file.

Vellum is completely worth it, though. Beautiful output.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Simple enough, just compile a .docx and drag it into vellum. It doesn't really matter how it was formatted before, because vellum reformats it all anyway.


----------



## Violet Haze

I would like to make a request: love the box set ability, BUT, it would be nice to pick what to generate. I write serials and would LOVE if I could write them in one file, in parts, but publish them one by one, before finally putting them all together in one set. the update is great, btw!


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

> So now what? If I want to use Vellum when I finish, do I compile in Scrivener to a Word format and then upload the Word to Vellum? I don't even know if the Word file would look right/ready to covert to Vellum when it is being generated by Scrivener. I created my WIP so far based on Scrivener's Book with Parts. It all just seem so confusing. I'm not techy as it is.
> 
> I also don't know what happens when Scrivener converts to Word. Another reason I use Scrivener is to avoid pesky Word formating that might mess up the ebook version when uploading to Amazon. All I know is Amazon does not accept files with formattings, especially some embedded in Word. So what happens if Scrivener compiles to a Word format? Will I now create all the formatting issues I tried to avoid in the first place? Will those issues go away when I upload it to Vellum?


None of this is an issue whatsoever.

I have a book which is a simple narrative book with numbered chapters. I compile to docx in Scrivener and I import it into Vellum, pick my style, insert the cover and fill out the title/author sections and I'm done. Take about 15 minutes. It automatically detects my chapters wherever there's a line that says "Chapter X" it automatically detects my scene breaks wherever there's a *** on its own line. All of this gets redone according to the style you choose. If you have chapter subheads or don't use numerical chapters, you might need to do some cleanup work. That would consist of possibly finding the chapter breaks that it doesn't autodetect and rebreaking and changing "Chapter 1" to "Your Chapter Title Here". It's all bulletproof though. You don't have to worry about formatting.

The other side is you can't tinker. This isn't an editor as much as its as if you handed your book off to a formatter and they did everything for you. It strips all the Word stuff but italics, bold, and underlines. It removes your indents or lack thereof, it removes your centering, your font sizes, and it imposes its own styles on your book. There's no issue whatsoever here with leftover code. It's bulletproof.

The styles it offers in range from the pretty staid Meridian that might be a good choice for literary fiction. It has a simple numbered chapter head, a large serif drop cap, and an old fashioned sort of graphic for an ornamental scene break. Kindred, on the other hand, has a large curly flourish for the chapter head and a script drop cap for the beginning of the chapter. It might be thought of as a more traditional romance layout. Then on the far fringes, you have Chroma which is a kind of ultra-modern layout with the chapter head in a blue (or grey) box and the first few words of the chapter being in an all caps san serif font. I'm using it for a young adult, it'd be good for SF as well.

Each of the styles has some options, you can change out a double line between scenes for three *** but not every option is in every style because they wouldn't look good. And that's where you get some frustration. Vellum imposes good tasteful graphic design on your book and it comes with a loss of flexibility. You can't give your book a 1" indent. You can't make it 1.5 spacing. You can't mix an ultramodern colored box chapter head with a scripted drop cap. "Why? I like it that way!" Because it looks terrible and Vellum is not going to give you options that will result in a bad looking book.

Oh, Macintosh only.


----------



## Eva Chase

I think the most recent post here may answer my question, but just to make sure--I downloaded Vellum to take a look because the boxed set option appeals, and it appears I can _only_ pick from their existing formatting options? e.g., I have a custom scene break image that I created for my book--there's no way I can import that into Vellum and have it show as an option? There is no way I can adjust any of the (only three!) possible chapter heading options it's giving me?

If that's the case, I think I'll stick with Jutoh. I don't like giving up that much control.


----------



## Steve Voelker

I think the point is that is creates a beautiful ebook without the need to spend any time learning to format, or fooling with code. It lets writers spend more time writing. I'm glad that it doesn't have a million options to tinker with, because I totally would! There comes a time when you have to ask if that one little custom tweak that costs you time and effort is really helping to sell your books. 

For me, and for many others, Vellum is perfect because we know enough and care enough to realize a professional look is important, but we don't really want to be bothered with the hassle of formatting ourselves for a product that, 99% of the time, doesn't look as good. 

It's not for everyone. Some people need to have 100% control. I get that. Some people actually enjoy the formatting process. I don't really get that.


----------



## Eva Chase

Eh, it's not really about 100% control for me. I'd be happy to give over most of the formatting decisions. But, for example, as far as I can see only having _one_ option for how a chapter heading that uses a number (rather than text) seems unnecessarily limiting. Would it really be that horrible to, say, have three different size and/or font options people could choose from? And the software already allows the option to include images in the body, so I'm not sure how allowing people to choose one of those images (if it kept to certain size specifications) as a custom scene break would be suddenly overly complicating things. No one would _have_ to do it if they wanted to keep things as simple as possible--heck, it could be some hidden advanced feature in a side menu no one would think to look at unless they were particularly interested and that would work for me! 

Anyway, I am glad that it does work so well for many people. And maybe I'd be balking less if I hadn't already created things like the scene break image to use across the series, so it'd feel like a waste not to be able to use them. It just sounded like such a great program I wasn't expecting it to be quite so restrictive. Wanted to make sure I wasn't just missing some functionality that wasn't easily visible!


----------



## Violet Haze

I have Vellum...and I would say you could absolutely use those images.

You would have your scene, hit enter, go up and insert image (make sure it's in the size you want) ANYWHERE you want, hit enter again...and write your next scene. Not sure it would limit you in that way, but I don't have images for scene breaks, so I can't say for sure.



Eva Chase said:


> Eh, it's not really about 100% control for me. I'd be happy to give over most of the formatting decisions. But, for example, as far as I can see only having _one_ option for how a chapter heading that uses a number (rather than text) seems unnecessarily limiting. Would it really be that horrible to, say, have three different size and/or font options people could choose from? And the software already allows the option to include images in the body, so I'm not sure how allowing people to choose one of those images (if it kept to certain size specifications) as a custom scene break would be suddenly overly complicating things. No one would _have_ to do it if they wanted to keep things as simple as possible--heck, it could be some hidden advanced feature in a side menu no one would think to look at unless they were particularly interested and that would work for me!
> 
> Anyway, I am glad that it does work so well for many people. And maybe I'd be balking less if I hadn't already created things like the scene break image to use across the series, so it'd feel like a waste not to be able to use them. It just sounded like such a great program I wasn't expecting it to be quite so restrictive. Wanted to make sure I wasn't just missing some functionality that wasn't easily visible!


----------



## Eva Chase

Violet Haze said:


> I have Vellum...and I would say you could absolutely use those images.
> 
> You would have your scene, hit enter, go up and insert image (make sure it's in the size you want) ANYWHERE you want, hit enter again...and write your next scene. Not sure it would limit you in that way, but I don't have images for scene breaks, so I can't say for sure.


Good to know! It just defeats the ease of use factor a little, since I'd have to do it manually throughout the manuscript, rather than being able to mark it as a section break once and have that propagate throughout the book.

I will say that in the other Vellum thread someone clarified for me how to find more style options, and I retract some of my previous concerns about restrictions on the styles. I can see now there are quite a few! Apologies for the confusion.


----------



## Violet Haze

No problem 

It's not far up, actually, and you wouldn't have to scroll. Do you see the * and down arrow next to the button for bold? The image insert is right there...but yeah, I do understand, it would be nice to have it do it for you of course  I type mine by hand anyway (I use ~*~ for my breaks) but unless you're importing a doc, I have yet to see it automatically put in a scene break for me, I've had to do it myself anyway. 



Eva Chase said:


> Good to know! It just defeats the ease of use factor a little, since I'd have to do it manually throughout the manuscript, rather than being able to mark it as a section break once and have that propagate throughout the book.
> 
> I will say that in the other Vellum thread someone clarified for me how to find more style options, and I retract some of my previous concerns about restrictions on the styles. I can see now there are quite a few! Apologies for the confusion.


----------



## Brad West

As others have mentioned, we just released Vellum 1.3, which adds official support for more platforms and makes it much easier to create box sets. These were both big requests from our users, and the improvements for box sets were inspired by what we've seen on kboards.

The full list of features was too long to include in our announcement, so we thought we'd go into a bit more detail here:

You can now create Volumes and Parts in your books. Volumes, in particular, can be useful for making box sets: when you put Chapters in Volumes, the numbering starts over at 1 for each volume.
You can build box sets by dragging in Word files or Vellum files straight into the Navigator. When you drag in a Vellum file, the Volume's title (and optionally, cover) are automatically set.
The Table of Contents built by Vellum takes Volumes and Parts into consideration. Have an 11-book box set and don't want to see 300 chapters in your Look Inside? Use the Table of Contents Settings to only show volumes. (All the chapters are still declared for Go To navigation.)
Or, would you rather your ToC not be in the Look Inside at all? Now you can move it to be in the back of your book on Kindle.

Vellum now officially supports Kobo and Google Play. You can now create Store Links to these stores, and generate output tailored to the &#8230;_quirks_&#8230; of each platform (e.g. for Google Play, the SVG images Vellum uses for ornaments on other platforms are swapped out for PNG images, which work better there).
In addition to those, Vellum now has a new Generic EPUB option for uploading to aggregators (D2D, Smashwords) or to smaller stores like ARe. Generic EPUB is designed for compatibility, and Store Links for Generic EPUB can go to a "neutral" destination (like your own website).

Publishing translations of your books? Vellum's automatic chapter numbering can now handle _Capítulo_, _Kapital_, and _Chapitre_. For other languages, just enter the translation for Chapter once, and Vellum will update all of your chapters.
And lastly, as has been mentioned, you can now customize the font family and size used in the Text Editor, handy if you're writing on a small screen.
Again, many of these improvements were inspired by feedback here and through email, and we're pretty excited to make them available. We think it's a solid (free!) upgrade for our existing users, and to entice new ones, we're having a brief sale. Details can be found on our new website: vellum.pub. Act fast before we sober up.


----------



## John Hamilton

Very excited to try out the new features, Brad. Also love the improved website. And what a kick to see _Ghost Marshal_ scrolling up in the book samples!  Thanks once again for all you do.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Brad West said:


> Or, would you rather your ToC not be in the Look Inside at all? Now you can move it to be in the back of your book on Kindle.


This is awesome!


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## SunshineOnMe

Just purchased Vellum and I have to say their customer service is amazing!  Still on sale!


----------



## AriadneW

So happy to see the TOC settings.


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Add me to the list still holding out for a PC version


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## Dobby the House Elf

Oh god a PC version! Pleeease...


----------



## Karen Inglis

I've recently bought Vellum and *love it*- so easy to use, including inserting mages. But I have one question re the store links to the Kindle Store (used under 'Also by this author'). These test well on screen inside Vellum but -- having completed and uploaded my eBook via KDP and now bought the Kindle version for myself -- when I test said links to my other Kindle books, my Kindle Paperwhite generates this message: "This mobile site does not currently support the purchase of this item. Add it to your wish list and you can view and purchase it from your computer.'' -- in other words it's asking me to add the book to my Wish List on Amazon for when I'm next at my PC.  This of course defeats the impulse purchase side of things and I'm wondering if anyone else has found this at all? I can buy other books from Amazon on my Paperwhite but it seems to be blocking the Vellum Store link (which, as I say, tests fine when I try it while using Vellum). The same thing happens on my husband's newer generation Paperwhite. In case of relevance the book is Henry Haynes and the Great Escape (Karen Inglis)

The links to the iBooks Store seem to be fine.

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Karen Inglis

I've now heard back from Vellum who kindly pointed me to earlier discussion about this and have told me this is a known issue with the Paperwhite (nothing to do with Vellum) -- they referred me to this link for more info in case of use to anyone else... http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,165459.msg2370671.html#msg2370671

And here is what they said in their email reply (great customer service, BTW!)

"Hi Karen,

We first heard about this issue at the beginning of the year. For some reason, links to Amazon on certain Kindle devices (for instance, the Paperwhite) take you to a product page that doesn't support the purchase of that item. However, other devices - iPhones running the Kindle app, the Kindle Fire, the Kindle app on your Mac - don't exhibit this behavior at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon changes this, again, but for now it looks like Amazon is expressly disallowing this on certain devices and there's nothing we can do. We, too, think this is really frustrating and hope they eventually revisit this decision. Sorry!

Best,
Brad"


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## SunshineOnMe

Thanks for posting their response, Karen!


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## Anarchist

Can I ask a silly question?

First, a few details...

I write non-fiction. I bought Scrivener, which is an awesome piece of software. But jumpin' Jehosaphat, it comes with a steep learning curve.

My question: what are the main differences between Scrivener and Vellum?

Feel free to point and call me the village idiot. I have a thick skin.


----------



## SunshineOnMe

Anarchist said:


> Can I ask a silly question?
> 
> First, a few details...
> 
> I write non-fiction. I bought Scrivener, which is an awesome piece of software. But jumpin' Jehosaphat, it comes with a steep learning curve.
> 
> My question: what are the main differences between Scrivener and Vellum?
> 
> Feel free to point and call me the village idiot. I have a thick skin.


I don't think that's a silly question at all. I'm super new to both, so this might not be a complete answer. But Scrivener is a writing program that can format,
and Vellum is a strictly formatting program with preset settings. That's my understanding anyway.


----------



## Anarchist

SunshineOnMe said:


> I don't think that's a silly question at all. I'm super new to both, so this might not be a complete answer. But Scrivener is a writing program that can format,
> and Vellum is a strictly formatting program with preset settings. That's my understanding anyway.


Wow. That totally clarified it for me. Thank you!

Now I understand why a few folks mention writing in Scrivener, compiling to .doc (or .docx) and importing into Vellum. The fog is clearing.


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## Gone 9/21/18

I have links done like this in the mobi files I upload:

 Rachel's Eyes, a short story

They work on my Voyage. I think they worked on my PW, but I donated it when I got the Voyage so I can't be sure.


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## J.A. Sutherland

I purchased Vellum this week and I'm a convert.

I have to admit, my first thought when I started looking at it was "meh, what's the point?" -- uploading a Word doc gets a perfectly functional ebook, so why take the time and effort for something the reader likely won't consciously notice?

_But_ ... Vellum's pretty inexpensive in the grand scheme of things and remarkably easy to use, so I'm now convinced there's an ROI there. I'm still uncertain whether most readers will notice a difference, but I think it's worth it for those who will.

Add me to the list of those who'd like a print output option. _That_ would absolutely be worth it. In fact, I'd pay a premium for that as an add-on -- even if it was only one print size to start.

I'm a PC user, but macincloud.com worked great for me. I got the $1/hour plan and it took only about four hours time on the Mac to learn Vellum and format three books, so I have plenty of time left over.


----------



## Anarchist

I'm in.

I just bought the unlimited version based entirely on the comments in this thread. I feel like the following...










... but I'm excited to let Vellum do the formatting.


----------



## Brad West

Anarchist said:


> I'm in.
> 
> I just bought the unlimited version based entirely on the comments in this thread. I feel like the following...
> 
> ... but I'm excited to let Vellum do the formatting.


Thanks for your purchase! If you haven't already done so, running through our tutorial might help: http://help.180g.co/vellum/tutorial/


----------



## WDR

Anarchist said:


> I'm in.
> 
> I just bought the unlimited version based entirely on the comments in this thread. I feel like the following...
> 
> ... but I'm excited to let Vellum do the formatting.


It helps to think of the structure of just what an ebook is: it is a self-contained website. All the files that make up this website are archived into a ZIP file. Then the ".zip" suffix of the file is replaced with ".epub" and that's what makes it an ebook. (Yes, there is more to it than that, but I'm trying to keep it simple.)

Each chapter is a separate web page within this self-contained website. Like every web page, the text is _flowable_. This means you can resize the window and the text will simply shift around-flow-so it fits and fills what space is available in that window.

If you loaded one of the chapter-web pages into a browser, it would display as block text. In order to pretty it up, you need a _Cascading Style Sheet_ (CSS) file to tell the browser how to render that text. To make indented paragraphs instead of the standard, technical block paragraphs. To use a serif font instead of sans serif. To use Garamond instead of Times New Roman. Even to space the top of each chapter so it starts halfway down the window that is showing text, just the same way a chapter starts half-way down the page in a printed book. The CSS file controls the all-important typography of an ebook.

What Vellum does is help you created this CSS file so your ebook presents itself properly on an ebook reading device. It also lets you fine tune the settings so your ebook renders consistently on the variety of different ebook reading devices, each of which has its own rendering quirks due to using different web browser technologies to present the text of a narrative document.

When you understand the structure, then it is easy to picture what Vellum is doing for you. I encourage anyone who has bought my book to rip it open and take a look at what is inside. Copy the epub file to _nobody.epub_, then open the Mac's Terminal program and type: _unzip nobody.epub_. (And if you haven't bought my book, you should! *wink!* *wink!* *nudge!* *nudge!* )

Vellum allows me to do in minutes what used to take me days. No longer do my neighbors fear publishing time, when every so often I would burst out of the house and run down the street, foaming at the mouth and screaming in tongues.


----------



## GeneDoucette

Just tried Vellum on Kobo for the first time.  I received the message that Kobo "couldn't convert this file".  Not really sure what to do now.


----------



## Brad West

GeneDoucette said:


> Just tried Vellum on Kobo for the first time. I received the message that Kobo "couldn't convert this file". Not really sure what to do now.


Hi Gene,

That's certainly curious. We can help figure out what's going on, but it may require some back and forth. Can you email us ([email protected])?

Thanks!


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## Anarchist

Brad West said:


> Thanks for your purchase! If you haven't already done so, running through our tutorial might help: http://help.180g.co/vellum/tutorial/


Thanks Brad. I gave the tutorial a cursory glance. It seems to have everything I need. 

@WDR - thanks for that explanation. It's really helpful!


----------



## AriadneW

J.A. Sutherland said:


> _But_ ... Vellum's pretty inexpensive in the grand scheme of things and remarkably easy to use, so I'm now convinced there's an ROI there. I'm still uncertain whether most readers will notice a difference, but I think it's worth it for those who will.


For me, the value has definitely been in the time spent/hair pulled that I used to have. My process was pretty basic to start with. Write in Scrivener, compile to word doc for editor, import final word doc back into Scrivener, compile to epub and tweak in Sigil. I'd make unique backmatter for different vendors so that was a bit fiddly.

No I take the final word doc, import to Vellum, copy the backmatter from the previous book as the product IDs carry over, select the options for formatting and generate the files. As far as I'm concerned it's already paid for itself by saving my sanity.


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Dobby the House Elf said:


> Oh god a PC version! Pleeease...


There's quite a few authors here who work on Windows and have no desire to go out and purchase a new $1000 Mac. Desire for a Windows version has been expressed numerous times on this thread. Expressing my desire to use this wonderful program on my platform of choice is helpful to the developer. Your snarkyness is not helpful to the conversation.


----------



## AkBee

Got the unlimited version today. So happy!


----------



## J.A. Sutherland

DarkarNights said:


> There's quite a few authors here who work on Windows and have no desire to go out and purchase a new $1000 Mac. Desire for a Windows version has been expressed numerous times on this thread. Expressing my desire to use this wonderful program on my platform of choice is helpful to the developer. Your snarkyness is not helpful to the conversation.


Macincloud.com -- very easy, very cheap. Don't even have to learn much of Mac, just Vellum and Dropbox.


----------



## Diane Patterson

For users out there who use Scrivener and Vellum...do you find the workflow works pretty well? I'm afraid i'm going to be doing formatting in Vellum and see a typo or something and say, "Oh, I'll just fix this one..." I don't want the versions in Scrivener and Vellum to get too far apart!


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

I write in Scrivener then I export to Word so I can send it to editors and beta readers. Once that happens, Word is my "live" version and I just put the Scrivener version away. I make the editor changes to the Word document and then import to Vellum and publish and typeset it for Createspace. If someone points out something after that, I make changes in all three places.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Can we increase the size of the publisher logo in the "book info" section? I used a 450x485 png file but you can hardly see it on the page. You can't read the text. I believe Vellum shrinks it down to 148x160. Anyway that I can increase that a bit?


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Now that I have a Mac, I downloaded the trial and am sure I got $25 of entertainment from going through every permutation of every style. Then I discovered I could add my own image to the chapter headings, and that kept me entertained for another half hour. Anyway I now have the unlimited version and hope to live long enough to use it for more than 10 books.


----------



## Brad West

Alan Petersen said:


> Can we increase the size of the publisher logo in the "book info" section? I used a 450x485 png file but you can hardly see it on the page. You can't read the text. I believe Vellum shrinks it down to 148x160. Anyway that I can increase that a bit?


Hi Allan. We'll admit that the sizing of a publisher logo works better for wide logos than for square or tall ones. We don't currently have a way to adjust this, but we'll look into improving this in a future update. (In the meantime, and if it works for your logo, you might want to try a more horizontal composition.)



ellenoc said:


> Now that I have a Mac, I downloaded the trial and am sure I got $25 of entertainment from going through every permutation of every style. Then I discovered I could add my own image to the chapter headings, and that kept me entertained for another half hour. Anyway I now have the unlimited version and hope to live long enough to use it for more than 10 books.


Glad to provide the entertainment (see? formatting doesn't have to be boring) and thanks for the purchase!


----------



## Mzink

Hello -

I tried using Vellum this past weekend to upload my newest book, but when I got to the "purchase ebook generation" window and clicked "unlimited", I got a processing wheel and was then taken right back to the same window. My payment method in iTunes is fine and I tried restarting iTunes, but I kept getting the same message and ended up having to upload directly tot he Kindle formatter to meet my preorder deadline. i'd still like to buy Vellum, but it won't let me.


Anybody have an idea why this might be happening? I am running Maverick (I know! I need to upgrade to El Capitan). Could that be the problem?

Thank you! 

Michelle Zink (St. James)


----------



## Word Fan

Mzink said:


> Anybody have an idea why this might be happening? I am running Maverick (I know! I need to upgrade to El Capitan). Could that be the problem?


No. Mavericks is not your problem. I use it and had it back when I purchased my unlimited Vellum.

Send a note to Vellum Support and see what they say.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

Just a note that your best option with Vellum is to NOT buy it through the Mac store as there's a short delay between when a new version is released and when the Mac store accepts it.


----------



## Mzink

Thank you! Will try Vellum support. 


MSJ


----------



## Brad Andalman

Mzink said:


> I tried using Vellum this past weekend to upload my newest book, but when I got to the "purchase ebook generation" window and clicked "unlimited", I got a processing wheel and was then taken right back to the same window.


Hi, Michelle, if you go to your Purchase History in iTunes you should be able to see whether the Vellum purchase actually went through. If it did, you should try hitting Vellum's *Restore* button in its Purchases dialog. And we'll keep an eye out for your email so we can help you more directly!



Speaker-To-Animals said:


> Just a note that your best option with Vellum is to NOT buy it through the Mac store as there's a short delay between when a new version is released and when the Mac store accepts it.


What Speaker-To-Animals said. Sometimes, there can be a delay before Vellum updates are available on the MAS. For this reason (and a few others), we recommend downloading Vellum directly from our website (https://vellum.pub). And, don't worry, replacing the copy of Vellum you've downloaded through the MAS will not affect any of your Vellum documents!


----------



## Mzink

Thanks, Brad and Speakers! It worked! I was able to purchase with the link you provided. 

One more question; now that I have the "real" version, the in-app Preview function doesn't seem to be working. Before I bought it, I was able to see my book on a mock Paperwhite on the right of the screen. Now the mock PW is there, but it's black, and none of the buttons on the Preview toolbar are clickable for some reason. Any idea why this might be happening?

Thanks again! 

Michelle


----------



## Brad Andalman

Mzink said:


> Thanks, Brad and Speakers! It worked! I was able to purchase with the link you provided.
> 
> One more question; now that I have the "real" version, the in-app Preview function doesn't seem to be working. Before I bought it, I was able to see my book on a mock Paperwhite on the right of the screen. Now the mock PW is there, but it's black, and none of the buttons on the Preview toolbar are clickable for some reason. Any idea why this might be happening?
> 
> Thanks again!
> 
> Michelle


Glad that you were able to purchase - and thank you! If you'd email us at [email protected], we'd be happy to help you with your support questions directly.


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## Speaker-To-Animals

Also the devs get more money from a direct purchase and they deserve it


----------



## Word Fan

SunshineOnMe said:


> Vellum is strictly a formatting program&#8230;


Untrue. I have always found it quite easy to use Vellum as a word processor in which to originate text. You don't have to go somewhere else to write your book and then import it into Vellum to format. You can do it all in one place, which saves a big step.

Seeing your text appear on the Vellum's Preview screen, all pre-formatted as you type, I find to be very inspirational.


----------



## countwordsmith

Is there an active search/find function in Vellum? I have some corrections to make, and I don't want to make them in Word and reformat to Vellum. The book is already in Vellum. Does anyone know? Right now Find is grayed out on my menu inside Vellum.


----------



## Brad Andalman

countwordsmith said:


> Is there an active search/find function in Vellum? I have some corrections to make, and I don't want to make them in Word and reformat to Vellum. The book is already in Vellum. Does anyone know? Right now Find is grayed out on my menu inside Vellum.


If you click in the Text Editor so that the cursor appears inside, then it will have "focus" and your Find commands should all be enabled (and find will begin at your cursor position).

We realize that this can be a bit confusing, so our next update to Vellum will include a feature that allows you to search/find regardless of Vellum's current "focus".


----------



## countwordsmith

Brad Andalman said:


> If you click in the Text Editor so that the cursor appears inside, then it will have "focus" and your Find commands should all be enabled (and find will begin at your cursor position).
> 
> We realize that this can be a bit confusing, so our next update to Vellum will include a feature that allows you to search/find regardless of Vellum's current "focus".


Great! That works. I'm so glad I asked. Thanks a lot.


----------



## KaiW

I love Vellum, but dislike how the update creates separate kindle folders in the name of the book, not the Vellum file. This is frustrating because I use different editions for the .com and co.uk store but if I make an update to either it auto-overwrites the previous file irrespectively.
Anyway to change it back to the older way, whereby it doesn't separate the files this way?


----------



## Guest

Word Fan said:


> Untrue. I have always found it quite easy to use Vellum as a word processor in which to originate text. You don't have to go somewhere else to write your book and then import it into Vellum to format. You can do it all in one place, which saves a big step.
> 
> Seeing your text appear on the Vellum's Preview screen, all pre-formatted as you type, I find to be very inspirational.


THIS. Vellum is a breeze. I have no issues with it at all.


----------



## Designist7

I have Vellum and love it for its simplicity. That said, is there any way to indent the paragraphs?
I use Vellum not only for ebook generation, but for writing the original draft as well.

Thanks!


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

They indent automatically as per the template you select.


----------



## Brad West

KaiW said:


> I love Vellum, but dislike how the update creates separate kindle folders in the name of the book, not the Vellum file. This is frustrating because I use different editions for the .com and co.uk store but if I make an update to either it auto-overwrites the previous file irrespectively.
> Anyway to change it back to the older way, whereby it doesn't separate the files this way?


Hi Kai,

Previously, every file that Vellum generated was placed in the output folder you selected. That got messy for some users if they had iBooks, Kindle, and Nook enabled. With Vellum 1.3, though, there are six possible platforms, yielding as many as 12 different output files. We realized that we had to use folders for books and platforms or else it would be impossible to find anything.

In your scenario, what might work best is to use different output folders for your US and UK editions. e.g. rather than send everything to "My eBooks", use a "My US Editions" folder for your US Edition books and a "My UK Editions" folder for your UK Edition books. You can change the folder that's used for a book in the sheet that's shown when you press Generate:












Designist7 said:


> I have Vellum and love it for its simplicity. That said, is there any way to indent the paragraphs?
> I use Vellum not only for ebook generation, but for writing the original draft as well.


As Speaker-To-Animals alludes to, your final eBook will automatically be indented according to your Style selections, which you can see in the Preview.

But since you mention writing the original draft, are you referring to indentation in the Text Editor? Because the indentation can vary in the final book based on style, the paragraph position, and other factors, the Text Editor just uses simple block formatting. That said, we did add a preference for the font used here for a more customizable editing environment, so let us know if you feel indenting paragraphs falls into that category.


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Add me to the list of Vellum converts. When I found out that in order to publish direct to Apple you also need a Mac running OSX 10.9 or higher I decided to finally take the plunge and get a new Mac.

Quick question. In the Also By section, if your only other book is only on Amazon will it hide the Also By section from non Kindle editions or just remove the hyperlink?


----------



## SunshineOnMe

I can't get over how awesome the customer support is. They knock it out of the park!


----------



## Anarchist

SunshineOnMe said:


> I can't get over how awesome the customer support is. They knock it out of the park!


I second that emotion.

Prompt, helpful, friendly and professional... the Brads could teach major brands a thing or three about fan cultivation.


----------



## Brad West

DarkarNights said:


> Quick question. In the Also By section, if your only other book is only on Amazon will it hide the Also By section from non Kindle editions or just remove the hyperlink?


Just the hyperlink will be removed (so your reader can at least know about your book and search for it). You can see how this will appear by using any non-Kindle device in the Preview (like the iPad, which shows iBooks).

Hope that helps!


----------



## gorvnice

Vellum is one of the best, if not THE BEST, single indie publishing tool I've ever come across in 5 years of full-time self-publishing.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Question on the new affiliate code feature.... I see it in "preferences", but what do we enter in the "affiliate code" box for Amazon? Is it the tracking IDs we create in Amazon's associates account? *YadaYadaYada-20*? Or the whole URL?

Thanks.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Alan Petersen said:


> Question on the new affiliate code feature.... I see it in "preferences", but what do we enter in the "affiliate code" box for Amazon? Is it the tracking IDs we create in Amazon's associates account? *YadaYadaYada-20*? Or the whole URL?
> 
> Thanks.


You'll want to enter in the tracking ID for your Amazon Associates account - e.g. *YadaYadaYada-20*. Then, Vellum will use that tracking ID when it constructs the Amazon URL for your Store Links.


----------



## Mzink

Quick question! My friend is using Vellum for the first time, and for some reason the ToC disappears entirely when he clicks not to put it at the beginning of the book. When I did that, it showed up at the end (which is where I wanted it). In this case, it's just gone -- not visible in Preview and not visible when clicking through the Menu sections. 

Any idea how to fix this?

Thanks! 

Michelle


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Mzink said:


> Quick question! My friend is using Vellum for the first time, and for some reason the ToC disappears entirely when he clicks not to put it at the beginning of the book. When I did that, it showed up at the end (which is where I wanted it). In this case, it's just gone -- not visible in Preview and not visible when clicking through the Menu sections.
> 
> Any idea how to fix this?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Michelle


The TOC is still there, it's just not visible as an internal element of the book. Epubs have the TOC as a separate file when compiled. And since Amazon requires the TOC as an internal part of the mobi, Vellum will automatically insert it at the end when it generates the Kindle version. Brad will probably chime in a much clearer explanation than I can give.


----------



## Mzink

Thank you, DarkarNights!


----------



## Brad Andalman

DarkarNights nailed it - I'm not sure there's any need to clarify further! However, we do have an explanation here, on our help pages (in case that, um, helps): http://help.180g.co/vellum/toc/#presentation.

Oh, and the reason that you were able to navigate to the TOC in the Preview, Mzink, is because you were previewing a Kindle device. Your friend, on the other hand, had probably set the Preview to display some other device.


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Some creative feedback for the Brads.

I'm currently working on formatting my poetry collection in Vellum. Something I noticed that could be changed to greatly benefit poets. When you select a block of text and add the "Verse" feature what happens is that carriage returns generate a new line with no spacing and double carriage returns generate a space between the stanzas. This is all well and good if you are typing the poem from scratch in Vellum.

However if you are pasting in an already properly formatted poem (ie non spaced soft returns between lines and spaced carriage returns between stanzas) and then select the text and add the "Verse" feature something strange happens.

The verse feature does not recognize soft returns. So the text the verse feature generates in the preview window does not break a new line where the soft return was, and in the editor window the soft returns strangely show as an indent after adding the verse feature. To get around this I must manually go and delete all my soft returns and insert a carriage return on each line prior to adding the verse feature to the text. This becomes very time consuming when formatting a whole collection of poems.

If the verse feature could be upgraded to automatically recognize soft returns as a carriage return it would be a big help for poets using Vellum (although I know that's probably a small demographic).


----------



## Brad Andalman

Thanks for the bug report, DarkarNights. I just tested, and it looks like Vellum has an issue with _pasted_ soft returns. They don't behave as expected at all - whether used in Verse, or anywhere else (though I'm not sure why someone would use a soft return in their "normal" text).

It does seem that Vellum deals with soft returns correctly on import, though. So, that might be one workaround for you. If you have a whole collection of poems, it might be easier to just open that manuscript directly in Vellum. Or if you have each poem in an individual Word file, you can always just drag that Word file into the Navigator for your current book, and Vellum will import it. (Also, if you use Word styles, you can style your poetry with a style named "Vellum Verse" and Vellum will create a Verse Text Feature for you when importing.)

I've filed a bug in our database so we can look into this further, however. Thanks again for letting us know!


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Brad Andalman said:


> Thanks for the bug report, DarkarNights. I just tested, and it looks like Vellum has an issue with _pasted_ soft returns. They don't behave as expected at all -- whether used in Verse, or anywhere else (though I'm not sure why someone would use a soft return in their "normal" text).
> 
> It does seem that Vellum deals with soft returns correctly on import, though. So, that might be one workaround for you. If you have a whole collection of poems, it might be easier to just open that manuscript directly in Vellum. Or if you have each poem in an individual Word file, you can always just drag that Word file into the Navigator for your current book, and Vellum will import it. (Also, if you use Word styles, you can style your poetry with a style named "Vellum Verse" and Vellum will create a Verse Text Feature for you when importing.)
> 
> I've filed a bug in our database so we can look into this further, however. Thanks again for letting us know!


Awesome, glad to hear that it's working properly for imports, although I've already finished doing it all manually. Like you said, it's not usual for someone to use a soft return in normal text. However, I'm sure it's used more often when writing poetry, as that is the only time I have ever used them.

Oh, and I have another question that's totally unrelated. Is there a way to center align a Subheading? When I try to align by adding the alignment element it changes the text from a Subheading back to regular text. I see no other way to align text.


----------



## Brad Andalman

DarkarNights said:


> Oh, and I have another question that's totally unrelated. Is there a way to center align a Subheading? When I try to align by adding the alignment element it changes the text from a Subheading back to regular text. I see no other way to align text.


Subheading alignment is determined by the Book Style, and almost all of them left-align Subheads. Parcel, however, is an exception, and will center your Subheads. If you'd rather not use Parcel, then there is no current way to force your Subheads to be centered. Sorry!


----------



## Sophrosyne

I love Vellum! I encourage all my students to get Vellum -- so strongly, apparently, one of my PC-users went out and bought a Mac so she could run Vellum.

And the next class I'm teaching, I'm encouraging the college to put Vellum on their Macs, so the students can play with it.

Is there anything on the market remotely close to Vellum that a PC user can use? Because I don't know that all of my students can afford to buy a Mac to run Vellum!


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Sophrosyne said:


> I love Vellum! I encourage all my students to get Vellum -- so strongly, apparently, one of my PC-users went out and bought a Mac so she could run Vellum.
> 
> And the next class I'm teaching, I'm encouraging the college to put Vellum on their Macs, so the students can play with it.
> 
> Is there anything on the market remotely close to Vellum that a PC user can use? Because I don't know that all of my students can afford to buy a Mac to run Vellum!


No, nothing on PC comes close to the ease of use of Vellum. I hand coded my html prior to switching to Vellum simply because every single piece of software out there gave me nothing but frustration. Now if Vellum would just come out with software for print layouts they'd pretty much be the only software an indie author needs along with Scrivener.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

On the whole print thing. It would be possible to come out with something that put in flashy headers and scene breaks, but that's only a small part of print formatting. A lot of the minutiae of typesetting are things that no computer to my knowledge has ever been able to accurately address. You'd still want to go back and do hand corrections if you really want your book to have a serious professional look.


----------



## WDR

DarkarNights said:


> No, nothing on PC comes close to the ease of use of Vellum. I hand coded my html prior to switching to Vellum simply because every single piece of software out there gave me nothing but frustration. Now if Vellum would just come out with software for print layouts they'd pretty much be the only software an indie author needs along with Scrivener.


I did the same, being one of the few authors who can hard-code an ePub file. Vellum easily replaces all that effort and time consumed by the process. Vellum has taken a huge workload off of me, and it keeps getting better each time they make an update of the program.

My key problem now falls on the writing software. Current writing software is optimize for writing short documents for business offices. Not for writing novels. Forget the word processor, I need a _novel_ processor. Hey Brads, would you be interested in my notes on this? My programming skills have slipped to the point where I can barely program a light bulb. (1/0/1/0/1/0/1/0/&#8230. But I know what I want in a program to help me write. My biggest roadblock is most of the Swift language tutorials are centered on iPhone apps, not desktop programs.


----------



## Word Fan

DarkarNights said:


> Vellum would... be the only software an indie author needs along with Scrivener.


You don't even need Scrivener. As I and at other people have said here, it's just as easy to type your original text directly into Vellum, especially now that you can use Vellum's Preferences to set the text size in the editing window. You can do Bold and Italic and Smart Quotes and Spell Check and all of the most-often-used stuff that you need to do in a regular word processor.

And---the greatest thing of all---you get to see what it will look like in the finished e-book *in real time, as you type!*

What more can a person ask for?

I will give Scrivener one thing, though, and it's a big one for some people. Scrivener gives you a great way to organize all of the bits and pieces of a complex storyline: characters, locales, events, _etc._ But, if you don't need that level of organization, you don't need Scrivener as an adjunct to Vellum, especially when you compare the ease of learning of the two programs (or lack of ease, in Scrivener's case).


----------



## David Alastair Hayden

Word Fan said:


> You don't even need Scrivener. As I and at other people have said here, it's just as easy to type your original text directly into Vellum, especially now that you can use Vellum's Preferences to set the text size in the editing window. You can do Bold and Italic and Smart Quotes and Spell Check and all of the most-often-used stuff that you need to do in a regular word processor.
> 
> And---the greatest thing of all---you get to see what it will look like in the finished e-book *in real time, as you type!*
> 
> What more can a person ask for?
> 
> I will give Scrivener one thing, though, and it's a big one for some people. Scrivener gives you a great way to organize all of the bits and pieces of a complex storyline: characters, locales, events, _etc._ But, if you don't need that level of organization, you don't need Scrivener as an adjunct to Vellum, especially when you compare the ease of learning of the two programs (or lack of ease, in Scrivener's case).


I use Vellum along with Ulysses, which is like Scrivener except that it's far easier to use, more modern in appearance, and streamlined to be what you need as a writer and nothing more. It also has a fully functional iPad app. I love it. I still have to use Word as well, though, to handle tracked changes from my editor and proofreader.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Does anyone know where I can find screen shots of Ulysses? I'm a Scrivener user and fan, but I'm curious, and when I went to try to find info about Ulysses I couldn't find anything with screen shots.


----------



## Leanne King

There are some in the press kit. There's a free trial too. Ulysses rocks.


----------



## Brad Andalman

WDR said:


> My key problem now falls on the writing software. Current writing software is optimize for writing short documents for business offices. Not for writing novels. Forget the word processor, I need a _novel_ processor. Hey Brads, would you be interested in my notes on this?


WDR (and anyone else!), we'd love to see your suggestions for improving the writing experience in Vellum. Feel free to send them to us at [email protected].

We definitely are interested in making changes that improve this experience for authors. That said, when taken to the extreme, these two directions - that of word processor and that of book formatter - really are different. And we wouldn't want to do anything that distracts from Vellum becoming the best book creator that it can be.


----------



## SasgoraBooks

Word Fan said:


> I will give Scrivener one thing, though, and it's a big one for some people. Scrivener gives you a great way to organize all of the bits and pieces of a complex storyline: characters, locales, events, _etc._ But, if you don't need that level of organization, you don't need Scrivener as an adjunct to Vellum, especially when you compare the ease of learning of the two programs (or lack of ease, in Scrivener's case).


That is exactly why I need Scrivener. And now that I have adopted the Take Off Your Pants plotting method Scrivener has become even more essential to my personal process. I have yet to look into Ulysses, but I do 99% of my work on a Windows 10 laptop so Scrivener is still king as I have it on both my Windows and my Mac.



Brad Andalman said:


> WDR (and anyone else!), we'd love to see your suggestions for improving the writing experience in Vellum. Feel free to send them to us at [email protected].
> We definitely are interested in making changes that improve this experience for authors. That said, when taken to the extreme, these two directions -- that of word processor and that of book formatter -- really are different. And we wouldn't want to do anything that distracts from Vellum becoming the best book creator that it can be.


If you did venture down that road it would probably work best as a separate program. I would love to have a word processor that has the plotting and organizational abilities that Scrivener has and also does for print layouts what Vellum does for ebooks. Find a way to be able to design beautiful print books with the same ease and simplicity as in Vellum and we will throw money at you.


----------



## Guest

Leanne King said:


> There are some in the press kit. There's a free trial too. Ulysses rocks.


Because I can't stand Scrivener, I'm checking this out. Thank you.


----------



## WDR

Brad Andalman said:


> WDR (and anyone else!), we'd love to see your suggestions for improving the writing experience in Vellum. Feel free to send them to us at [email protected].
> 
> We definitely are interested in making changes that improve this experience for authors. That said, when taken to the extreme, these two directions -- that of word processor and that of book formatter -- really are different. And we wouldn't want to do anything that distracts from Vellum becoming the best book creator that it can be.


Yeah, what I have in mind is totally a separate program from Vellum. It would be best to make it a separate animal entirely. You can use a screwdriver as a chisel, but it is best to use a chisel when sculpting and a screwdriver for driving screws.


----------



## P.T. Phronk

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> On the whole print thing. It would be possible to come out with something that put in flashy headers and scene breaks, but that's only a small part of print formatting. A lot of the minutiae of typesetting are things that no computer to my knowledge has ever been able to accurately address. You'd still want to go back and do hand corrections if you really want your book to have a serious professional look.


Out of curiosity, why is that?

Formatting for print is a pain in the butt, sure, but all the hand-tuning is repetitive search-and-replace type stuff, or doing math to figure out how to set margins and other characteristics. All that could be done by software, if anyone bothered to create it. Work like eliminating widows and orphans is already handled pretty well by software. And let's face it, most of us are using Createspace, which further limits the number of options. It would take some work (and maybe it's not worth it to sell to such a small market), but I'm not seeing why a computer couldn't address print formatting.


----------



## Penelope Redmont

My story -- I'm posting this in case someone's hesitating about Vellum. Don't hesitate. Try it. 

I used Vellum for the first time to do a Scrivener to MS Word, to Vellum, to Kindle publication.

Vellum is WONDERFUL, and creates gorgeous ebooks (I have no connection to the developers...)

All went well. I had a minor niggle, because I couldn't remove the "Untitled" heading (caused by a new document in Scrivener.)

My bad. I should have fixed that in MS Word. However, by the time I got the book to Vellum, I was sick to death of it. So I created some headings on the fly. 

Love the app. Many kudos and thanks to the developers for a wonderful product. 

And sincere thanks too to everyone who's posted in this thread, and gave me the courage to jump on Vellum's special offering.


----------



## Susanne123

I must say their customer service is fast. I posed a question and got an answer within a very short time. That goes a long way for me when investing in a program


----------



## GwynnEWhite

The Look Inside feature on Amazon was exaggerating the size of my graphics in my memoir. I shot off an email to Brad, got a reply the same day. Seems it is a bug in the system. He offered to do a fix for me if I sent him the .mobi file. I did and he returned it to me the same day. Problem solves until a software fix is done. I was very impressed with the service. It makes Vellum even more amazing to use.


----------



## SasgoraBooks

GwynnEWhite said:


> The Look Inside feature on Amazon was exaggerating the size of my graphics in my memoir. I shot off an email to Brad, got a reply the same day. Seems it is a bug in the system. He offered to do a fix for me if I sent him the .mobi file. I did and he returned it to me the same day. Problem solves until a software fix is done. I was very impressed with the service. It makes Vellum even more amazing to use.


I noticed that on my Look Insides too. I thought it was just Amazon's poor code causing it.


----------



## Brad Andalman

DarkarNights said:


> I noticed that on my Look Insides too. I thought it was just Amazon's poor code causing it.


It is. 

However, we think we have a way to work around this issue, and we hope we'll have something in our next update to Vellum that addresses it.

ETA: We did, in fact, make a change to address this issue!


----------



## Peter Spenser

Vellum 1.3.2 just came out and has more great stuff added to the even greater stuff that was already there. And there is more to come.

For you Mac people who have never even _looked_ at the trial version: check it out, thoroughly. You'll see what I mean.

For you more-or-less destitute people (as many of us are) who want it: return soda bottles, beg on the street, sell _yourself_ on the street, just get the money and buy it. I did. I bought the full version and have never looked back. No regrets at all. Also, buy it directly from the Vellum website, if you can, instead of from an app store. That way you get the latest updates immediately, without waiting for that version of the app to be "approved."

Finally, for those of you who _"still wouldn't have a Mac if one was given to you&#8230;"_ You poor deluded fools.


----------



## suliabryon

I just did the update, and all of my options for both the first paragraph, and the first line after a break disappeared. Like, I can still scroll through them, but they all look exactly the same, plain normal text. I'll try restarting.


----------



## Brad West

suliabryon said:


> I just did the update, and all of my options for both the first paragraph, and the first line after a break disappeared. Like, I can still scroll through them, but they all look exactly the same, plain normal text. I'll try restarting.


Hi Sulia. It looks like some changes we made caused a bug in the preview of these styles in the Style Carousel. You should find that the styles are still applied to your book (and will appear in the Preview).

We'll look into fixing this as soon as we can. Thanks!


----------



## suliabryon

Brad West said:


> Hi Sulia. It looks like some changes we made caused a bug in the preview of these styles in the Style Carousel. You should find that the styles are still applied to your book (and will appear in the Preview).
> 
> We'll look into fixing this as soon as we can. Thanks!


Wow, awesome and fast! You guys rock. I hadn't even started to look at reporting it yet. Will you post here when you find a fix, or will I need to check the website periodically?


----------



## Brad West

suliabryon said:


> Wow, awesome and fast! You guys rock. I hadn't even started to look at reporting it yet. Will you post here when you find a fix, or will I need to check the website periodically?


We'll let you know when it's fixed, and hope to do so quickly (i.e. within the next 24 hours).


----------



## John Hamilton

Brad, your customer support never ceases to amaze me.


----------



## Brad West

suliabryon said:


> Wow, awesome and fast! You guys rock. I hadn't even started to look at reporting it yet. Will you post here when you find a fix, or will I need to check the website periodically?


A fix for this is now available. If you updated to 1.3.2 yesterday, please use the *Check for Updates* item in the *Vellum* menu to download this latest version (since it just included a fix for this bug, this version is also called 1.3.2, but has a different build number).

Thank you again for letting us know about it.

P.S. As Peter mentioned, this update will be available in the Mac App Store after it is approved by Apple. (This, on average, takes about a week.)


----------



## britrocker

Bought this today.

Quick question.

Is there a way to have a page that doesn't appear in the table of contents?

Before using this software i might have several pages that were seen when read (swiping) but were not part of the table of contents.

So for instance

COVER
COPYRIGHT
- page to be seen but not appear in table of contents ( basically only seen when they swipe but title not seen in TOC)
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
ETC...

Right now i hit ADD uncategorized to insert another page. But it shows it in the TOC

I guess what i am asking is this... Is there a way to control what is listed for the TOC and what can be excluded but still seen when people are reading?


----------



## Brad Andalman

jonemills said:


> Is there a way to have a page that doesn't appear in the table of contents?


Unfortunately, there isn't a way to exclude an element from the Table of Contents (we've also heard this described as a desire to insert a Page Break in a chapter). We've had a few other requests this feature, though, so it's something that we may get to eventually.

Sorry we don't have a better answer for you!


----------



## britrocker

Brad Andalman said:


> Unfortunately, there isn't a way to exclude an element from the Table of Contents (we've also heard this described as a desire to insert a Page Break in a chapter). We've had a few other requests this feature, though, so it's something that we may get to eventually.
> 
> Sorry we don't have a better answer for you!


Ok, i hope it gets included in an update. There are a few workarounds i can do in the meantime. So far happy with the software. Makes things easier


----------



## Brad Andalman

jonemills said:


> Brad i notice when i insert a subhead. It doesn't place it directly below the chapter heading it places it further down, just above the first line of the intro paragraph on the left side, and there is no way to center it? Is that done on purpose?


Subheads are meant to introduce a section of writing, and the text that follows will appear immediately after it. You can change the way your Subheads are styled by choosing different combinations of Book and Heading Styles. If you choose the Parcel Book Style, for example, all of your Subheads will be centered.

If you do not want to use Parcel, you could always use an Alignment Block to center the text, but you won't be able to make it a Subhead.

That said, it sounds like maybe you really are talking about a subtitle. Chapter subtitles will appear immediately below the chapter title. You can add a subtitle using the gear menu to the right of the chapter title. For more details, check out our Headings help page:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/headings/

Hope that helps!


----------



## suliabryon

Brad West said:


> A fix for this is now available. If you updated to 1.3.2 yesterday, please use the *Check for Updates* item in the *Vellum* menu to download this latest version (since it just included a fix for this bug, this version is also called 1.3.2, but has a different build number).
> 
> Thank you again for letting us know about it.
> 
> P.S. As Peter mentioned, this update will be available in the Mac App Store after it is approved by Apple. (This, on average, takes about a week.)


Thanks so much! I will check this out tomorrow. Never been more impressed with a company's prompt and efficient customer service!


----------



## fallswriter

Just got the notification from Apple to update!


----------



## SunshineOnMe

Just wanted to say thanks for the snowflake option- too cute!


----------



## barbie888

Read this entire thread and I'm sold. No more paying out huge chunks of money to a formatter. No more waiting to get my book back from the formatter. Awesome!

The tutorial was great in its simplicity. I love the scene breaks you can add in so easily.


----------



## AYClaudy

Maybe this has been addressed before, but I only scanned. 

Is there a way to convert to PDF? 

I have tried converting the epub from vellum through Calibre, but then the text is HUGE. It's too big to be a functional pdf file. This is something that my arc reviewers have requested, but then it takes more effort on my part to take the changes I made in Vellum and convert back to word and then change to PDF from there... 

If it's not possible, then I'll just make sure I finalize in word, before converting to Vellum--- where before I just uploaded the draft to vellum, read as an ebook to catch errors, and then made changes in vellum.


----------



## Violet Haze

There isn't a way to do that in Vellum, but what I do for PDF's is take a Generic ePub from Vellum and upload it on Instafreebie, which then emails you a PDF copy of your book, and it's just as lovely as the eBook. But I know that may not be something you want to do. I already use Instafreebie for my ARC copies anyway.



AYClaudy said:


> Maybe this has been addressed before, but I only scanned.
> 
> Is there a way to convert to PDF?
> 
> I have tried converting the epub from vellum through Calibre, but then the text is HUGE. It's too big to be a functional pdf file. This is something that my arc reviewers have requested, but then it takes more effort on my part to take the changes I made in Vellum and convert back to word and then change to PDF from there...
> 
> If it's not possible, then I'll just make sure I finalize in word, before converting to Vellum--- where before I just uploaded the draft to vellum, read as an ebook to catch errors, and then made changes in vellum.


----------



## RD

Which I had a Mac


----------



## Jeff Hughes

AYClaudy said:


> Maybe this has been addressed before, but I only scanned.
> 
> Is there a way to convert to PDF?
> 
> I have tried converting the epub from vellum through Calibre, but then the text is HUGE. It's too big to be a functional pdf file. This is something that my arc reviewers have requested, but then it takes more effort on my part to take the changes I made in Vellum and convert back to word and then change to PDF from there...
> 
> If it's not possible, then I'll just make sure I finalize in word, before converting to Vellum--- where before I just uploaded the draft to vellum, read as an ebook to catch errors, and then made changes in vellum.


Wouldn't that be great?! Alas, as Violet says, Vellum isn't presently built to do that. I've already suggested that the developers consider building a tool (or an adjunct to Vellum) that does exactly that.

Having just finished many, many hours of formatting my ebook/print book versions, I'll be posting something in a few days that might help others in the future. In the meantime, it took about fifteen minutes to format all my ebook versions (mobi and epub), using Vellum. It then took countless hours to get the print book PDF in shape. I had to wander down nooks and crannies of Word I never wanted to before.

If, like me, your Vellum version is your 'baseline' (in my case, because of some of the formatting that it had applied), what you can do today is export to RTF. Then import into Word (you'll lose some formatting), convert back to .docx and go from there.


----------



## WDR

My primary manuscript is the file from the word processing program I used to write it. So, pumping out a PDF is no issue for me.

I use Vellum as the tool to convert my text into an ebook, not as the primary editing software. If I make a change via Vellum, then I go back and echo that change in my primary manuscript file.


----------



## Gessert Books

I think it's generally best to avoid writing a book within a production tool, because the output is too inflexible and it's more difficult to keep style and structure separate. It's better to write the book in a flexible format, then pull it into the production tool to style it and create the production-ready file.


----------



## S.Yates

One question:

I am on a Mac, my husband is on a Windows machine. When he finally finishes his first book am I allowed to format it for him in Vellum or is that 'owner/author' specific? Thanks, SY


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

I was told I could format for anyone and even charge for my services if I wanted to.


----------



## S.Yates

Thanks Speaker-To-Animals! SY

PS Lovely user name, I can relate, some of my most profound monologues have been with cats


----------



## Brad West

S.Yates said:


> I am on a Mac, my husband is on a Windows machine. When he finally finishes his first book am I allowed to format it for him in Vellum or is that 'owner/author' specific? Thanks, SY


You can. How much you charge your husband is up to you


----------



## S.Yates

Brad, you owe me a new keyboard, and MAC keyboards are expensive as you might know   I just spit vino over it laughing out loud. SY


----------



## TammySalyer

Hi. This may be a question others share, so I'm posting it here.

I would like to created a shortened HTML contents page to include in the front matter of a multivolume ebook, but use the built-in HTML TOC generator for Kindle that places the full TOC at the back. Is there a way to create a new element, such as uncategorized, and insert links other to already created elements/pages?

Thanks!


----------



## Brad West

TammySalyer said:


> Hi. This may be a question others share, so I'm posting it here.
> 
> I would like to created a shortened HTML contents page to include in the front matter of a multivolume ebook, but use the built-in HTML TOC generator for Kindle that places the full TOC at the back. Is there a way to create a new element, such as uncategorized, and insert links other to already created elements/pages?
> 
> Thanks!


Hi Tammy,

That particular combination isn't possible, but if you are building a multi-volume book, you may just want to have Vellum create a shorter TOC -- one that includes links for front matter, and each of the volumes, but not every chapter within -- and keep it at the front.

More about this is described on the Box Sets help page here (note especially the *List elements in* setting):
http://help.180g.co/vellum/box-sets/#toc

As we note there, even with chapters excluded from this TOC, they will still be declared for chapter navigation, and available from Kindle's *Go To* menu.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Patty Jansen

I have an issue with the start page on Amazon. I understand why it happened, but don't know what to do about it.

I imported a formatted Word file (with links as I would upload to Smashwords). Vellum imported the headings under their names which WEREN'T chapter names. Then I decided I wanted to add something (I think it was a page with my other books), and I clicked "Add". Then I noticed it had added "Chapter 1" at the very bottom of what's a 500-page book. I realised that this was not what I wanted, so I deleted the chapter and made an "Uncategorised" entry, and added my stuff, then exported.

Now Kindles (and I don't actually have a kindle) seem to think that the beginning is at the end where I deleted "Chapter 1". Any suggestions on how to fix this? I'm suspecting it involves a re-import?


----------



## Brad West

Patty Jansen said:


> I have an issue with the start page on Amazon. I understand why it happened, but don't know what to do about it.
> 
> I imported a formatted Word file (with links as I would upload to Smashwords). Vellum imported the headings under their names which WEREN'T chapter names. Then I decided I wanted to add something (I think it was a page with my other books), and I clicked "Add". Then I noticed it had added "Chapter 1" at the very bottom of what's a 500-page book. I realised that this was not what I wanted, so I deleted the chapter and made an "Uncategorised" entry, and added my stuff, then exported.
> 
> Now Kindles (and I don't actually have a kindle) seem to think that the beginning is at the end where I deleted "Chapter 1". Any suggestions on how to fix this? I'm suspecting it involves a re-import?


Hi Patty,

From your description, it sounds like your book may not have any (of what Vellum considers to be) chapters. Vellum will typically mark your first chapter as the start of your book, but it relies on it being identified as such to be able to do so.

For each chapter of your book, you'll want to check the Element Type. You can do so using the Gear menu to the right of your chapter's title, and shown in this section of the Element Types help page:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/element-types/#convert-to

You can use that menu to change the type as well. (If you need to change the type for many chapters, select them all and then use the equivalent section of Vellum's *Chapter* menu.)

With the element types corrected, Vellum will mark the first chapter of your book as the start, though that may change if you add something like an Introduction or Prologue.

You can read more about Vellum and your book's start page here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/start-page/

Hope that helps.

P.S. If that doesn't answer your question, or if you'd like us to take a look at your book, feel free to email us.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Wow, Brad, thanks. I was thinking it was something like that, but didn't think it would be so easy to fix. I'll go and do that soon.

I've got this thread bookmarked.


----------



## TammySalyer

Brad West said:


> Hi Tammy,
> 
> That particular combination isn't possible, but if you are building a multi-volume book, you may just want to have Vellum create a shorter TOC -- one that includes links for front matter, and each of the volumes, but not every chapter within -- and keep it at the front.
> 
> More about this is described on the Box Sets help page here (note especially the *List elements in* setting):
> http://help.180g.co/vellum/box-sets/#toc
> 
> As we note there, even with chapters excluded from this TOC, they will still be declared for chapter navigation, and available from Kindle's *Go To* menu.
> 
> Hope that helps.


Got it. Thanks!


----------



## TammySalyer

Is there a way to make Vellum not change my Amazon links to store links (leave them as web links)? Alternatively, is there a way to force it to leave Amazon links as they are when generating a generic epub? Thanks!


----------



## Brad Andalman

TammySalyer said:


> Is there a way to make Vellum not change my Amazon links to store links (leave them as web links)? Alternatively, is there a way to force it to leave Amazon links as they are when generating a generic epub? Thanks!


Hi Tammy,

As you've discovered, Vellum automatically converts Amazon links into Store Links. There are a few reasons for this:

We want to make sure that Amazon links don't accidentally make their way into eBooks for other stores
Doing so allows Vellum to detect the local Amazon store for your readers (e.g. a British reader will be directed to amazon.co.uk when she clicks on the link)
Vellum can add your Amazon affiliate code to all of your Amazon Store Links without you having to remember

The only way to defeat this is to use the Generic EPUB version.

If you don't mind, could you share why you'd like to prevent Vellum from converting your Amazon links?

Best,
Brad


----------



## TammySalyer

Thanks, Brad. That's helpful. The reason why is because I want to hand-tweak some of the CSS in the epub version (which I can't do in the mobi), but don't want to have to reinsert all the Amazon links after outputting from Vellum. Using the Generic ePub saves me the trouble.


----------



## Brad Andalman

TammySalyer said:


> Thanks, Brad. That's helpful. The reason why is because I want to hand-tweak some of the CSS in the epub version (which I can't do in the mobi), but don't want to have to reinsert all the Amazon links after outputting from Vellum. Using the Generic ePub saves me the trouble.


Hi Tammy,

We think we may have a better solution for you, but it's probably easier to discuss over email. Would you mind contacting us directly?

Best,
Brad


----------



## AYClaudy

Violet Haze said:


> There isn't a way to do that in Vellum, but what I do for PDF's is take a Generic ePub from Vellum and upload it on Instafreebie, which then emails you a PDF copy of your book, and it's just as lovely as the eBook. But I know that may not be something you want to do. I already use Instafreebie for my ARC copies anyway.


Thank you! That's a great solution, I'm signing up now.

I'm not opposed to going to another source at all, it's just that when I tried with Calibre the conversion was all crazy. But instafreebies whole system looks very useful! Thanks again!


----------



## Violet Haze

You're welcome! 


AYClaudy said:


> Thank you! That's a great solution, I'm signing up now.
> 
> I'm not opposed to going to another source at all, it's just that when I tried with Calibre the conversion was all crazy. But instafreebies whole system looks very useful! Thanks again!


----------



## KaiW

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Tammy,
> 
> As you've discovered, Vellum automatically converts Amazon links into Store Links. There are a few reasons for this:
> 
> We want to make sure that Amazon links don't accidentally make their way into eBooks for other stores
> Doing so allows Vellum to detect the local Amazon store for your readers (e.g. a British reader will be directed to amazon.co.uk when she clicks on the link)
> Vellum can add your Amazon affiliate code to all of your Amazon Store Links without you having to remember


Brad, where/how can I add my affiliate code? Didn't know you could do this. Thanks!


----------



## Brad Andalman

KaiW said:


> Brad, where/how can I add my affiliate code? Didn't know you could do this. Thanks!


You can add your Amazon affiliate code in Vellum's Preferences. You can read a little bit more about this, and other Store Links-related preferences, here: http://help.180g.co/vellum/storelinks/#preferences.

Hope that helps!


----------



## britrocker

Hi, does anyone know if there is a quick way to compile 3 books in a series together using the velum files that are created?

I have ( 3 vellum files one for each book ) ( and of course the mobi, epub etc )

But does anyone know if the software can compile together 3 vellum files to create the boxset?


----------



## Brad Andalman

jonemills said:


> Hi, does anyone know if there is a quick way to compile 3 books in a series together using the velum files that are created?
> 
> I have ( 3 vellum files one for each book ) ( and of course the mobi, epub etc )
> 
> But does anyone know if the software can compile together 3 vellum files to create the boxset?


You can! Just drag each Vellum file from the Finder and drop it onto the Navigator for your new box set, and Vellum will import it as a Volume. We have a help page that goes into the details, which you can find here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/box-sets/

Hope that helps!
Brad


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Since this thread seems to be a pretty good Vellum help line (and since I don't have internet access on the Mac I got just for Vellum and Scrivener)....

I think I want an image in the headings of the novella I'm about to format. When I import an image into the heading on my test file, it goes into the heading for Chapter One, but not any of the other chapters. Yet it does show up in the heading of non-chapters such as Other Books by, so I have to remove it there. Is there some way to add the image once and have it show up in all Chapter, Prologue, Epilog, etc. headings?

Also, I want this book to open for readers - have the Start set - at the Author's Note at the front. What I did was add an element Prologue and then change the name to Author's Note, so that's what shows in the TOC and is now the heading. Will that achieve what I want, or will changing the name keep the Start setting from being where I want it?


----------



## Brad Andalman

ellenoc said:


> I think I want an image in the headings of the novella I'm about to format. When I import an image into the heading on my test file, it goes into the heading for Chapter One, but not any of the other chapters. Yet it does show up in the heading of non-chapters such as Other Books by, so I have to remove it there. Is there some way to add the image once and have it show up in all Chapter, Prologue, Epilog, etc. headings?


Currently, there is no way to add a heading image once and have it show up for all of your chapters. If you'd like to use the same heading image for each chapter, you'll have to add it to each one individually. We realize that this can be a little onerous, and we'd like to make this easier eventually. We don't have a timeframe for that yet, though.

_Update June 29, 2016_: In Vellum 1.3.8, we added the ability to assign a heading image to multiple chapters. To do so, simply select the chapters that should have a heading image and then choose *Chapter > Heading > Add Heading Image...* from Vellum's main menu. (To select multiple chapters in a row, click on the first one and then hold down Shift and click on the last one.)

When you add a heading image only to Chapter 1, we wouldn't expect the image to show up for any other chapter! We'd love to hear more about your workflow so we can figure out what's going on. Feel free to send us email with the details at [email protected].



ellenoc said:


> Also, I want this book to open for readers - have the Start set - at the Author's Note at the front. What I did was add an element Prologue and then change the name to Author's Note, so that's what shows in the TOC and is now the heading. Will that achieve what I want, or will changing the name keep the Start setting from being where I want it?


This solution will work great. Sounds like you don't need it, but if you are interested in more details about how Vellum determines the start page, you can read our help page here: http://help.180g.co/vellum/start-page/

Best,
Brad


----------



## Jan Thompson

Brad Andalman said:


> Currently, there is no way to add a heading image once and have it show up for all of your chapters. If you'd like to use the same heading image for each chapter, you'll have to add it to each one individually. We realize that this can be a little onerous, and we'd like to make this easier eventually. We don't have a timeframe for that yet, though.


That would be awesome! In Scrivener I can set the same heading for all the chapters in the Compile option. In Vellum I had to manually Add Heading Image. You can imagine the nightmare when I have 72 chapters in my 504-page book. 

Still, Vellum rocks!


----------



## Patty Jansen

Question: when I, as per the advice in this thread, assign my imported chapter a "chapter" element type, it gets a number. However, I'm doing a short story collection and don't want numbers. How do I get rid of them?


----------



## Brad West

Patty Jansen said:


> Question: when I, as per the advice in this thread, assign my imported chapter a "chapter" element type, it gets a number. However, I'm doing a short story collection and don't want numbers. How do I get rid of them?


Hi Patty,

Right under the Convert To item in the Gear menu for a heading is an entry for *Numbered*. Toggle that and the number won't be shown (or considered when numbering other chapters). More info, including a screenshot, can be found here:

http://help.180g.co/vellum/headings/


----------



## Patty Jansen

Brad West said:


> Hi Patty,
> 
> Right under the Convert To item in the Gear menu for a heading is an entry for *Numbered*. Toggle that and the number won't be shown (or considered when numbering other chapters). More info, including a screenshot, can be found here:
> 
> http://help.180g.co/vellum/headings/


Oh, cool! I was looking for this everywhere yesterday (and my internet was too crap to look it up).


----------



## Peter Spenser

Vellum has a new update:

_*"Vellum 1.3.4 adds lists, new affiliate links, and more!"*_

This is the beginning of Vellum being useful for instructional non-fiction books, too, not just for fiction.

If Vellum gets a few more cool things added to it, you will need nothing else to write and format just about any book.


----------



## SunshineOnMe

Is there any way to generate a vellum file into PDF? Thanks!


----------



## SunshineOnMe

I messaged Vellum right after I posted here, and they gave me directions.  (RTF on the option screen) Can't beat their customer service. Thank you so much Vellum!!!


----------



## Brad Andalman

SunshineOnMe said:


> I messaged Vellum right after I posted here, and they gave me directions. (RTF on the option screen) Can't beat their customer service. Thank you so much Vellum!!!


You're welcome! 

There is another option, too. If you bring up the Print dialog (by going to *File > Print* in Vellum's main menu), you can use the PDF menu in the lower-left to *Save as PDF*. This creates a PDF that is meant to be used for editing purposes or hard-copy manuscript submission. This PDF won't use the styling that you've chosen in the Styles Pane and, instead, will use a fixed-width font and double-space your lines. Obviously, this shouldn't be uploaded to CreateSpace, but it is a quick way to generate a PDF for other purposes!


----------



## Peter Spenser

SunshineOnMe said:


> Is there any way to generate a Vellum file into PDF? Thanks!





SunshineOnMe said:


> I messaged Vellum right after I posted here, and they gave me directions. (RTF on the option screen) Can't beat their customer service. Thank you so much Vellum!!!


Your first post asked about *PD*F files.

Then you speak of *RT*F files.

They are not the same.


----------



## SunshineOnMe

Peter Spenser said:


> Your first post asked about *PD*F files.
> 
> Then you speak of *RT*F files.
> 
> They are not the same.


Oh, I changed the RTF file into a PDF file.... sorry for the confusion.


----------



## WDR

Many book manufacturers can now accept PDF files, but you can't just squirt out a PDF file and expect it to be usable.

The most important thing is the center gutter between facing pages. For folks not familiar with the term 'gutter', it refers to the space between columns, or the inner margin in a book. The inner margin must be wider than the outer margin so that there is enough space for the pages to be bound and yet when the book is opened the text is not pinched in the spine. The more pages in your book, the wider the gutter has to be so the book can open without obscuring text in the center.

The gutter width also depends on the thickness of the paper being used in printing, as that obviously effects the thickness of the book. When talking with a book manufacturer, I get the gutter recommendation from them after we work out the number of pages and paper type. Then I input the data and output the PDF for printing. When you talk with a book manufacturer, they will guide you through the process. It is so simple, it only takes minutes to work it all out.

Both Word and Pages 4 can generate an inner margin. Pages 5 cannot. I can only assume that Scrivener can also generate a proper inner margin size as well.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

Another thread made me think of this. I know I asked it and you answered it before and I apologize for going over it again. If we wanted to recreate the look of our book in print, it's easy enough (well for me) to extract all the relevant files and set it up, but are the graphics and fonts in Vellum licensed in such a way that we are allowed to yank them out of the mobi/epub and use them in inDesign or Word to do up a print copy.


----------



## Guest

I have a question about indents... is there a way to change the value of the first line indent or is Vellum grabbing it from my original Word document? I want to turn it down as it seems too large but can't figure out how to do it. thank you.


----------



## Brad West

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> Another thread made me think of this. I know I asked it and you answered it before and I apologize for going over it again. If we wanted to recreate the look of our book in print, it's easy enough (well for me) to extract all the relevant files and set it up, but are the graphics and fonts in Vellum licensed in such a way that we are allowed to yank them out of the mobi/epub and use them in inDesign or Word to do up a print copy.


Speaker, sorry we missed seeing this go by earlier!

The fonts used by Vellum use the SIL's Open Font License. You can read the details of the OFL here (a copy can also be found right next to where you're finding the font files), but in short, you are able to use them to create a print copy.

The graphics aren't as explicitly licensed, but yes, you are free to use them for your print project.



Tilly said:


> I have a question about indents... is there a way to change the value of the first line indent or is Vellum grabbing it from my original Word document? I want to turn it down as it seems too large but can't figure out how to do it. thank you.


The indentation does not come from your Word file but is rather set by Vellum. Vellum specifies this amount in _ems_, which means it's relative to the reader's font size. Although you can disable indentation and use "block" formatting (something typical for non-fiction) in the Body style editor, the indentation amount cannot otherwise be changed.

This is, I think, the first time we've received a request for a different amount of indentation. I've logged it in our requests database for future versions of Vellum. Hope that at least ends your hunt for the control, though.


----------



## Guest

Brad West said:


> The indentation does not come from your Word file but is rather set by Vellum. Vellum specifies this amount in _ems_, which means it's relative to the reader's font size. Although you can disable indentation and use "block" formatting (something typical for non-fiction) in the Body style editor, the indentation amount cannot otherwise be changed.
> 
> This is, I think, the first time we've received a request for a different amount of indentation. I've logged it in our requests database for future versions of Vellum. Hope that at least ends your hunt for the control, though.


Thank you. I find sometimes the amount of indent on a small screen is distracting and have been experimenting with a smaller value. But you've saved me from trying to figure out how to do it so I'll stop obsessing about it and carry on.


----------



## Guest

I have a general question about file size as I am worried about Amazon delivery fees - why are Vellum mobi files so big? 

I want to check I'm not doing something wrong. I made a simple e-book with a 65k book and the resulting mobi file is 3.3 MB. That's 3 times the size of the same book made with Jutoh and nearly the same size as a boxed set a professional formatter made for me - and that was 360k words with fancy chapter headings, drop caps and graphics.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Tilly said:


> I have a general question about file size as I am worried about Amazon delivery fees - why are Vellum mobi files so big?
> 
> I want to check I'm not doing something wrong. I made a simple e-book with a 65k book and the resulting mobi file is 3.3 MB. That's 3 times the size of the same book made with Jutoh and nearly the same size as a boxed set a professional formatter made for me - and that was 360k words with fancy chapter headings, drop caps and graphics.


I'm hazarding a guess that this is because the Vellum file has the three Kindle formats in one. Readers get only one file, so delivery should not be as much as suggested.

My formatting guy also does this.


----------



## Brad West

Tilly said:


> I have a general question about file size as I am worried about Amazon delivery fees - why are Vellum mobi files so big?
> 
> I want to check I'm not doing something wrong. I made a simple e-book with a 65k book and the resulting mobi file is 3.3 MB. That's 3 times the size of the same book made with Jutoh and nearly the same size as a boxed set a professional formatter made for me - and that was 360k words with fancy chapter headings, drop caps and graphics.


Patty pretty much has it right. Vellum creates a mobi file via KindleGen, which wraps multiple versions of the ebook into one file: the KF8 version for modern devices, the MOBI7 version for older ones, and an entire copy of the source EPUB (for reasons only Amazon knows).

This does make for a surprisingly large file to upload, but the size of this file is not what is used to compute delivery costs. Rather, Amazon computes delivery costs based on the smallest MOBI7 version. You can find this size for your book on the Rights & Pricing page of KDP, but we have some example file sizes on our help page here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/file-size/#kindle-delivery-costs

Hope that helps.


----------



## Guest

Patty Jansen said:


> I'm hazarding a guess that this is because the Vellum file has the three Kindle formats in one. Readers get only one file, so delivery should not be as much as suggested.
> 
> My formatting guy also does this.


thank you.

So I assume Amazon sorts the one file into 3 seperate ones and only charges for the one that is sent? I might need to just hold my breath, upload the file and see what it calculates.


----------



## Guest

Brad West said:


> Patty pretty much has it right. Vellum creates a mobi file via KindleGen, which wraps multiple versions of the ebook into one file: the KF8 version for modern devices, the MOBI7 version for older ones, and an entire copy of the source EPUB (for reasons only Amazon knows).
> 
> This does make for a surprisingly large file to upload, but the size of this file is not what is used to compute delivery costs. Rather, Amazon computes delivery costs based on the smallest MOBI7 version. You can find this size for your book on the Rights & Pricing page of KDP, but we have some example file sizes on our help page here:
> http://help.180g.co/vellum/file-size/#kindle-delivery-costs
> 
> Hope that helps.


Thank you. 
I only bought Vellum this week and I'm working through my back catalogue and asking questions as I encounter things I don't understand. Give me a couple more days and I'll be a pro at this


----------



## Violet Haze

Okay, so while I'm glad I generated copies last night before going to bed, this morning I was trying to move elements...chapters and trying to highlight them all. They were GONE! And even though I hit undo, nothing happened. 27,000 words disappeared! Is there a backup folder? I can't find it if there is one, so I think that might be my recommendation. I would be so panicking right now if I hadn't thought to generate before bed! :O :O :O


----------



## Brad West

Violet Haze said:


> Okay, so while I'm glad I generated copies last night before going to bed, this morning I was trying to move elements...chapters and trying to highlight them all. They were GONE! And even though I hit undo, nothing happened. 27,000 words disappeared! Is there a backup folder? I can't find it if there is one, so I think that might be my recommendation. I would be so panicking right now if I hadn't thought to generate before bed! :O :O :O


Oh no! Here are a few things you can try:


It could be that your book is fine, and Vellum just hit an error displaying it. If you close and reopen the file, does it look any better?
Vellum doesn't have its own backup folder, but rather hooks into OS X's system of versioning. If you use *Revert To* from the *File* menu, are you able to recover a version of your file? (you can also navigate versions through Time Machine in the Finder)

Please let us know if one of those works for you.


----------



## Violet Haze

Hey. It shows up, but when I hit revert to the last save at 5 am this morning, it didn't work. Then I went to restore and chose the one from this morning, but it shows it as opening it, yet nothing happens.  I mean, I managed to convert epub back into doc, so the original file I just copy and pasted, but this is the serial all in one and looks like I'll just have to drag and drop again. Maybe it's just something I'm not doing right for the restore.

ETA: okay I see. It doesn't show the updated version until you close the file and re-open.  Excellent! Thank you.



Brad West said:


> Oh no! Here are a few things you can try:
> 
> 
> It could be that your book is fine, and Vellum just hit an error displaying it. If you close and reopen the file, does it look any better?
> Vellum doesn't have its own backup folder, but rather hooks into OS X's system of versioning. If you use *Revert To* from the *File* menu, are you able to recover a version of your file? (you can also navigate versions through Time Machine in the Finder)
> 
> Please let us know if one of those works for you.


----------



## Brad West

Violet Haze said:


> okay I see. It doesn't show the updated version until you close the file and re-open.  Excellent! Thank you.


Unfortunately, a Revert can sometimes have that property. We'll look into improving that. In the meantime, we're glad to hear you have your book back.

Sorry for the trouble!

ETA: We improved Revert behavior with Vellum 1.3.8


----------



## GwynnEWhite

Hi Brad, is it possible to import a pdf into Vellum? I have a graphics-rich how-to book already formatted in InDesign and really don't want to start redoing layouts. Will Vellum accept it and in what format do you suggest  I try? Thanks


----------



## Patty Jansen

I'm having a little trouble figuring out how to enter my Facebook author page into the little contact thing at the bottom of the About the Author section. I can do the twitter handle, but for Facebook it asks for the Facebook name. There are more people (not that many, but there are some) with the same name. How does entering my Facebook name turn it into a live link to my Facebook page? If I just enter the profile number, it stays a number on the formatted page and I'm not sure how that makes a live link either.


----------



## Gessert Books

GwynnEWhite said:


> Hi Brad, is it possible to import a pdf into Vellum? I have a graphics-rich how-to book already formatted in InDesign and really don't want to start redoing layouts. Will Vellum accept it and in what format do you suggest I try? Thanks


I'm not Brad, but I can tell you that there's no simple way to convert from PDF to reflowable ebook--in the vast majority of cases they should be rebuilt.

If you click inside one of the text frames in InDesign, you'll be able to "Export To" an RTF file containing all the text in that Story. A Story being multiple threaded text frames. This can give you a decent starting point for the rebuild. RTF is not an option unless your text cursor is inside a text frame, though, I believe.

You can also try an "Export To..." Reflowable ePub instead. InDesign's ePub export leaves a lot to be desired, but since it only takes a couple clicks, it's a bit harmless to try and at least see how it comes out.

Perhaps Brad will be along and point out that I'm wrong, and that Vellum does indeed handle PDFs beautifully! I hope so, but if not, these two methods will probably be your best start.


----------



## Nathalie Aynie

Patty Jansen said:


> I'm having a little trouble figuring out how to enter my Facebook author page into the little contact thing at the bottom of the About the Author section. I can do the twitter handle, but for Facebook it asks for the Facebook name. There are more people (not that many, but there are some) with the same name. How does entering my Facebook name turn it into a live link to my Facebook page? If I just enter the profile number, it stays a number on the formatted page and I'm not sure how that makes a live link either.


I put everything after "http://facebook.com/"

Example:
http://facebook.com/IrmaGeddonWriterOfDoom ----------> IrmaGeddonWriterOfDoom

So I input "IrmaGeddonWriterOfDoom" in there.


----------



## GwynnEWhite

phillipgessert said:


> I'm not Brad, but I can tell you that there's no simple way to convert from PDF to reflowable ebook--in the vast majority of cases they should be rebuilt.
> 
> If you click inside one of the text frames in InDesign, you'll be able to "Export To" an RTF file containing all the text in that Story. A Story being multiple threaded text frames. This can give you a decent starting point for the rebuild. RTF is not an option unless your text cursor is inside a text frame, though, I believe.
> 
> You can also try an "Export To..." Reflowable ePub instead. InDesign's ePub export leaves a lot to be desired, but since it only takes a couple clicks, it's a bit harmless to try and at least see how it comes out.
> 
> Perhaps Brad will be along and point out that I'm wrong, and that Vellum does indeed handle PDFs beautifully! I hope so, but if not, these two methods will probably be your best start.


Thanks. I will give that a try.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Nathalie Aynie said:


> I put everything after "http://facebook.com/"
> 
> Example:
> http://facebook.com/IrmaGeddonWriterOfDoom ----------> IrmaGeddonWriterOfDoom
> 
> So I input "IrmaGeddonWriterOfDoom" in there.


My Facebook author page has a long number as well. I don't really want that in there.


----------



## Janelle

Patty, I believe you have to update your page url. It used to be you had to have 25 likes to be able to get rid of those numbers. Here's a video explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH-R5DLVm6Y


----------



## Patty Jansen

Janelle said:


> Patty, I believe you have to update your page url. It used to be you had to have 25 likes to be able to get rid of those numbers. Here's a video explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH-R5DLVm6Y


Ack I hate videos I have no sound on this computer. As aside, I already did this a while back. I don't understand why those numbers are still there. I hate facebook.

OK, the video wasn't getting me anywhere without the sound, so googled it, and this link is helpful: http://blogaholicdesigns.com/tutorials/how-to-remove-numbers-from-facebook-business-page-url/

It turned out I claimed the URL, but it was attached to my profile (which I rarely use), so I transferred it to my page, so that should solve the numbers issue.

I still hate Facebook. It's a confusing mess.


----------



## Brad West

GwynnEWhite said:


> Hi Brad, is it possible to import a pdf into Vellum? I have a graphics-rich how-to book already formatted in InDesign and really don't want to start redoing layouts. Will Vellum accept it and in what format do you suggest I try? Thanks


Vellum can only import docx files. If you only have the PDF, you can try some of the online PDF-to-docx converters. Or, if you are able to use InDesign to Export to RTF, that will get you closer to a docx file. Either of these methods, though, would primarily be to get the text out of the original book. Images are unlikely to come through as well (RTF doesn't support them), so you would have to replace them in Vellum. Similarly, as Phillip mentions, layout of a reflowable eBook is much different than for print, so you'll have to make different layout decisions in Vellum. But hopefully the text is a good starting point!



Patty Jansen said:


> It turned out I claimed the URL, but it was attached to my profile (which I rarely use), so I transferred it to my page, so that should solve the numbers issue.
> 
> I still hate Facebook. It's a confusing mess.


Glad you were able to figure it out, Patty!

_By the way, we're happy to answer questions here, but it sometimes can take a day before we see them (we turn notifications on for this thread, but we don't always get them). If anyone has urgent questions, please email us.
_


----------



## KeraEmory

Hi there. I'm a newb demo'ing Vellum. 

I exported my book from Pages to docx, and in Vellum the TOC (generated by Pages) is completely broken and the chapters appear out of order.

TOC functions properly and book reads correctly in:

--Pages
--Word OSX circa Office 2012 (when exported as docx from Pages)
--iBooks (when exported as ePub)
--Kindle apps and devices of all sorts including the KDP previewer (when converted to mobi by me or by Amazon)

I tried deleting and re-generating the TOC in Pages, and also clicked around a bit in the formatting for the first few chapters (the breakage in Vellum starts immediately at chapter 2), can't find anything obvious. Re-exported. All of the above is still true.

...but Vellum says no, the chapters/TOC are borked. The first six chapter names (as they appear in the Vellum sidebar, not in correct order) have stuff like this at the end: PAGEREF _Toc \h 3

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Brad Andalman

KeraEmory said:


> Hi there. I'm a newb demo'ing Vellum.
> 
> I exported my book from Pages to docx, and in Vellum the TOC (generated by Pages) is completely broken and the chapters appear out of order.


Hi Kera,

Vellum automatically creates a Table of Contents for you, so you can go ahead and remove the one that is generated by Pages. You can do this either in Pages, prior to exporting to docx, or you can remove the "Pages TOC" using Vellum after you've imported the docx.

To read more about how Vellum creates your TOC, you can check out our help page here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/toc/

We're always interested in improving our import functionality, so we'd love to see the docx that you exported from Pages. You can email it to [email protected], if you are willing. And, in the future, feel free to email us directly with support questions -- we'll be able to be even more responsive!

Best,
Brad


----------



## Patty Jansen

Ditch the TOC before you export to docx. Better still, don't waste any time making one.

Vellum makes its own.


----------



## Crime fighters

Is there anyway I can upload two separate covers? When I go into preview mode, the cover looks great in color, but absolute crap in black and white. To fix the black and white image, I would have to adjust the color image as well, and it would alter the mood of the cover, so that's not something I want to do.


----------



## Brad Andalman

K.B. said:


> Is there anyway I can upload two separate covers? When I go into preview mode, the cover looks great in color, but absolute crap in black and white. To fix the black and white image, I would have to adjust the color image as well, and it would alter the mood of the cover, so that's not something I want to do.


Hi K.B.,

Unfortunately, there's no way to upload two covers. So, yes (as you know), you'll want to make sure that your cover reads well both in color and in black and white. While it's a bummer that your cover doesn't look amazing in B&W, we're happy that you were able to use Vellum's Preview to discover this before you uploaded your book!

Best,
Brad


----------



## WDR

For folks concerned about having a Table of Contents (TOC) created for their ebook&#8230;don't.

Ebook readers generate the TOC on the fly. It is not necessary to create one. Ebook readers do this by referencing the *.opf* file that is designated as the "root" file in the directory containing all the files of the actual ebook.

An EPUB ebook file is just a zipped archive containing three things: a small text file called *mimetype* and two directories. If you unzip an EPUB file, you will see these items.

The first directory is usually called *META-INF* and it contains one XML file that tells the ebook reader where the _root file_ of the ebook is. The second directory is the one that contains all the data and files that we would recognize as the ebook. But it is the one file pointed to by the content.xml file that is all important, because this special file tells the ebook reader all the files that are contained in the ebook, what they are, and what order to place them when the ebook is displayed in your reader.

_Vellum_ calls this file *content.opf*. Go ahead and open this file in a text editor to read it. It is "human readable."

There are two particular sections in content: first in the manifest that tells the ebook reader what files are contained in the ebook file and where they are located. The second is the <spine>. This tells the ebook reader the order the referenced files appear in when the ebook is being displayed on the ebook reader.

There is another file in the ebook, the *.ncx* file. Cleverly it is often named *toc.ncx*. This file is the reference the ebook reader uses to know what file goes with what TOC reference found in the 'spine". From the <spine> and the toc.ncx file, the ebook reader is able to create an on-the-fly Table-of-Content for the user.

_Vellum_ generates a very clean and easy to follow EPUB file. After you create an EPUB file, I suggest you tear it apart and learn how it works and what's inside. If all of the above seems rather roundabout, it is because machines lack our intuition. The information is set in that way so that the ebook reader doesn't randomly display the first file it comes across in an ebook, and allows other files such as images and fonts to be there to support the rendering of the ebook for the user.

_(Note: the above mentioned files can be named anything within the EPUB container. So long as the ebook reader can access the file contained in META-INF, everything goes smoothly.)_

As the Kindle MOBI file is proprietary, I don't know what is inside. I suspect it is reasonably similar to an EPUB file. (Though, rumors have it that inside each MOBI file are tiny fairies who lovingly chisel out each delicate letter of your precious narrative which crystalline unicorns then carry to the screen for the reader to enjoy.)


----------



## Crime fighters

In retrospect, that was a dumb question on my part.


----------



## WDR

I should add one thing to this: the above is what happens when you generate an ebook file.

If you want to generate copy for print, you have to create your TOC in your writing program. That is where the auto-generated TOC created by _Pages_ or _Word_ becomes useful.


----------



## WDR

K.B. said:


> In retrospect, that was a dumb question on my part.


No, it wasn't. If you don't ask, you'll never know the answer.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

Just FYI, whatever cover you put in your book will be automatically replaced by whatever you upload to the KDP control panel and you only get one option there.


----------



## KeraEmory

I'm the one with the TOC problem. After posting, I went back and ripped out the Pages TOC *and the formatting that defined it* (just removed all the Heading formatting ... although it wasn't quite as neat a job as it sounds, I've lost some italicization), to see what Vellum would do. I discovered what you all posted, that Vellum will figure out its own TOC. I still need to tweak a little, but yes, lesson learned. And Vellum does make my book, which I thought I was perfectly happy with, look so much prettier.


----------



## KeraEmory

Could use some assistance with Smart Quotes.

My original Pages document had ended up with a lot of mismatched 'smart quotes' proliferated throughout the text. Once I had everything moved over to Vellum, I turned off Smart Quotes and replaced all the quotation marks with ... quotation marks, which changed them all to straight. I tried to reverse the process (turned Smart Quotes back on, did a new find/replace). However, that does nothing, and I seem to be stuck with straight quotes ... unless I go back and manually change every single quotation mark. Heh. 

I could probably fix this more easily in Word or something, but I'd reached the point of making final edits and changes in Vellum, so I'd lose a lot of work. Is there a possible automated solution to fix the quotes within Vellum itself? 

Edit: Export RTF > Open with Word > Fix quotes there > Save as docx > reimport to Vellum seems to have fixed it on a test document, just not sure if there are possible unintended consequences.


----------



## Brad Andalman

KeraEmory said:


> Edit: Export RTF > Open with Word > Fix quotes there > Save as docx > reimport to Vellum seems to have fixed it on a test document, just not sure if there are possible unintended consequences.


Hi Kera,

We'd like to have a way to fix up Smart Quotes in Vellum, but we don't have that functionality quite yet. I've gone ahead and added your name to the request in our database, though, which helps us prioritize these sorts of features.

Your workaround should work just fine, though. You will, however, want to double-check that any Text Features you added in Vellum are preserved. For instance, RTF doesn't include Inline Images, so if you added any prior to export, you'll want to make sure to add them back.

Best,
Brad

ETA: In Vellum 1.3.5 (released in March 2016), we added an "Apply Smart Quotes" menu item to the Text Editor's context menu. Now, you can fix up smart quotes within Vellum, without having to go to Word.


----------



## Leanne King

For fixing Smart Quotes in _any_ Mac app including Vellum, download and install the free Word Service addon. It puts tons of useful stuff to your Services contextual (right click) menu, including an option to change all quotes to smart quotes in selected text.

You can also use it for switching case to all caps, all lower case, sentence case etc, getting word counts and other stats, removing multiple spaces, inserting dates and times, and more. For the quotes fix, you simply select your text, right click, and choose Services > Word Service: Smart Quotes right from inside Vellum (or anywhere else you can edit text, even a browser).

When you've installed Word Service, go to the main Settings app, then Keyboard / Shortcuts / Services, and from there you can select which services you want added to the contextual menu, and switch off those you don't need, to keep things tidy.


----------



## David Penny

Whoa! I've just upgraded to the latest version of Vellum (1.3.4) and what's happened to the Styles? All the Chapter heading styles have changed, and I'm not entirely sure I like what they've done with some of the section breaks either.

Add new Chapter formats, certainly, but what's happened to the old ones? You just don't do that.


----------



## Brad Andalman

David Penny said:


> Whoa! I've just upgraded to the latest version of Vellum (1.3.4) and what's happened to the Styles? All the Chapter heading styles have changed, and I'm not entirely sure I like what they've done with some of the section breaks either.
> 
> Add new Chapter formats, certainly, but what's happened to the old ones? You just don't do that.


Hi David,

Vellum 1.3.4 didn't make any significant changes to its Styles. All of our Book Styles should still be there, each with its usual assortment of Heading Styles. If you aren't seeing that, please do get in contact with us over email ([email protected]), and we can try to figure out what's going on for you.


----------



## David Penny

Thanks Brad - I think I panicked  Hadn't noticed the style sets before and managed to change from one to another by accident!


----------



## Brad Andalman

David Penny said:


> Thanks Brad - I think I panicked  Hadn't noticed the style sets before and managed to change from one to another by accident!


Oh good! And now it's like you have a whole new Vellum, with lots more style options to choose from!


----------



## Brad West

Leanne King said:


> For fixing Smart Quotes in _any_ Mac app including Vellum, download and install the free Word Service addon. It puts tons of useful stuff to your Services contextual (right click) menu, including an option to change all quotes to smart quotes in selected text.


Thanks for the suggestion! We just downloaded this to try it out, though, and unfortunately it can cause problems with other formatting in Vellum. Specifically, Vellum's Text Features like block quotes, lists, and ornamental breaks don't survive the transformations made by this service. Given that, we can't recommend using this plug-in with Vellum.

We are investigating adding similar functionality to Vellum's standard context menu.


----------



## Jeff Hughes

Brad, can you offer any insight into Amazon's _Enhanced Typesetting_ feature and how that is or isn't affected by Vellum?

My first book, THE RAZOR'S EDGE, does not have Enhanced Typesetting enabled by Amazon. I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that it wasn't indicated or necessary because of some secret sauce that Vellum includes.

But then my just-published second work, ECHOES OF THE MIND, does have Enhanced Typesetting enabled by Amazon.

If it's relevant, I did use different styles... Meridian for the first book and Trace for the second. Any thoughts? Just curious.

And... thanks for giving us this crazy-good software!


----------



## Brad West

Jeff Hughes said:


> Brad, can you offer any insight into Amazon's _Enhanced Typesetting_ feature and how that is or isn't affected by Vellum?
> 
> My first book, THE RAZOR'S EDGE, does not have Enhanced Typesetting enabled by Amazon. I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that it wasn't indicated or necessary because of some secret sauce that Vellum includes.
> 
> But then my just-published second work, ECHOES OF THE MIND, does have Enhanced Typesetting enabled by Amazon.
> 
> If it's relevant, I did use different styles... Meridian for the first book and Trace for the second. Any thoughts? Just curious.
> 
> And... thanks for giving us this crazy-good software!


While we have heard from several users who report that Vellum-formatted books often avoid Amazon's "enhanced" typesetting, we unfortunately don't know the exact reason for it.

Based on just the two data points you've shared, we could hazard a guess that Meridian prevents enhanced typesetting because it (by default) uses drop caps, whereas Trace (by default) does not. But that's just a guess, and assumes that this is a decision based on style and not content (and not the fickle finger of KDP, etc.).

If we do discover the specifics, we'll definitely share them.


----------



## Midnight Whimsy

I recently purchased a Mac for the sole purpose of using Vellum to streamline my ebook generation. I created a bundle a couple weeks ago and was very happy.

HOWEVER, I just generated a Kindle file for my new book and the file is 3.5 MB in size. 3.5 MB!!! What is going on? It's 133,000 words with a 500 KB cover image. Why is my file so huge? The bundle I created a few weeks, which is 3x as many words and includes 4 cover images, is only 1.5 MB. I need to upload this book ASAP for a pre-order, and it looks like I'm going to be coding it by hand at the last minute now. The delivery fees on 3.5 MB will cost me hundreds of dollars and I've already SPENT hundreds of dollars on the Mac and unlimited Vellum ebooks.

I really hope you can offer me an explanation for what went wrong to generate such a massive file.

M.W


----------



## Patty Jansen

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I recently purchased a Mac for the sole purpose of using Vellum to streamline my ebook generation. I created a bundle a couple weeks ago and was very happy.
> 
> HOWEVER, I just generated a Kindle file for my new book and the file is 3.5 MB in size. 3.5 MB!!! What is going on? It's 133,000 words with a 500 KB cover image. Why is my file so huge? The bundle I created a few weeks, which is 3x as many words and includes 4 cover images, is only 1.5 MB. I need to upload this book ASAP for a pre-order, and it looks like I'm going to be coding it by hand at the last minute now. The delivery fees on 3.5 MB will cost me hundreds of dollars and I've already SPENT hundreds of dollars on the Mac and unlimited Vellum ebooks.
> 
> I really hope you can offer me an explanation for what went wrong to generate such a massive file.
> 
> M.W


Vellum creates three different files for three different Kindle formats in one file. The reader only gets one, depending on their device.


----------



## Brad West

Midnight Whimsy said:


> I recently purchased a Mac for the sole purpose of using Vellum to streamline my ebook generation. I created a bundle a couple weeks ago and was very happy.
> 
> HOWEVER, I just generated a Kindle file for my new book and the file is 3.5 MB in size. 3.5 MB!!! What is going on? It's 133,000 words with a 500 KB cover image. Why is my file so huge? The bundle I created a few weeks, which is 3x as many words and includes 4 cover images, is only 1.5 MB. I need to upload this book ASAP for a pre-order, and it looks like I'm going to be coding it by hand at the last minute now. The delivery fees on 3.5 MB will cost me hundreds of dollars and I've already SPENT hundreds of dollars on the Mac and unlimited Vellum ebooks.
> 
> I really hope you can offer me an explanation for what went wrong to generate such a massive file.


As Patty mentions, the mobi file created by KindleGen (as part of Vellum's generation for Kindle) actually contains several versions of your book, so it will be quite a bit larger than an equivalent EPUB file. This is true for any ebook created using Amazon's KindleGen tool.

When considering Delivery Costs, it is important to know that these costs are not based on the size of the mobi file on your computer, but rather based on a "converted" file size, which will be much smaller. You can find this "converted" file size, as well as computed delivery costs on the Rights and Pricing page of KDP.

More details, including a sample comparison, can be found here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/file-size/

Hope that helps,
Brad

_Edit 2/23: Updated help link._


----------



## Midnight Whimsy

Patty Jansen said:


> Vellum creates three different files for three different Kindle formats in one file. The reader only gets one, depending on their device.


Wow, thank you, Patty. I didn't think to try uploading it to KDP to see if that changed the file size. It did -- 0.6 MB. Thank goodness. I was having a huge panic attack. 

Brad, thanks for clarifying as well. Looks like all is well, which is great because I was otherwise happy with the Vellum software (though ... having to buy a Mac to use it ... *sigh*).

Thanks for the quick rescue, guys.

M.W


----------



## KeraEmory

Hello Vellum folks--

I'm trying to upload the final draft of my first novel to KDP. I notice that the KDP previewer (the in-browser one) considers the "Beginning" of the book to land at the second page of the TOC. Have I inadvertently coded something weirdly here? I have a Copyright and Acknowledgements page before the numbered chapters start. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Brad West

KeraEmory said:


> Hello Vellum folks--
> 
> I'm trying to upload the final draft of my first novel to KDP. I notice that the KDP previewer (the in-browser one) considers the "Beginning" of the book to land at the second page of the TOC. Have I inadvertently coded something weirdly here? I have a Copyright and Acknowledgements page before the numbered chapters start.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


Hi Kera,

KDP's Preview can do weird things to a start page (we're not sure why it's so fond of moving it back to sit smack in the middle of the TOC). If you haven't already done so, you can try testing the start page that's been declared by Vellum by directly loading the original mobi you generated, or by testing on any other platform. In your case, we'd expect it to be the first chapter (as a Copyright page and Acknowledgments page will be marked as frontmatter).

You should find that, once published on Amazon, your book's start page is again correct (though apparently KDP does sometimes change it). And if you're publishing wide, you'll find that these issues are limited to Amazon.

More details about Start Page can be found here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/start-page/

Hope that helps.


----------



## KeraEmory

Brad West said:


> Hi Kera,
> 
> KDP's Preview can do weird things to a start page (we're not sure why it's so fond of moving it back to sit smack in the middle of the TOC). If you haven't already done so, you can try testing the start page that's been declared by Vellum by directly loading the original mobi you generated, or by testing on any other platform. In your case, we'd expect it to be the first chapter (as a Copyright page and Acknowledgments page will be marked as frontmatter).
> 
> You should find that, once published on Amazon, your book's start page is again correct (though apparently KDP does sometimes change it). And if you're publishing wide, you'll find that these issues are limited to Amazon.
> 
> More details about Start Page can be found here:
> http://help.180g.co/vellum/start-page/
> 
> Hope that helps.


Thanks for the really fast response. What you're saying seems to be consistent (although the Kindle for PC app is being wonky in its own way--not your problem). When I grab the vellum-generated .mobi file and open it in Kindle iOS, it does properly start at page one of the actual novel, although I've noticed some of the Vellum-specific formatting is lost if you do it this way.


----------



## Brad West

KeraEmory said:


> When I grab the vellum-generated .mobi file and open it in Kindle iOS, it does properly start at page one of the actual novel, although I've noticed some of the Vellum-specific formatting is lost if you do it this way.


Yes, unfortunately, if you *directly* load a mobi file into the Kindle iOS app, it will show the book using Amazon's older mobi7 format, which isn't capable of displaying all of Vellum's formatting. More on the two formats is explained here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/kindleformats/

If you do want to test everything on iOS, there are steps you can follow to load a mobi file and see the KF8 formatting, which we've captured here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/proofing/#transferring-kindle-ios

But those steps are only necessary when directly loading .mobi files onto iOS for proofing. When a reader downloads your book through Amazon, she will see the same (KF formatting that you saw in Vellum and that you'll see on other devices.


----------



## TimWLong

Where has Vellum been all my life? I can't believe how easy the software is to use not to mention the beautiful ebooks it produces for Kindle. The reader on the side is genius. I've been doing this the hard way for 4 or 5 years now and this tool is worth every penny. I will save hours on every book release. I went ahead and bought a 10 pack and now I'm going back and reformatting some of my back catalog.

I apologize for not going back and reading the entire thread. Are there more options as far as chapter headings and book styles coming? How about a design your own chapter header/front page where we can pull from different elements to create a unique look?

Edit to add: would you guys please make similar software to layout Createspace books?


----------



## Sandy Raven

Hi Brad and Brad,

Is there any idea of when there will be a better way to work the format of a letter inside of a chapter? I mentioned this once before in an email convo with one of you, and while I've got it looking suitable, it's not what I'd prefer (indented on both sides and with about two or three spaces of an indent for the paragraphs.)

TIA,
Sandy


----------



## Brad West

Sandy Raven said:


> Hi Brad and Brad,
> 
> Is there any idea of when there will be a better way to work the format of a letter inside of a chapter? I mentioned this once before in an email convo with one of you, and while I've got it looking suitable, it's not what I'd prefer (indented on both sides and with about two or three spaces of an indent for the paragraphs.)


Hi Sandy,

At the moment, we don't have a timeframe for when Vellum would include better handling for letters. As a workaround, we typically recommend trying a Block Quotation, which will give you a bit of margin on both sides, or a series of Alignment Blocks, which might be preferred if your letter includes dates, signatures, etc. that you want flush left or right. We realize there are limitations to both of those, and so we do have this logged in our database (and with your name on it!).


----------



## WDR

Brad West said:


> Hi Sandy,
> 
> At the moment, we don't have a timeframe for when Vellum would include better handling for letters. As a workaround, we typically recommend trying a Block Quotation, which will give you a bit of margin on both sides, or a series of Alignment Blocks, which might be preferred if your letter includes dates, signatures, etc. that you want flush left or right. We realize there are limitations to both of those, and so we do have this logged in our database (and with your name on it!).


In your word processor, separate the paragraph that will be the "letter" quotation in whatever fashion you prefer. My personal preference is to separate it by double-lining and give it double margins on both sides. I also italicize the letters in the quote. The important thing is that you can find it later when opened in Vellum.

As Brad said above, select the section that will be your embedded letter and have Vellum set it as a block quote. I would take it one step further and reselect the text and then italicize it. This helps to further segregate the embedded letter from the narrative text.

For the brave of heart, you can take this even further. My embedded letter in the original manuscript was set with a handwriting font, to further the notion it was a handwritten letter. If you want this font to appear in your ebook, you will have to embed a font and then adjust the CSS to use that font in your embedded letter. Note: be very careful to only use public domain or open sourced fonts. DO NOT use a licensed font in your ebook! You could get sued for copyright violation if you use someone's proprietary font in your ebook without permission.

Nearly all ebook readers are capable of using a font embedded with the ebook. Make sure you use either a TTF or an OTF file for the font. However, the caveat is that the owner of the ebook reader could have set their own preferences for rendering text and that will override your preferences as the publisher of your book. So, you really need to consider whether or not you want to make the effort.

When Apple Pages outputs to EPUB, you can select "Embed Fonts" in dropdown menu. But if you processed your ebook via Vellum (preferable, trust me!), you can add it by hand. Essentially, you tear open the EPUB file by unzipping it, add the font file, and then edit the CSS file to include the *@font-face* tag and point it to the font file you want to use. You must also add an entry to the EPUB manifest for the font file you are adding to the ebook, otherwise it will fail epubcheck. Once that is done, you re-zip the EPUB file and the preferred font should display when you open the book.

Obviously, the above is not an exhaustive explanation of how you embed the font, but it gives you the gist of it.


----------



## Brad Andalman

TimWLong said:


> Where has Vellum been all my life?


Thanks for your message - we're thrilled that you're enjoying using Vellum! 

And, yes, we've had many discussions about adding more Book Styles as well as introducing an option to generate output for print. These are both very big projects, though, and it is too early to say if/when we'll implement them. That said, it's really helpful to hear from our users, and feedback like this helps us prioritize these features in the future!


----------



## TimWLong

Brad Andalman said:


> Thanks for your message - we're thrilled that you're enjoying using Vellum!
> 
> And, yes, we've had many discussions about adding more Book Styles as well as introducing an option to generate output for print. These are both very big projects, though, and it is too early to say if/when we'll implement them. That said, it's really helpful to hear from our users, and feedback like this helps us prioritize these features in the future!


I'm beginning the arduous process of formatting for CreateSpace and thought, man. If I could just spit out what Vellum created, I'd be set!

My girlfriend owns a publishing company and I just gave her a quick tour of Vellum. I think you are about to have another customer.

-Tim


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change of TOS.


----------



## KaiW

Guys, what's you take on the new rules in relation to not allowing TOC at the back of the Kindle version? I don't use TOCs generally but the software says it automatically puts it in the back for Kindle, which might get some of us in trouble now. How can we workaround it if we don't want TOCs?


----------



## WDR

TimWLong said:


> I'm beginning the arduous process of formatting for CreateSpace and thought, man. If I could just spit out what Vellum created, I'd be set!
> 
> My girlfriend owns a publishing company and I just gave her a quick tour of Vellum. I think you are about to have another customer.
> 
> -Tim


The key thing Vellum would need to output PDF for print is the gutter width. The only way to obtain this is to report to Createspace the number of pages your book would have in print, and then they send you the gutter size to set for your book.

The gutter is the inside margin of a book. It is always larger than the top, bottom, and outside margins because it creates the space needed for the paper of the page to be connected to the spine and still keep the text viewable.

The gutter is calculated based on the thickness of the paper used for print. The more pages you have and the thicker the paper, the thicker the book will be. The thicker the book, then the wider the gutter has to be to keep the narrative text out of the book's fold. Paper thickness varies depending on the production lot of the paper being used. There is always variation from one lot to the next, just like the dyes used to color yarn are always slightly different from one dye lot to the next-if you knit a sweater using two skeins from different dye lots, you will likely have a subtle color shift halfway through. Paper thickness varies depending on what machine was used to create the paper, the humidity of the day it was created, the length of the cellulose fibers from the wood pulp that was collected for the paper production, etc. Lots of variables. Hence, paper thickness varies from lot to lot. Plus, the machines that process the paper to be cut down and bound into your book can create further variation in the thickness. Heck, even you choice of binding will effect the overall thickness of the book itself.

Because of this, you cannot just plug in a constant for the paper thickness or the final thickness of the book. Otherwise, your print could disappear into the book fold or you could consume too much paper and reduce the profitability of printing your book.

This all means creating a print-ready PDF with _Vellum_ would be a two-stage process: first, you have to generate a prototype of your book in PDF to get the number of pages to report to Createspace, and, second, you would then input the gutter requirement sent to you from Createspace to generate the press copy PDF of your book.

You will have to revisit this process on a regular basis to make sure that the PDF file you created for print still falls within specs for printing. Each time Createspace buys a new lot of paper rolls for printing, your book will have to be reformatted to take into account the new paper thickness.

For those of you saying, "I never had to do all this before-," I point out that usually when people upload a DOCX manuscript, Createspace takes care of all this formatting mojo for you. Of course, you don't quite get the look you wanted. If you want carefully crafted chapter headings and ornamentation everywhere, then you will have to give them a PDF to print from.

Where this really becomes important is if you decide rather than use Createspace to print your books you want to use a real book manufacturer, the above becomes critical. Book manufacturers no longer need the specialized folio layouts for printing. They can generate these from a PDF form with their own in-house software. But they still need you to do the final formatting for the print version of your book.


----------



## Gessert Books

There are some other complications as well. With ebook, due to the way they're made, you can get quite far by styling only with semantics (this is a header, this is a blockquote, etc). And most folks understand the structure of their own book, so applying those semantics should be pretty straightforward.

As soon as you introduce pagination or fixed arrangement of elements, though, certain things cannot be styled by semantics alone. Control for widows / orphans / sensible hyphenation and other typographical niceties start to figure in, and web technologies (like HTML / CSS, which live under the hood of your ebook) have not been traditionally good at those.

Then you've got Vellum's ease-of-use, which may be difficult to retain if multiple markup files (your book) or stylesheets (for print vs ebook) are needed. Media queries and JS could hypothetically help with this, but media queries often break ebooks for ADE (nook, kobo, etc), and JS doesn't work at all for ePub2 (the majority of readers on the market). That means you probably cannot have one document flow for both formats, or not a very elegant one anyway.

Vendors like Ingram also require PDF-X1a, which would likely require some cooperation from the author (for instance, only using print-friendly, flattened, high-res images) or fixups in-software (which can cause some nasty surprises). I'm actually not certain how easy it is for non-Adobe software to even generate fully validated PDF-X1a.

Not to mention the plethora of other spec variations there are out there from shop-to-shop. There is practically no limit to what a print shop may ask of you (although there are of course many constants as well). 

Basically such a thing would require wayfinding through three formats (PDF, ePub, and MOBI) that each have a lot of idiosyncracies and one of them (MOBI) can sometimes feel like a moving target. And once you get into the fine-grained detail needed to build a job for print, I feel Vellum would go from automagic wow app to basically a severely crippled InDesign.

I look at tools like LaTeX which have been around for quite a long time, and (to my knowledge) have never had Vellum's ease-of-use, and it makes me think that arranging such a thing is no simple task. I would be very curious to see it, though.


----------



## Brad West

KaiW said:


> Guys, what's you take on the new rules in relation to not allowing TOC at the back of the Kindle version? I don't use TOCs generally but the software says it automatically puts it in the back for Kindle, which might get some of us in trouble now. How can we workaround it if we don't want TOCs?


Hi Kai,

We've posted some answers in that thread:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,232158.msg3234776.html#msg3234776

As we state there, we haven't yet heard from a Vellum user who's been affected by this, but just the same we are discussing revisiting the current set of options.

The Generic EPUB version of your book will give you something with only a logical TOC (the HTML TOC will excluded if you've selected this in your TOC Settings). However, because the Generic EPUB does not include many of the Amazon-specific optimizations we include in the mobi file (tweaks for things like Look Inside, embedded fonts, drop caps, etc.), it is not a solution we would recommend unless you've used very basic style choices in your book.


----------



## KaiW

Brad West said:


> Hi Kai,
> 
> We've posted some answers in that thread:
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,232158.msg3234776.html#msg3234776
> 
> As we state there, we haven't yet heard from a Vellum user who's been affected by this, but just the same we are discussing revisiting the current set of options.
> 
> The Generic EPUB version of your book will give you something with only a logical TOC (the HTML TOC will excluded if you've selected this in your TOC Settings). However, because the Generic EPUB does not include many of the Amazon-specific optimizations we include in the mobi file (tweaks for things like Look Inside, embedded fonts, drop caps, etc.), it is not a solution we would recommend unless you've used very basic style choices in your book.


Thanks so much, you guys are awesome


----------



## WDR

phillipgessert said:


> There are some other complications as well&#8230;


Quite! I was trying to keep my explanation as simple as possible. There are so many small and sniggling little details to preparing text for printing.

Happily, book manufacturers-NOT book _printers_. There is a big difference!-have a lot of tools at their disposal. The manufacturer I am working with is quite fine with a standard PDF. I admit, I was quite surprised when King Printing told me they would work with just a PDF file. Things have really changed since I worked in journalism.

I should note, I am talking strictly about plain old novels. Not picture books, heavily diagramed or illustrated books, photo books, etc. Those kinds of books must be handled differently.


----------



## Jane Killick

I've just got Vellum and enjoying it so far. I just wanted to check on this thorny TOC issue. 

Do I get this right? For Amazon I can either:

1) Put a full TOC at the front

2) Allow Vellum to default to put it at the back (risky according to recent reports)

3) Use generic ePub which doesn't have TOC but also isn't Amazon specific

My preference would be to have a short TOC:
Cover 
Title Page
Novel
Back matter (eg, newsletter)

Or no html TOC at all

My latest novel has 37 chapters and inside the front page I have

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Etc etc

Which isn't so great. 

Would welcome advice.


----------



## Brad Andalman

We know that many authors are concerned about Amazon's recent policy change that affects books that include a Table of Contents at the end. To address this, we've just released an update to Vellum that no longer offers this as an option.

Please read the full details here: Kindle eBooks and the Table of Contents

KaiW: Hopefully this works for you! We think it is a better answer than using Vellum's Generic EPUB.

Jane Killick: If, even after you update, you'd still prefer to have a short TOC at the beginning of your book, you could explore using a Volume element to group your chapters. Then, you can use Vellum's TOC Settings to hide those chapters. Of course, this does introduce another "page" into your book, but we thought it was a workaround worth mentioning.


----------



## Alan Petersen

You guys (Vellum) rock!

After all the ballyhoo about Amazon and the TOC placement, I fired up the software to move the TOC from the back to the front matter and was greeted with an update that was already addressing this issue. Now that's what I call keeping on top of industry changes!


----------



## Jane Killick

Brad Andalman said:


> Jane Killick: If, even after you update, you'd still prefer to have a short TOC at the beginning of your book, you could explore using a Volume element to group your chapters. Then, you can use Vellum's TOC Settings to hide those chapters. Of course, this does introduce another "page" into your book, but we thought it was a workaround worth mentioning.


Just got your email this morning and wanted to thank you for your swift response to this issue. Especially as I know that altering software is not always as quick and easy as it may appear to those of us on the outside. I have downloaded the update.

I will look at this workaround and see what I think compared with the whole 37 chapter TOC at the beginning. I wish I knew which option was best, but then this is something for authors and Amazon to decide, not yourselves.


----------



## csrbm

Help please!

I purchased Vellum and used it to reformat 7 out of 8 of my books a month ago. All of a sudden, the KDP on-line previewer isn't working for those books. It works on the book that I did not format with Vellum. 

If I try to preview any of my books before I publish them, I get the error message:

PROBLEM IN PREVIEWER!
We are having problems communicating with the server. Please try again.
BOOK DETAILS                REFRESH


I have tried it on several computers. The books that I upload with Vellum generate that error. They are on Amazon currently and have generated zero complaints. This behavior just started. Is anyone else having this issue?

Thank you.


----------



## TaraCrescent

Yeah, this happened to me too in the last week. The books are fine - and load fine on Amazon, just doesn't seem to work on the previewer.


----------



## Brad Andalman

csrbm said:


> Help please!
> 
> I purchased Vellum and used it to reformat 7 out of 8 of my books a month ago. All of a sudden, the on-line previewer isn't working for those books. It works on the book that I did not format.


This issue was first brought to our attention last week, and we assumed (based on the error message) that Amazon's servers were just being overloaded. Yesterday, we noticed that many (but not all) of our Vellum-generated books - even ones that used to work fine in the online Previewer - generate this error.

We think that this is probably still an issue with Amazon, and we have no reason to believe that just because the KDP online Previewer fails that your eBooks will have an issue once they are published, but we are treating this very seriously and looking into it right now.

Update: We are still looking into this to see whether we can find a workaround, but if this is happening to you, we'd appreciate it if you could report this to Amazon as it appears to be their issue. Thanks!


----------



## KaiW

Brad Andalman said:


> We know that many authors are concerned about Amazon's recent policy change that affects books that include a Table of Contents at the end. To address this, we've just released an update to Vellum that no longer offers this as an option.
> 
> Please read the full details here: Kindle eBooks and the Table of Contents
> 
> KaiW: Hopefully this works for you! We think it is a better answer than using Vellum's Generic EPUB.
> 
> Jane Killick: If, even after you update, you'd still prefer to have a short TOC at the beginning of your book, you could explore using a Volume element to group your chapters. Then, you can use Vellum's TOC Settings to hide those chapters. Of course, this does introduce another "page" into your book, but we thought it was a workaround worth mentioning.


Wow, talk about on the ball! Thanks so much, I really wish you guys ran Amazon....


----------



## KeraEmory

Aha, I thought I was losing my mind. The KDP previewer stopped working for me a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was just broken. 

The books seem fine on download, but yes, something is breaking their previewer.


----------



## Alan Petersen

KeraEmory said:


> Aha, I thought I was losing my mind. The KDP previewer stopped working for me a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was just broken.
> 
> The books seem fine on download, but yes, something is breaking their previewer.


 Is that the "Look Inside" or something else?


----------



## Brad West

Alan Petersen said:


> Is that the "Look Inside" or something else?


This is the "Online Previewer" available for use after you upload your content file to the KDP Bookshelf (Step 7).

As far as we can tell so far, the bug is only in this Online Previewer: Look Inside does not seem to be affected. But we are actively looking into this now and will provide more details as we're able to find them.


----------



## KeraEmory

Brad West said:


> This is the "Online Previewer" available for use after you upload your content file to the KDP Bookshelf (Step 7).
> 
> As far as we can tell so far, the bug is only in this Online Previewer: Look Inside does not seem to be affected. But we are actively looking into this now and will provide more details as we're able to find them.


Hey Brad, just wanted to give some more details of my situation in case any of it helps.

I'm a recent Vellum purchaser (probably less than a month ago). My novel was originally written in Pages, and the KDP Previewer had worked as expected with Pages' epub output. I'm now 99% sure that I started having problems with the Previewer after I migrated my text to Vellum.

Stuff that may be relevant:

--I removed all of Pages' formatting and let Vellum build the TOC. 
--I have very little 'active' front/back matter (two web links and a twitter link)
--But I DO have the "Created by Vellum" tag on 
--The 'broken' behavior of the Previewer is usually that it'll load the TOC but nothing else. Once in a while I've been able to get a page or two one direction or another. Sometimes it just times out.
--The brokenness is not platform dependent, or at least not between Windows and OSX.

I'd posted about the previewer problem a few times in other threads, but people were kind of, 'yeah it never works'. But it had gone from working 100% of the time for me (if slowly) to working 0% of the time.

If you'd like, I'd be happy to forward you a copy of a Vellum-outputted .mobi that, as least as recently as last week, wouldn't work in the previewer for me.


----------



## Brad West

csrbm said:


> I purchased Vellum and used it to reformat 7 out of 8 of my books a month ago. All of a sudden, the KDP on-line previewer isn't working for those books.


After some investigation, we've found that the KDP Online Previewer is no longer able to handle some of the device-specific styling code (CSS) that is used in many eBooks created with Vellum. The full details can be found here:
http://blog.180g.co/2016/03/problems-with-kdp-online-previewer/

As we state there (and as you saw as well), the Online Previewer seemed to handle this just fine until around a week ago. And again, as far as we can tell, this bug is only in the KDP Previewer. Readers who download your book or use Look Inside should not be affected.

Unfortunately, we don't have a good way to work around this bug without affecting how books are seen by readers. We've reported the issue to KDP, and would encourage any one experiencing it to do the same.

In the meantime, we recommend previewing your book using the suggestions in our guide to Proofing Your eBook.

Thanks to all who reported this.


----------



## Peter Spenser

Brad West said:


> As we state there (and as you saw as well), the Online Previewer seemed to handle this just fine until around a week ago. And again, as far as we can tell, this bug is only in the KDP Previewer.


You and everyone need to be very clear concerning what is being spoken about. In the passage above you say "Online Previewer" and then the non-specific and confusing "KDP Previewer."

Confusing because KDP also offers an app that you download to your computer to test your book there. That one is the "Downloadable Previewer." If you're going to use a Previewer, that's the one to use.

The bug is reported to be with the Online Previewer. That this should happen is no surprise to those of us in the formatting business. We have, for _years_, told self-publishers to *never* trust, or even _use_, the Online Previewer. It has *never* been good enough to use for any true evaluation of the formatting of your book.

Those of us who never use it (and that should be everyone) will not be affected by the bug.


----------



## WDR

For what it's worth, I never relied on the online previewer. Instead, I load my ebooks directly into the ebook reader as my key QA test. As long as it works correctly in the designated hardware, it's good to go.


----------



## Alan Petersen

WDR said:


> For what it's worth, I never relied on the online previewer. Instead, I load my ebooks directly into the ebook reader as my key QA test. As long as it works correctly in the designated hardware, it's good to go.


 That's would I do. I send the file to my Kindle, computer, and mobile devices. If it looks good in all those places, I'm ready to rock n roll.


----------



## WDR

I think the primary need for the KDP preview application is to test ebooks that were generated from uploaded DOC files. This is one of the methods by which Amazon generated ebooks, was by providing a service through which authors could have Amazon do the ebook conversion rather than work it out themselves.

Today, where writing software can output EPUB files and now Vellum can generate optimized ebooks, the KDP preview has less usability.

To the Brads: I did try uploading a test file and run it through the KDP Preview. As expected, it failed as noted above. Just consider that yet another piece of data to cover the issue. The same file, loaded manually into my Kindle, displays flawlessly.

That strongly suggests that the issue lies with Amazon's Preview program. As I mentioned above, I think the best practice is to test your files by manually loading them into your devices before sending them out. I think I would even suggest that as a feature for Vellum: to load a completed ebook onto whatever ebook reading device is attached to the computer. Whether a feature in Vellum or not, I strongly urge all authors to manually load files into their ebook readers as a matter of practice. This way, should someone wish to buy an ebook directly from you, you will be able to accurately instruct that person how to properly load your ebook in their reader.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

It can take a little kludging, but it's really worth sorting out the offline previewer.


----------



## Mare

I'm considering buying Vellum and had a question about an ebook that I've already published on Amazon. I used one of Joel Freidlander's ( may not be correct spelling ) templates. I'm very pleased with the print book, but not with the ebook. My question—can I put the copy in the template into Vellum? My reason for asking about the template copy is because I've made corrections on that copy and not on the original.

Sorry if this is a dumb question.


----------



## Brad West

Mare said:


> I'm considering buying Vellum and had a question about an ebook that I've already published on Amazon. I used one of Joel Freidlander's ( may not be correct spelling ) templates. I'm very pleased with the print book, but not with the ebook. My question-can I put the copy in the template into Vellum? My reason for asking about the template copy is because I've made corrections on that copy and not on the original.


Hi Mare,

While we don't have any direct experience with Joel's templates, we don't see why you wouldn't be able to import a Word file that uses them. Just take your Word file and drag it onto the Vellum icon to import it (you don't have to make a purchase to do so).

More details about importing can be found here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/importing/

If things don't go quite as expected, feel free to contact us via email (where you can attach the docx file, if necessary).

Hope that helps.


----------



## Mare

Brad West said:


> Hi Mare,
> 
> While we don't have any direct experience with Joel's templates, we don't see why you wouldn't be able to import a Word file that uses them. Just take your Word file and drag it onto the Vellum icon to import it (you don't have to make a purchase to do so).
> 
> More details about importing can be found here:
> http://help.180g.co/vellum/importing/
> 
> If things don't go quite as expected, feel free to contact us via email (where you can attach the docx file, if necessary).
> 
> Hope that helps.


Thanks a lot! There's a trial download? Where did I miss that?


----------



## Alan Petersen

Mare said:


> I'm considering buying Vellum and had a question about an ebook that I've already published on Amazon. I used one of Joel Freidlander's ( may not be correct spelling ) templates. I'm very pleased with the print book, but not with the ebook. My question-can I put the copy in the template into Vellum? My reason for asking about the template copy is because I've made corrections on that copy and not on the original.
> 
> Sorry if this is a dumb question.


I had a Word doc that was formatted by someone else (not one of Joel's templates) and I imported it into Vellum and out came a pretty e-book version.


----------



## Dan Weber

WDR said:


> The key thing Vellum would need to output PDF for print is the gutter width. The only way to obtain this is to report to Createspace the number of pages your book would have in print, and then they send you the gutter size to set for your book.
> 
> The gutter is the inside margin of a book. It is always larger than the top, bottom, and outside margins because it creates the space needed for the paper of the page to be connected to the spine and still keep the text viewable.
> 
> The gutter is calculated based on the thickness of the paper used for print. The more pages you have and the thicker the paper, the thicker the book will be. The thicker the book, then the wider the gutter has to be to keep the narrative text out of the book's fold. Paper thickness varies depending on the production lot of the paper being used. There is always variation from one lot to the next, just like the dyes used to color yarn are always slightly different from one dye lot to the next-if you knit a sweater using two skeins from different dye lots, you will likely have a subtle color shift halfway through. Paper thickness varies depending on what machine was used to create the paper, the humidity of the day it was created, the length of the cellulose fibers from the wood pulp that was collected for the paper production, etc. Lots of variables. Hence, paper thickness varies from lot to lot. Plus, the machines that process the paper to be cut down and bound into your book can create further variation in the thickness. Heck, even you choice of binding will effect the overall thickness of the book itself.
> 
> Because of this, you cannot just plug in a constant for the paper thickness or the final thickness of the book. Otherwise, your print could disappear into the book fold or you could consume too much paper and reduce the profitability of printing your book.
> 
> This all means creating a print-ready PDF with _Vellum_ would be a two-stage process: first, you have to generate a prototype of your book in PDF to get the number of pages to report to Createspace, and, second, you would then input the gutter requirement sent to you from Createspace to generate the press copy PDF of your book.
> 
> You will have to revisit this process on a regular basis to make sure that the PDF file you created for print still falls within specs for printing. Each time Createspace buys a new lot of paper rolls for printing, your book will have to be reformatted to take into account the new paper thickness.
> 
> For those of you saying, "I never had to do all this before-," I point out that usually when people upload a DOCX manuscript, Createspace takes care of all this formatting mojo for you. Of course, you don't quite get the look you wanted. If you want carefully crafted chapter headings and ornamentation everywhere, then you will have to give them a PDF to print from.
> 
> Where this really becomes important is if you decide rather than use Createspace to print your books you want to use a real book manufacturer, the above becomes critical. Book manufacturers no longer need the specialized folio layouts for printing. They can generate these from a PDF form with their own in-house software. But they still need you to do the final formatting for the print version of your book.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Mare

Alan Petersen said:


> I had a Word doc that was formatted by someone else (not one of Joel's templates) and I imported it into Vellum and out came a pretty e-book version.


Glad it worked for you. I had the same question about downloading an already formatted book-I just got it on and It looks good too! I didn't like my ebook from Joel's templates. It probably had nothing to do with the template-probably the person using it. But it looks great now!

And thanks, Bob, that worked!


----------



## Brevoort

Brad West said:


> While we don't have any direct experience with Joel's templates, we don't see why you wouldn't be able to import a Word file that uses them. Just take your Word file and drag it onto the Vellum icon to import it


Good to hear this. I have a couple of his non-fiction templates and had thought I might have to abandon them. I'll play around in Vellum and see what happens.


----------



## Brad West

Brevoort said:


> Good to hear this. I have a couple of his non-fiction templates and had thought I might have to abandon them. I'll play around in Vellum and see what happens.


Just to clarify, Vellum only imports the _content_ of a Word document and, other than character formatting (like bold/italic), only references style for the sake of identifying chapters and text features like block quotes, etc.

So when we say that Vellum should import a Word file that uses one of these templates, we mean that the template shouldn't cause any problems. The styling you see in Vellum, however, won't look anything like it did in Word.

Maybe you got that, but just wanted to be sure.


----------



## Mare

Brad West said:


> Just to clarify, Vellum only imports the _content_ of a Word document and, other than character formatting (like bold/italic), only references style for the sake of identifying chapters and text features like block quotes, etc.
> 
> So when we say that Vellum should import a Word file that uses one of these templates, we mean that the template shouldn't cause any problems. The styling you see in Vellum, however, won't look anything like it did in Word.
> 
> Maybe you got that, but just wanted to be sure.


I just know I'm happy so far with what I'm seeing. My books are all fiction, that may make a difference?


----------



## Brad West

Mare said:


> I just know I'm happy so far with what I'm seeing. My books are all fiction, that may make a difference?


Well, that's the important part! Glad to hear it. Vellum is perhaps a bit more suited to fiction, but we know authors use Vellum for plenty of non-fiction books as well.


----------



## WDR

Brad West said:


> Vellum is perhaps a bit more suited to fiction, but we know authors use Vellum for plenty of non-fiction books as well.


I'll be putting Vellum to the test next month while my book is in editing; I'm generating the ebook version of a protocol manual for a non-profit group.

For education:

Software other than Vellum (e.g. Apple _Pages_, Microsoft _Word_, and others) cue off the headings to determine whether there is a new chapter or sub-section appearing in a book. A *TITLE* Heading (H1 in HTML) is taken as a chapter heading. A *HEADING 2* (H2 in HTML) would be taken as a section heading, and then H3, H4, etc. would be taken as sub-sections.

While prose narrative in fiction as generally only presented in chapters, most technical manuals break the chapters into sections and sub-sections (ex. "_3.4.2 Receiving Dignitaries From Other Jurisdictions_").

There are some technical manuals that are so meticulously sectioned that the table of contents is faster to reference than the index. ("I've got high-ranked officers arriving tonight, so Chapter 3, Guests, section 4 Officers, sub-section 2, From Other jurisdictions.")

I could generate this directly out of _Pages_ as I've done in the past, but it will require me to open the resulting EPUB and manually make adjustments to the formatting to get it correct. It's a lot of work. I'm hoping that _Vellum_ will make this a little easier.

What Vellum does is take your text and squeeze out an EPUB (or MOBI). It DOES make my life much easier. But when you start adding new minutiae to the mix, it makes it harder to create a program that can adjust to different paradigms.

I will say this much: tech manuals are harder to produce for ebooks than fiction prose, and tech manuals don't present well on ebook readers. I'm assuming this will bring Vellum to its knees on this upcoming project. But as long as Vellum can get me close, I can make the CSS adjustments from there to tweak it into shape for use. (I hope)


----------



## Peter Spenser

WDR said:


> I could generate this directly out of _Pages_ as I've done in the past, but it will require me to open the resulting EPUB and manually make adjustments to the formatting to get it correct. It's a lot of work. I'm hoping that _Vellum_ will make this a little easier.


If you start with a well-designed template, cranking out tech manuals in Pages is super easy, without requiring a lot of internal adjustment, and they pass EPUB verification. On the other hand, if I wanted to make a book only for KDP, I would use Microsoft Word and Calibre. It is an unbeatable combination for multi-sub-heading volumes.

The only thing that then has to be tweaked in the code are the levels in the display of the Table of Contents. Nobody seems to create a conversion program that does more than 2 levels. A tech manual can easily need 4 or more. All of the devices will display that many (I tested my Kindle and my iPad with 6 and they were both fine) so I'm not sure why the app writers don't let the apps do it.


----------



## Mare

Has anyone else had a problem getting files to import into Vellum? I've read all the help topics, but I must be missing something. I changed my file to .doxt and tried dragging it in, but it wouldn't stay. I went to file and clicked open, it was on my desktop, but was grayed out to where I couldn't select the file.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## Mare

Never mind … I got it and I'm too embarrassed to say what I was doing. 

I can sleep tonight.


----------



## Aero

Brad West said:


> Well, that's the important part! Glad to hear it. Vellum is perhaps a bit more suited to fiction, but we know authors use Vellum for plenty of non-fiction books as well.


I'm using it for a book with about 50 images and the epub is working OK on my iPad, but the mobi file is moving the images to the right hand side of my kindle paperwhite (newest) and about 3-4% of the image is cut off now on the right hand side, it's like there is some huge left hand margin? I dragged/dropped the images into vellum, they are set to the largest size and not to go to the next page and no formatting set on them, no header, they have a caption. Wish I could figure this out, or have some option to make them fullscreen (it does work to go to the fullscreen when i double tap on the image, if that was the default it would be dreamy).

edit: I removed the captions and it looks "normal" now on my kindle...


----------



## Brad West

Aero said:


> I'm using it for a book with about 50 images and the epub is working OK on my iPad, but the mobi file is moving the images to the right hand side of my kindle paperwhite (newest) and about 3-4% of the image is cut off now on the right hand side, it's like there is some huge left hand margin? I dragged/dropped the images into vellum, they are set to the largest size and not to go to the next page and no formatting set on them, no header, they have a caption. Wish I could figure this out, or have some option to make them fullscreen (it does work to go to the fullscreen when i double tap on the image, if that was the default it would be dreamy).
> 
> edit: I removed the captions and it looks "normal" now on my kindle...


Hi Aero,

Is your image taller than it is wide? It could be that, at the largest size, the Kindle is not able to fit the image and caption onto one page, and making a surprising layout choice in response. Do things work better if you pick a smaller one (e.g. "Large" instead of "Full")?

If not, or you'd like us to take a closer look, could you please send your book (or just a chapter with one of the problematic images) to us via email ([email protected])?

Thanks.

ETA: The Kindle Voyage and 3rd generation Paperwhite have a bug displaying images of this size. We made changes to our output to work around this issue with Vellum 1.3.7.


----------



## Aero

Brad West said:


> Hi Aero,
> 
> Is your image taller than it is wide? It could be that, at the largest size, the Kindle is not able to fit the image and caption onto one page, and making a surprising layout choice in response. Do things work better if you pick a smaller one (e.g. "Large" instead of "Full")?
> 
> If not, or you'd like us to take a closer look, could you please send your book (or just a chapter with one of the problematic images) to us via email ([email protected])?
> 
> Thanks.


Something weird is going on with it haha. Setting to large did not help. I've sent over the mobi, epub and one of the image files.


----------



## WDR

Peter Spenser said:


> If you start with a well-designed template, cranking out tech manuals in Pages is super easy, without requiring a lot of internal adjustment, and they pass EPUB verification. On the other hand, if I wanted to make a book only for KDP, I would use Microsoft Word and Calibre. It is an unbeatable combination for multi-sub-heading volumes.


Unfortunately, the manual has already been written and formatted. My goal is to have the ebook mirror the printed version as closely as possible. Happily, _Pages_ does a good job at maintaining the rules of conversion; the first version I converted worked well. Now there is a new edition and I'm looking to put _Vellum_ through the paces to see how well it handles multiple levels of sub-sections in the chapters. It's been doing a terrific job with prose fiction, it'll be interesting to see how it handles technical writing.



Peter Spenser said:


> The only thing that then has to be tweaked in the code are the levels in the display of the Table of Contents. Nobody seems to create a conversion program that does more than 2 levels. A tech manual can easily need 4 or more. All of the devices will display that many (I tested my Kindle and my iPad with 6 and they were both fine) so I'm not sure why the app writers don't let the apps do it.


Ooo-! This gets me going on a whole other subject: the lack on _REAL_ *novel* writing software!

<SOAPBOX>
Apple's _Pages_ and Microsoft's venerable _Word_ are excellent programs...for writing business documents. They are not well-optimized for writing novels. (_Word_ succeeds more than _Pages_, due to formatting preferences that _Pages_ does not have, such as setting the gutter.)

There are a couple of programs that have been created to address this issue. But one is so hideously complex, I can't even open a window that I can use to actually _write_ something with it! The other, requires a web subscription-sorry, I don't pay for software that can only be used when I have an internet connection. And I don't rent. Often I find myself in places where there is no internet. The third is a good program that is optimized for writing large documents (e.g., novels) but it cannot export DOCX for Vellum to use or even to EPUB. Worse, cut-and-paste from the program doesn't copy the styles in the text. No, italics or other formatting will carry through.

Above all: nothing should get in the way of writing! Status windows, alerts, document information, and everything else should not block the author's view of what is being written. Even to the point of silencing operating system alerts when the program determines the author is in flow state due to the pace of writing.
</SOAPBOX>

I've determined the only way I'm going to get a program like this is to write it myself. Everyone else will have to wait until I get more time to learn how to write a program in Swift&#8230;


----------



## Leanne King

Have you tried Ulysses? Ulysses and Vellum are a perfect match.


----------



## Peter Spenser

WDR said:


> Apple's _Pages_ and Microsoft's venerable _Word_ are excellent programs... for writing business documents. They are not well-optimized for writing novels.


Well, I will disagree with you there (I'm having no trouble with novels on Pages), but I'll save that for some other time. My real question is below:



WDR said:


> _Word_ succeeds more than _Pages_, due to formatting preferences that _Pages_ does not have, such as setting the gutter.


Maybe it's early and I'm slow. Why can't you use the "Inside margin" setting to allow for the gutter?

I have always found the "Gutter" setting to be more of a convenience rather than a necessity. It's there, for example, so a person can take a document that is already formatted for "loose pages" distribution and quickly set it for perhaps multiple "bound pages" situations without re-doing (possibly) several settings. We once had a large report that was sent out as "unstapled loose pages" (can you believe it?) to the great unwashed, "tape bound" to the mid-level managers, and "case bound" (hardback) to the upper echelon. That was easy to do with a changeable gutter setting. It's also convenient when going from a hardback printing of a book to a paperback printing.

For a self-published printed book, though, a person is not going to have to do that for multiple versions. They will need to set the "Inside" and "Outside" margins just once, and the "Inside" one can account for the needed gutter space.


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## WDR

Peter Spenser said:


> Well, I will disagree with you there (I'm having no trouble with novels on Pages), but I'll save that for some other time. My real question is below:
> 
> Maybe it's early and I'm slow. Why can't you use the "Inside margin" setting to allow for the gutter?


Pages 4 still has the Inside Margin setting, Pages 5 does not. (If Apple has returned inside margins to 5, I am unaware of the change.)

Apple did add multiple columns to Pages 5, which they incorrectly label the space between columns as the "gutter." In typesetting, spacing between columns on the same page is referred to as an _alley_. The reason for the confusion is that the alley is a type of gutter-in this aspect, Apple is technically correct. In newsletters, where the inside margin has little importance, differentiating between the two is not necessary. But in large-scale printing such as newspapers, magazines, and books, the difference becomes increasingly important.

For the record, I am using Pages 4 to write my manuscripts.

When I want to output the text to generate the ebook files, I open the manuscript in Pages 5 and output to DOCX for Vellum. When I want to generate the PDF for printing, I use Pages 4 to set the inner margins and then print to PDF. (Note: because of changes in the file structure, you can only go from 4 to 5. You cannot go from 5 to 4.)


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## Jane Killick

Just formatting one of my complicated books with Vellum. Here's where I got stuck. I hope you can help:

1) Block Quote: Looks great, but after each quote, Vellum begins the next paragraph as if it were a new section. Sometimes it's not supposed to be a new section! (sometimes it is, and for those places I have used an ornamental break) For example, I have characters watching TV, the Prime Minister comes on and gives a speech -- I put it in block quote -- then the characters turn off the TV and talk about what he's said. It's a continuous scene, but Vellum doesn't think so. I'm using a drop cap for the opening of a new section, so this looks really odd. I tried turning the first paragraph after the quote into a Flush Left style, which works, but then Vellum turns the second paragraph into a section start. 

2) Vellum Attribution: Looks great at the end of the quote, but I wanted to put some of these at the top. For example, as a headline from a newspaper cutting. But when I put this style above the block quote, the words just disappear. They don't appear in the ebook at all! I can't put a newspaper heading at the bottom! Will I just have to use a normal paragraph style / include the heading in the block quote?

3) Title page / series title: My book has a title, a subtitle and a series title (Mind Secrets: A Science Fiction Telepathy Thriller. Perceivers #1). Vellum styles are: Vellum Book Title, Vellum Book Subtitle, Vellum Author. I thought I would just use the subtitle style for both the subtitle and the series title, but when I do this the second line disappears. It seems that Vellum will only allow one line to be a subtitle. What do I do with my series title?

4) Publisher logo: When invited to put in my publisher logo, I did so. But there is no space to put in the name of the publisher, as I normally do with my logo on the title page of the paperback. So, at the moment, I have the title page with a picture of a little elephant underneath (for Elly Books), which looks a bit odd. Is the only way to get around this including the words in the image file?
To be honest, I'll probably just leave this bit out and put the Elly Books logo in the back matter, as the cute elephant doesn't really convey the style of the story! (I chose the logo because of the penguin on Penguin books -- which never do them any harm! -- and also I love elephants!). But I thought I would mention it.

It would be great if you could give me some advice on the above. The block quote thing is the biggest issue for me. My original formatting had to resort to putting these passages into italics and some of them are longish, so I would prefer to have an indent style. In the paperback, I was able to use an indent and a different font, an option which isn't available in an ebook.

Thanks!


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## Jane Killick

Jane Killick said:


> 2) Vellum Attribution: Looks great at the end of the quote, but I wanted to put some of these at the top. For example, as a headline from a newspaper cutting. But when I put this style above the block quote, the words just disappear. They don't appear in the ebook at all! I can't put a newspaper heading at the bottom! Will I just have to use a normal paragraph style / include the heading in the block quote?


After more investigation, I have discovered that the Vellum Subheading works best to achieve this. So you probably don't have to answer this one. But the disappearing text made me freak out a bit!



Jane Killick said:


> 3) Title page / series title:


I've looked up other people's work and see that they put the title and series title on the same line, so I've done that.



Jane Killick said:


> Publisher logo ... I'll probably just leave this bit out and put the Elly Books logo in the back matter


Actually, that doesn't work because Vellum won't allow an image small enough for a logo. I'll probably have to leave it out.

*Can I also ask...*
Is there anyway I can make some of the block quotes imported into Vellum italic? I want to distinguish the block quotes which are cuttings from newspapers etc (italics) from block quotes which are memories of the past (non-italic). I can do this within Vellum, was just concerned about wiping out changes if I decide to re-upload from word. Thanks!


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## Peter Spenser

Jane Killick said:


> 4) Publisher logo: When invited to put in my publisher logo, I did so. But there is no space to put in the name of the publisher, as I normally do with my logo on the title page of the paperback.


I discussed this privately months ago with the folks at Vellum because I want the same as you. The decision was made by them to make it an "either/or" design choice, to which I strongly disagreed. My conclusion is that their engineers won out over the needs and wants of actual graphic designers.

My solution (which I have not implemented yet, though I foresee no problems) is to combine the code from the two choices that Vellum offers. That way the logo and the publisher name will appear together.

Admittedly, this is a solution that is do-able only by codeheads, but it _is_ a solution. Either the EPUB2 or the EPUB3 code that Vellum generates (or both) would have to be unzipped and rewritten, but that is a relatively trivial matter. It would be more difficult to operate on the Kindle file that Vellum generates, so I don't recommend it. KDP accepts both kinds of EPUB files anyway, and they convert well, so there's no need.

On another subject... I think that they also were too quick to jump from version 1.3.5 to the version of 1.3.6 that they did, where they removed the option of having a visible (HTML) Table of Contents in the back of the book, especially since, according to a clarification by Amazon, that is not really a problem. It must be remembered that Amazon is not our only outlet for Kindle books. There are a fair number of authors who sell from their own websites and other non-Amazon outlets. Surely, we, as Vellum users, are technical enough to click or not click a choice box that results in what type of Table of Contents our book has and where we want it to end up.

The solution would then have been:

*Do you want a visible (HTML) Table of Contents:*

_In the front?
At the end?
Not at all?_


----------



## Brad Andalman

Jane Killick said:


> 1) Block Quote: Looks great, but after each quote, Vellum begins the next paragraph as if it were a new section. Sometimes it's not supposed to be a new section! (sometimes it is, and for those places I have used an ornamental break) For example, I have characters watching TV, the Prime Minister comes on and gives a speech -- I put it in block quote -- then the characters turn off the TV and talk about what he's said. It's a continuous scene, but Vellum doesn't think so. I'm using a drop cap for the opening of a new section, so this looks really odd. I tried turning the first paragraph after the quote into a Flush Left style, which works, but then Vellum turns the second paragraph into a section start.


It sounds like you have an empty paragraph after your block quote which is causing the Paragraph After Break Style (which, in your case, is using a drop cap) to be applied. If the text after the block quote doesn't begin a new section, remove that empty line, and that style will no longer be applied.



Jane Killick said:


> 2) Vellum Attribution: Looks great at the end of the quote, but I wanted to put some of these at the top. For example, as a headline from a newspaper cutting. But when I put this style above the block quote, the words just disappear. They don't appear in the ebook at all! I can't put a newspaper heading at the bottom! Will I just have to use a normal paragraph style / include the heading in the block quote?


As you've already figured out, Subhead is probably the best for this kind of thing. We're not exactly sure how you were able to get the "words to disappear" though. Feel free to email ([email protected]) the steps you took, and we can take a look at this.



Jane Killick said:


> 4) Publisher logo: When invited to put in my publisher logo, I did so. But there is no space to put in the name of the publisher, as I normally do with my logo on the title page of the paperback. So, at the moment, I have the title page with a picture of a little elephant underneath (for Elly Books), which looks a bit odd. Is the only way to get around this including the words in the image file?
> To be honest, I'll probably just leave this bit out and put the Elly Books logo in the back matter, as the cute elephant doesn't really convey the style of the story! (I chose the logo because of the penguin on Penguin books -- which never do them any harm! -- and also I love elephants!). But I thought I would mention it.


We found that most publishers who wanted to include a logo also included a logotype as part of the image. So, yes, if your logo doesn't include the text you'd like, you can simply include the words in the image file.



Jane Killick said:


> *Can I also ask...*
> Is there anyway I can make some of the block quotes imported into Vellum italic? I want to distinguish the block quotes which are cuttings from newspapers etc (italics) from block quotes which are memories of the past (non-italic). I can do this within Vellum, was just concerned about wiping out changes if I decide to re-upload from word. Thanks!


In your Word document, if your block quotes use a style named Vellum Block Quote, then they will be imported into Vellum as block quotes. You can then apply italics to the desired block quotes in Word, and everything should import as you expect.

Hope that helps!


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## Jane Killick

HI Brad, thanks so much for your swift response



Brad Andalman said:


> It sounds like you have an empty paragraph after your block quote which is causing the Paragraph After Break Style (which, in your case, is using a drop cap) to be applied. If the text after the block quote doesn't begin a new section, remove that empty line, and that style will no longer be applied.


This works apart from two one instances in the manuscript where it absolutely refuses to work. There is no line space between the block quote and the next paragraph, and yet Vellum decides it's a new section.



Brad Andalman said:


> In your Word document, if your block quotes use a style named Vellum Block Quote, then they will be imported into Vellum as block quotes. You can then apply italics to the desired block quotes in Word, and everything should import as you expect.


This does not work at all. All the block quotes with italic applied revert to non-italic when imported into Vellum. I've tried re-applying italics in word, but it still won't import.

I'm going to have to email you the file. It will be there in 15mins.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Jane Killick said:


> This works apart from two one instances in the manuscript where it absolutely refuses to work. There is no line space between the block quote and the next paragraph, and yet Vellum decides it's a new section.


In case people following along are interested, the reason that Vellum was applying a drop cap to the paragraph after the block quote is because the block quote appeared at the beginning of the chapter. Vellum skips block quote content when it determines the first "real" text of a chapter. This allows authors to introduce their chapters with a short quote, for example, while still using the drop cap for their main text.



Jane Killick said:


> This does not work at all. All the block quotes with italic applied revert to non-italic when imported into Vellum. I've tried re-applying italics in word, but it still won't import.


This wasn't working because the italics were applied using a Character Style rather than, say, by using the "I" button. The good news is that this is fixed in our latest update to Vellum, which was just released today! You can read more about this fix, and others, here on our blog: Vellum 1.3.7



Peter Spenser said:


> On another subject... I think that they also were too quick to jump from version 1.3.5 to the version of 1.3.6 that they did, where they removed the option of having a visible (HTML) Table of Contents in the back of the book, especially since, according to a clarification by Amazon, that is not really a problem. It must be remembered that Amazon is not our only outlet for Kindle books. There are a fair number of authors who sell from their own websites and other non-Amazon outlets. Surely, we, as Vellum users, are technical enough to click or not click a choice box that results in what type of Table of Contents our book has and where we want it to end up.


Admittedly, we did hurry to release Vellum 1.3.6. Since we heard that books were being removed from sale because of rear TOCs, we thought it best to act as fast as possible. That said, for all other platforms, Vellum has only ever allowed authors to choose whether to include the TOC at the beginning. We made an exception for Kindle books because of our interpretation of Amazon's Kindle Guidelines. When it became clear that not having an html TOC was a valid (and possibly preferred option), we chose to make the Kindle platform consistent with the others. Since there was a lot of noise around this issue at the time, we've decided to wait and see how everything plays out before considering adding more placement options for the html TOC.


----------



## Jane Killick

Just popping in to say that Brad helped me solve my main issues (go, Brad! as the Americans say ... )

The one instance with an unexpected beginning section paragraph was because there was a stray line break BEFORE the block quote. So Vellum thought the block quote began a new section and adopted the first paragraph style on the next paragraph which it found after the block quote. (It wasn't at the beginning of a chapter). Deleting that rogue line sorted it.

My italics issue has been fixed by the recent update. I initially used a character style to create the (short) blocks of italics and this was where the problem lied. All fixed now.

The other things I can live with. Yes, I could go into the code and change stuff (I've hand-coded books before; took _forever_), but I buy software to do all that stuff for me, plus I could always accidentally screw up the code. The problem is with software unleashed on the masses (as I've found also with my website theme software) is that the more options you give people, the less simple the software becomes. There is always going to be a compromise between options and simplicity.

I would like to thank Brad for his swift responses to my queries both here and in email. Great customer service.


----------



## Joseph John

Is it possible to do multi-line attribution for quotes? For example:

"Life was solitary, poor, brutish, and short. And it would get worse."

_- The Eighth Day_
Joseph John


----------



## Brad Andalman

Joseph John said:


> Is it possible to do multi-line attribution for quotes? For example:
> 
> "Life was solitary, poor, brutish, and short. And it would get worse."
> 
> _- The Eighth Day_
> Joseph John


Unfortunately, Vellum doesn't support multi-line attributions at this time. This is something we may address in the future but, for now, you'd have to keep it all on one line (e.g. "The Eighth Day by Joseph John").


----------



## anotherpage

Joseph John said:


> Is it possible to do multi-line attribution for quotes? For example:
> 
> "Life was solitary, poor, brutish, and short. And it would get worse."
> 
> _- The Eighth Day_
> Joseph John


Just place a COMMA between

The Eighth Day, Joseph John


----------



## Word Fan

One of the features that you, Brad, mention in your recent 1.3.7 update is:

*• Vellum will now prompt you to save an unsaved file before generating*

I was upset at that because I don't want Vellum to do that. Rather, I don't mind _too_ much if I'm asked if I want (or not) to save my file before generating, but I don't want to be _required_ to do so.

As it happens, with my computer (I use OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks) neither of those things occur. I can still generate an unsaved file, the same as I always have. I like this because I often will experiment with different Vellum settings and then check the generated e-book to see how it looks using one of the apps on my computer. Then I can quickly and easily go back to the last saved version upon which I had performed no experiments. Yes, I know that the Vellum Preview is quite good but _*nothing*_ beats actual field testing of the file.

So, my request is that you make that action (if you insist upon having it) a prompt with a choice rather than a requirement.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Word Fan said:


> One of the features that you, Brad, mention in your recent 1.3.7 update is:
> 
> *• Vellum will now prompt you to save an unsaved file before generating*
> 
> I was upset at that because I don't want Vellum to do that. Rather, I don't mind _too_ much if I'm asked if I want (or not) to save my file before generating, but I don't want to be _required_ to do so.


Good news! We value the same workflow you described, so saving definitely isn't required before you generate. When you first attempt to generate from an unsaved Vellum file, you'll see the following dialog:










If you don't want to save, then you can just hit the "Continue without Saving" button.

Also, this dialog will only appear if you've _never_ saved your Vellum document. It won't appear if you only have unsaved changes.

Hope that clarifies things!


----------



## KeraEmory

I have what MAY be a weird workflow (not sure) and based on other problems I'm having, I suspect this is Apple's/iBooks's fault, not Vellum, just wanted to see if it's just me.

My workflow is to generate my files to a DropBox folder, then open the various files from there on various devices for editing. For example, generate on Mac, open up DropBox app on iPad, pull up the iBooks epub, "Open With ..." iBooks. I've been working this way for a long time, and continued once I bought Vellum. In the last couple of days, possibly since the last iOS update, when I do this now, iBooks no longer displays the correct cover image and instead shows the generic one-color title page. It doesn't seem to be doing this on my normal OS X (El Capitan) desktop iBooks app. (iBooks also stopped syncing my highlights/notes across devices after some recent updates, so I'm generally blaming them for all of it.)


----------



## Brad West

KeraEmory said:


> I have what MAY be a weird workflow (not sure) and based on other problems I'm having, I suspect this is Apple's/iBooks's fault, not Vellum, just wanted to see if it's just me.
> 
> My workflow is to generate my files to a DropBox folder, then open the various files from there on various devices for editing. For example, generate on Mac, open up DropBox app on iPad, pull up the iBooks epub, "Open With ..." iBooks. I've been working this way for a long time, and continued once I bought Vellum. In the last couple of days, possibly since the last iOS update, when I do this now, iBooks no longer displays the correct cover image and instead shows the generic one-color title page. It doesn't seem to be doing this on my normal OS X (El Capitan) desktop iBooks app. (iBooks also stopped syncing my highlights/notes across devices after some recent updates, so I'm generally blaming them for all of it.)


Hi Kera,

That doesn't sound like a weird workflow at all. We pretty much do the same thing for testing.

For what it's worth, we don't see this issue (using iBooks in iOS 9.3.1). The cover image can sometimes take a second to appear, but it does always seem to make it. If you have several versions of the same book in your Library, you might want to try deleting them all to see if that helps.

If nothing seems to help and you just want to be sure there's nothing wrong with your book, you're welcome to email it to us and we can check it (and also test what happens when we load it in iBooks).


----------



## KeraEmory

Brad--thanks, good to know that what I'm doing is at least a valid flow for side-loading. If I can't sort it out I'll send you guys some test epubs. Only noticed in the last two days and haven't had time for brute force.


----------



## Brad West

KeraEmory said:


> Brad--thanks, good to know that what I'm doing is at least a valid flow for side-loading.


For iBooks, it's definitely a valid workflow.

For Kindle, you've got to jump some hoops to keep the KF8 formatting from being dropped when side-loading onto iOS. Our full set of recommendations, which includes using Dropbox for iBooks, is here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/proofing/


----------



## KeraEmory

Got a new weird, but possibly harmless problem. (My iBooks cover issue sorted itself out.)

After a reinstall of OSX and Vellum, some of the chapter names of one of my books show up as semi-gibberish *in the previewer only*. The generated books look fine.

Screenshot:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvyzoyriy7hc32e/Screenshot%202016-04-11%2014.41.55.png?dl=0

Doesn't seem to affect anything but the chapter headings in preview mode. Doesn't seem to affect the other Vellum files I'm working with.


----------



## Brad West

KeraEmory said:


> After a reinstall of OSX and Vellum, some of the chapter names of one of my books show up as semi-gibberish *in the previewer only*. The generated books look fine.
> 
> Screenshot:
> 
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvyzoyriy7hc32e/Screenshot%202016-04-11%2014.41.55.png?dl=0
> 
> Doesn't seem to affect anything but the chapter headings in preview mode. Doesn't seem to affect the other Vellum files I'm working with.


Hi Kera,

We've (very) recently seen this with OS X 10.11.4, the latest version of OS X El Capitan. For some reason, the font used by the Sudo style is rendered in Vellum's Preview as gibberish.

We received the first report of this over the weekend, and so we don't yet have a solid answer for why this is happening or how to work around it. In some cases, things display as expected after a reboot, but it isn't guaranteed.

As you saw, though, only the Preview is affected, so your books should be fine. We'll post an update when we're able to find a more dependable workaround.

ETA: We addressed this with Vellum 1.3.8


----------



## KeraEmory

Brad West said:


> Hi Kera,
> 
> We've (very) recently seen this with OS X 10.11.4, the latest version of OS X El Capitan. For some reason, the font used by the Sudo style is rendered in Vellum's Preview as gibberish.
> 
> We received the first report of this over the weekend, and so we don't yet have a solid answer for why this is happening or how to work around it. In some cases, things display as expected after a reboot, but it isn't guaranteed.
> 
> As you saw, though, only the Preview is affected, so your books should be fine. We'll post an update when we're able to find a more dependable workaround.


Heh, how bizarrely random. Thanks for the fast response!


----------



## jenncrowell

OK, just read this entire thread and am so impressed by the Brads and Vellum that I'm downloading it right now! Even upgraded my Mac OS to do so.


----------



## Bbates024

So I'm putting together my first box set. I created the separate volumes and moved the Vellum files I already created for the separate books into the volumes. Under each volume, it created a part, but all of them say part one. Is there any way to change the second book to part 2 and the third to part three?


----------



## Brad West

Bbates024 said:


> So I'm putting together my first box set. I created the separate volumes and moved the Vellum files I already created for the separate books into the volumes. Under each volume, it created a part, but all of them say part one. Is there any way to change the second book to part 2 and the third to part three?


Hi Bradford,

If you have Parts within books that span multiple Volumes (e.g. Volume 1 ends with Part 3, Volume 2 starts with Part 4), you can change whether the numbering resets at each Volume using Table of Contents Settings:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/toc/#presentation

Specifically, you'd want to turn off *Numbering* / *Reset across:* / *Volumes*.

However, if I'm reading this correctly, it sounds like maybe your box set has both a Part and a Volume for each book. In other words, a structure that looks like:


Code:


Volume 1
  Part 1
    Chapter 1
    Chapter 2
    ...
Volume 2
  Part 1
    Chapter 1
    Chapter 2
    ...

You may not need those additional Parts, and instead just have a structure like:


Code:


Volume 1
  Chapter 1
  Chapter 2
  ...
Volume 2
  Chapter 1
  Chapter 2
  ...

If so, you can move each set of Chapters to be nested directly within its owning Volume, and then remove the Part. Examples of rearranging elements and Box Set structures can be found on our Box Set help page, here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/box-sets/

Hope that helps.


----------



## Bbates024

Awesome I'm going to play with now but I think that gives me the answer that I needed.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

For me this question only pertains to mobis for Kindle, but I'd be curious about other formats too.

How do Vellum's initial drop caps render on a device that can't manage them? Say an original Kindle. Also what happens to small caps in the same situation?


----------



## Brad Andalman

ellenoc said:


> For me this question only pertains to mobis for Kindle, but I'd be curious about other formats too.
> 
> How do Vellum's initial drop caps render on a device that can't manage them? Say an original Kindle. Also what happens to small caps in the same situation?


An original Kindle is only capable of displaying Amazon's older MOBI7 format. As a result, more advanced formatting features like dropcaps and small caps will just render as regular text. You can read more about the differences between MOBI7 and Amazon's newer format (KF on our Kindle Formats help page.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Brad Andalman said:


> * * * more advanced formatting features like dropcaps and small caps will just render as regular text * * *
> 
> Hope that helps!


It does. So long as they revert to regular text and don't turn into gobbledegook, it's good.


----------



## WDR

ellenoc said:


> It does. So long as they revert to regular text and don't turn into gobbledegook, it's good.


Fear not. If a browser cannot render the provided CSS, it just defaults to regular text. So there won't be any gibberish.


----------



## GirlWriter

Hi there. Is there a way to change the font type in Vellum? 
For a particular scene I have a hand written letter and would like to use a font that mimics handwriting. 

Thanks!


----------



## Brad Andalman

Erica Alexander said:


> Hi there. Is there a way to change the font type in Vellum?
> For a particular scene I have a hand written letter and would like to use a font that mimics handwriting.


Hi Erica,

Currently, there is no way to add a custom font in Vellum. This is something we've considered, but for a few reasons (both aesthetic and technical - font licensing for eBooks can be tricky!), we haven't made this a priority.

We do know that some authors like to use the Block Quote text feature for these sorts of things. Though it won't change your font face, it will serve to distinguish the letter from the rest of your text.

Sorry we don't have a better answer for you, but we hope that helps!


----------



## Monique

Would it be possible for her to create the letter as an image and embed it? Assuming it's not a long letter, I guess.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Monique said:


> Would it be possible for her to create the letter as an image and embed it? Assuming it's not a long letter, I guess.


That is a possible workaround, but it's not one we really recommend. Even if the letter isn't long, an image can be difficult to read (especially on smaller devices or devices with lower resolutions), it won't show up when a reader searches for text, and its font size won't change if the reader changes to a larger or smaller size.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change of TOS.


----------



## Brad West

Rickie Blair said:


> I'm having a problem with a box set. There doesn't seem to be any way to add a cover image for the first book (although I can do it for books 2 and 3). The section where you should put in the image just isn't there.
> But worse, when I click on that title in the ToC, it takes me to a blank page. Clicking on the other two titles in the ToC takes me to a cover page for each.
> Is there a way to fix this? Or should I start over?


Hi Rickie,

It sounds like that Volume page is all set up for a cover image (it's likely blank because the Heading has been marked hidden). You can add the cover by just dragging an image into the Text Editor there. As with any other inline image, it will start a bit smaller than you'll likely want for a cover. To match the other cover images in your box set, edit the image properties to use the *Full* size and be *Freestanding* (so it doesn't receive any effects like drop shadows, etc.). e.g. something like this:








​
If for some reason that doesn't work, you can just re-add that volume to your box set. If you've already formatted the individual volume as a Vellum file, Vellum will prompt you to set up the cover after you drop it in, as seen here:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/box-sets/#adding-books

(Though it sounds like that's how you set up your other books.)

Hope that helps.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Thanks, Brad! That worked perfectly.


----------



## M.W. Griffith

Hello,
For some reason, the app won't allow me to add any store links to my Also by page.  No matter what I try, the feature 'Web link and 'Store link' are greyed out.  Any suggestions?


----------



## Brad Andalman

M.W. Griffith said:


> Hello,
> For some reason, the app won't allow me to add any store links to my Also by page. No matter what I try, the feature 'Web link and 'Store link' are greyed out. Any suggestions?


The Web Link and Store Link menu items should be active in the Text Feature menu when your focus is in the Text Editor (i.e. when you have clicked in the Text Editor and can see the cursor blinking).

However, if you've selected text that partially contains other links, or if your cursor/selection is immediately before/after another link, then those menu items will be grayed out. This is to prevent creation of links that are ambiguous. Basically, Vellum tries to prevent you from creating two links that abut one another, since it will be impossible to know where one ends and the other begins.

If that doesn't solve your problem, please email us at [email protected] and we can try to debug further!


----------



## M.W. Griffith

Brad Andalman said:


> The Web Link and Store Link menu items should be active in the Text Feature menu when your focus is in the Text Editor (i.e. when you have clicked in the Text Editor and can see the cursor blinking).
> 
> However, if you've selected text that partially contains other links, or if your cursor/selection is immediately before/after another link, then those menu items will be grayed out. This is to prevent creation of links that are ambiguous. Basically, Vellum tries to prevent you from creating two links that abut one another, since it will be impossible to know where one ends and the other begins.
> 
> If that doesn't solve your problem, please email us at [email protected] and we can try to debug further!


It's working now, thank you!


----------



## M.W. Griffith

Hmm.  I'm getting complaints that the book, when first downloaded, opens at the end of the table of contents instead of the first chapter.  Is there some way to fix that?


----------



## Brad Andalman

M.W. Griffith said:


> Hmm. I'm getting complaints that the book, when first downloaded, opens at the end of the table of contents instead of the first chapter. Is there some way to fix that?


If you are using the Send to Kindle feature or if you are testing the Preview mobi downloaded from your KDP dashboard, then sometimes this can happen. For some reason, Amazon modifies the start page in these versions, and does not respect the one set by Vellum. We've never seen this issue with the final, published eBook, however.

We have more details here, on our Start Page help doc:
http://help.180g.co/vellum/start-page/#amazon

If you are receiving complaints about your published eBook, though, please get in touch with us over email ([email protected]) so we can investigate further!


----------



## Diane Patterson

I am formatting my first book with Vellum and I have zero idea what I did to cause this...

I have 9 Chapters of my novel, plus a Copyright page (set to Copyright page), an About the Author page (ditto), a sneak peek of the next story (set to Chapter but not numbered...)

When I view the book in iBooks, I can see the TOC Vellum generated for me, and it has all of the chapters, including the Copyright, etc. However, touching the TOC links for anything except the main chapters of the book doesn't work. i can't skip ahead to the bonus chapter or About the Author or anything.

Also, when I look at the iBooks generated TOC (the button in the header), I only get the Title Page plus the nine chapters of the novel. None of the other chapters.

Now, I do have something weird with my iBooks -- it keeps telling me that I have a much older version of the book in my collection, even though I don't. (I have Deleted it, repeatedly. I have synced with iTunes and double-checked it's not there. I can't open this book. It's just...there.) So maybe this "ghost" book is fouling up my current version of the book. 

Have you seen this before? Can you help me?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Diane Patterson said:


> I am formatting my first book with Vellum and I have zero idea what I did to cause this...
> 
> I have 9 Chapters of my novel, plus a Copyright page (set to Copyright page), an About the Author page (ditto), a sneak peek of the next story (set to Chapter but not numbered...)
> 
> When I view the book in iBooks, I can see the TOC Vellum generated for me, and it has all of the chapters, including the Copyright, etc. However, touching the TOC links for anything except the main chapters of the book doesn't work. i can't skip ahead to the bonus chapter or About the Author or anything.
> 
> Also, when I look at the iBooks generated TOC (the button in the header), I only get the Title Page plus the nine chapters of the novel. None of the other chapters.
> 
> Now, I do have something weird with my iBooks -- it keeps telling me that I have a much older version of the book in my collection, even though I don't. (I have Deleted it, repeatedly. I have synced with iTunes and double-checked it's not there. I can't open this book. It's just...there.) So maybe this "ghost" book is fouling up my current version of the book.
> 
> Have you seen this before? Can you help me?


Hi Diane,

We haven't seen this before, but we'd be happy to take a look. Can you send us an email with your iBooks EPUB (to [email protected])? As soon as we get it, we'll investigate.


----------



## Abalone

If you guys made a Windows version, I'd be happy to pay $100 more than the Apple version, and I'm sure others would too.


----------



## pdeddy

I'm having a similar problem as Diane. The book is beautiful, but the cover isn't embedded (this is a minor issue), and it doesn't matter whether I choose to show the TOC in the front of the book or not, there is no TOC available from my various devices (in terms of using the Kindle's "go to" menu). 

I sent the Vellum file to a friend who also has Vellum and she opened the file, generated the ebooks, and both of those issues went away. I've reinstalled Vellum and created a brand new book file with a fresh import of a different Word doc and the problem persists. So it's something having to do with my install. 

El Capitan on an older MacBook Pro. My next step is to wipe the MacBook and reinstall everything.


----------



## Brad Andalman

pdeddy said:


> I'm having a similar problem as Diane. The book is beautiful, but the cover isn't embedded (this is a minor issue), and it doesn't matter whether I choose to show the TOC in the front of the book or not, there is no TOC available from my various devices (in terms of using the Kindle's "go to" menu).
> 
> I sent the Vellum file to a friend who also has Vellum and she opened the file, generated the ebooks, and both of those issues went away. I've reinstalled Vellum and created a brand new book file with a fresh import of a different Word doc and the problem persists. So it's something having to do with my install.
> 
> El Capitan on an older MacBook Pro. My next step is to wipe the MacBook and reinstall everything.


Please don't wipe your MacBook and reinstall everything! That's a lot of work and, ultimately, probably won't solve anything.

Instead, could you tell us a little more about how you are transferring your mobi file to your device (and what device you're using)? It would also be really useful to see the mobi file that Vellum generated. If you could email us at [email protected] with that information, we'd really appreciate. And then we can continue to debug over email!


----------



## pdeddy

Well, the mac is running a little slow. But I do agree that I'd rather not do that. I'll email when I get home tonight. But this issue happens no matter how I transfer the .mobi to the device (email, just double-clicking and opening directly, USB) and it happens on all of my various kindle devices (Android, Windows, Paperwhite, Mac). The TOC is missing in the Kobo file as well. I'm assuming it's also missing in the iBooks epub, but I haven't ventured down that publishing/testing path yet.

I can also pick apart the epub and see what's missing.

Thank you for the quick reply. I do love the program. Even with this little hiccup.


----------



## Brad Andalman

pdeddy said:


> Well, the mac is running a little slow. But I do agree that I'd rather not do that. I'll email when I get home tonight. But this issue happens no matter how I transfer the .mobi to the device (email, just double-clicking and opening directly, USB) and it happens on all of my various kindle devices (Android, Windows, Paperwhite, Mac). The TOC is missing in the Kobo file as well. I'm assuming it's also missing in the iBooks epub, but I haven't ventured down that publishing/testing path yet.
> 
> I can also pick apart the epub and see what's missing.
> 
> Thank you for the quick reply. I do love the program. Even with this little hiccup.


Interesting. When you get home tonight, please email us your Vellum file (instructions here: http://help.180g.co/vellum/tips/#emailing) as well as the mobi and Kobo files that you generated. That should be enough for us to figure out what's going on.


----------



## Diane Patterson

pdeddy said:


> I'm having a similar problem as Diane.


What I did, btw, after back and forth with Brad^2, was create a new, empty Vellum file and transfer the text over. It didn't take long and whatever issue I was having with the iOS version of the book's TOC and non-book chapters went away.


----------



## pdeddy

Diane Patterson said:


> What I did, btw, after back and forth with Brad^2, was create a new, empty Vellum file and transfer the text over. It didn't take long and whatever issue I was having with the iOS version of the book's TOC and non-book chapters went away.


Thanks, Diane. I ended up not being able to get to my computer last night, but I'll try that before I email Brad tonight.


----------



## Brad Andalman

pdeddy said:


> Thanks, Diane. I ended up not being able to get to my computer last night, but I'll try that before I email Brad tonight.


Diane's problem, as far as we could tell, seemed to be an issue with iBooks sync. The Vellum-generated epub looked fine, but something was happening when it was being downloaded to her devices from iCloud. We think that creating a new Vellum document changed the resulting epub enough that it enabled iCloud to re-sync.

Based on your description, this doesn't sound like it's happening to you. Of course, you're more than welcome to try! And, who knows, it might fix your issue as well (though probably for a different reason).

Before you do that test though, it would be great to see your Vellum document and generated eBooks, so we can make sure that everything looks good!


----------



## Brad Andalman

pdeddy said:


> But this issue [of the missing TOC] happens no matter how I transfer the .mobi to the device (email, just double-clicking and opening directly, USB) and it happens on all of my various kindle devices (Android, Windows, Paperwhite, Mac). The TOC is missing in the Kobo file as well. I'm assuming it's also missing in the iBooks epub, but I haven't ventured down that publishing/testing path yet.


We just wanted to follow up here to say that pdeddy's issue was not the same as Diane's. The reason the TOC wasn't appearing in the mobi was because of a very old kindlegen installation (version 2.7, from late 2012). The most recent version of kindlegen (version 2.9, from late 2014) doesn't have this problem, and will generate mobi files properly.

So, pdeddy, it turns out that wiping your hard drive would have fixed this issue!  We recommend a slightly simpler solution though: remove this old version of kindlegen from your Applications folder, and then let Vellum walk you through its own kindlegen installation.

The Kobo file, however, looks fine. It has a TOC, which you can see if you load it into iBooks (you'll want to avoid Adobe Digital Editions, which won't show the TOC correctly). If you still don't see the TOC, please email us and let us know how you are proofing your Kobo epub.


----------



## Mare

Need help figuring out what happened. When I clicked 'Generate', everything went as expected until I tried to open the Kindle .mobi file and it opened to something that had nothing to do with my book. All the other files were fine, just the Kindle file… any ideas?


----------



## Brad West

Mare said:


> Need help figuring out what happened. When I clicked 'Generate', everything went as expected until I tried to open the Kindle .mobi file and it opened to something that had nothing to do with my book. All the other files were fine, just the Kindle file&#8230; any ideas?


Hi Mare,

We've responded to your email and included instructions for installing the Kindle app for Mac and, if necessary, how to instruct your Mac to use the Kindle app to open mobi files.


----------



## Mare

Brad West said:


> Hi Mare,
> 
> We've responded to your email and included instructions for installing the Kindle app for Mac and, if necessary, how to instruct your Mac to use the Kindle app to open mobi files.


Got it, Thanks, guys!


----------



## BookwormT

Sorry for not reading this whole thread first if this was asked before.

I just used Vellum to format an epub and put it on my Kobo ereader to check the file. There are these tiny little page numbers on every page (even the dedication) and it's super distracting. How do I turn these off so the file I generate doesn't have them? It doesn't show them in the preview. 

ETA: I'm not seeing the "Numbered" option that I can uncheck on the main menu or the settings tab at the top corner of each section. 

Thanks!


----------



## Brad Andalman

BookwormT said:


> Sorry for not reading this whole thread first if this was asked before.
> 
> I just used Vellum to format an epub and put it on my Kobo ereader to check the file. There are these tiny little page numbers on every page (even the dedication) and it's super distracting. How do I turn these off so the file I generate doesn't have them? It doesn't show them in the preview.
> 
> ETA: I'm not seeing the "Numbered" option that I can uncheck on the main menu or the settings tab at the top corner of each section.
> 
> Thanks!


Vellum does not add page numbers to your eBooks - this is left completely up to the eReader. We don't know what Kobo device you are using, but perhaps you can locate a preference or setting on your device that turns off "page numbering"?


----------



## BookwormT

Brad Andalman said:


> Vellum does not add page numbers to your eBooks - this is left completely up to the eReader. We don't know what Kobo device you are using, but perhaps you can locate a preference or setting on your device that turns off "page numbering"?


Oh my goodness, I am an idiot. That was the issue, thank you so much! I've never used Vellum before but the Kobo is also new, so I assumed I had messed up the file.

Thank you so much for your quick response. Vellum is awesome and I'm never going back.


----------



## mach 5

This may be the 20,000th request, but if you can find a way to have this export a PDF using createspace margins with what we want in place for the page headers and footers, we would love you and I would throw extra money at you.


----------



## A.C Louis

Vellum is simply great. As an e-book newbie, I struggled a lot with creating e-books with images. I really liked how Vellum tells you what's the recommended image size for better display in all e-readers. 

As for the design options, I wish it was actually "more than a dozen" options as advertised at first. I can only see like five design options.  It would be awesome if you could roll up your own.


----------



## Brad Andalman

A.C Louis said:


> Vellum is simply great. As an e-book newbie, I struggled a lot with creating e-books with images. I really liked how Vellum tells you what's the recommended image size for better display in all e-readers.
> 
> As for the design options, I wish it was actually "more than a dozen" options as advertised at first. I can only see like five design options.  It would be awesome if you could roll up your own.


Hi A.C.,

Vellum has eight Book Styles, each of which has different options for headings. Since you can change your ornamental breaks, first paragraph style, etc., you have "dozens" (if not more!  ) of style options to choose from. Hope that clarifies things.

And we're thrilled that you continue to enjoy using Vellum!

Best,
Brad


----------



## FMH

Chiming in here - All my books are done with Vellum and I LOVE VELLUM. 

So easy to fix/update backmatter and regenerate new books. 

I also make copies, add a warning disclaimer about copyright laws when gifting ARCs - but it's not in my main books. (normal copyright is)

Plus, the pretty pages... how I love the pretty pages. 

I'm such a loyalist I now keep the "Made with Vellum" button on just to help other authors make pretty books, too.


----------



## WDR

mach 5 said:


> This may be the 20,000th request, but if you can find a way to have this export a PDF using createspace margins with what we want in place for the page headers and footers, we would love you and I would throw extra money at you.


Currently, _Vellum_ does not generate "for print" formatted documents. So, you'll have to set that up with your writing software.

_Word_ allows fine tuning of the margins, including the gutter (inside-margin) which is all important for print. Apple's _Pages 5_ does not. _Pages 4_ *does* allow setting the gutter. It was left out of _5_ because they [Apple] were trying to retool _Pages_ so it would work on both a Mac and an iPad (and iPhone for that matter). This is similar to what Apple did with their video-editing software, _Final Cut_, with the promise that removed features would return in a future version. _Final Cut_ finally got those dropped features returned. _Pages 5_ has not.

Right now, most writing software is optimized for creating business documents, not narrative prose. We just have to make do.


----------



## mach 5

WDR said:


> Currently, _Vellum_ does not generate "for print" formatted documents. So, you'll have to set that up with your writing software.
> 
> _Word_ allows fine tuning of the margins,... Apple's _Pages 5_ does not. ...
> 
> Right now, most writing software is optimized for creating business documents, not narrative prose. We just have to make do.


Yep, I've got my 10 or so print versions up using a word template but I won't write in word. I was a long-time super user of it and had to use it back on the day job pretty much all day long. My concern with word is "artifacts" (my term -- ghost would also describe it) that can appear whenever you don't start with a completely virgin, unformatted document.

Anyway, I'm excited to get Vellum and I would just be orgasmic if it, or a second program that could read my vellum file, would let me put in my book size and spit out a PDF ready for upload to Createspace.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Brad, I have a weird request.

You'll know that Amazon is cracking down on people who have affiliate links in ebooks, and Vellum offers precisely this option without warning. I want to use it, but... I want to feed the Amazon people through my website first.

So, my question: I'd like the option to specify "website link" or "store link" per retailer without having to make a gazillion Vellum files. So forex Apple is not being stupid about affiliate links, and it's OK to include it, but for Amazon I want people to go through my website. I might also use this capability to enter six different non-store links that eventually end up at the relevant store so I can track where my sales are coming from.


----------



## WDR

Patty Jansen said:


> Brad, I have a weird request.
> 
> You'll know that Amazon is cracking down on people who have affiliate links in ebooks, and Vellum offers precisely this option without warning. I want to use it, but... I want to feed the Amazon people through my website first.
> 
> So, my question: I'd like the option to specify "website link" or "store link" per retailer without having to make a gazillion Vellum files. So forex Apple is not being stupid about affiliate links, and it's OK to include it, but for Amazon I want people to go through my website. I might also use this capability to enter six different non-store links that eventually end up at the relevant store so I can track where my sales are coming from.


Hm&#8230; Patty, I think you need to be a little clearer on your request. Amazon has no problems with authors or publishers having their corporate website in their own book. They just don't want you putting links to buy books from other retailers such as Apple, B&N, or Kobo. (Which makes sense, of course.)


----------



## Patty Jansen

WDR said:


> Hm&#8230; Patty, I think you need to be a little clearer on your request. Amazon has no problems with authors or publishers having their corporate website in their own book. They just don't want you putting links to buy books from other retailers such as Apple, B&N, or Kobo. (Which makes sense, of course.)


Sorry, this has absolutely zero to do what I'm talking about. I think anyone who is a frequent reader of the forum will be familiar with the Pixel of Ink/ Fussy Librarian saga and other crackdowns by Amazon over affiliate links in emails and books. Vellum offers the option to automatically append an affiliate tag to the link to the next volume in the book. With my non-Vellum formatted books, I route the Amazon links through a page on my website, but Vellum only offers the "store links" (one for each store, identified by their store ID) or "website link" (one URL only for each hyperlink, typically a website). I'd love the option to manually enter a URL for a store link for some stores but use the auto function for others.


----------



## ThrillerWriter

Patty Jansen said:


> Sorry, this has absolutely zero to do what I'm talking about. I think anyone who is a frequent reader of the forum will be familiar with the Pixel of Ink/ Fussy Librarian saga and other crackdowns by Amazon over affiliate links in emails and books. Vellum offers the option to automatically append an affiliate tag to the link to the next volume in the book. With my non-Vellum formatted books, I route the Amazon links through a page on my website, but Vellum only offers the "store links" (one for each store, identified by their store ID) or "website link" (one URL only for each hyperlink, typically a website). I'd love the option to manually enter a URL for a store link for some stores but use the auto function for others.


Just create the links. Use the unique ID for which stores you need. Title before the link: for these retailers, B and N, etc. Then, below, put for Amazon click here. Add the link. Only one file needed.


----------



## Patty Jansen

David Beers said:


> Just create the links. Use the unique ID for which stores you need. Title before the link: for these retailers, B and N, etc. Then, below, put for Amazon click here. Add the link. Only one file needed.


You still don't understand what I'm saying. I know this. I'm talking about affiliates.


----------



## ThrillerWriter

Patty Jansen said:


> You still don't understand what I'm saying. I know this. I'm talking about affiliates.


Perhaps explain it better then. We're trying to help. But if no one understands, probably not our fault.


----------



## Patty Jansen

David Beers said:


> Perhaps explain it better then. We're trying to help. But if no one understands, probably not our fault.


I have explained it. I want Brad to comment on whether they're going to offer that option because it's not available. I don't want help. I want his position on Vellum's capability to add Amazon's affiliate tags while it's against Amazon Affiliate's TOS. That is all. I know that what I want is not possible right now without creating at least two files.

People who have and regularly use affiliate accounts will understand this. I have addressed Brad. I thought it would be good to have his stance on the matter here.


----------



## ThrillerWriter

Patty Jansen said:


> I have explained it. I want Brad to comment on whether they're going to offer that option because it's not available. I don't want help. I want his position on Vellum's capability to add Amazon's affiliate tags while it's against Amazon Affiliate's TOS. That is all. I know that what I want is not possible right now without creating at least two files.
> 
> People who have and regularly use affiliate accounts will understand this. I have addressed Brad. I thought it would be good to have his stance on the matter here.


Oh, Patty, your posts are always good for a smile.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Patty Jansen said:


> I want his position on Vellum's capability to add Amazon's affiliate tags while it's against Amazon Affiliate's TOS.


Hi Patty,

The imprecise language in Amazon's Affiliate terms has always made this a gray area, as have conflicting reports from authors and their reps. Given that, and given that this is an agreement between individuals and Amazon, we don't think it would be responsible of us to even try to give a definitive answer for whether use of affiliate codes in eBooks violates Amazon's terms.

If you'd rather, you can remove your Amazon affiliate code (if you added one) from Vellum's preferences. And you can use a custom URL, rather than an Amazon ASIN, in your Store Links. This way, you can route your Kindle readers to a manually entered URL, and you don't have to create multiple Vellum files. We even have a brief description of how to do this in the Custom Links section of our Store Links help page.

Hope that helps!
Brad


----------



## Patty Jansen

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Patty,
> 
> The imprecise language in Amazon's Affiliate terms has always made this a gray area, as have conflicting reports from authors and their reps. Given that, and given that this is an agreement between individuals and Amazon, we don't think it would be responsible of us to even try to give a definitive answer for whether use of affiliate codes in eBooks violates Amazon's terms.
> 
> If you'd rather, you can remove your Amazon affiliate code (if you added one) from Vellum's preferences. And you can use a custom URL, rather than an Amazon ASIN, in your Store Links. This way, you can route your Kindle readers to a manually entered URL, and you don't have to create multiple Vellum files. We even have a brief description of how to do this in the Custom Links section of our Store Links help page.
> 
> Hope that helps!
> Brad


Awesome!

This has always been a grey area. Amazon has recently started cracking down on this. I will be putting special links in those fields. Most of the program is fairly intuitive, but it's not immediately obvious that you can do this.


----------



## vws

Wow you can put custom links in the store links not just the Store identifier? Awesome going to go try that myself


----------



## Anarchist

RobCornell said:


> I so desperately need a Mac.


Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.

Once you go Vellum, you'll never go... uh... hmm... smell him? Propel him? Undersell him? Crap.

Anyway, Vellum is awesome. So is the support.


----------



## Gone Girl

We miss you, Harvey Chute.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Anarchist said:


> Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.





CarlaBaku said:


> A lovely little circular back door workaround for someone like me, who is a diehard PC user and wasn't about to spend a bunch of money for a third laptop.


I don't consider myself a diehard PC user, but I got a MacBook Pro just for Scrivener and Vellum. I tried Scrivener on it a few times and went back to my Windows laptop for Scrivener. I will use the MacBook for Vellum, since I have to, but some of us do march to different drummers and don't fall just in love with Macs.


----------



## MKK

Anarchist said:


> Once you go Vellum, you'll never go... uh... hmm... smell him? Propel him? Undersell him? Crap.


Once you go Vellum, you just wanna tell'em...

I'm not a poet..and I know it.


----------



## ThrillerWriter

Boyd said:


> I still want a Print On Demand .pdf option. It's the only way Reedsy Editor is going to free their way past Vellum.... and I gladly paid for Vellum.


Wow. Didn't know about this. Thanks!


----------



## David Penny

Hi - are there any plans to support the new Enhanced Text features on the Kindle and Page Flip through Vellum? Or is this a function of KindleGen and needs updating there?


----------



## Brad West

David Penny said:


> Hi - are there any plans to support the new Enhanced Text features on the Kindle and Page Flip through Vellum? Or is this a function of KindleGen and needs updating there?


First, I should say that, because Amazon hasn't released much in the way of documentation about Enhanced Typesetting or about Page Flip, this is mostly based on our own experiences and observations.

Enhanced Typesetting results from a conversion that happens at Amazon, after you upload. You don't have to do anything special to request it (nor can you request that it be disabled). If Amazon is able to convert your eBook to Enhanced Typesetting, they will generally do so.

We have found that Amazon is unable to convert many eBooks created with Vellum to Enhanced Typesetting. Given some of the early problems with Enhanced Typesetting, some of our users have actually called this out as a _feature_, and have wondered if it has been something intentional on Vellum's part.

It hasn't been intentional. Rather, we have found that Enhanced Typesetting (KFX) simply can't handle all of the formatting that Amazon's KF8 format can. For example, Vellum uses SVG images for ornaments and for social media icons. SVGs look great at any resolution, and don't suffer from the problem of white rectangle borders when using night mode. That makes them a good choice for eBooks, especially as displays on e-readers continue to improve. SVGs are explicitly supported in KF8, and therefore work on almost all Kindles. But, at least as of now, an SVG in an eBook prevents conversion to KFX / Enhanced Typesetting.

We've seen a few places mention that Page Flip only works for books with Enhanced Typesetting, and that does seem to be the case for some of the books we've examined. So it would seem that, in order for Page Flip to work on a Vellum eBook, Amazon will have to improve its Enhanced Typesetting conversion to handle more KF8-supported features like SVG images.

If Amazon chooses not to make any further improvements to its conversion, and features like Page Flip become important to readers, then we will have to consider downgrading the formatting in Vellum for the sake of Enhanced Typesetting. That's obviously not the route we'd prefer.


----------



## Peter Spenser

Brad West said:


> If Amazon chooses not to make any further improvements to its conversion, and features like Page Flip become important to readers, then we will have to consider downgrading the formatting in Vellum for the sake of Enhanced Typesetting. That's obviously not the route we'd prefer.


If memory serves me correctly, there have been dozens (hundreds?) of authors and readers who have _complained_ about Enhanced Typesetting rather than rave about it. Page Flip does not float my boat. I don't need it. Yes, Bookerly is a nice typeface, but I don't want to lose those great SVG images (with no "night mode" white rectangular borders) just to keep Bookerly.

So, you Vellum guys, keep doing what you're doing. Remember that Amazon is not the only place where your e-book files end up. Other vendors can handle them just fine. If Amazon is truly so concerned about "good user experience" they will eventually get KFX to work as well as KF8. (Personally, I think that they should just jump straight over to EPUB and be done with it. EPUB3 can do phenomenal stuff, so much so that some vendor devices can't handle it yet, but they're getting there.) There is no reason for you, and us along with you, to go backwards in the quality of your formatting.

Vellum books have always been known for their elegant styling and layout, and that was true before Enhanced Typesetting was even around. They will continue to be without it.


----------



## David Penny

Peter Spenser said:


> If memory serves me correctly, there have been dozens (hundreds?) of authors and readers who have _complained_ about Enhanced Typesetting rather than rave about it. Page Flip does not float my boat. I don't need it. Yes, Bookerly is a nice typeface, but I don't want to lose those great SVG images (with no "night mode" white rectangular borders) just to keep Bookerly.


Thanks Brad - great response.


----------



## GirlWriter

Is there a way to set a book to open to the cover instead of the prequel or first chapter when formatting it in Vellum?

Books normally open to the prequel or first chapter. I've seem some books open to the cover. Does Vellum have a setting that allow the book to open to the cover? Or is this something that can be done on Amazon when uploading a book? Or for the other vendors as well?


----------



## GirlWriter

Marseille said:


> Just purchased as I liked the way the images can be manipulated within the s-ware program. BUT, what you see within the program is the opposite of what is compiled. Right now it is a mess. The images pop onto other pages, the first letter of the paragraph which is enlarged and decorated, lands on another page, away from the first paragraph.
> 
> Frustrated as my book releases July 2 and I have unusable files. Anyone with advice or suggestions for handling images in vellum? I have also emailed them regarding the issue.


Not sure if you are still looking for a place where you can create a paperback version of your ebook. I've never used them but I did try their software, which you can do for free and just pay at the end. https://pressbooks.com $20 for eBook and $100 for eBook and Print ready PDF. They have a ton of formatting options with pretty designs. You can do the whole thing and just pay at the end if you decide to use it.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Erica Alexander said:


> Is there a way to set a book to open to the cover instead of the prequel or first chapter when formatting it in Vellum?
> 
> Books normally open to the prequel or first chapter. I've seem some books open to the cover. Does Vellum have a setting that allow the book to open to the cover? Or is this something that can be done on Amazon when uploading a book? Or for the other vendors as well?


Hi Erica,

Unfortunately, there is no way in Vellum to specify that your book should open to its cover. Instead, Vellum will automatically set the start page for your book to be the beginning of its _main text_. If that doesn't give you an early-enough start page, then you could try converting the first element in your book into, for example, a Prologue or a Foreword. Those elements are considered part of your main text, and then your book will open to that first element. You can read more details here, on our Start Page help page:
https://help.vellum.pub/start-page/

Hope that helps! If you have specific questions, feel free to contact us directly.


----------



## Brad Andalman

SA said:


> I just had to chime in and say I made the switch to Vellum and couldn't be happier. I'm a forever Mac user, so I should have known the program would be lovely, but seriously - it saved me hours of formatting time and the end product is lovely. I formatted my first book within 20 mins without ever having tried to use the program before. Up to this point, I've used Scrivener for both ebook and print. I figured I'd be leaving my other books in their old format, but Vellum was so quick and easy, I plan to transition the rest over to it when I next update back matter. It'll add that it would be AMAZING if Vellum would add a print book feature. Any updates on whether that's even on the horizon?


We've received many requests to add an option for generating print-ready output, and it is something that we're definitely considering. This would be a very big project, though, and it is too early to say if/when we'll implement it. That said, it's really helpful to hear from our users, and feedback like this helps us prioritize our future work!


----------



## mach 5

Is there a list somewhere of which font is being used with which book style? I'm adding text on a photo (I know/assume there is captioning of photos but that is not what I need) and would like to match font if possible. I thought the names of the styles might be relevant, but eg Chroma font is different from the Chroma book style. 

I guess another option is to caption the photo then screen capture and move the captioned font in photoshop to where on the photo I want it.


----------



## Brad Andalman

mach 5 said:


> Is there a list somewhere of which font is being used with which book style? I'm adding text on a photo (I know/assume there is captioning of photos but that is not what I need) and would like to match font if possible. I thought the names of the styles might be relevant, but eg Chroma font is different from the Chroma book style.
> 
> I guess another option is to caption the photo then screen capture and move the captioned font in photoshop to where on the photo I want it.


We haven't published a list of the fonts used in each book style. The Chroma headings, though, use a font called Quicksand. You can find it here:
https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/quicksand

If you are looking for something else, please feel free to contact us directly.


----------



## Mike Stop Continues

When is vellum going to add new styles? So many books are using the vellum styles nowadays, and I don't think it'll be worth the cost until there's more variety available.

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk


----------



## WDR

SA said:


> ...It'll [sic] add that it would be AMAZING if Vellum would add a print book feature. Any updates on whether that's even on the horizon?





Brad Andalman said:


> We've received many requests to add an option for generating print-ready output, and it is something that we're definitely considering. This would be a very big project, though, and it is too early to say if/when we'll implement it. That said, it's really helpful to hear from our users, and feedback like this helps us prioritize our future work!


Converting an ebook to a print version may seem fairly simple, but it isn't.

An ebook is a website in a box. Each chapter is an individual HTML page in that website. The text in an ebook, like any web page, is flowable. That means if a reader decides to increase the font size, the text will rearrange itself to fix the screen/window it is being rendered in. The ebook reading device can then renumber the pages and adjust its TOC on the fly to reflect those changes. You as the author do not have to worry about margins, gutters, etc. You just have to write the text of the narrative.

A print book takes a lot more setup than most might think. There is one all-important variable that must be addressed when generating print and it is one most people don't know about unless they have worked in the printing industry. It is constantly changing and must be updated each time a book is printed or all hell breaks loose.

That variable is the paper that is used to print the book during any given print run. To wit: the thickness of the paper. Depending on demand, a book manufacturer orders new paper at an average rate of once per quarter. That means the thickness of the paper changes on a quarterly basis. When your book is 350 pages long, even the most trifling difference in the thickness between two lots of paper could mean that your book could be as much as .5cm thicker in one print run compared to the other.

The physical thickness of the book determines how much of a _gutter_ (the inner margin) the book needs in order to keep the text of your narrative out of the center fold of the book. If the gutter is too thin, your text could disappear, making it very difficult and annoying to read your book. Other factors may come into play: what equipment your book manufacturer uses to print and cut the paper to create your book, the kind of binding you use, paperback vs. hardcover, the format of the book (4x6 vs. 6x9). All these factors are things that Brad & Brad cannot just program a generic formula into a program for print formatting. Each manufacturer has their own way of working out the gutter.

So after you have spoken with your book manufacturer about your book, they will give you the size of the gutter _and_ the margins needed for print. THIS is the key data you need to input into a formatting program. Then the layout can be assembled and the PDF for printing can be generated. You cannot reuse a PDF for printing the next run, because all the above variables may have changed since the last printing. So if you feel the need to do another print run, you will have to talk again to your print manufacturer to set the variables for your book.

All this factors will affect other things in your book: the page numbering, table of contents (so the chapters actually start on the page numbers listed), and any indexing you may have in your book.

Also, graphics and images embedded in your text will need to be handled. They behave differently than how ebooks handle them. The DPI on your images must also be very high, because print needs a minimum of 300 DPI for most processes. It is best to do images at 600-1200 DPI. You can always reduce as needed, but you cannot increase. So, B&B have to take this into account in their program as well.

One positive for us for going to print: book manufacturers no longer need to assemble your book in QuarkXpress to create print folios. This can be automatically converted from a PDF. But the PDF has to be spot on or you are screwed.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Brad Andalman said:


> We've received many requests to add an option for generating print-ready output, and it is something that we're definitely considering. This would be a very big project, though, and it is too early to say if/when we'll implement it. That said, it's really helpful to hear from our users, and feedback like this helps us prioritize our future work!


 Okay, so to add more feedback on a print-ready option: Yes, please.  Even if you have to offer this as a paid upgrade!


----------



## SunshineOnMe

Alan Petersen said:


> Okay, so to add more feedback on a print-ready option: Yes, please.  Even if you have to offer this as a paid upgrade!


I agree..... please please please! <3


----------



## mach 5

Mike Stop Continues said:


> When is vellum going to add new styles? So many books are using the vellum styles nowadays, and I don't think it'll be worth the cost until there's more variety available.
> 
> Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk


New styles would be awesome (more SF-ish is my vote) and I would buy it as an add-on or expansion pack.

Also, a way to customize so that we can add our own book centric ornamental breaks. For example, if I'm using an ornamental break to change the POV character, having the ability to add an ornamental break specific to that character would be neat. I know I can insert an image for the same effect, but it seems it would be more optimized (from a conversion perspective) as a way to officially make it an ornamental break.


----------



## Peter Spenser

WDR said:


> book manufacturers no longer need to assemble your book in QuarkXpress to create print folios.


I remember QuarkXpress. Hated it! I used PageMaker. Loved it! Still love it. I have an extra, legacy Mac computer sitting here still up and running with PageMaker 5, Adobe Illustrator 5, and CorelDraw 8.

An awesome combination! I still use it now and then.


----------



## Small Town Writer

Finally caught up with the rest of the world and used Vellum to format my ebooks.  SO EASY! I think I'm in love. They look stunning!


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

What do Vellum users do in order to give a mobi copy of their ebook to beta readers and others? Sending people a 2.6 MB file of my 53,000 novel seems - wasteful? inefficient? ridiculous? I tried generating the epub version and then converting, and it worked, sort of, but some of the formatting was lost, changed. At this point I want to send these people who helped me attractive copy of the book. I've always used Scrivener to generate a quick copy for beta readers.

The book isn't published yet, and I know from experience even after it is, if I send it as a gift via Amazon to a couple of these people, it will sit unredeemed forever because that's happened in the past. At this point I'm thinking the only way to do it is to imitate the Vellum formatting in a Scrivener compile? Which doesn't strike me as the height of efficiency either.


----------



## WDR

ellenoc said:


> What do Vellum users do in order to give a mobi copy of their ebook to beta readers and others? Sending people a 2.6 MB file of my 53,000 novel seems - wasteful? inefficient? ridiculous? I tried generating the epub version and then converting, and it worked, sort of, but some of the formatting was lost, changed. At this point I want to send these people who helped me attractive copy of the book. I've always used Scrivener to generate a quick copy for beta readers.
> 
> The book isn't published yet, and I know from experience even after it is, if I send it as a gift via Amazon to a couple of these people, it will sit unredeemed forever because that's happened in the past. At this point I'm thinking the only way to do it is to imitate the Vellum formatting in a Scrivener compile? Which doesn't strike me as the height of efficiency either.


The massive MOBI file that Vellum makes is still loadable into your Kindle. Your Kindle (or your friends' Kindles) will then use only the portion from that large MOBI that it needs to render the book.

NOTE: my memory may be munging things a little here and the below might be inaccurate. So, one of the Brads will correct me if I have the above wrong. Or, if I'm right, they can give a clearer explanation of what is going on.

The big MOBI file that Vellum creates actually contains all the different file versions that the different Kindles use. Normally, when someone buys your book, the Amazon system merely cherry picks the MOBI/AZW/AZ8/etc. file it needs from the master file. Kind of like peeling off just the bills you need from a large wad of money---you don't want to use a $100 bill to buy a cheeseburger when a $1 would have done it.

By packing the different formats into one container, Vellum actually saves you money because then Amazon uses a smaller, tiny file from the collection rather than a larger file and therefore don't charge you that little "delivery fee."


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

I know the big Vellum mobil file can be loaded on a Kindle - I loaded it on all 3 of mine to look it over. However, I'm going to delete it from mine and buy a copy once it's published both because I want to see what Amazon sends and because I don't want the honking big file on my Kindles. So.... I don't want to send the big file to the people who helped me and who I promised a copy of the final as published version.

I used Calibre to convert the epub to mobi for this, and as I said, it didn't convert all the formatting. I've never used Calibre before and don't really want to spend time figuring out how to make it do a better job, so I guess I'll just get busy with Scrivener. It wouldn't be a big deal except I thought I was through with the Scrivener file and did some revisions after compiling to a docx file for Vellum. From now on I'll keep the Scrivener version as the basis file no matter what.


----------



## Brad Andalman

ellenoc said:


> I know the big Vellum mobil file can be loaded on a Kindle - I loaded it on all 3 of mine to look it over. However, I'm going to delete it from mine and buy a copy once it's published both because I want to see what Amazon sends and because I don't want the honking big file on my Kindles. So.... I don't want to send the big file to the people who helped me and who I promised a copy of the final as published version.
> 
> I used Calibre to convert the epub to mobi for this, and as I said, it didn't convert all the formatting. I've never used Calibre before and don't really want to spend time figuring out how to make it do a better job, so I guess I'll just get busy with Scrivener. It wouldn't be a big deal except I thought I was through with the Scrivener file and did some revisions after compiling to a docx file for Vellum. From now on I'll keep the Scrivener version as the basis file no matter what.


As WDR wrote, a properly-constructed .mobi file contains multiple different versions of your eBook so that it can be displayed properly on any Kindle. That means, of course, that it's not the most lightweight file format and will always be bigger than the corresponding EPUB. However, if you want your book to look great on any Kindle, then this is the price you'll have to pay. You can read more details here, on our Kindle Formats help page:
http://help.vellum.pub/kindleformats/

Since both Scrivener and Vellum use kindlegen to create mobi files, the file size for similar-looking eBooks should be similar. I just tested this, in fact, and found that to be the case: the Vellum-generated mobi (with drop caps, and other formatting flourishes) is 567KB while the Scrivener-generated one (with zero time spent formatting) is 492KB. If your Vellum-generated mobi file is much bigger, perhaps you've included a lot of images? Those will increase the file size by a large amount, regardless of the software used to generate your eBooks.

If you are sending out advance copies, then our recommendation would be to use a file-sharing service like Dropbox and make multiple eBook versions available to your readers. That way they can choose whether to download the larger Kindle version or the smaller EPUB. We've written a help page about this, too: Advance Reader Copies. We've also heard from authors who use Instafreebie to handle this, and they like it a lot.

If this is confusing - and you haven't included lots of images in your book - we'd be happy to take a look at your mobi file to let you know why it's so big. Feel free to contact us directly here: http://help.vellum.pub/contact/

Best,
Brad


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## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change of TOS.


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## Gone 9/21/18

You guys are misunderstanding me. I understand why the Vellum file is so big. It's about the expected size. The problem is I want a regular-sized mobi file,_ i.e._, one version and preferably the oldest and simplest, to send to people I promised a free copy of the book ahead of publication. These people are not techie. The one has to call Amazon for help every time I send her a mobi file. It's too late for this book, I'm ready to publish and will just send Amazon gift certificates, but I'll check out the Instafreebie and Bookfunnel suggestions for next time.


----------



## WDR

ellenoc said:


> You guys are misunderstanding me. I understand why the Vellum file is so big. It's about the expected size. The problem is I want a regular-sized mobi file,_ i.e._, one version and preferably the oldest and simplest, to send to people I promised a free copy of the book ahead of publication. These people are not techie. The one has to call Amazon for help every time I send her a mobi file. It's too late for this book, I'm ready to publish and will just send Amazon gift certificates, but I'll check out the Instafreebie and Bookfunnel suggestions for next time.


The problem isn't so much with Vellum as it is with Amazon. There is no [legal] way for anyone outside of one of Amazon's programmers to create just an AZW, KF8, MOBI, or KZX file. We have to do it Amazon's way or no way at all.

The file formats for the Kindle (mobi, AZW, KF8, & KFX) are proprietary and Amazon is _very_ protective of just what's in there. So, Vellum uses a command-line application distributed to developers by Amazon called _KindleGen_ to generate the container MOBI file for your Kindle ebooks. It is KindleGen (re: Amazon) that generates the multi-format MOBI container and the program has absolutely no options for overriding this aspect of the program. It is for Amazon's convenience, not ours.

In other words, there is no simple way to get around this.

An alternative possibility is a program made by Amazon called _Kindle Previewer_ (KP) which can convert an ePub file into a mobi file for the particular Kindle-device you want to target. However, I strongly suspect that KP is merely a graphic front end for KindleGen, so we're back to square one, anyway.

Another possibility is to try Calibre to see if it can take an ePub file generated by Vellum and convert it into a clean mobi file for whatever Kindle you are targeting usage.

Last, you could use my approach and simply hand out the ePub versions of your book and let your readers make the conversions themselves using Amazon's conversion tools. Or, simply load the large mobi file onto your website and send the link to download it to those people you want to receive a free copy. (And, yes, that is another can of worms to deal with.)

Yes, this all sucks and I know it isn't the answer you wanted. But it is Amazon's sandbox and they make the rules to follow if we want to play in it.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

WDR said:


> *** We have to do it Amazon's way or no way at all. ***
> 
> Another possibility is to try Calibre to see if it can take an ePub file generated by Vellum and convert it into a clean mobi file for whatever Kindle you are targeting usage.


Actually it's not true you have to use Amazon's Kindlegen. I've been using MobiCreator for all my books until this one, and they upload and download fine. However, I know it's an outdated way and wanted something more modern and certainly wanted the prettier features Vellum provides, and I'm not complaining about the program. I love the book it produced. I love the relative ease of using it.

I did try using Calibre to convert the epub to mobi, and while it did a good enough job for some maybe, I'm not happy about it. It lost some of the chapter heading formatting, threw some of it for the first chapter where it didn't belong. Doesn't start chapters lower on the screen, doubled the size of the indent, etc. These are beta readers who did me a favor. I owe them a decent final version of the book and was looking forward to hearing what they think about the Vellum formatting. Since I'm ready to upload to Amazon now, it's no longer a question. I'm sending them gift certificates that will cover the cost of the book and then some, but I want a better way for next time and so will experiment with the suggested upload sites.


----------



## WDR

I should have said this above more clearly and did not. The error is mine: Calibre is okay if you are editing stuff in your own personal library, but I don't recommend it for production use.

As you noted, it tends not to get things quite right, requiring more work on the side of the author to remove and correct mistakes.

Amazon is slowly deprecating the mobi file format. Eventually, they will pronounce the earlier Kindle devices as EOL* and urge people to upgrade to newer devices. Once they do that, they can drop the mobi completely and go with just the KF8 or KFX format and drop the need for multiple file types. This will then mean that KindleGen will produce a much smaller file that the current massive one.

* EOL -- For those who never have heard the term before, it means "End Of Life." It's an industry term for discontinuing support for a product that is no longer covered by warranty, is no longer produced, and parts for it are no longer manufactured. There are legal ramifications for this in that the company can no longer be liable for the upkeep of a product when they declare it EOL. (A good example of this is an antique car. There are people who keep them running, but the companies that originally made the cars do not and do not have to produce parts for them.)


----------



## Brad Andalman

ellenoc said:


> I've been using MobiCreator for all my books until this one, and they upload and download fine. However, I know it's an outdated way and wanted something more modern and certainly wanted the prettier features Vellum provides, and I'm not complaining about the program. I love the book it produced. I love the relative ease of using it.


As you already know, MobiCreator is outdated and is not supported by Amazon (https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2GF0UFHIYG9VQ):


> We can only support MOBI files created with Amazon tools such as KindleGen.


However, the reason that it results in a smaller mobi file is that the file it creates contains only the "MOBI7" file format, and not the newer, "KF8" file format, which allows Vellum to use advanced features like drop caps, ornamental breaks, embedded fonts, etc. While a file created with MobiCreator will be much smaller than a file created by kindlegen (see our File Size page for more details), using MobiCreator would discard all of the formatting Vellum has applied, which I didn't think was your goal.

If your goal is to give your beta readers "a decent final version of the book" and you are "looking forward to hearing what they think about the Vellum formatting" then you'll need to give them the mobi file that Vellum creates. If the problem with that is that your beta readers aren't technical, then I agree with your previous post: definitely check out BookFunnel or InstaFreebie next time. If the problem is a too-large mobi file, you could consider creating a separate eBook for them that doesn't include a lot of inline images, for example.

PS I know you've said that you've moved on, but wanted to clarify for future readers of this thread!


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## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change of TOS.


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## Brad Andalman

Rickie Blair said:


> Can I ask a question re pricing?
> I seem to remember that you used to offer an "upgrade" at a discount for users who had previously purchased a single or 10-pack and later wanted to buy the unlimited package. Did I dream that?


Though we don't have an automatic way for this, we have allowed authors to purchase an upgrade from a one- or ten-book package to an Unlimited eBooks package. If you are interested in this, please contact us directly, and we can send you instructions.


----------



## m123xyz

Don't take this the wrong way but as broke newbie author it's kind of expensive to use. $30 per title? i barely make that per title! $199 for unlimited uses? I need to sell a lot of books at .30 cents a book! 

I wish there was a book report style version where they don't change you until you're making $1000 in sales.

anyway looks cool but I'll have to stick with scrivener for now. it's a hassle but it was only $20


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## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


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## ajerlcorp

Is there a discount for kboarders or newbie writers who want to buy or tryout Vellum? A discount code would be nice


----------



## Brad Andalman

ajerlcorp said:


> Is there a discount for kboarders or newbie writers who want to buy or tryout Vellum? A discount code would be nice


We don't have any discounts or sales active at this time. But if you sign up for our (very low-volume) mailing list, you'll be the first to know when we do!


----------



## Peter Spenser

ajerlcorp said:


> Is there a discount for kboarders or newbie writers who want to buy or tryout Vellum? A discount code would be nice


The free trial of Vellum does everything except actually create the formatted files for you to use. The "Preview" window really is WYSIWYG. You will see exactly what people will see on their devices.


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## 91831

I really really wish there was a windows version of this.  I'm someone who will never touch a Mac and I know there are plenty more people like me, thats a lot of lost sales.  Even if I were to go to mac--never gonna happen--I wouldn't change from my new windows machine for a couple of years, and especially not just for one programme.


----------



## smw

Question:

Is there an accepted standard to way include my Author Central link in the back matter of a book?  I see ones for twitter and what not, but not AC.  Am I just looking in the wrong place?


----------



## Brad Andalman

smw said:


> Is there an accepted standard to way include my Author Central link in the back matter of a book? I see ones for twitter and what not, but not AC. Am I just looking in the wrong place?


Unfortunately, Vellum doesn't have a specific link type for Amazon's Author Central page. However, you can use a standard Web Link to direct readers to your page. You can read more about Web Links here: http://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/#weblink

If you are selling your books to online stores other than Amazon, though, you'll want to be careful. Stores like iBooks, for instance, don't like it when you direct readers to other online book stores. As a result, we recommend linking authors to your own website, if you have one. From there, you can point users to your Author Central page.

Hope that helps! If you have other questions, feel free to contact us directly: http://help.vellum.pub/contact/


----------



## smw

Brad Andalman said:


> Unfortunately, Vellum doesn't have a specific link type for Amazon's Author Central page. However, you can use a standard Web Link to direct readers to your page. You can read more about Web Links here: http://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/#weblink
> 
> *If you are selling your books to online stores other than Amazon, though, you'll want to be careful. Stores like iBooks, for instance, don't like it when you direct readers to other online book stores. As a result, we recommend linking authors to your own website, if you have one.* From there, you can point users to your Author Central page.
> 
> Hope that helps! If you have other questions, feel free to contact us directly: http://help.vellum.pub/contact/


Ah, that's a really good point. I've already put my homepage in there, so that should work out.

Thanks!


----------



## Steve Voelker

evdarcy said:


> I really really wish there was a windows version of this. I'm someone who will never touch a Mac and I know there are plenty more people like me, thats a lot of lost sales. Even if I were to go to mac--never gonna happen--I wouldn't change from my new windows machine for a couple of years, and especially not just for one programme.


Seems like some strong feelings to have toward a metal box full of chips and wires. 

Personally, I am on the other side, hoping they never release a Windows version. I don't really have big feelings about Windows one way or the other, but we've seen first hand what happens when native Mac apps from small developers (like Scrivener) get ported over to Windows. The results are usually less than stellar. Then you have basically two completely separate programs. And the fact that the Windows version of Scrivener is definitely the inferior version makes the whole program look bad. Not to mention that the fact that there are literally a million configurations for Windows machines (compared to much fewer for Mac) means that the development and support for a Windows version would take up a TON of the developers' valuable time.

I'd rather see them use that time to keep innovating and optimizing with the Mac version. Like maybe that fabled unicorn of an Export for Print feature!


----------



## m123xyz

AriadneW said:


> It is a big investment, but I looked at the amount of time I spent mucking around making a decent looking book vs the cost of having it formatted professionally and it's hard to go past Vellum. I now have gorgeous ebooks that I make myself with minimal effort. It's been a great investment for me in terms of time and money.


agree but until I can figure out how to make more than 30$ per book I need to stick with scrivener. It does the job well. Just way too complicated/bad GUI


----------



## RayBright

Format? My body text includes external documents - newspaper headlines, marriage certificates, love letters, a brief instruction manual. I'd like to have them stand out from the other text, thinking that might make their content more memorable, distinct, clearer . . . or is that just tacky.

I like what I'm seeing in Vellum, but I've got that kid in the candy store feeling about this. 

Ray Brigh


----------



## WDR

RayBright said:


> Format? My body text includes external documents - newspaper headlines, marriage certificates, love letters, a brief instruction manual. I'd like to have them stand out from the other text, thinking that might make their content more memorable, distinct, clearer . . . or is that just tacky.


One of the issues we face when publishing to an ebook format is that the end-user---the reader---has final control over how the ebook is presented on their ebook reader. The reader sets the font selections and choices, overriding whatever was built into the ebook originally. The only way a reader will see your customized fonts and settings is if the reader selects "Publisher's settings" which is available in some ebook reading devices (not the Kindle, unfortunately). Selecting a different or custom font for those items will be overridden by the reader's personal preferences.

The only way you can make certain items stand out is if you generate images of those headlines, etc., or select different heading sizes for those things. The only way you could guarantee the look of a headline, for instance, would be to create a SVG (scalable vector graphic) of that headline and insert it into your book as an inline image. The only problem is if the reader increases the font size for ease of reading, then the position your headline appears in may change, relative to the text in your narrative. You could potentially place it in its own paragraph, which would negate it being moved out of position with a font-size change. Well, you could also use it at the head of a chapter. That would keep it from moving around, too.

Not all ebook readers can render SVG images. Newer ones can. Most older ones cannot. Of those that can, not all are consistent with how they handle SVGs. Again, there is a difference between older and newer models, with the newer models generally doing a better job of it.

One of the truths of new technology is that it evolves quickly once it is introduced. Often, the growth spurt at the beginning is fairly painful as producers try to anticipate just what technologies will be available and lasting. We're at that point where things are growing in the ebook industry.


----------



## Brad Andalman

RayBright said:


> Format? My body text includes external documents - newspaper headlines, marriage certificates, love letters, a brief instruction manual. I'd like to have them stand out from the other text, thinking that might make their content more memorable, distinct, clearer . . . or is that just tacky.
> 
> I like what I'm seeing in Vellum, but I've got that kid in the candy store feeling about this.
> 
> Ray Brigh


To format these kinds of "documents," you might want to investigate some of the Text Features that Vellum offers. For instance, newspaper headlines or marriage certificates could use a centered Alignment Block with its text set in small caps. And love letters or instructions manuals could be formatted as Block Quotations. You can read more about these Text Features here:
http://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/

Hope that helps!


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

WDR said:


> The only way a reader will see your customized fonts and settings is if the reader selects "Publisher's settings" which is available in some ebook reading devices (not the Kindle, unfortunately).


Actually Kindles (at least I've noticed it on my newer Kindles) do have a Publisher's Font setting for some books, which I'm sure means they would for Vellum books.

P.S. Let me edit that to say I _know _Vellum books come through with a Publisher's Font because my own most recent one did. I also admit I turned it off because I don't particularly like it, which is why I chose Small Caps to start chapters and scenes and not drop caps, which don't come through as prettily when you turn off the Publisher's Font. I wish the Vellum folks would choose a Pub Font more like Bookerly, particularly one with curly quotes.


----------



## WDR

ellenoc said:


> Actually Kindles (at least I've noticed it on my newer Kindles) do have a Publisher's Font setting for some books, which I'm sure means they would for Vellum books.
> 
> P.S. Let me edit that to say I _know _Vellum books come through with a Publisher's Font because my own most recent one did. I also admit I turned it off because I don't particularly like it, which is why I chose Small Caps to start chapters and scenes and not drop caps, which don't come through as prettily when you turn off the Publisher's Font. I wish the Vellum folks would choose a Pub Font more like Bookerly, particularly one with curly quotes.


I stand corrected!


----------



## LucasCWheeler

I took a look at Vellum, but I have a few questions. Is Vellum software or account-based? Another way to phrase that question is, could I use it on a public library computer provided it's a Mac while keeping all of my info secure? Can I sign in, format what I need, and then leave everything tidy? Or is it something you need a personal Mac for?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Steve Voelker

LucasCWheeler said:


> I took a look at Vellum, but I have a few questions. Is Vellum software or account-based? Another way to phrase that question is, could I use it on a public library computer provided it's a Mac while keeping all of my info secure? Can I sign in, format what I need, and then leave everything tidy? Or is it something you need a personal Mac for?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


Vellum would need to be installed on the machine you're running it on. So you would most likely need your own Mac, or to use one of those Mac in the cloud services.


----------



## Peter Spenser

LucasCWheeler said:


> I took a look at Vellum, but I have a few questions. Is Vellum software or account-based? Another way to phrase that question is, could I use it on a public library computer provided it's a Mac while keeping all of my info secure? Can I sign in, format what I need, and then leave everything tidy? Or is it something you need a personal Mac for?


An interesting idea. Brad will chime in here, I'm sure, but I wonder if one could have the Vellum app and your personal files on a jump drive that you take with you to the library. That would be handy.


----------



## Brad Andalman

LucasCWheeler said:


> I took a look at Vellum, but I have a few questions. Is Vellum software or account-based? Another way to phrase that question is, could I use it on a public library computer provided it's a Mac while keeping all of my info secure? Can I sign in, format what I need, and then leave everything tidy? Or is it something you need a personal Mac for?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


Steve Voelker is correct. Vellum installs your license on the machine you are running it on, so you'd need to use your own Mac, or use a cloud-based Mac rental service. We can see how it would be handy to keep Vellum, your license, and your Vellum documents on a flash drive for use on public computers, but unfortunately that won't work at this time. We'll keep it in mind for the future though!


----------



## LucasCWheeler

I see. Thank you everyone. Are there more details about the cloud-based Mac rental service in regards to the license? So, would the license be installed on the "Mac"? How could I keep using it if I had to habitually rent the Mac? Would it be the same "Mac" each time I rented, so it would have all my files on it?


----------



## Brad Andalman

LucasCWheeler said:


> I see. Thank you everyone. Are there more details about the cloud-based Mac rental service in regards to the license? So, would the license be installed on the "Mac"? How could I keep using it if I had to habitually rent the Mac? Would it be the same "Mac" each time I rented, so it would have all my files on it?


I should mention right off the bat that we haven't tried any cloud-based rental services ourselves, so this information is all second-hand. However, for these kinds of services, you are typically renting the same "Mac" each time, and your license will be preserved. If you change plans, or eventually buy a Mac of your own, you will be able to restore your license as described here: http://help.vellum.pub/purchasing/#restore-purchase

And while you will probably be able to save your Vellum documents on the server you are renting, we'd recommend using a service like Dropbox, which allows you greater access to your files.


----------



## LucasCWheeler

Duly noted! Thank you very much.


----------



## notjohn

My apologies if this has already been asked and answered, but I was puzzled that Vellum offers only three options: Kindle, Nook, and iBooks (or Apple or whatever). I've only ever uploaded epubs to the iBookstore, and it's the same epub that goes to B&N, Kobo, and all the rest -- including Amazon KDP, as a matter of fact. Am I correct in think that the "Nook" version is a plain vanilla epub, one that could equally well be sent to Draft2Digital to cover all the miscellaneous bases? And if that's the case, why is there a specific iBook version? Thanks -- NJ


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

There is a generic epub option that you can use for Draft2Digital.



notjohn said:


> My apologies if this has already been asked and answered, but I was puzzled that Vellum offers only three options: Kindle, Nook, and iBooks (or Apple or whatever). I've only ever uploaded epubs to the iBookstore, and it's the same epub that goes to B&N, Kobo, and all the rest -- including Amazon KDP, as a matter of fact. Am I correct in think that the "Nook" version is a plain vanilla epub, one that could equally well be sent to Draft2Digital to cover all the miscellaneous bases? And if that's the case, why is there a specific iBook version? Thanks -- NJ


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

A year ago I asked about Vellum including a paid option to convert the file to a paperback for print. I am an avid user of Vellum, but wish this option was available. Is this still a consideration?


----------



## notjohn

Marseille said:


> There is a generic epub option that you can use for Draft2Digital.


Thank you! -- NJ


----------



## Cherise

I'm this close to buying Vellum. 

My last hesitation is that I have two beautiful images that I want to use for chapter headings on my WIP, one for his POV and the other for hers. 

Will I be able to do that in Vellum? 

Or will I have to use the same image for every chapter head? 

Will I even be able to import any images, or do I have to use images already in Vellum? 

I combed Vellum's website and couldn't find this info. Thanks.


----------



## Cherise

Oh, and if I can use a different custom image for his and her chapter heads:

Is there a way to make it so that each image only gets stored once, or will it get stored a new time each time it is used, thus inflating the book's file size and adversely affecting delivery charges?


----------



## SugarBear57

Cherise said:


> I'm this close to buying Vellum.
> 
> My last hesitation is that I have two beautiful images that I want to use for chapter headings on my WIP, one for his POV and the other for hers.
> 
> Will I be able to do that in Vellum?
> 
> Or will I have to use the same image for every chapter head?
> 
> Will I even be able to import any images, or do I have to use images already in Vellum?
> 
> I combed Vellum's website and couldn't find this info. Thanks.


https://help.vellum.pub/headings/
Using two different images for chapter headings is fine. You can import them. I don't have an answer for your storage question, though.


----------



## Peter Spenser

Cherise said:


> Oh, and if I can use a different custom image for his and her chapter heads:
> 
> Is there a way to make it so that each image only gets stored once, or will it get stored a new time each time it is used, thus inflating the book's file size and adversely affecting delivery charges?


I think that this question was touched on before somewhere else here on this forum. If you want to have an image stored within the file but used multiple times, you have to be able to manipulate the internal code. It's do-able, but not by Vellum as it is. You could export the Vellum file as one of the EPUB types that it exports, then go into that file and re-write the code, but you need someone who _*really*_ knows what they're doing or they will screw it up.


----------



## Cherise

How about it, Vellum?

Is this something your program can do, or that you're willing to make it do?


----------



## Brad West

Cherise said:


> Is there a way to make it so that each image only gets stored once, or will it get stored a new time each time it is used, thus inflating the book's file size and adversely affecting delivery charges?


This particular section of the help page SugarBear57 linked to explains how to assign the same image to multiple chapters:
https://help.vellum.pub/headings/#heading-image-multiple-elements

You can, for example, select all of your _His_ chapters and assign one image, then select all of your _Her_ chapters and assign the other.

When Vellum generates the eBooks for your title, each image will only be included once, regardless of how many times it is used in the book.


----------



## Cherise

Brad West said:


> This particular section of the help page SugarBear57 linked to explains how to assign the same image to multiple chapters:
> https://help.vellum.pub/headings/#heading-image-multiple-elements
> 
> You can, for example, select all of your _His_ chapters and assign one image, then select all of your _Her_ chapters and assign the other.
> 
> When Vellum generates the eBooks for your title, each image will only be included once, regardless of how many times it is used in the book.


THANK YOU!!!


----------



## Peter Spenser

Brad West said:


> This particular section of the help page SugarBear57 linked to explains how to assign the same image to multiple chapters:
> https://help.vellum.pub/headings/#heading-image-multiple-elements
> 
> You can, for example, select all of your _His_ chapters and assign one image, then select all of your _Her_ chapters and assign the other.
> 
> When Vellum generates the eBooks for your title, each image will only be included once, regardless of how many times it is used in the book.


I stand corrected, and I'm glad.

And, once again, we see why all of us "unlimited" Vellum users have been happy to pay our money. The program is phenomenal in and of itself, and the support is the best there is.


----------



## RuthNestvold

Is there any way to keep longer lines of verse from going justified in Vellum? In several of my books, I use poems and quotes at the beginning of my chapters, and with verse justifying, it looks all stretched out.


----------



## Awasin

RuthNestvold said:


> Is there any way to keep longer lines of verse from going justified in Vellum? In several of my books, I use poems and quotes at the beginning of my chapters, and with verse justifying, it looks all stretched out.


Yes, and it's very easy. You can add verse using the same drop-down menu that has ornamental breaks, block quotations, lists, etc..


----------



## Brad West

RuthNestvold said:


> Is there any way to keep longer lines of verse from going justified in Vellum? In several of my books, I use poems and quotes at the beginning of my chapters, and with verse justifying, it looks all stretched out.


Unfortunately, the justified text alignment of the main body of your text can also affect lines of Verse that wrap. We can see how that may not be what you want. I will file a suggestion to, if possible, explicitly disable justification for lines of Verse.

ETA: With Vellum 1.4, Verse is no longer justified (even when the rest of the book is).


----------



## SA_Soule

MyraScott said:


> That's not likely to happen, but if I am, I'll check it out! Sounds like the market is begging for a similar Windows ebook formatting software. It would be nice if you guys stepped into that void (iOS to Windows conversions for an HTML-based product aren't expensive- check out Elance) but I'm sure someone will soon.


I agree! Why not cater to all platforms? *waving from PC*

I use bookow.com, which is great, but I just wish there was more control on some of the formatting (fonts, design styles, chapter headings, etc.) when converting to eBooks or Createspace prints...


----------



## JRTomlin

SA_Soule said:


> I agree! Why not cater to all platforms? *waving from PC*
> 
> I use bookow.com, which is great, but I just wish there was more control on some of the formatting (fonts, design styles, chapter headings, etc.) when converting to eBooks or Createspace prints...


I've considered using them, but they don't support images and a map is pretty much a necessity.

ETA: Well, their template says they don't but when I emailed them I just got a response that they can in fact support images.


----------



## WDR

SA_Soule said:


> I agree! Why not cater to all platforms? *waving from PC*
> 
> I use bookow.com, which is great, but I just wish there was more control on some of the formatting (fonts, design styles, chapter headings, etc.) when converting to eBooks or Createspace prints...


Because cross-platform development is a real pain in the butt.

It's tough enough in big program development companies to create a program that performs consistently from one platform to another. Even when there is big money involved where top-level programmers can be hired left and right. For a tiny company consisting of just two guys with a vision to make a tool to make the lives of writers much easier, cross-platform development is pretty much out of reach.

When you do get those lone-wolf programmers who do develop a program across platforms, the end result is usually substandard, falling short of what is needed for producing quality and consistent results. Worse, often with a really popular program, one platform usually suffers as an afterthought because the programmer's attention is mostly on the platform for which the programmer usually works.

That's just for developing a program! Don't forget about fixing bugs and keeping the program up to date. That takes up a lot of time and creates a lot of stress. The knot you get in your stomach and the cold sweat when you discover a bug that makes your product not work right is awful. Especially when the problem isn't readily uncovered. Or---more in context with a writer---you release your latest book and discover a week later that you accidentally pasted in an unedited chapter instead of the edited version. Or you misspelled your name on the title page.


----------



## Abalone

When changing styles or previewing the book during formatting, everything works except Kindle Paperwhite. I get a tablet with a black screen? 1.3.9


----------



## Brad Andalman

Abalone said:


> When changing styles or previewing the book during formatting, everything works except Kindle Paperwhite. I get a tablet with a black screen? 1.3.9


That is very odd. Though we usually are reticent to suggest this, could you try restarting Vellum to see if that solves it? If it doesn't, please contact us directly, and we'll get to the bottom of it!


----------



## Abalone

Reinstalling Vellum seemed to fix it. I almost never use it and use the Fire preview because I can see it better. I use the Kindlegen 2.9 and 3 beta viewer to view all the files Vellum or Scriv create just in case.


----------



## Abalone

Is there any plan on bringing a dark theme for Vellum? I do my formatting in the early morning and the bright colors are a total turn off.


----------



## Word Fan

Abalone said:


> Is there any plan on bringing a dark theme for Vellum? I do my formatting in the early morning and the bright colors are a total turn off.


If you choose to do your work then, do what I do: turn your screen brightness down. It works fine for me.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Abalone said:


> Is there any plan on bringing a dark theme for Vellum? I do my formatting in the early morning and the bright colors are a total turn off.


I, too, am partial to darker themes. Unfortunately, though, we don't have any current plans to implement one for Vellum. I have, however, gone ahead and added your name to the suggestion in our database, which helps us prioritize our future work.

In the meantime, you might consider looking into f.lux. It's software for your Mac which "makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day," and hopefully will prevent you from being blinded by Vellum's bright color scheme when you first wake up.


----------



## WriterGal

Quick question: how can I change the default spell checker in Vellum from UK English to US English?


----------



## Brad Andalman

WriterGal said:


> Quick question: how can I change the default spell checker in Vellum from UK English to US English?


Vellum uses the setting in your Mac's System Preferences to determine the language to use for its spell checker. To change that, go to *System Preferences > Language & Region > Keyboard Preferences... > Text*. Once you are on that pane, you'll see a popup menu for *Spelling*. If you change that to "U.S. English," Vellum will use that language to check spelling, instead of the default language for your computer.


----------



## Abalone

How do I disable autocorrect in Vellum? Or do I have to disable it system-wide? I've been fighting with Vellum for a while with foreign names. Thanks!

Edit: Really dumb question for you, Brad. Why are my Kindle files large compared to the same story published through another processes that relies on Kindlegen? Does Vellum still package multiple versions of the same book in the same file? No pictures. Really simple formatting. It's like 45 kb vs 57-70 kb.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Abalone said:


> How do I disable autocorrect in Vellum? Or do I have to disable it system-wide? I've been fighting with Vellum for a while with foreign names. Thanks!
> 
> Edit: Really dumb question for you, Brad. Why are my Kindle files large compared to the same story published through another processes that relies on Kindlegen? Does Vellum still package multiple versions of the same book in the same file? No pictures. Really simple formatting. It's like 45 kb vs 57-70 kb.


You can turn off autocorrect using the *Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Correct Spelling Automatically* menu item. When it's unchecked, autocorrect is turned off in Vellum (and nowhere else).

As for the size of your Kindle files, it's kindlegen (and not Vellum) that packages multiple versions of the same book in your .mobi file. If you'd like to read more about this, you can check out our help page here:
https://help.vellum.pub/file-size/

If you are using a style in Vellum that uses an embedded font, that might explain why the overall size of the mobi file is slightly larger. However, if you are concerned about delivery costs, then it's not the size of the mobi file that matters. Delivery cost is calculated using the size of the smallest (mobi7) component in the mobi file and the embedded font, for instance, doesn't contribute.

If you'd like us to take a look at the specifics, though, feel free to contact us directly:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact


----------



## Brad Andalman

Abalone said:


> Oh, right. My bad! So to not use embedded fonts, I'd have to aim at using one supported by all the current Kindles out of the box, correct? Or am I overthinking things here?


There are a few Vellum styles and options that make use of embedded fonts. If you contact us directly, we'd be happy to get into the nitty-gritty with you!


----------



## Logan R.

Any plans for some new styles soon? Since more and more people are using Vellum, everybody's books are beginning to look the same. Definitely a good problem, if you ask me! Can't wait to hear about what you guys are cooking up.


----------



## Brad West

Logan R. said:


> Any plans for some new styles soon? Since more and more people are using Vellum, everybody's books are beginning to look the same. Definitely a good problem, if you ask me! Can't wait to hear about what you guys are cooking up.


Hi Logan,

We would like to add more styles at some point, but currently have other things on the front burner.


----------



## Cherise

Brad West said:


> Hi Logan,
> 
> We would like to add more styles at some point, but currently have other things on the front burner.


Like support for paperback versions?


----------



## kit_kat

Okay, so after months of fiddling around with html coding and reading threads on how awesome Vellum is, I caved and got a MacinCloud with Vellum on it. To say I'm impressed is an understatement. I do wish there were more styles available, or a way I can make my own chapter break flourishes and use the chapter break styles at the same time. 

The image I tried to put in came out too big for a chapter break.


----------



## Word Fan

kit_kat said:


> Okay, so after months of fiddling around with html coding and reading threads on how awesome Vellum is, I caved and got a MacinCloud with Vellum on it. To say I'm impressed is an understatement. I do wish there were more styles available, or a way I can make my own chapter break flourishes and use the chapter break styles at the same time.
> 
> The image I tried to put in came out too big for a chapter break.


If you're _very_ good at coding, and _very_ careful about breaking open the files and then knitting them together again after modifying them, it can be done.

By the way, the Vellum flourishes are all SVG images, which can be created only by certain graphics software programs.


----------



## Kate.

I purchased Vellum a week ago and love it. Just wondering... is there (or will there be) any way to make the chapter headings larger, or frontmatter smaller? Unless I've missed a setting (very possible) it seems like the book text is all in the same size.


----------



## JeffCollyer

Cherise said:


> Like support for paperback versions?


I asked about software like Vellum for print on another thread, and they popped in to suggest we might see something on this is the first half of next year


----------



## Brad West

Kate. said:


> I purchased Vellum a week ago and love it. Just wondering... is there (or will there be) any way to make the chapter headings larger, or frontmatter smaller? Unless I've missed a setting (very possible) it seems like the book text is all in the same size.


In the interest of consistency, Vellum does use the same font size for all headings in your book. The specific size depends on a number of factors, including:

*Book Style*: different Book Styles use different fonts for headings, and these are sized accordingly
*The Reader's Device*: when space is constrained (like on a phone), the heading size is adjusted to be closer to the size of regular text
*The Reader's Preferred Font Size*: all heading sizes are relative to the reader's font size so that everything looks proportional
Beyond the choice of Book Style (and the other factors above), though, there are not any controls to adjust the size of heading text.

Hope that clarifies things. If not, or if you have other questions, please get in touch.


----------



## John Boyd

I've just begun trying out Vellum. I inserted a MSoft docx file formatted via Scrivener. Vellum has added Chapter titles, but two chapters are oddly formatted. Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 show the numerals beneath the words.
Note that this happened in Part 2 of my novel. So I used the "Start from" feature to change 1 to 9 to produce Chapter 9 etc.

Anyone experienced this problem and solved it?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Jobo said:


> I've just begun trying out Vellum. I inserted a MSoft docx file formatted via Scrivener. Vellum has added Chapter titles, but two chapters are oddly formatted. Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 show the numerals beneath the words.
> Note that this happened in Part 2 of my novel. So I used the "Start from" feature to change 1 to 9 to produce Chapter 9 etc.
> 
> Anyone experienced this problem and solved it?


It sounds like you might be running into a bug with one of the Chroma Heading Style choices. Oddly, with this heading style, "Chapter 10" and "Chapter 11" will sometimes word wrap inappropriately. This doesn't happen with other font sizes in Vellum's Preview, but it does happen with the default font size for Vellum's iPad Preview.

If you change the Preview's font size, however, these headings should no longer wrap - though it is possible that a reader on an iPhone or a Mac might also hit this by choosing this particular font size.

We will definitely look into whether we can address this issue in a future version of Vellum. For now, though, if this is a deal-breaker, you can choose another style, which won't exhibit this behavior.

ETA: With Vellum 1.4, "Chapter 10" and "Chapter 11" will no longer wrap inappropriately in Chroma. Thanks for letting us know about this!


----------



## notjohn

From what I have read, Vellum requires a book to be written in *.docx format. Has anyone used Google Docs for this purpose? Was the result satisfactory?

Thanks! - NJ


----------



## WDR

notjohn said:


> From what I have read, Vellum requires a book to be written in *.docx format. Has anyone used Google Docs for this purpose? Was the result satisfactory?
> 
> Thanks! - NJ


Any writing program that can generate a DOCX file should be fine. You can tweak the end result in Vellum until it looks just right to you.


----------



## Brad West

notjohn said:


> From what I have read, Vellum requires a book to be written in *.docx format. Has anyone used Google Docs for this purpose? Was the result satisfactory?


While we admit that we have not tested the docx files generated by Google Docs as exhaustively as those from other software (Word, especially), we believe you should be fine.

Guidelines for what Vellum expects in a manuscript it imports and tips for correcting what it may get wrong can be found here:
https://help.vellum.pub/importing/

The easiest way to answer definitively would be to download a docx version of your manuscript from Google and drag it into Vellum to import it. You'll see the results immediately, and you don't need to make a purchase to do so. If something seems like it's not working as expected, please let us know and we can look into it:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/


----------



## Word Fan

Brad West said:


> While we admit that we have not tested the docx files generated by Google Docs as exhaustively as those from other software (Word, especially), we believe you should be fine.
> 
> The easiest way to answer definitively would be to download a docx version of your manuscript from Google and drag it into Vellum to import it. You'll see the results immediately, and you don't need to make a purchase to do so. If something seems like it's not working as expected, please let us know and we can look into it:
> https://help.vellum.pub/contact/


I just tried it and it worked perfectly. You guys make great stuff!


----------



## Kwrite

I apologize if this was discussed somewhere in the thread - I am trying to read through the pages of it. But my question is text messages in your book. What is the best way to show a text message? My editor says different font and text size. That isn't possible to do in Vellum - or is it? How has everyone else indicated it was a text message?


----------



## Jackson Lear

Is there a way to create or import a spreadsheet-like table into Vellum? So far the best result I got was to turn the table into a picture and import that.


----------



## Cherise

Kwrite said:


> I apologize if this was discussed somewhere in the thread - I am trying to read through the pages of it. But my question is text messages in your book. What is the best way to show a text message? My editor says different font and text size. That isn't possible to do in Vellum - or is it? How has everyone else indicated it was a text message?


I just use normal quotation marks and make clear in the dialogue tag that Kate texted rather than said.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Kwrite said:


> I apologize if this was discussed somewhere in the thread - I am trying to read through the pages of it. But my question is text messages in your book. What is the best way to show a text message? My editor says different font and text size. That isn't possible to do in Vellum - or is it? How has everyone else indicated it was a text message?


We do know that more authors are incorporating text conversations into their books, and we have a feature request filed to consider how to improve this. We don't currently have a timeline for it, but this is something we are interested in pursuing eventually.

For now, though, you could use Block Quotes or Alignment Blocks to distinguish your text messages. You can read more about these Text Features here:
http://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/



Jackson Lear said:


> Is there a way to create or import a spreadsheet-like table into Vellum? So far the best result I got was to turn the table into a picture and import that.


Similarly, Vellum doesn't have support for creating spreadsheets or tables. Because of the many different device sizes (including very small devices, like iPhones), using tables in reflowable ebooks can sometimes be problematic. Using an image instead is a common workaround, as it allows for the reader to zoom in as necessary.

Therefore, we recommend exactly what you're doing already: making an image for each table you'd like to show, and inserting it as an image in Vellum.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Mickief said:


> Hello Brad @ Vellum,
> 
> Any chance of a Cyber Monday discount for poor, struggling KB authors/members?


Unfortunately, we aren't planning on having a Cyber Monday sale today. When we do have sales, though, we will always email out to our email list, which you can sign up for here:
http://vellum.pub/#email-signup


----------



## WDR

Jackson Lear said:


> Is there a way to create or import a spreadsheet-like table into Vellum? So far the best result I got was to turn the table into a picture and import that.


Jackson, this isn't just a problem with Vellum, it is a problem with ebooks in general. If you think about it, the same problem can be seen in the printed books realm, as well: text books tend to be large to allow for diagrams, tables, and images to be portrayed at a reasonable size. You really can't shrink these things down to be printed in a 6x4 paperback. A larger tablet like Apple's iPad can portray a table quite nicely, as it has a lot of screen real estate for that table to be presented. This is why most text books that have been digitized are best opened on the larger tablets.

Presenting a table as an image is, for now, the best solution for general consumption, particularly on smaller devices like ebook readers and smart phones. As Brad pointed out, on many ebook reading devices, an image can be zoomed in for a better view. Just remember that a lot of images can make an ebook file excessively large.

It is possible to create an HTML table and insert the code into your ebook at the appropriate places, but Vellum is not designed for direct editing of an ebook's HTML code. You would have to do this manually by forcing open the ebook wrapper and inserting the code. This won't work very well because if the reader increases the size of the font on their reader, it will cause the table to wrap around the screen and be presented as gibberish.

Someday, some business will begin making ebook readers that have screen sizes that are actually the size of textbook pages. At that point, tables and illustrations will become more accessible in digital formats.


----------



## Jackson Lear

WDR said:


> Jackson, this isn't just a problem with Vellum, it is a problem with ebooks in general.
> 
> ...
> 
> Presenting a table as an image is, for now, the best solution for general consumption, particularly on smaller devices like ebook readers and smart phones. As Brad pointed out, on many ebook reading devices, an image can be zoomed in for a better view. Just remember that a lot of images can make an ebook file excessively large.


Thanks WDR! That does make sense. I only have one table in a book, a zombie apocalypse story where the main character lists the countries and how many people are dead, missing, or have risen from the grave, etc. Even as a paperback I was having to squeeze the tabs and fiddle with the font size to get everything to fit. Thankfully the image in the ebook isn't too large and the delivery costs are under control.


----------



## Word Fan

WDR said:


> It is possible to create an HTML table and insert the code into your ebook at the appropriate places, but Vellum is not designed for direct editing of an ebook's HTML code.


True.



WDR said:


> You would have to do this manually by forcing open the ebook wrapper and inserting the code.


Well, there's no "forcing" involved. There are apps that unwrap an EPUB file into its component parts for you so you can work on them (they are, after all, just simple text files), then will re-wrap everything back up all nice and tidy.



WDR said:


> This won't work very well because if the reader increases the size of the font on their reader, it will cause the table to wrap around the screen and be presented as gibberish.


Actually, with a correctly coded table that doesn't happen. The table, when clicked upon, becomes viewable by panning across and back. And if the font size is increased, the table cells expand to accommodate it. There is no gibberish. I know because we've done it here in our office numerous times in response to the HTML know-it-all people on the KDP Formatting forum who insist that "it can't be done" and "you have to use an image."

It always made us wonder why, if they are so knowledgable in HTML, they don't know the HTML code that makes it work. It's right there, in the HTML books. (Just a few chapters away from the code that lets you use TABs to indent your paragraphs, if you want.)


----------



## Kwrite

Thank you to those who answered my question. I appreciate it.


----------



## WDR

Word Fan said:


> Actually, with a correctly coded table that doesn't happen. The table, when clicked upon, becomes viewable by panning across and back. And if the font size is increased, the table cells expand to accommodate it. There is no gibberish. I know because we've done it here in our office numerous times in response to the HTML know-it-all people on the KDP Formatting forum who insist that "it can't be done" and "you have to use an image."


Yes, the table expands to accept the larger text, but the screen on the ebook reader cannot.



> It always made us wonder why, if they are so knowledgable in HTML, they don't know the HTML code that makes it work. It's right there, in the HTML books. (Just a few chapters away from the code that lets you use TABs to indent your paragraphs, if you want.)


The HTML inside an ebook (EPUB specifically. I don't know what is inside a MOBI file, though I told it is similar) is actually fairly simple. What makes all the formatting work is the CSS.

The web browsers used by ebook readers such as the Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and others, are fairly watered down versions of the web browsers we use on full-powered computers, tablets, or smart phones. Even then, the embedded web browsers inside the applications that render ebooks for us on our higher-end electronic devices are still watered down. This is where things break down for us when we want to do more extravagant digital books such as interactive books or education text books. Dedicated ebook readers are not really all that sophisticated as many other electronic devices today.

There are special formats that allow for the extra features: AZW and AZ8 are specialized formats for the Kindle that take advantage of the Kindle tablet computer's improved screens and computing power. Also, there is the iBook format from Apple that does the same on their iPad.

Could the ebook reader vendors improve the handling of other HTML elements such as tables, images, and lists within an ebook? Certainly. But that would require paying more programmers to improve things. And as anyone who works in the industry can tell you, in most companies programmers are treated like bottom feeders in the organization and are forced to do desktop help more often than they are given time to actually do the job they were hired to do: program. Truth is, there is little incentive for most companies to glam' up their simple ebook readers. (They'd rather you buy their expensive tablets instead.)

Of course, I could argue that the current selection of ebook readers work very well for what they do. Do you really want them all pumped up with the ability to do many other things? If you do, I suggest just buying a tablet or a smartphone. Sometimes, simpler is better.

I think the best solution would actually be a physical change: make the screens bigger with less bezel. The increase of display area would serve tabes and images significantly.


----------



## Word Fan

WDR said:


> Yes, the table expands to accept the larger text, but the screen on the ebook reader cannot.


Yes. I know that. We all know that. What you don't seem to get (or perhaps I was not as clear as I should have been) is that the table, when selected, becomes an object that can extend beyond the edge of the screen, and the user can then pan out there and back to read the information. The view window moves across the table and shows a part of the table at any one time. This phenomenon allows the user to adjust the text to a convenient size and still see all of the information in the table clearly, without the loss of sharpness that can occur when the table is merely an image that has to be zoomed in on. One further advantage of a true table over an image is that the information within the table, because it's actual text, can be selected and copied and used somewhere else.



WDR said:


> The HTML inside an ebook (EPUB specifically. I don't know what is inside a MOBI file, though I told it is similar) is actually fairly simple. What makes all the formatting work is the CSS.


You make it sound as if the CSS contains some magic formula that does all of the work using esoteric commands. The CSS is merely a special a file that is filled with more HTML code. Instead of that code residing within, and sometimes being duplicated within, each chapter file, it is all stored in one place and accessed as needed.

As for the HTML inside the chapter files: that can be quite complex, depending upon the desired final "look" of the book that is desired and the ability of the e-reader device to display it.



WDR said:


> Could the ebook reader vendors improve the handling of other HTML elements such as tables, images, and lists within an ebook? Certainly. But that would require paying more programmers to improve things.


Current e-book devices and apps are already able to display all sorts of "tables, images, and lists." Those things just have to be coded correctly in the first place. Vellum, for example (this is the Vellum thread, after all), handles those things pretty well.


----------



## Mopsy

Sincere apologies if it was already asked + answered but are you working on supporting Googles new affiliate links....?


----------



## Brad West

Mopsy said:


> Sincere apologies if it was already asked + answered but are you working on supporting Googles new affiliate links....?


Google's revamped affiliate program still seems to be in private beta. We are interested in adding support for this, but can only do so once it's made public. We are keeping tabs on it, though!


----------



## Renard

I'm considering purchasing an unlimited book license for Vellum, but my current test book seems stuck on 6 nearly identical chapter heading styles. I'm not a fan of the Chroma box look, yet I don't have the option to choose anything else. Am I missing something in the settings somewhere?


----------



## Brad Andalman

MarkFeenstra said:


> I'm considering purchasing an unlimited book license for Vellum, but my current test book seems stuck on 6 nearly identical chapter heading styles. I'm not a fan of the Chroma box look, yet I don't have the option to choose anything else. Am I missing something in the settings somewhere?


If you are not a fan of Chroma, you can choose one of Vellum's seven other Book Styles (each with their own set of Heading Styles). To do so, select the *Book Styles* item in Vellum's Style Pane, and then use the Style Carousel to select something other than Chroma. You can see an example of this in the Choose a Book Style section of our Tutorial.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Renard

Of course, I figured it out just seconds after posting here. Thanks for the quick response though! You got in before I could delete my question.


----------



## WDR

Brad, I've got an odd bug: Chapter headings are comping up '*Capitolo #*' instead of '*Chapter #*'

Is there a localization setting that got flipped somewhere?

Version 1.3.9 (13900)


----------



## Brad Andalman

WDR said:


> Brad, I've got an odd bug: Chapter headings are comping up '*Capitolo #*' instead of '*Chapter #*'
> 
> Is there a localization setting that got flipped somewhere?


Hi WDR,

If you change your book's language setting (in the Book Info Pane) from Italian to English, then your chapters will use "Chapter" again!


----------



## WDR

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi WDR,
> 
> If you change your book's language setting (in the Book Info Pane) from Italian to English, then your chapters will use "Chapter" again!


Thanks, Brad, that did it.

Why the sudden change? Up to this point, Vellum has consistently carried over settings from update to update.


----------



## Brad Andalman

WDR said:


> Thanks, Brad, that did it.
> 
> Why the sudden change? Up to this point, Vellum has consistently carried over settings from update to update.


We haven't received any other reports of something like this happening. Could it be that you accidentally changed this setting without meaning to?

Another possibility is that Vellum, when it imported your manuscript, incorrectly identified its language as Italian. If you think that's what happened, try importing your docx file into a separate Vellum document. If you see "Capitolo" in the chapter headings again, then Vellum thinks your manuscript was written in Italian. In that case, please send us your docx file and we'll take a look!

ETA: WDR contacted us directly and it turns out that, due to a change in macOS Sierra, Vellum's language detection returned unexpected results when importing some manuscripts. We've fixed this in Vellum 1.4.


----------



## Racher9

Hi everyone! New Vellum user here who's stumbled across a little hiccup. 

I just re-formatted one of my already released KDP books with Vellum (adore the software, btw). It looks gorgeous on my Kindle and when I download it off of Amazon (sample looks awesome too). However, the "Look Inside" doesn't show the pretty Vellum formatting (I uploaded it a day ago - I got the email from KDP indicating the updated file is "live"). I've heard it can take a few days or so for the ornaments and drop caps, etc, to show in the Look Inside. Can any Vellum users share their experience with this? I'm concerned because the book I updated is a Christmas novel, and I'm running a countdown promo in a week, so I want it to look good.  Right now no Vellum formatting is visible (including even small caps, and there doesn't appear to be a normal amount of space in between chapter headings; they're just kind of bunched together). I'm also a bit worried about how this may impact the initial release day for a book I'm launching in March. I'll be running a paid blog event for exposure, and I don't want readers to be mislead, thinking the formatting isn't professional.

I've browsed a lot of Look Insides for books formatted with Vellum, and they don't seem to have this issue... 

Oh, one other thing - I used the fancy script drop cap, and on my Kindle Paperwhite (when I download the sample through Amazon), it shows an ordinary non-cursive drop cap. Anyone know what the issue is? It looked correct through the Vellum previews and when I first uploaded the .mobi file to Amazon/tested it on my PC Kindle Reader (before it went live).

I really love the software so far,and hope this can be ironed out easily. Thank you advance!!


----------



## Stephanie Vercier

Racher9 said:


> Hi everyone! New Vellum user here who's stumbled across a little hiccup.
> 
> I just re-formatted one of my already released KDP books with Vellum (adore the software, btw). It looks gorgeous on my Kindle and when I download it off of Amazon (sample looks awesome too). However, the "Look Inside" doesn't show the pretty Vellum formatting (I uploaded it a day ago - I got the email from KDP indicating the updated file is "live"). I've heard it can take a few days or so for the ornaments and drop caps, etc, to show in the Look Inside. Can any Vellum users share their experience with this? I'm concerned because the book I updated is a Christmas novel, and I'm running a countdown promo in a week, so I want it to look good. Right now no Vellum formatting is visible (including even small caps, and there doesn't appear to be a normal amount of space in between chapter headings; they're just kind of bunched together). I'm also a bit worried about how this may impact the initial release day for a book I'm launching in March. I'll be running a paid blog event for exposure, and I don't want readers to be mislead, thinking the formatting isn't professional.
> 
> I've browsed a lot of Look Insides for books formatted with Vellum, and they don't seem to have this issue...
> 
> Oh, one other thing - I used the fancy script drop cap, and on my Kindle Paperwhite (when I download the sample through Amazon), it shows an ordinary non-cursive drop cap. Anyone know what the issue is? It looked correct through the Vellum previews and when I first uploaded the .mobi file to Amazon/tested it on my PC Kindle Reader (before it went live).
> 
> I really love the software so far,and hope this can be ironed out easily. Thank you advance!!


I've published both my books with Vellum, and I have the same issue with my "look inside." All my formatting shows up once someone downloads, but not for the look inside feature. Personally, I'm not too worried about it because the formatting is still orderly and organized. But I can totally understand why you'd have an issue with it because the Vellum formatting does make the book look more professional. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone else answers.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Racher9 said:


> I've heard it can take a few days or so for the ornaments and drop caps, etc, to show in the Look Inside. Can any Vellum users share their experience with this?
> 
> Oh, one other thing - I used the fancy script drop cap, and on my Kindle Paperwhite (when I download the sample through Amazon), it shows an ordinary non-cursive drop cap. Anyone know what the issue is? It looked correct through the Vellum previews and when I first uploaded the .mobi file to Amazon/tested it on my PC Kindle Reader (before it went live).


In our experience, it can take up to "a few days" for Amazon to update the Look Inside. Admittedly, our sample size is small here. So, we too would be interested to hear from Vellum users about this!

If you'd like to accelerate the process, however, you could email KDP Support and ask them to immediately update your Look Inside from the old mobi7 to the newer KF8 format.

As for your other question, some eInk Kindles won't display embedded fonts (like the script drop cap) unless you've chosen to display the Publisher Font. That sounds like what's going on with your Paperwhite. To fix, simply choose Publisher Font from the available fonts, and the correct drop cap will appear.


----------



## RichardDenoncourt

Hi,

I just realized that none of my store links are working in my books. I add the Amazon identifier into the link function in Vellum, and then I upload a Generic ePub to KDP (because I know Amazon doesn't accept .mobi) and none of the links work.

Any advice?

Richard


----------



## Betsy the Quilter

Hey, Richard--

You've posted in the right place!  I'm sure someone will provide a suggestion soon (I'm not an author, sorry!).

Betsy


----------



## ......~......

RichardDenoncourt said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just realized that none of my store links are working in my books. I add the Amazon identifier into the link function in Vellum, and then I upload a Generic ePub to KDP (*because I know Amazon doesn't accept .mobi*) and none of the links work.
> 
> Any advice?
> 
> Richard


I always upload .mobi files to Amazon.


----------



## RichardDenoncourt

NeedWant said:


> I always upload .mobi files to Amazon.


I used to do that, then I realized none of the fancy formatting and headers from Vellum were showing up. It looks like it accepts .mobi files now.

Anyone else had issues with links in .epub? Is it safe to upload .mobi files to KDP now?


----------



## Brad West

RichardDenoncourt said:


> I just realized that none of my store links are working in my books. I add the Amazon identifier into the link function in Vellum, and then I upload a Generic ePub to KDP (because I know Amazon doesn't accept .mobi) and none of the links work.


Amazon links will only be in the "Kindle" version generated by Vellum, so that is the version you will need to upload. And even if you don't use store links, you should always upload the Kindle version to Amazon, as this is the only version that contains all of the workarounds for Amazon-specific issues (like Look Inside, different device characteristics, etc.).



RichardDenoncourt said:


> Is it safe to upload .mobi files to KDP now?


The only issue we're aware of with uploading the Kindle version is that the KDP Online Previewer stopped working earlier this year. See more about this here: http://blog.180g.co/2016/03/problems-with-kdp-online-previewer/

But that only affects the KDP Online Previewer, and doesn't at all affect readers. We still strongly recommend uploading the Kindle (mobi) file for publishing.

Hope that helps!


----------



## RichardDenoncourt

Brad West said:


> Amazon links will only be in the "Kindle" version generated by Vellum, so that is the version you will need to upload. And even if you don't use store links, you should always upload the Kindle version to Amazon, as this is the only version that contains all of the workarounds for Amazon-specific issues (like Look Inside, different device characteristics, etc.).
> 
> The only issue we're aware of with uploading the Kindle version is that the KDP Online Previewer stopped working earlier this year. See more about this here: http://blog.180g.co/2016/03/problems-with-kdp-online-previewer/
> 
> But that only affects the KDP Online Previewer, and doesn't at all affect readers. We still strongly recommend uploading the Kindle (mobi) file for publishing.
> 
> Hope that helps!


Beautiful, thank you very much!


----------



## Kwrite

Did something just change with the Heading styles? It seems that a lot I previously noticed are now MIA. There's currently three options ... or am I seeing things?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Kwrite said:


> Did something just change with the Heading styles? It seems that a lot I previously noticed are now MIA. There's currently three options ... or am I seeing things?


Each Book Style has three to six Heading Style options. So, it sounds like maybe you've just selected the "Heading" item in the Styles Pane. If you want to see all of Vellum's Book Styles, however, you'll need to click on the "Book Style" item. Does that help?


----------



## Kwrite

Brad Andalman said:


> Each Book Style has three to six Heading Style options. So, it sounds like maybe you've just selected the "Heading" item in the Styles Pane. If you want to see all of Vellum's Book Styles, however, you'll need to click on the "Book Style" item. Does that help?


Yes - my bad. Still learning it. Thanks for your help.


----------



## ♨

I've read through the entire thread and have a couple questions I haven't seen answered, unless I've missed them.

Is a .docx the only way to get text into Vellum?  Pages '09 only exports to .doc and I'd rather not "upgrade" to the newer, dumbed-down version of Pages.  Can I use copy and paste to copy text from Pages into Vellum?  Other means?  Or would it work if I export to .doc or .rtf from Pages, open that in TextEdit and export from TextEdit to .docx?

What about chapter footers?  I've seen headers mentioned but not footers.

How does Vellum handle short story collections, where the table of contents isn't "chapter one," "chapter two," and so on but the story titles themselves?

Can Vellum be easily transferred from one computer to another?  As an example, I have some software I purchased years ago that due to not being deactivated prior to an unexpected hard drive crash and later a logic board replacement now requires a phone call (and a wait on hold) any time I move the software to a new (or upgraded/repaired) computer to explain that all my licenses show as already activated because of the aforementioned hard drive crash and logic board replacement and can I please, please, please get it activated on the new/upgraded/repaired computer.  Fun.  Not.

Thanks!


----------



## Brad West

Dan C. Rinnert said:


> Is a .docx the only way to get text into Vellum? Pages '09 only exports to .doc and I'd rather not "upgrade" to the newer, dumbed-down version of Pages. Can I use copy and paste to copy text from Pages into Vellum? Other means? Or would it work if I export to .doc or .rtf from Pages, open that in TextEdit and export from TextEdit to .docx?


The docx format is indeed the only format that can be imported by Vellum. While copy and paste will work for one chapter/story at a time, and the rtf -> TextEdit -> docx workflow would likely work as well, you might also consider installing the current version of Pages alongside the iWork '09. Last we checked, downloading these versions does not replace the iWork '09 installation. With this option you could then open your file in the current version of Pages and export to docx.



Dan C. Rinnert said:


> What about chapter footers? I've seen headers mentioned but not footers.


If you're referring to information like current page, etc., that is typically shown at the bottom of the "page" of an eBook, this is actually provided by the device or software itself. Let us know if you're talking about something else, though.



Dan C. Rinnert said:


> How does Vellum handle short story collections, where the table of contents isn't "chapter one," "chapter two," and so on but the story titles themselves?


For stories short enough that they'd be a single "chapter," our typical recommendation us to use unnumbered chapters. You can disable numbering for a chapter using the heading menu described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/headings/

If each story has a few chapters, you might consider organizing them as a box set, which you can learn about here:
https://help.vellum.pub/box-sets/

The latter would require more setup, but might be preferable if you'd like a title page per story, or again if each story has more than one chapter.



Dan C. Rinnert said:


> Can Vellum be easily transferred from one computer to another?


Yup. The process is briefly described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/purchasing/#restore-purchase

You can restore from Vellum on your new computer by providing the email address that you use when you purchase. You don't have to call us, wait on hold, etc. Licenses on old machines are automatically deactivated.

Hope that answers your questions. Let us know if you have more, or contact us here:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/


----------



## Word Fan

Dan C. Rinnert said:


> I've read through the entire thread and have a couple questions I haven't seen answered, unless I've missed them.
> 
> Is a .docx the only way to get text into Vellum? Pages '09 only exports to .doc and I'd rather not "upgrade" to the newer, dumbed-down version of Pages. Can I use copy and paste to copy text from Pages into Vellum? Other means? Or would it work if I export to .doc or .rtf from Pages, open that in TextEdit and export from TextEdit to .docx?
> 
> What about chapter footers? I've seen headers mentioned but not footers.
> 
> How does Vellum handle short story collections, where the table of contents isn't "chapter one," "chapter two," and so on but the story titles themselves?


Unless I'm totally wrong, all of those questions, and similar ones, can be answered by downloading the trial version of Vellum and using it yourself. It costs you nothing to use it right up to the point of actually exporting the final formatted files. You can play with it and test all sorts of stuff to your heart's content to see if it fits with your work flow. It has an excellent live Preview window so you can immediately see if what you're trying is working out the way that you want it to.


----------



## ♨

Brad West said:


> Dan C. Rinnert said:
> 
> 
> 
> What about chapter footers? I've seen headers mentioned but not footers.
> 
> 
> 
> If you're referring to information like current page, etc., that is typically shown at the bottom of the "page" of an eBook, this is actually provided by the device or software itself. Let us know if you're talking about something else, though.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Footer graphics. At the end of a chapter, I currently place a simple graphic, centered, to mark the chapter's end. I currently do all the coding for my books by hand and I manually add the code for the image at the end of every chapter. I do use some search & replace to drop it in semi-automatically, but it'd be nice if I could just define a footer image and it would automatically be placed at the end of every chapter.

Thanks!


----------



## Brad West

Dan C. Rinnert said:


> At the end of a chapter, I currently place a simple graphic, centered, to mark the chapter's end. I currently do all the coding for my books by hand and I manually add the code for the image at the end of every chapter. I do use some search & replace to drop it in semi-automatically, but it'd be nice if I could just define a footer image and it would automatically be placed at the end of every chapter.


You can add an image to the end of (or anywhere else in) your chapter using Inline Images, described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/inline-images/

Once you add an image to one chapter, you can copy and paste it to others. There is not, however, a way to automatically add the same image to the end of every chapter.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Word Fan

Brad West said:


> The docx format is indeed the only format that can be imported by Vellum.


That answer is slightly misleading. DOCX is the only format that can be _directly_ imported into Vellum by using a command from within the program. However, we find that copy-and-paste works just fine. In fact, from Word and other word processors, and from web pages, Vellum even remembers simple text formatting like bold and italic.

And...



Brad West said:


> copy and paste will work for one chapter/story at a time


...you aren't limited to just one chapter or story. We have copied and pasted in entire novels and then quickly and easily gone through them and broken out the chapters, _etc._ It may seem to an outside observer like a lot of work but, if DOCX is not available to you, this method works very well. Vellum makes it very easy to bang the plain text into shape as a book, and the results are so good that the little bit of work is worth it.



Brad West said:


> you might also consider installing the current version of Pages alongside the iWork '09. Last we checked, downloading these versions does not replace the iWork '09 installation.


One needs to be careful trying this! We use Pages 4.1 and when we just now went to get a copy of Pages 5 to have it also, the App Store wanted to "Update" my old version of Pages, not merely download the new version.  We didn't go through with it.



Dan C. Rinnert said:


> At the end of a chapter, I currently place a simple graphic, centered, to mark the chapter's end. I currently do all the coding for my books by hand and I manually add the code for the image at the end of every chapter. I do use some search & replace to drop it in semi-automatically, but it'd be nice if I could just define a footer image and it would automatically be placed at the end of every chapter.


Unless you're married to a particular graphic image that you want to use, Vellum allows you to insert one of its "Ornamental Breaks" anywhere in your text. These are often used as scene breaks within a chapter but there's nothing preventing them from being placed at the end of a chapter. You'd have to place each one individually, but it's just a menu choice and that's much easier than coding by hand. Vellum offers seven different Ornamental Break images to choose from.


----------



## Brad West

Mickief said:


> About that Preview window--does anyone know of keyboard commands to advance the pages, or is clicking the arrow with the mouse the only way? Big old novels sure take a lot of mouse clicks. If possible, I'd like to spare my mouse from unneeded wear and tear.


There are not currently hotkeys for changing the page in the Preview. We can see how this would be handy, and so we do have a suggestion for this filed in our database. We do not at the moment have a timeline for this would become available, however. Thanks for the additional suggestion, though!


----------



## JRTomlin

I acquired a used Mac laptop specifically to do Vellum. I just did my first and I hope it turns out as nice on the Kindle as it looked in the Vellum previewer. I couldn't get the KDP previewer to display it though.

I have to say that for the most part the learning curve was not bad at all. There were a couple of things I couldn't figure out (probably discussed in this thread but I haven't found it yet). I couldn't figure out how to insert a map jpg at the beginning of the book or book links at the end. Because I was under some pressure to upload it since I was up against the pre-order deadline, I omitted those until I figure it out. I don't think it's anything my readers will complain about much although they do like a map at the beginning. 

It looks like Vellum is as good as people have been saying it is. I was very impressed with the way the final version looked with the Oxford style.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

JR - I got a Mac too, supposedly for both Vellum and for the "superior" version of Scrivener. I'm not one of those who fell in love with the Mac; in fact I don't really like it, and I abandoned Scrivener on it almost immediately and went back to the Windows version. So you could say I too got a Mac just for Vellum, and I don't regret it.

If I ever come up with a burning desire for one of the features Scriv for Mac has and Windows doesn't, I figure I can just bring up whatever I'm working on with the Mac version long enough to use that particular feature. Old dogs may learn new tricks, but some old ladies would rather stick with the familiar.


----------



## WDR

JRTomlin said:



> I acquired a used Mac laptop specifically to do Vellum. I just did my first and I hope it turns out as nice on the Kindle as it looked in the Vellum previewer. I couldn't get the KDP previewer to display it though.
> 
> I have to say that for the most part the learning curve was not bad at all. There were a couple of things I couldn't figure out (probably discussed in this thread but I haven't found it yet). I couldn't figure out how to insert a map jpg at the beginning of the book or book links at the end. Because I was under some pressure to upload it since I was up against the pre-order deadline, I omitted those until I figure it out. I don't think it's anything my readers will complain about much although they do like a map at the beginning.
> 
> It looks like Vellum is as good as people have been saying it is. I was very impressed with the way the final version looked with the Oxford style.


To insert an in-line graphic element:


Brad West said:


> You can add an image to the end of (or anywhere else in) your chapter using Inline Images, described here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/inline-images/
> 
> Hope that helps!


As far as dealing with working with a Mac when you have always been a Windows power-user---it takes at least a month just to feel comfortable with a Mac. The keyboard shortcuts are different, the way you move files about on the desktop is different, the keyboard feels funny, and things just don't behave the way you've grown accustomed in Windows.

If you are going to make the change, do NOT do it in the middle of a production cycle! You will become frustrated so fast, you will never give it a chance. Do it between projects so you don't get your productivity destroyed by the process of getting used to a new paradigm. For the record, I've never been able to work with Scrivnr.

If you think it is bad going from Windows to a Mac, it is significantly worse going from Mac to Windows. (I know a few people who quit a new job over it.) I spent many, many years living in both worlds, as well as in the command line of Unix systems. What finally won me over to the Mac was MacOS X, which was a BSD Unix. (That's a whole other can of worms...)


----------



## meadwench

OK, I've read the entire thread, and learned a number of helpful things. I still am wondering how to do one final thing: tables.

I'm working on a non-fiction book that has one large and several small tables in it, and the only reference to tables I saw here was a back-and-forth about whether or not tables were allowed in Kindle books, but no definitive answer on how I can put my tables - two of which also have links in the table content - into my book.

Any help would be appreciated. I've been working on this in my trial of Vellum, so I've had the opportunity to explore all the features I've found so far. I've several books I'm working on that may require tables, so this will be a buy/not buy situation for me. I really like what I've seen so far, but without tables, I'm back to hand-coding stuff and that is a pain. I really want to use Vellum instead.


----------



## JRTomlin

WDR said:


> To insert an in-line graphic element:
> As far as dealing with working with a Mac when you have always been a Windows power-user---it takes at least a month just to feel comfortable with a Mac. The keyboard shortcuts are different, the way you move files about on the desktop is different, the keyboard feels funny, and things just don't behave the way you've grown accustomed in Windows.
> 
> If you are going to make the change, do NOT do it in the middle of a production cycle! You will become frustrated so fast, you will never give it a chance. Do it between projects so you don't get your productivity destroyed by the process of getting used to a new paradigm. For the record, I've never been able to work with Scrivnr.
> 
> If you think it is bad going from Windows to a Mac, it is significantly worse going from Mac to Windows. (I know a few people who quit a new job over it.) I spent many, many years living in both worlds, as well as in the command line of Unix systems. What finally won me over to the Mac was MacOS X, which was a BSD Unix. (That's a whole other can of worms...)


Oh, I will use the Mac ONLY for using Vellum. I've used Macs enough to be able to do that, so I won't be using many shortcuts. 

All my production will be on my precious (preciousssss) PC. *pats PC so it won't feel neglected*

Thanks for the tip. I also figured out that I can just leave the graphic in the .docx file if it is already there, and it just takes a little adjustment in Vellum to make it work. I just was under too much pressure earlier today to fool with it. I now have two novels done with Vellum. I downloaded one on my own Kindle and it does look just as nice as I hoped.

Great job by the developers.


----------



## Word Fan

meadwench said:


> I've several books I'm working on that may require tables, so this will be a buy/not buy situation for me. I really like what I've seen so far, but without tables, I'm back to hand-coding stuff and that is a pain. I really want to use Vellum instead.


Vellum doesn't do tables yet. (There is rarely any call for them in fiction books, and fiction formatting is Vellum's strong point.) It is one of several formatting structures that are so uncommon that they apparently have not yet been worth the effort to add to Vellum's repertoire. "Interrupted ordered lists" is another, as is "sub-sections that appear as sub-levels in the Table of Contents."

You're not stuck hand coding, however. If you know how to do it, you can use Word to make your manuscript file with tables, then run that file through Calibre and the tables will display perfectly in the e-book. We've done it more than once.

Private Message me if you need help.


----------



## meadwench

Word Fan said:


> Vellum doesn't do tables yet. (There is rarely any call for them in fiction books, and fiction formatting is Vellum's strong point.) It is one of several formatting structures that are so uncommon that they apparently have not yet been worth the effort to add to Vellum's repertoire. "Interrupted ordered lists" is another, as is "sub-sections that appear as sub-levels in the Table of Contents."
> 
> You're not stuck hand coding, however. If you know how to do it, you can use Word to make your manuscript file with tables, then run that file through Calibre and the tables will display perfectly in the e-book. We've done it more than once.
> 
> Private Message me if you need help.


OK, so it doesn't do tables, bummer. As for running a Word file through Calibre, I'm not sure how I can see that working (without a lot of tweaking) for Kindle/iBooks/Kobo/B&N. All my use with Calibre has been for cataloguing my personal library of ebooks.


----------



## Word Fan

meadwench said:


> As for running a Word file through Calibre, I'm not sure how I can see that working (without a lot of tweaking) for Kindle/iBooks/Kobo/B&N.


O.K. Forget that I offered.


----------



## notjohn

meadwench said:


> OK, so it doesn't do tables, bummer. As for running a Word file through Calibre, I'm not sure how I can see that working (without a lot of tweaking) for Kindle/iBooks/Kobo/B&N. All my use with Calibre has been for cataloguing my personal library of ebooks.


Which of course is exactly what Calibre (or calibre, as Kovid prefers to spell it) is intended for. What I would do is run that *.doc or *.docx file through Word2CleanHtml dot com online, open the resulting html file in Sigil, and tweak it there as needed. Takes some learning, but easiest in the long term. You can get the latest version at https://github.com/Sigil-Ebook/Sigil/releases.


----------



## Word Fan

HSh said:


> Are there any plans to bring out a version compatible with the Chrome operating system? Thanks.


This has been asked and answered before.

No.


----------



## thesmallprint

On previewing my book in Vellum, I'm seeing smart quotes working in the previews for each device except Apple and Kindle devices. Smart quotes also visible in the editing pane.

Any suggestions on what might be wrong before I lodge a support ticket?

Thanks


----------



## Brad West

thesmallprint said:


> On previewing my book in Vellum, I'm seeing smart quotes working in the previews for each device except Apple and Kindle devices. Smart quotes also visible in the editing pane.


Hi thesmallprint,

What you're seeing is how ("smart") quotation marks are rendered in different fonts. By default, the iPad and Kindle previews use Palatino, which renders quotation marks more as angled wedges than the "66" and "99" used by a font like Georgia.

Here's a bit of an example showing quotation marks in different fonts:










Note, though, that all of these quotation marks differ from straight up-and-down ("dumb quote") prime symbols (e.g. the ones I'm using in this very sentence, since the forum can't deal with true apostrophes and quotation marks ).

The end result seen by a reader will depend on the font she's chosen, but if you've used quotation marks in your manuscript, they will be included in your eBook.

Hope that clarifies things.


----------



## thesmallprint

Most helpful, Brad. Many thanks


----------



## JRTomlin

I know there was talk up thread about formatting for print. Is that still a possibility? In such a long thread I may well have messed some discussion of this and if so I apologize.


----------



## Word Fan

JRTomlin said:


> I know there was talk up thread about formatting for print. Is that still a possibility? In such a long thread I may well have messed some discussion of this and if so I apologize.


The word is, _"Wait until sometime in 2017."_

I would add that "patience is a virtue." The two Brads are very good at making sure that, whatever features Vellum offers, they work correctly and are rock solid, but good stuff takes time to get right.


----------



## JRTomlin

I agree and think that it's great how solid Vellum is. Good to know it's still in the works, even if we have to wait a while. 

ETA: It took a lot of convincing for me to get a used Mac laptop specifically for using just Vellum. Believe me, that wouldnn't have happened if I weren't sold on it. lol


----------



## Pizzazz

Word Fan said:


> The word is, _"Wait until sometime in 2017."_
> 
> I would add that "patience is a virtue." The two Brads are very good at making sure that, whatever features Vellum offers, they work correctly and are rock solid, but good stuff takes time to get right.


Print via Vellum would make for a wonderful 2017!!!


----------



## Word Fan

Does our copy of Vellum check to see that we have the latest version of Kindlegen or do we have to do that manually?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Word Fan said:


> Does our copy of Vellum check to see that we have the latest version of Kindlegen or do we have to do that manually?


Vellum manages its own copy of kindlegen, so you don't have to worry about updating it manually. And because Amazon hasn't released a new version of kindlegen since Vellum was released, all Vellum users should be using the latest version of kindlgen. (If Amazon does release a new version of kindlegen that is required for Vellum users, we will provide an update that allows Vellum users to upgrade the Vellum-managed copy of kindlegen.)


----------



## Brad Andalman

dreamingtruth said:


> Hey guys! So I just started using Vellum - really lovely!! But one critical thing I can't get passed. Every time I try to upload the cover, it literally won't respond. It uploads many other pics I've used to see if it works (it does), but the one pic I have of the cover won't be uploaded.
> 
> I'm assuming it's an issue with the file and not Vellum, so I opened one of the pics that works, replaced it with the cover on Photoshop, and tried again. The new version of the cover doesn't work anymore.
> 
> Thoughts?? Maybe Vellum doesn't accept a certain type of file - although I saved as png and jpg, neither worked when others have, so very strange.


Hi dreamingtruth,

We'd be happy to take a look at your file to see if we can see what's going on. You can send us your cover image using our contact page, here:
http://help.vellum.pub/contact/


----------



## Patty Jansen

Just listened to your interview with Joanna Penn this morning.

Cool!


----------



## Mark E. Cooper

Patty Jansen said:


> Just listened to your interview with Joanna Penn this morning.
> 
> Cool!


Agreed.


----------



## WDR

Patty Jansen said:


> Just listened to your interview with Joanna Penn this morning.
> 
> Cool!


Link here: (wags finger at Patty) 

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/01/09/beautiful-ebook-formatting/


----------



## Emily Kimelman

Hi Brad,

I recently bought Vellum and LOVE it. One thing I'd like to do is have a link at the beginning of my book that leads to a page at the end. I'm setting up a launch bonus and I want people to be able to find it easily but also have to own the book in order to access it. 

I'd like the link in the beginning to be an image of the bonus and directions to click to get the link. Then it would link to the page in the back where they could click to our private landing. 

I hope that all makes sense... and that it is possible. 

Thanks!


----------



## Brad West

Emily Kimelman said:


> I recently bought Vellum and LOVE it. One thing I'd like to do is have a link at the beginning of my book that leads to a page at the end. I'm setting up a launch bonus and I want people to be able to find it easily but also have to own the book in order to access it.
> 
> I'd like the link in the beginning to be an image of the bonus and directions to click to get the link. Then it would link to the page in the back where they could click to our private landing.


Hi Emily,

Though the reader will be able to use the Table of Contents to access the material you've placed at the end of your book, there is not currently a way to create your own link from the front to the back.

We do have an entry for an "internal link" feature filed in our database of suggestions, and I'll add your name to that list. We don't have a timeline for when that feature might arrive, however.

Sorry we don't have a better answer for you!


----------



## TaraCrescent

Brad West said:


> Hi Emily,
> 
> Though the reader will be able to use the Table of Contents to access the material you've placed at the end of your book, there is not currently a way to create your own link from the front to the back.
> 
> We do have an entry for an "internal link" feature filed in our database of suggestions, and I'll add your name to that list. We don't have a timeline for when that feature might arrive, however.
> 
> Sorry we don't have a better answer for you!


Could you add my name to that list too, please?  I have a book with a choose-your-own ending, and I'd love to be able to have links to (a) ending 1 and (b) ending 2 at the right place so the reader can actually choose.


----------



## Brad West

TaraCrescent said:


> Could you add my name to that list too, please?  I have a book with a choose-your-own ending, and I'd love to be able to have links to (a) ending 1 and (b) ending 2 at the right place so the reader can actually choose.


Choose-your-own ending books are, in fact, another reason we've received this request. I've added your name to the list.


----------



## ahallatt

Hi

I'm trying out Vellum for an illustrated chapter book of mine and so far I love it. It's the WYSIWYG ebook generator I was looking for years ago.

Regarding images:
"(There are some situations where one format works better than another. For example, simple black and white graphics can sometimes be smaller if you use a GIF. In most cases, though, you can just Vellum take care of it.)"

Does that mean that a GIF remains as a GIF and isn't changed to another image format? I hope you say yes, because GIF is a lossy format and so is JPEG and if Vellum converts one to another, you are likely to lose some of those clean lines we cartoonists like.

Cheers.


----------



## Brad West

ahallatt said:


> Does that mean that a GIF remains as a GIF and isn't changed to another image format? I hope you say yes, because GIF is a lossy format and so is JPEG and if Vellum converts one to another, you are likely to lose some of those clean lines we cartoonists like.


Vellum will resize an image if it seems too large for a given platform.

On Kindle, if your image is more than 1280 pixels wide, it will be down-sized and converted to the JPEG format.

Under that, though, and your image will be used as is (and your GIF will remain a GIF).

Hope that helps!


----------



## Tom Swyers

Hi,

Is there any way to produce pages with Vellum that have page numbers?

I'm trying to give the book to beta readers and I'd like to have them to be able to reference page numbers (or something else) so I can easily located errors.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Tom


----------



## Brad Andalman

Tom Swyers said:


> Hi,
> 
> Is there any way to produce pages with Vellum that have page numbers?
> 
> I'm trying to give the book to beta readers and I'd like to have them to be able to reference page numbers (or something else) so I can easily located errors.
> 
> Any ideas are appreciated.
> 
> Tom


Vellum doesn't number the "pages" in your eBook. Since the page size can change depending on factors like the size of a reader's screen and the chosen font size, it's up to the reading software to calculate and show page numbers. Thus, there is no way to have consistent page numbers for your beta readers.

However, Kindles do report something called "location," which is consistent across devices. If your beta readers are using Kindle devices, they could use that number when giving you feedback. Of course, since this only works for Kindles, you might just want to ask your readers to give you some context instead (e.g. "In Chapter 1, the sentence 'Call me, Ishmael' should not have a comma.").


----------



## Word Fan

TaraCrescent said:


> Could you add my name to that list too, please?


Add my father and I to the "internal link" list, too.

(I saw Brad's photo at the podcast with Joanna Penn. This is for you, Brad...  )


----------



## A. N. Other Author

Hey, just a quick couple of questions. I've looked at tutorials and a couple of searches and I'm trying to do a couple of things that I can't quite figure out.

Am I able to mix styles at all? I know I can change the paragraph starts, etc, but can I mix up the headers a little, like make the text bigger in some cases than in others? I'm thinking when I split a book into parts, I like to have a blank page with the PART ONE, PART TWO, etc, and using only a heading makes it look very small and lonely on the page by itself.

[EDIT - I found the method of breaking the chapters into parts, which looks a little better but would still appreciate the ability to reformat to a degree]

Also, can I alter the paragraph indent? It defaults to double what I usually try for.

And if I choose to have a space between each paragraph in sections of the book (eg, for certain formatting like letters inserted into narrative) can I alter that space? Like 0.5 or 0.3 of the default?

[EDIT: block quote works quite well for inserting letters and emails but it still seems to think the next line is a paragraph break before resuming the narrative ... see next]

Finally, can I turn off the "first paragraph after paragraph break" formatting for certain selected paragraphs? Again, when I want a gap between paragraphs, it automatically assumes a paragraph break rather than different formatting to the rest of the book. EG, after block quote.

None of this is a big deal, of course. Essentially, Vellum makes the books look far nicer than my current efforts, which are done in Word and Caliber. I was just hoping for some flexibility in these minor quibbles.

Thanks.


----------



## Leanne King

Word Fan said:


> Add my father and I to the "internal link" list, too.


Yeah, please add me to that list as well. Not being able to link internally is my biggest gripe with Vellum.


----------



## Magda Alexander

FYI, Amazon frowns on links that take readers from the front of the book to the back.

"Warning: Unnecessary or confusing hyperlinks, misplaced Tables of Contents (TOCs), or the addition of disruptive content that takes readers away from the main content of your book can result in a poor customer experience. If the formatting of a book results in a poor experience or genuine reader confusion, or is designed to unnaturally inflate sales or pages read, we will take action to remove titles and protect readers. This also includes disruptive or unnecessary enticement to click on elements within TOCs. Continued addition of these types of elements in your titles could affect your account status, up to and including termination."

https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A1MMQ0JHRBEINX


----------



## Brad Andalman

ADDavies said:


> Hey, just a quick couple of questions. [...]


Hi ADDavies,

In order to ensure consistency of formatting, Vellum makes certain concessions to flexibility. This means that you are unable to mix and match styles, make the headers of some chapters larger than others, or switch between paragraph indication styles mid-book.

Changing the default paragraph indentation amount, though, is something we could consider, and we'll keep it in mind when planning future releases.

Lastly, the paragraph that immediately follows a Block Quote should not use the Paragraph After Break style. If that's happening, then you probably have an empty paragraph break after your Block Quote. Simply delete that, and the Paragraph After Break formatting won't apply. Vellum applies a margin around Block Quotes, so even if you remove that paragraph break, you'll still have a (consistent) gap between the Block Quote and the following paragraph.

Hope that helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us directly.


----------



## A. N. Other Author

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi ADDavies,
> 
> In order to ensure consistency of formatting, Vellum makes certain concessions to flexibility. This means that you are unable to mix and match styles, make the headers of some chapters larger than others, or switch between paragraph indication styles mid-book.
> 
> Changing the default paragraph indentation amount, though, is something we could consider, and we'll keep it in mind when planning future releases.
> 
> Lastly, the paragraph that immediately follows a Block Quote should not use the Paragraph After Break style. If that's happening, then you probably have an empty paragraph break after your Block Quote. Simply delete that, and the Paragraph After Break formatting won't apply. Vellum applies a margin around Block Quotes, so even if you remove that paragraph break, you'll still have a (consistent) gap between the Block Quote and the following paragraph.
> 
> Hope that helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us directly.


Thank you! I was adding an extra line after block quotes which was making it think it was a paragraph break, but taking away that "carriage return" still leave a small white space and no caps, so - problem solve.

I've been playing with it a lot over the past couple of days and solve most of my niggles, so bought the full version.

The only remaining suggestion I've got is that you include tax information on sales pages, especially for countries like the UK with VAT to add. The sales page says £149.99 but when I hit "buy" it comes up as £179.99 because VAT gets added. Just a customer experience thing, really, but most places that add VAT (or equivalent) state the GROSS price the customer will pay - maybe it's different in the States? I went back and forth a few times thinking there was an error before I realised what the discrepency was. I know you also have corporate customers so at the least, i would suggest showing the net, VAT owed, then the gross price, as many of your customers will not be VAT registered.

Not a big complaint. Like I said, I still bought it, and I've reformatted, checked on my kindle, and uploaded three books in 24 hours. Great job!


----------



## Word Fan

Magda Alexander said:


> FYI, Amazon frowns on links that take readers from the front of the book to the back.
> 
> "Warning: Unnecessary or confusing hyperlinks, misplaced Tables of Contents (TOCs), or the addition of disruptive content that takes readers away from the main content of your book can result in a poor customer experience. If the formatting of a book results in a poor experience or genuine reader confusion, or is designed to unnaturally inflate sales or pages read, we will take action to remove titles and protect readers. This also includes disruptive or unnecessary enticement to click on elements within TOCs. Continued addition of these types of elements in your titles could affect your account status, up to and including termination."
> 
> https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A1MMQ0JHRBEINX


Internal links do not have to be _"unnecessary or confusing,"_ nor do they have to result in a _"poor experience or genuine reader confusion."_ As it is with how you construct your sentences and where you place your story points in your books, how you construct your internal links and where you place them in your text can be a great enhancement to the reader's experience.

But, as with any part of being an indie author, to have even a chance of being successful using them, you have to know what you're doing.


----------



## Guest

Brad West said:


> Hi Emily,
> 
> Though the reader will be able to use the Table of Contents to access the material you've placed at the end of your book, there is not currently a way to create your own link from the front to the back.
> 
> We do have an entry for an "internal link" feature filed in our database of suggestions, and I'll add your name to that list. We don't have a timeline for when that feature might arrive, however.
> 
> Sorry we don't have a better answer for you!


Not a current user, but planning on including Vellum in an up-coming presentation on formatting  so wanted to clarify if this means Vellum does not support books that have endnotes? Or does it handle those in the initial import and you just can't manually make them?


----------



## Brad West

Anma Natsu said:


> Not a current user, but planning on including Vellum in an up-coming presentation on formatting  so wanted to clarify if this means Vellum does not support books that have endnotes? Or does it handle those in the initial import and you just can't manually make them?


Endnotes/footnotes aren't currently supported. We know these are often used by non-fiction authors, and so we do have it on our list to consider for a future version. Because we have other projects in progress, though, we don't have a timeframe for when a endnote/footnote feature will be available.

Thanks for including Vellum in your presentation!


----------



## L.B

Thinking of buying the unlimited package but want to be sure that if you add print functionality in the future I would receive that upgrade (and any others), without having to purchase again?!


----------



## Brad Andalman

L.B said:


> Thinking of buying the unlimited package but want to be sure that if you add print functionality in the future I would receive that upgrade (and any others), without having to purchase again?!


Hi L.B.,

Thanks for your interest in Vellum. While all of our upgrades thus far have been free and have introduced new features, we cannot promise that all future features will be free. For instance, we still haven't decided upon any specifics regarding the pricing and availability for print yet.

That said, if you purchase the Unlimited eBooks package, we can guarantee that you'll always be able to generate eBooks using the most recent version of Vellum.


----------



## L.B

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi L.B.,
> 
> Thanks for your interest in Vellum. While all of our upgrades thus far have been free and have introduced new features, we cannot promise that all future features will be free. For instance, we still haven't decided upon any specifics regarding the pricing and availability for print yet.
> 
> That said, if you purchase the Unlimited eBooks package, we can guarantee that you'll always be able to generate eBooks using the most recent version of Vellum.


Hmm.. ok. Could I ask that you consider a discount to existing customers if this is the case?

Just been playing with vellum and love it!


----------



## SC

So I bought a used Mac just to run Vellum, since everyone keeps recommending it. I'm planning to buy the unlimited version as soon as I'm sure I have the funds (BTW, any plans for a discount soon?), but for now I'm playing with the trial version, and I have a question.

I'm trying to format a short story. This means there are no chapters. Yet there's a table of contents with a single chapter and it's called "Chapter 1" even though it's the only thing there. Is there a way to remove the chapter break-down or at least rename the chapter so that it's the story title? How do people who use Vellum to produce short story e-books normally handle this?


----------



## Brad West

Shawna Canon said:


> I'm trying to format a short story. This means there are no chapters. Yet there's a table of contents with a single chapter and it's called "Chapter 1" even though it's the only thing there. Is there a way to remove the chapter break-down or at least rename the chapter so that it's the story title? How do people who use Vellum to produce short story e-books normally handle this?


What we typically advise is to use the title of your story as the name of the chapter, and to then turn off the *Numbered* switch for that Chapter. The Numbered switch is available from the *Chapter* menu and from the heading gear menu shown here:
https://help.vellum.pub/headings/

If it really is just the single story, you can also choose to exclude the Table of Contents from the pages of your book. That option is available from the *Table of Contents Settings* described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/toc/

Hope that helps!


----------



## SC

Do pages like "About the author" and links in the back get added into the table of contents? If so, it might still be worth having one for a short story. If not, seems like having a ToC that has a single entry would be kind of pointless. If you turn off ToC, does it still have the hidden one that Amazon likes there to be?


----------



## Brad West

Shawna Canon said:


> Do pages like "About the author" and links in the back get added into the table of contents? If so, it might still be worth having one for a short story. If not, seems like having a ToC that has a single entry would be kind of pointless. If you turn off ToC, does it still have the hidden one that Amazon likes there to be?


About the Author and other pages of backmatter will appear in the TOC, which you can see in the Preview (see previous link about Table of Contents Settings for details).

And regardless of whether you include the TOC as a page in your book, Vellum will always include the hidden _logical_ TOC, which is required by Amazon and other stores.


----------



## SC

Thanks for the answers, Brad! I'll keep playing with it and see if I can make it work like I want now.


----------



## S.R.

This is really an Amazon issue, not a Vellum issue, but I thought I'd see if anyone that's been through this process has tips/advice.

I reformatted three books with Vellum (they look gorgeous BTW), and uploaded them to all the retailers on 1/9. The updates went through fast and easy on every retailer except Amazon - my Look Inside shows the new file, but none of the new formatting. After reading this thread, I know they are slow on this so after a few days I sent a support request asking if they could push through the update.

The first response from KDP was that it *should" happen automatically within 7 days and if it wasn't there by 1/16 I could contact them for help.

1/16 came and went without the update. I called KDP and the person said it would need to be escalated to their technical team. I again gave the info from this thread that it just requires a conversion from mobi7 to KF8 for the LI to show the new format. The person still acted like this was an unknown issue that would need to be investigated. I received a follow-up email saying it would be done by 1/19.

Yep, still not there. I got an email this morning with the typical, "Thanks for your patience. Our technical team is working hard to resolve this issue and it's taking longer than expected....." They no longer give any kind of date for "resolution."

What am I missing? Is this one of those twirl three times under a full moon while chanting an offering of my first born to the Great Zon?

Super annoying! With all of the authors that use Vellum, it seems like this would be a pretty straightforward thing. 

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## Brad Andalman

SallyRose said:


> This is really an Amazon issue, not a Vellum issue, but I thought I'd see if anyone that's been through this process has tips/advice.
> 
> I reformatted three books with Vellum (they look gorgeous BTW), and uploaded them to all the retailers on 1/9. The updates went through fast and easy on every retailer except Amazon - my Look Inside shows the new file, but none of the new formatting. After reading this thread, I know they are slow on this so after a few days I sent a support request asking if they could push through the update.
> 
> The first response from KDP was that it *should" happen automatically within 7 days and if it wasn't there by 1/16 I could contact them for help.
> 
> 1/16 came and went without the update. I called KDP and the person said it would need to be escalated to their technical team. I again gave the info from this thread that it just requires a conversion from mobi7 to KF8 for the LI to show the new format. The person still acted like this was an unknown issue that would need to be investigated. I received a follow-up email saying it would be done by 1/19.
> 
> Yep, still not there. I got an email this morning with the typical, "Thanks for your patience. Our technical team is working hard to resolve this issue and it's taking longer than expected....." They no longer give any kind of date for "resolution."
> 
> What am I missing? Is this one of those twirl three times under a full moon while chanting an offering of my first born to the Great Zon?
> 
> Super annoying! With all of the authors that use Vellum, it seems like this would be a pretty straightforward thing.
> 
> Any advice appreciated. Thanks!


That is really frustrating - especially since mobi7 and KF8 are Amazon's own, proprietary formats! Anyhow, if you haven't already, you might try re-uploading your mobi files. That's not a real satisfying "solution" (if it works), but it might be worth a shot.


----------



## S.R.

Brad Andalman said:


> That is really frustrating - especially since mobi7 and KF8 are Amazon's own, proprietary formats! Anyhow, if you haven't already, you might try re-uploading your mobi files. That's not a real satisfying "solution" (if it works), but it might be worth a shot.


Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought of re-uploading. If I don't get something concrete from Amazon soon, I might give it a try. I'm just a little afraid that it will reset this whole waiting game...but it might be my only resort.


----------



## Bbates024

I haven't used my vellum in about a month, I logged into my Mac today to get a book file ready and for some reason it won't accept the doc when I drag and drop it. Any ideas?

I figured it out, for some reason my word was saving the file as doc, instead of docx. Wow that was frustrating, but now the book looks amazing. Crisis averted.


----------



## scott.marmorstein

I've been waiting for weeks for Amazon to change one of my book files. I've even tried uploading it, and they haven't changed the Look Inside at all. I don't know why. My other books worked, but just this one won't change for some stubborn reason. It also won't change on D2 distributions. Strange.


----------



## kit_kat

So I am fairly new to Vellum and am playing around with the trial version. A few questions come to mind:

Somewhere I'd read that Vellum automatically generates a copyright page. Is this true?

Also, when I preview the TOC, it doesn't list the copyright page or dedication I've included at the front of the book, although I do have those pages in the contents pane on the left. It just goes straight to Chapter One. How do I get it to list those pages at the top of the TOC?


----------



## Brad Andalman

kit_kat said:


> So I am fairly new to Vellum and am playing around with the trial version. A few questions come to mind:
> 
> Somewhere I'd read that Vellum automatically generates a copyright page. Is this true?
> 
> Also, when I preview the TOC, it doesn't list the copyright page or dedication I've included at the front of the book, although I do have those pages in the contents pane on the left. It just goes straight to Chapter One. How do I get it to list those pages at the top of the TOC?


Vellum doesn't automatically generate a Copyright page. However, when you add one using *Chapter > Add Element > Copyright* (from the main menu), Vellum will insert a Copyright element with some boilerplate text. You are free to change it of course, but you don't have to.

As you've discovered, Vellum will automatically generate a TOC page in your book. That TOC will always exclude the Copyright and Dedication elements, which shouldn't normally appear in a book's Table of Contents.

Hope that helps. If you have other questions, don't hesitate to contact us directly!


----------



## SC

Is there a way to save a certain copyright page text so that when you insert it into another book, it'll keep whatever changes you made? I know you can copy the page over from another book, but it'd be nice if it could just remember what text I wanted to be there so I didn't have to open another file and move that page into it.

Same for other pages, or maybe I could save a new page and it could be added to the 'insert elements' option? I wanted to add a page with links at the back, and the only way I could figure to was to add an 'about author' page and change everything. It'd be great if I could save that as an 'element' instead of having to copy over from another book.


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Good news everyone!

You can now preview your vellum created book on Amazon! I did it just to make sure it _wasn't _working, because up until this morning it wasn't (that I know of.) And I was absolutely shocked to discover it finally is!

Enjoy!


----------



## Brad Andalman

Shawna Canon said:


> Is there a way to save a certain copyright page text so that when you insert it into another book, it'll keep whatever changes you made? I know you can copy the page over from another book, but it'd be nice if it could just remember what text I wanted to be there so I didn't have to open another file and move that page into it.
> 
> Same for other pages, or maybe I could save a new page and it could be added to the 'insert elements' option? I wanted to add a page with links at the back, and the only way I could figure to was to add an 'about author' page and change everything. It'd be great if I could save that as an 'element' instead of having to copy over from another book.


There is currently no way to save an element such that it can be immediately inserted into other books later. As you mentioned, the best way to do that now is by dragging it over from another Vellum document.

We do, however, have this suggestion logged in our feature request database. I've gone ahead and added your name to it, which helps us prioritize our future work.


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Brad Andalman said:


> There is currently no way to save an element such that it can be immediately inserted into other books later. As you mentioned, the best way to do that now is by dragging it over from another Vellum document.
> 
> We do, however, have this suggestion logged in our feature request database. I've gone ahead and added your name to it, which helps us prioritize our future work.


If you'd like to add mine to that list as well...


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Is there going to be a way/means of changing the layout of chapter headings in the future? I feel incredibly limited by the current options. I've resorted to customizing my own images as chapter headings (Chapter 1 TITLE underneath, etc.) as .gif files with transparency so they look good on the different backgrounds for tablets and phones. I found ways to make svg images but of course can't put them inside my vellum file anywhere to make things even better. 

Are you planning to give more creative control/possibilities to DIY'ers like myself who want more options in order to stand out? I know that's an enormous undertaking (from a coding standpoint), but I am curious. 

Regardless of these things I love, love, love using the program and am so grateful you made it! Thank you!


----------



## Steve Voelker

Shawna Canon said:


> Is there a way to save a certain copyright page text so that when you insert it into another book, it'll keep whatever changes you made? I know you can copy the page over from another book, but it'd be nice if it could just remember what text I wanted to be there so I didn't have to open another file and move that page into it.
> 
> Same for other pages, or maybe I could save a new page and it could be added to the 'insert elements' option? I wanted to add a page with links at the back, and the only way I could figure to was to add an 'about author' page and change everything. It'd be great if I could save that as an 'element' instead of having to copy over from another book.


As someone who formats books for more than one pen name, I am totally against this idea!
The last thing I want is for Vellum to autofill ANYTHING. 
It is really not a hassle to have another Vellum file open and copy things into a new book. In fact, I end up doing that for about 5-10 sections of every new book. Having the other file open and dragging elements is probably easier than anything Vellum would add into the menus anyway. 
I say keep the interface as clean as possible!
Just my $0.02.


----------



## SC

Steve Voelker said:


> As someone who formats books for more than one pen name, I am totally against this idea!
> The last thing I want is for Vellum to autofill ANYTHING.
> It is really not a hassle to have another Vellum file open and copy things into a new book. In fact, I end up doing that for about 5-10 sections of every new book. Having the other file open and dragging elements is probably easier than anything Vellum would add into the menus anyway.
> I say keep the interface as clean as possible!
> Just my $0.02.


I think obviously it should be an option, not something that's forced on everyone. What would be the problem with being to save an "about the author page - pen name 1" and another "about the author page - pen name 2" that you could insert easily without having to open a new document?


----------



## Brad Andalman

scott.marmorstein said:


> Is there going to be a way/means of changing the layout of chapter headings in the future? I feel incredibly limited by the current options. I've resorted to customizing my own images as chapter headings (Chapter 1 TITLE underneath, etc.) as .gif files with transparency so they look good on the different backgrounds for tablets and phones. I found ways to make svg images but of course can't put them inside my vellum file anywhere to make things even better.
> 
> Are you planning to give more creative control/possibilities to DIY'ers like myself who want more options in order to stand out? I know that's an enormous undertaking (from a coding standpoint), but I am curious.
> 
> Regardless of these things I love, love, love using the program and am so grateful you made it! Thank you!


We've definitely considered adding more possibilities for customization, though that isn't in our immediate plans (I think you know what is, though  ). Also, the Book Styles used by Vellum are quite complex in order to adapt to all of the inconsistencies of each platform. So, as you rightly point out, it would be a huge undertaking.


----------



## Silly Writer

The Brads,

I'm sure y'all get tired of us asking for moar, Moar, MOAR!!! So I just wanted to say I finally bought Vellum!! (because of this thread), and I couldn't be happier. It's worth every penny and I feel like I've robbed you.

That said, I won't be asking for any new bells and whistles, but when you get the print option ready, just shut up and take my money!  

Sincerely,

A Very Happy Customer


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Silly Writer said:


> ...but when you get the print option ready, just shut up and take my money!
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> A Very Happy Customer


Sentiment echoed.


----------



## SC

Okay, something is weird is happening.

I just bought Vellum (unlimited), going through the link in the program itself. Once the purchase was done, it wanted me to continue generating the ebook. Except I wasn't totally done editing it. But when I clicked 'cancel', nothing happened. It was generate or shut the computer down. So, I went ahead and generated the files. Except now the files are generated and it still won't let me close the window. There's a 'close' button, but nothing happens when I click it. The 'view folder' button shows me the folder, but after I close that folder with the files, I'm right back to the small window I can't close. I also can't close Vellum altogether because the red dot in the corner of Vellum isn't accessible. So like, how do I close that window and (prior to generating) cancel after I hit the 'generate' button. This is very weird.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Shawna Canon said:


> Okay, something is weird is happening.
> 
> I just bought Vellum (unlimited), going through the link in the program itself. Once the purchase was done, it wanted me to continue generating the ebook. Except I wasn't totally done editing it. But when I clicked 'cancel', nothing happened. It was generate or shut the computer down. So, I went ahead and generated the files. Except now the files are generated and it still won't let me close the window. There's a 'close' button, but nothing happens when I click it. The 'view folder' button shows me the folder, but after I close that folder with the files, I'm right back to the small window I can't close. I also can't close Vellum altogether because the red dot in the corner of Vellum isn't accessible. So like, how do I close that window and (prior to generating) cancel after I hit the 'generate' button. This is very weird.


Hi Shawna,

Thanks for your purchase! And it is weird that you can't close the generate sheet using the Cancel button. That should work.

If you'd like to take a screenshot (here's how: https://support.apple.com/en-us/KM204852) and send it to us via our contact page, we might be able see what's going on. However, if you've saved your Vellum document - which you should have done before purchasing - then you can probably Force Quit and restart Vellum with no problem.

To Force Quit, hold down Control and click on the Vellum icon in your dock. When the popup menu appears, hold down Option and choose Force Quit. Then you should be able to restart Vellum and continue editing.

Obviously, we'd prefer to see what's going on, so hopefully we hear from you via our contact page!


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Shawna Canon said:


> Okay, something is weird is happening.
> 
> I just bought Vellum (unlimited), going through the link in the program itself. Once the purchase was done, it wanted me to continue generating the ebook. Except I wasn't totally done editing it. But when I clicked 'cancel', nothing happened. It was generate or shut the computer down. So, I went ahead and generated the files. Except now the files are generated and it still won't let me close the window. There's a 'close' button, but nothing happens when I click it. The 'view folder' button shows me the folder, but after I close that folder with the files, I'm right back to the small window I can't close. I also can't close Vellum altogether because the red dot in the corner of Vellum isn't accessible. So like, how do I close that window and (prior to generating) cancel after I hit the 'generate' button. This is very weird.


In Mac you go over to the top left of the screen. You'll see a little apple icon. Click that, and scroll down to "Force Quit". Click on that and a list of open programs will pop up. You'll probably see "Vellum. (Not Responding)" or some such. Highlight it with a click, and click "Force Quit" button.


----------



## SC

Thank you for the advice, Brad and Scott. I'll see what I can do.


----------



## AuthorX

Is it just me or does Vellum not import images when you do an import from a Word file?


----------



## scott.marmorstein

AuthorX said:


> Is it just me or does Vellum not import images when you do an import from a Word file?


If the images you used aren't up to the proper specs, they might not port when you drag and drop. You can always directly import images into vellum from what I've seen. It is a little more time consuming to have to go back over the whole document and try to remember where you wanted images to go. If that were the case, I'd open the Word file again and for every image have a caption (or somewhere in the paragraph, maybe) use an all caps abbreviation like IMG so you know where you wanted the image to go. I've noticed that images need to be up to spec. My own recommendation is to convert any/all images in your book to .gif files at a higher resolution with transparency option checked. This accomplishes two things: 1, it makes it nice and small (you don't want to make the book cost too much to deliver) and 2, it makes it so that _only_ the image shows on the sepia and night mode backgrounds (tan and black) without showing an annoying and out of place 'white square background'.


----------



## Brad Andalman

AuthorX said:


> Is it just me or does Vellum not import images when you do an import from a Word file?


It should!

However, we have seen an issue where images won't import if you are using an older Word file format. When you open your docx in Word, do you see "Compatibility Mode" in the title bar? If so, you'll want to save your file without "Compatibility Mode" and then try importing that new file into Vellum.

If that doesn't solve the problem, please send us your docx file using our contact page. When we receive it, we'll take a look!


----------



## L.B

So bought Vellum, love it. 

Trying to upload an ePub to nook though and it won't upload, it just keeps hanging. Has anyone had this issue?


----------



## Brad Andalman

L.B said:


> So bought Vellum, love it.
> 
> Trying to upload an ePub to nook though and it won't upload, it just keeps hanging. Has anyone had this issue?


I had this issue just last night. I tried three different browsers, and my ePubs still never uploaded. (The ePubs were valid, and I was able to side-load them onto my Nook.)

So, it certainly seems like a Nook Press issue to me. My recommendation would be to contact their support and see what they say. If you learn anything, please let us know!


----------



## L.B

Brad Andalman said:


> I had this issue just last night. I tried three different browsers, and my ePubs still never uploaded. (The ePubs were valid, and I was able to side-load them onto my Nook.)
> 
> So, it certainly seems like a Nook Press issue to me. My recommendation would be to contact their support and see what they say. If you learn anything, please let us know!


Ah ok, thanks Brad. I have already contacted them, but wanted to check it wasn't a Vellum issue.

I'll let you know!


----------



## scott.marmorstein

L.B said:


> So bought Vellum, love it.
> 
> Trying to upload an ePub to nook though and it won't upload, it just keeps hanging. Has anyone had this issue?


BN is pretty atrocious when going direct with them. Their software is subpar, and that's as diplomatic about it as I can be.


----------



## JRTomlin

Brad Andalman said:


> There is currently no way to save an element such that it can be immediately inserted into other books later. As you mentioned, the best way to do that now is by dragging it over from another Vellum document.
> 
> We do, however, have this suggestion logged in our feature request database. I've gone ahead and added your name to it, which helps us prioritize our future work.


Add my name to that please. It is one thing that is very lacking.


----------



## SC

So, just about ready to output my files, and I noticed something else.

In the 'about the author' template, there are a handful of 'contact the author' options (email, twitter, etc.), but no goodreads option. Which means I have to add a whole line to the text portion of the page, which means extra white space between it and the line above it to separate it neatly, which is all much more cumbersome than simply adding a goodreads link option down where the other links are. Considering the entire purpose of this program is to make ebooks and goodreads is a pretty significant book/reading site, I was really surprised that goodreads wasn't already in the link options list.


----------



## L.B

Ok, got a reply from Nook saying 'Sorry, please try again', and now it works.

So no idea what was going on there!


----------



## A. N. Other Author

Brad Andalman said:


> There is currently no way to save an element such that it can be immediately inserted into other books later. As you mentioned, the best way to do that now is by dragging it over from another Vellum document.
> 
> We do, however, have this suggestion logged in our feature request database. I've gone ahead and added your name to it, which helps us prioritize our future work.


I have a Vellum file containing all my front and back matter including copyright, also-by, about the author, review plea, pages with a cover and description for every book (not that I enter EVERY book in the back of every file) ... drag-n-drop is easy enough but a customisable set of templates would be great too.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Shawna Canon said:


> I think obviously it should be an option, not something that's forced on everyone. What would be the problem with being to save an "about the author page - pen name 1" and another "about the author page - pen name 2" that you could insert easily without having to open a new document?


What you're suggesting is a little different than what I was responding to. The post I was against was the idea that Vellum would automatically save info on things like copyright pages, then automatically populate those fields when you used them next time. That would be a nightmare for anyone who formats for more than one pen name. 
Your idea of being able to select them from a menu is better. 
But I would still argue that opening a menu and dragging in elements is not really all that different than opening a file and dragging them in. So while I wouldn't exactly be against this sort of implementation, I would rather see the developer's limited resources go toward something more useful.


----------



## SC

Steve Voelker said:


> What you're suggesting is a little different than what I was responding to. The post I was against was the idea that Vellum would automatically save info on things like copyright pages, then automatically populate those fields when you used them next time. That would be a nightmare for anyone who formats for more than one pen name.
> Your idea of being able to select them from a menu is better.
> But I would still argue that opening a menu and dragging in elements is not really all that different than opening a file and dragging them in. So while I wouldn't exactly be against this sort of implementation, I would rather see the developer's limited resources go toward something more useful.


No, see, I want there to be no dragging for these. Either have an option to always remember the content for these pages (for those of us who have one pen name), and/or have the option to make them available on the same menu that lets you 'add element' to add a standard copyright page.


----------



## Brad Andalman

As some of you may have heard, our next major version of Vellum will create beautiful books for print services like CreateSpace. We plan to release this new version and announce pricing for this option in Spring/Summer of this year.

Before we release, we'll be conducting a private beta with a limited number of authors. Interested in helping us test? Great! You can throw your hat in the ring by filling out this short survey:
https://vellum.typeform.com/to/Jz7xj6

Thanks!


----------



## Anarchist

Brad Andalman said:


> As some of you may have heard, our next major version of Vellum will create beautiful books for print services like CreateSpace. We plan to release this new version and announce pricing for this option in Spring/Summer of this year.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Word Fan

Shawna Canon said:


> No, see, I want there to be no dragging for these. Either have an option to always remember the content for these pages (for those of us who have one pen name), and/or have the option to make them available on the same menu that lets you 'add element' to add a standard copyright page.


_"No, see, I want..."_

I always have to laugh and shake my head at people who seem to have not a clue as to how much work it is to create features for programs, features for which there is probably a minuscule audience of users.

Vellum is very stable and usable just as it is. Dragging works just fine. I understand that you may have to do a few seconds worth of extra work because what you want is not on a menu somewhere. Live with it.

If you want, you can always try using something else to format your books and then complain about that one, too.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Brad Andalman said:


> As some of you may have heard, our next major version of Vellum will create beautiful books for print services like CreateSpace.


Now THAT is a good use of developer resources!


----------



## SC

Word Fan said:


> _"No, see, I want..."_
> 
> I always have to laugh and shake my head at people who seem to have not a clue as to how much work it is to create features for programs, features for which there is probably a minuscule audience of users.


You're saying it's unreasonable for a consumer of a product to identify changes/improvements that they'd personally like to see in that product? I'm not demanding anything. I'm not saying they should definitely prioritize this over everything else. I'm not whining and crying and protesting in the streets. I'm just pointing out things I run across which would make my use of the product smoother. No, of course I don't know how complicated it is to program one thing or another. I don't have to be to give feedback. It's up to the makers of the program to decide whether any given suggestion is something they want to attempt to implement. As for a feature having "probably a minuscule audience of users", how on earth do you know unless people say something?

Am I misunderstanding the purpose of this thread? Is not one of its purposes to offer suggestions for ways they could improve the program? A feature like that would, in my personal opinion (the only one I or anyone else here is able to offer, other than the program's creators) would be an improvement. Thus I suggested it.


----------



## Brad West

As we mentioned before, we can see how it would be useful to be have "templates" for common elements like Copyright, About the Author, etc., and how that would be less work than dragging to copy. We've had similar suggestions from other authors, and so we do have this in our database we use to track possible ways we can improve Vellum.

Given our current projects, we can't say when this might appear in Vellum. So in the meantime, dragging from a previous book (or, as was suggested, from a dedicated front/back matter file) will be your best bet.

And to clarify, we always welcome suggestions, either here or via our Contact Page. We receive more suggestions than we can possibly implement, but feedback from users is a big factor in how we prioritize our work. The feedback we received about creating books for print (which starts on the first page of this thread!) played a big part in us making the decision to spend most of the last year developing this feature for 2017.


----------



## SC

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the books for print feature turns out. If you can make it as lovely and easy as the ebooks, that'll be a huge time saver.


----------



## J.A. Cipriano

I read through the post and looked in the help but couldn't find it.

Is there an easy way to do data tables in vellum?


----------



## Brad Andalman

J.A. Cipriano said:


> I read through the post and looked in the help but couldn't find it.
> 
> Is there an easy way to do data tables in vellum?


Unfortunately, there isn't a way to create tables using Vellum. While we do have a suggestion in our database to support them, we currently don't have a plan to implement this feature at this time. As a workaround, though, you could always create an image of your table and insert it as an Inline Image.

Sorry we don't have a better answer for you, but hope that helps!


----------



## Word Fan

J.A. Cipriano said:


> Is there an easy way to do data tables in vellum?


No, but if you are a codehead yourself, or can hire one, you can unzip any of the EPUB files that Vellum creates and add the table(s) manually, then zip it back up. It's a little bit of work, but worth it if you love, and want to keep, all of the other prettiness that Vellum supplies.

The person doing it *really* has to know what they're doing, though.


----------



## mach 5

Brad Andalman said:


> As some of you may have heard, our next major version of Vellum will create beautiful books for print services like CreateSpace....Before we release, we'll be conducting a private beta with a limited number of authors.


This is super exciting! Most of my existing books are in Vellum as I went and redid almost my entire catalog after buying the unlimited package last year. Only I should have given a different answer on the survey  I figured 5 (so 2-5) books into Vellum in the allotted period. Honestly, I should have figured out how many total books I have across my pen names that are long enough for print (or into bundles for print) and given that because I would so totally round up everything I could put into print to have the beta in my greedy little hands 

ETA - since buying the program, I draft straight into Vellum (switching from Pages). I use the "uncategorized" element for my notes (locations, characters, etc.) since it doesn't add to running word count. Not to bash Scrivener, that was just something that didn't work with my brain. I think Vellum is great not just for finished product but as the primary drafting tool.


----------



## Word Fan

mach 5 said:


> since buying the program, I draft straight into Vellum (switching from Pages). I use the "uncategorized" element for my notes (locations, characters, etc.) since it doesn't add to running word count. Not to bash Scrivener, that was just something that didn't work with my brain. I think Vellum is great not just for finished product but as the primary drafting tool.


This!


----------



## JRTomlin

Brad Andalman said:


> As some of you may have heard, our next major version of Vellum will create beautiful books for print services like CreateSpace. We plan to release this new version and announce pricing for this option in Spring/Summer of this year.
> 
> Before we release, we'll be conducting a private beta with a limited number of authors. Interested in helping us test? Great! You can throw your hat in the ring by filling out this short survey:
> https://vellum.typeform.com/to/Jz7xj6
> 
> Thanks!


Jumps up and down! Yay!


----------



## mach 5

So, while I hope I get to beta, I wanted to put this out there as a "watch" item for those who do get to beta. I'm not sure how many people check this issue when they are formatting their print books, but I don't want a carryover line from the preceding page to be less than about 3/4 of the available line width. Ideally, I'd have at least 2 lines bottom of page and 2 nearly full lines top of the carryover page, but I will settle for just one line at the bottom of the page and at least 3/4 line at the top of the page.

When I run into a line that is too short at the top of the page, I will look around at my text. Sometimes I condense or add a line on the preceding page. Sometimes I take out or add a few words. Other times, I place a hard return on the last line of the preceding page and adjust its margin (so it's not indented as first line in a new paragraph). It's not a deal breaker on its own for buying the software if I can't do this, but it would definitely be one area of flexibility that I would miss.

Also, *BRAD*, just like we can preview for ipad, kindle, phone, etc., I hope there will be a print preview that is able to be seen as we work. As I already use Vellum for drafting, not just formatting, I will likely just roll in print page adjustments by adding/deleting text or changing paragraph breaks as part of my overall editing process. Right now, that doesn't happen until I decide to put a book into print and do everything in Word.


----------



## Mare

Anarchist said:


>


Yippee!


----------



## JRTomlin

Brad West said:


> As we mentioned before, we can see how it would be useful to be have "templates" for common elements like Copyright, About the Author, etc., and how that would be less work than dragging to copy. We've had similar suggestions from other authors, and so we do have this in our database we use to track possible ways we can improve Vellum.
> 
> Given our current projects, we can't say when this might appear in Vellum. So in the meantime, dragging from a previous book (or, as was suggested, from a dedicated front/back matter file) will be your best bet.
> 
> And to clarify, we always welcome suggestions, either here or via our Contact Page. We receive more suggestions than we can possibly implement, but feedback from users is a big factor in how we prioritize our work. The feedback we received about creating books for print (which starts on the first page of this thread!) played a big part in us making the decision to spend most of the last year developing this feature for 2017.


After print, I hope that will be high on your priority list. It is about the only thing I found lacking in Vellum. (Great job by the way! It isn't even too painful to switch to my Mac laptop to use it.  )


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## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## SC

JRTomlin said:


> (Great job by the way! It isn't even too painful to switch to my Mac laptop to use it.  )


Haha, ditto. I'm like, "Well, everything else is done. Guess it's time to boot up the ol' Mac to make the ebook files."


----------



## JRTomlin

Further down the to-do list, another style or two would be nice. I like the ones you have but would like a little more variety. Obviously not high priority but a thought.


----------



## mach 5

JRTomlin said:


> Further down the to-do list, another style or two would be nice. I like the ones you have but would like a little more variety. Obviously not high priority but a thought.


I'd like some more ornamental break choices, especially on the contemporary, spartan, SF ish end of the spectrum. Right now I'm using Trace for that.


----------



## SC

JRTomlin said:


> Further down the to-do list, another style or two would be nice. I like the ones you have but would like a little more variety. Obviously not high priority but a thought.


Agreed.


----------



## WDR

mach 5 said:


> I'd like some more ornamental break choices, especially on the contemporary, spartan, SF ish end of the spectrum. Right now I'm using Trace for that.


One way of doing is would change the way the CSS is constructed for the ebook file. Instead of having set clusters of elements, give the user a selection of elements and then plug those into a on-the-fly generated CSS for the output. This way, the user can select ornamental breaks of one variety while having chapter headings of another.

This would also open up the possibility of a user being able to add a custom-created element to add to the element database. For instance, I could use the crest of a given character in a story to signify that the following section is going to be from that character's point of view. Using another element would signify the next section will be from a different character's POV.

I recognize this would require a change in the way Vellum organizes and utilizes its ornamentation collections. It also runs the risk of bolloxing the CSS because there are elements that just don't play nice with each other, especially if the user pushed in an ornamentation that breaks parameters.


----------



## Guest

I'm so happy you are here as I am about to start using Vellum  

TMG


----------



## Guest

I used Vellum today and it's fantastic. So easy and beautiful. Haven't bought it yet. waiting for an updated cover. Pity it isn't good for print... yet  

TMG


----------



## C.F.

One of my books is not available on all apps/devices, including the Windows 8 app, Samsung, and the Kindle Cloud Reader. On the book page it has a link directly under the book description that says, "Available on these devices." The next book in the series doesn't have that link (and is available on all apps/devices), even though it is formatted exactly as the first book using Vellum with the same settings, style, etc. None of my other 10 books have that link and none of my books have pictures or tables. This book also does not have enhanced type setting or page flip.

From what I understand, these type of issues are related to formatting. Does anyone have any ideas why one of my books wouldn't have enhanced type setting, page flip, and, most worryingly, not be available on all app/devices? I'm going to try uploading a new file, but I wanted to see if anyone had any tips to try or had come across this situation and fixed it. The Vellum style I'm using is Kindred with drop caps. I'm willing to try a different style if it's less likely to have problems, but then I'd need to change the second book in the series too and that book isn't having issues, so I'd rather not touch it.

ETA: I updated further down the thread, but in case someone stumbles upon this and doesn't bother to keep reading, the issue was totally, 100% on Amazon's end and had nothing to do with Vellum. I re-uploaded the file and in the process of it re-publishing it made the book available on all apps/devices again.


----------



## Brad West

C.F. said:


> One of my books is not available on all apps/devices, including the Windows 8 app, Samsung, and the Kindle Cloud Reader. On the book page it has a link directly under the book description that says, "Available on these devices." The next book in the series doesn't have that link (and is available on all apps/devices), even though it is formatted exactly as the first book using Vellum with the same settings, style, etc. None of my other 10 books have that link and none of my books have pictures or tables. This book also does not have enhanced type setting or page flip.
> 
> From what I understand, these type of issues are related to formatting. Does anyone have any ideas why one of my books wouldn't have enhanced type setting, page flip, and, most worryingly, not be available on all app/devices? I'm going to try uploading a new file, but I wanted to see if anyone had any tips to try or had come across this situation and fixed it. The Vellum style I'm using is Kindred with drop caps. I'm willing to try a different style if it's less likely to have problems, but then I'd need to change the second book in the series too and that book isn't having issues, so I'd rather not touch it.


Hi C.F.,

Kindred is a popular style, so we don't think that would be the culprit. And as you observed, your other books that use this style don't have this issue. Our best guess is that something went wrong on Amazon's side in converting to their various formats, and so uploading the file again seems like the best bet.

Let us know how it goes.


----------



## C.F.

Brad West said:


> Hi C.F.,
> 
> Kindred is a popular style, so we don't think that would be the culprit. And as you observed, your other books that use this style don't have this issue. Our best guess is that something went wrong on Amazon's side in converting to their various formats, and so uploading the file again seems like the best bet.
> 
> Let us know how it goes.


Thanks, Brad. I figured this was some issue on Amazon's end, but I was hoping there might be some super-secret thing I could try to fix it, lol. I'll re-upload the file tonight and hopefully it will sort itself out. Fingers crossed.


----------



## Leanne King

Apologies if this was asked before, I don't recall seeing it. Are there any plans to add Google Play store affiliate links the way the other four retailers are supported?


----------



## Brad West

Leanne King said:


> Apologies if this was asked before, I don't recall seeing it. Are there any plans to add Google Play store affiliate links the way the other four retailers are supported?


We're interested, and have reached out to them for full details of the program and an account we can test with. We haven't gotten much back other than polite replies.

It's possible we'll have to wait until they make their new affiliate program public.


----------



## C.F.

I re-uploaded my file and it's now available for all apps and devices, so it was definitely an Amazon issue. It doesn't show enhanced typsesetting or pageflip, but I don't really care about those (and they could show up later); I just thought it was interesting data that they're missing from that book. I was pleasantly surprised that it instantly fixed the availability issue. I was fully prepared to have to go back and forth with KDP to get it resolved.

Thanks for the quick reassurance, Brad, that it wasn't a formatting issue and was just a glitch on Amazon's end. It's shocking to me that a company that is so smart in some ways can have so many glitches and issues on the KDP side of things.


----------



## sela

I just started using Vellum and am a HUGE fan of it! Very easy to use and creates a beautiful product. I bought the unlimited version as I plan on converting all my books to Vellum over the next few weeks and will use for any future books.

Look forward to a version that generates a paperback version!


----------



## Steve Voelker

Leanne King said:


> Apologies if this was asked before, I don't recall seeing it. Are there any plans to add Google Play store affiliate links the way the other four retailers are supported?


At least with Amazon, you are not supposed to use affiliate links in your books. Not sure about the others. Might be worth looking into. 
I always send them back to a landing page just for that reason.


----------



## CassieL

I'm planning to start using Vellum, too.  Right after I upgrade my very old Mac BookPro from 10.5.8 (Leopard?) to Sierra.  Seems I'm about six operating systems behind...Oops!


----------



## Word Fan

Cassie Leigh said:


> I'm planning to start using Vellum, too. Right after I upgrade my very old Mac BookPro from 10.5.8 (Leopard?) to Sierra. Seems I'm about six operating systems behind...Oops!


Check the Apple Support pages to see if your particular machine can handle Sierra. Some of the older ones can't. However, I would not go further than El Capitan at this time. Sierra includes many features that synch up with iOS devices like one's iPad and iPhone. If you don't have any of those that you need iCloud synching with, you don't need Sierra.

Also, I would not jump all the way up in one go. I would upgrade to Mavericks first, make sure that all is working smoothly, then upgrade again to El Capitan. The upgrades are all free so there is no extra cost involved, and very often upgrading in steps works better. (The voice of experience here.)

LATER: On further thinking, you may even need to first upgrade to Mountain Lion before you can go any higher. That will cost you $20.00 or so from Apple. They still sell it specifically for the purpose of stepping up your system software smoothly. Check the Support Pages.


----------



## CassieL

Word Fan said:


> Check the Apple Support pages to see if your particular machine can handle Sierra. Some of the older ones can't. However, I would not go further than El Capitan at this time. Sierra includes many features that synch up with iOS devices like one's iPad and iPhone. If you don't have any of those that you need iCloud synching with, you don't need Sierra.
> 
> Also, I would not jump all the way up in one go. I would upgrade to Mavericks first, make sure that all is working smoothly, then upgrade again to El Capitan. The upgrades are all free so there is no extra cost involved, and very often upgrading in steps works better. (The voice of experience here.)
> 
> LATER: On further thinking, you may even need to first upgrade to Mountain Lion before you can go any higher. That will cost you $20.00 or so from Apple. They still sell it specifically for the purpose of stepping up your system software smoothly. Check the Support Pages.


Yeah, did all the checking last night and looks like I can upgrade which is good because the computer is pretty darned old. Good to know about El Capitan, hadn't considered that one. From what I found online Mavericks is no longer available so I thought I had to go all the way up to Sierra. I'd prefer to keep it as simple as possible if I can. From what I could tell, I do need to move to Snow Leopard first and that is costing me $20. Hopefully after that it'll all be free.

I guess I'll get through that first hurdle and then see what I can make work...


----------



## Word Fan

Cassie Leigh said:


> From what I could tell, I do need to move to Snow Leopard first and that is costing me $20. Hopefully after that it'll all be free.


Yes. After that, it's all free.

I have P.M.ed you with more info.


----------



## mach 5

I have a 2011 macbook air - Sierra installed fine and didn't have any problem with my word 2011 or vellum after installation. I even got an extra 10gb of space magically freed up somehow (not from lost files as I don't keep many files on my machine).


----------



## SC

I bought a used late 2009 macbook to run Vellum, and it upgraded to Sierra and runs Vellum just fine. It had been on El Capitan when I bought it.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Wish it did paperbacks. I would pay for an add-on for that feature.


----------



## mach 5

Marseille said:


> Wish it did paperbacks. I would pay for an add-on for that feature.


Page 28 they mention they will start beta testing this feature soon (and link to apply to beta).

eta p 29 - https://vellum.typeform.com/to/Jz7xj6


----------



## Patty Jansen

Hey Brad & Brad,

Big fan of Vellum here.

Since you are working on doing paperbacks, can I put in a small feature request?

*makes eyes*

I would LOVE it if you could get Vellum to spit out a Smashwords-compatible Word file. It's basically TXT format with H1 markups and a TOC. But creating the TOC in Word is a royal pain in the butt (exacerbated by the fact that I don't actually have Word), and should be really easy to spit out at the touch of a button.

*makes eyes*

(P.S. yes I know Smashwords allows the uploading of EPUB files, but it does not generate any of the weird & wonderful formats from it, and those weird formats are why people buy at Smashwords, so I don't want to upload an EPUB to Smashwords)


----------



## SamShort

Loving Vellum!
I bought a Mac mini just to use it and it was well worth the over £600.00 Vellum and the computer cost me together lol. (Not according to my wife, but even she agrees that books made in Vellum look beautiful!)
Can't wait for the paperback function


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

That's why I don't bother with Smashwords. Their archaic setup is infuriating.



Patty Jansen said:


> Hey Brad & Brad,
> 
> Big fan of Vellum here.
> 
> Since you are working on doing paperbacks, can I put in a small feature request?
> 
> *makes eyes*
> 
> I would LOVE it if you could get Vellum to spit out a Smashwords-compatible Word file. It's basically TXT format with H1 markups and a TOC. But creating the TOC in Word is a royal pain in the butt (exacerbated by the fact that I don't actually have Word), and should be really easy to spit out at the touch of a button.
> 
> *makes eyes*
> 
> (P.S. yes I know Smashwords allows the uploading of EPUB files, but it does not generate any of the weird & wonderful formats from it, and those weird formats are why people buy at Smashwords, so I don't want to upload an EPUB to Smashwords)


----------



## Word Fan

Marseille said:


> That's why I don't bother with Smashwords. Their archaic setup is infuriating.


*Archaic*. That's the perfect word for it.


----------



## Patty Jansen

Why I "bother" with a Smashwords file:

Sales. Yes, I sell directly on Smashwords. These are people with ancient Palm readers and people who want PDFs and other weird formats. Science Fiction is a genre for geeks, and many pride themselves in being able to fix and recondition a 1980's device and use it. Smashwords is how I grew my very vocal and very supportive reader group in France.

Most importantly:

Smashwords-compatible files are compatible with any formatting program. I drop mine into InDesign and voila! I have a print book in about 15 minutes. Those files are gold because they will pass any formatting hurdles and won't result in weird formatting changes halfway through the document and so much of that Word-related rubbish that's accidentally created when you export a Word file with all its styles.

This is why I want it: ease of formatting.


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## Used To Be BH

Patty Jansen said:


> Why I "bother" with a Smashwords file:
> 
> Sales. Yes, I sell directly on Smashwords. These are people with ancient Palm readers and people who want PDFs and other weird formats. Science Fiction is a genre for geeks, and many pride themselves in being able to fix and recondition a 1980's device and use it. Smashwords is how I grew my very vocal and very supportive reader group in France.
> 
> Most importantly:
> 
> Smashwords-compatible files are compatible with any formatting program. I drop mine into InDesign and voila! I have a print book in about 15 minutes. Those files are gold because they will pass any formatting hurdles and won't result in weird formatting changes halfway through the document and so much of that Word-related rubbish that's accidentally created when you export a Word file with all its styles.
> 
> This is why I want it: ease of formatting.


Interesting data! It would never have occurred to me that some of those old formats might still have readers attached to them.

This thread has made me want to try Vellum. I am primarily a Windows user, but I have an old Macbook Pro that took the Sierra upgrade just fine and installed Vellum successfully. I'm in the middle of a project with a deadline right now, but I will start experimenting with Vellum as soon as I finish and have a little spare time. I must admit that the upcoming paperback option is very appealing, a definite reason to use Vellum. I can do adequate paperback formatting on my own, but getting a more professional look without having to hire a formatter every time would be worth the price all by itself.


----------



## E L Russell

Thanks for that find. It is a real time-saver.


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## WDR

Patty Jansen said:


> ...These are people with ancient Palm readers and people who want PDFs and other weird formats. Science Fiction is a genre for geeks, and many pride themselves in being able to fix and recondition a 1980's device and use it....


What makes this so funny to me is I do it the other way around: I take any ebooks I have still in PDB format, rip them apart, and reassemble them into the EPUB format so they work on everything I read with.


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## Used To Be BH

After experimenting with Vellum a little, I find it every bit as good as people have said. That said, I did notice the need for a couple of different kinds of back matter that don't seem to be supported yet (unless I missed them): appendices, and a list of works cited or bibliography. I guess either could be added as uncategorized, but that seems as if it might limit formatting options--or am I wrong about that?

I know those elements aren't relevant for fiction, but they'd be helpful for nonfiction works.


----------



## Brad West

Bill Hiatt said:


> After experimenting with Vellum a little, I find it every bit as good as people have said. That said, I did notice the need for a couple of different kinds of back matter that don't seem to be supported yet (unless I missed them): appendices, and a list of works cited or bibliography. I guess either could be added as uncategorized, but that seems as if it might limit formatting options--or am I wrong about that?
> 
> I know those elements aren't relevant for fiction, but they'd be helpful for nonfiction works.


Hi Bill,

You're correct: Vellum does not have any specific types or formatting options for appendices or a bibliography. You can certainly use an Uncategorized element for these, but there won't be much in the way of specialized formatting to handle something like a citation list. A place to start for an approximation might be the use of Alignment Blocks, as described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/#alignment-block

Sorry we don't have a better answer for you, but hope that at least saves you from searching for specific options that aren't available.


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## TLH

Finally upgraded to a new Mac and an operating system that can use Vellum. Been wanting to try this out for a year. So far I'm really digging it.

While formatting in Vellum, I'm tweaking here and there. That means I need to keep my word doc open so I can make the same changes. It's a pain in the butt. I'm thinking of just drafting in Vellum and saying adios to Word.

Anybody here drafting in Vellum and using that file as your one and only?


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## MKK

TLH said:


> Anybody here drafting in Vellum and using that file as your one and only?


Probably quite a few...I do. I have a pathological hatred of Word and don't need/use all the fancy features in scrivener. For me, a couple of junk chapters in Vellum are all I need to keep my notes. The only real drag is word count jumps all over the place as I add and delete working notes.


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## E L Russell

Hi - I keep an RTF version of the MS in Word, useful for submission to critique circles, and any edits to Vellum replaces the RTF in Word with a one-click over-write. Every minute saved is a sentence written.


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## E L Russell

It's my understanding Vellum is currently in beta with version 2.0 that is reported to have a formatted CreateSpace copy of a Vellum eBook.


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## Used To Be BH

Brad West said:


> Hi Bill,
> 
> You're correct: Vellum does not have any specific types or formatting options for appendices or a bibliography. You can certainly use an Uncategorized element for these, but there won't be much in the way of specialized formatting to handle something like a citation list. A place to start for an approximation might be the use of Alignment Blocks, as described here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/#alignment-block
> 
> Sorry we don't have a better answer for you, but hope that at least saves you from searching for specific options that aren't available.


Thanks for the response. Actually, for ebook versions, nothing I've found really does works cited lists well, since you'd need a hanging indent, and most ebook formats don't seem to have native support for that. Probably there's a way to do it with CSS, but I can certainly understand why Vellum, which is more geared to fiction, doesn't bother. The program appears to do really well with those features it does address.


----------



## Used To Be BH

E L Russell said:


> It's my understanding Vellum is currently in beta with version 2.0 that is reported to have a formatted CreateSpace copy of a Vellum eBook.


Yes, there is even a separate thread on the subject.

The beta appears to be going well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the upgrade is available before my next print project.


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## WDR

I pop back and forth between _Pages_ and _Mellel_.

Mellel was coded to deal with large-scale documents (e.g. Novels). You can break the chapters into separate sections so they appear in the outlining feature of the program, allowing you to shift chapters around with a simple drag-and-drop. (And we all know that there are always those chapters that work better in a different order!) It does a good job displaying document statistics and you can format a gutter (the inside margin, for those of you just learning. It keeps your text from disappearing into the fold of a book.) depending on what your book manufacturer tells you they need. Also, the file format Mellel uses is a zipped XML file (same idea as na EPUB).

The problem is, Mellel can't save to EPUB or DOCX. Their explanation was for this lack was the way they were handling floating text boxes within the document. There was no way to translate this over to either format. This made Mellel completely useless for me as I can't export to something that will allow me to generate an EPUB file.

However, the above DOCX/EPUB issue will be resolved in their upcoming version 4. I currently have two manuscripts I'm writing in Mellel (3.5) with the expectation that version 4 will allow me to export the documents in the DOCX format so I can generate my ebooks with Vellum.

Because of the current DOCX export problem with Mellel, I do most of my writing in Pages. The problem with Pages (and Word, WordPerfect, and many other writing programs) is that it is optimized for writing short business documents. Not long novels. Book writers have needs that nearly all writing programs fall short in addressing. In Pages, I have to use Pages 4 to get the ability to create a gutter so I can generate a PDF for print (book manufacturers can now use just PDFs to generate the plates for offset printing!). But Pages 5 gives me the ability to save to DOCX. So I am constantly using cut-&-paste between the two depending on what production method I need to target. Managing all that is really irritating and results in production mistakes if I'm not being careful with the master file of the manuscript.

What Pages gets significantly right is the commenting tool! I and my editor use that exclusively to edit the manuscript. She can use the comments to highlight problems and suggestions without causing any alteration to the actual manuscript. Pages 5 creates a rolling column of the comments alongside the text. The highlights stand out and make problem areas easy to spot and correct. To compare it to Word's markup tool, it leaves the text unaltered and readable. Changes and suggestions float in boxes to one side of the text, without causing confusing doubling of the text. (Yes, Word also uses a commenting tool, and we have found that comments can go back and forth between Word and Pages via the DOCX format.)

I tried Scrivener and gave up on it when I couldn't figure out how to open a simple window that I could actually _write_ in! The learning curve is so steep, it gets in the way of writing for me.


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## mach 5

WDR said:


> ...
> I tried Scrivener and gave up on it when I couldn't figure out how to open a simple window that I could actually _write_ in! The learning curve is so steep, it gets in the way of writing for me.


Not to pile on scrivener, but I'm glad I'm not alone. I've tried the help, but the help either leaves out pathways to a command or references commands from older versions or something. It has the added handicap of being ugly to look at while trying to work in it. And I'm not a software or computer phobe of any kind.


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## Gone 9/21/18

WDR said:


> The problem with Pages (and Word, WordPerfect, and many other writing programs) is that it is optimized for writing short business documents. Not long novels.


I don't believe this is true. WordPerfect was used by law firms until Word replaced it and at least according to the marketing to law firms was designed for them. I never used Word but did use WP for years and ended up as network administrator for a law firm supporting it. It was designed and able to handle very complicated legal documents such as briefs, not only long but with formatting that included headers, footers, footnotes, automatic numbering, TOC, etc. It did all that and did it well. I assume Word can do the same or it wouldn't have taken over in law offices. Relatively speaking, something as straightforward as a fiction book is a piece of cake.

Right now I still export to WP and use it to format paperbacks for Create Space. It may not be In Design, but it has some halfway decent typesetting commands. That means I end up with a very heavily formatted WP document anywhere from 300-400 pages long and export to pdf. If Vellum can produce as pretty a paperback more easily than what I'm doing now, I'll switch to it for paperbacks but only if it can do the same job as WP more easily.

I moved to Scrivener for writing my books because I prefer its organizational capabilities for writing and for revising (and don't think it's ugly or particularly hard to use), but WP can handle books just fine, and from the posts I see by writers sticking to Word for all their needs, so can Word.


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## Word Fan

WDR said:


> I pop back and forth between Pages and Mellel. Mellel was coded to deal with large-scale documents (_e.g._ novels). You can break the chapters into separate sections so they appear in the outlining feature of the program, allowing you to shift chapters around with a simple drag-and-drop.


You can do the same with Word, and with Pages.



WDR said:


> [Mellel] can format a gutter (the inside margin, for those of you just learning. It keeps your text from disappearing into the fold of a book.) depending on what your book manufacturer tells you they need.


You can do the same with Word, and with Pages.



WDR said:


> The problem with Pages (and Word, WordPerfect, and many other writing programs) is that it is optimized for writing short business documents. Not long novels.


Very untrue. I'll give just two examples (and I'm sure there are many others). There was a series of user manuals published by Microsoft Press called _Working With Word_ by Chris Kinata and Gordon McComb. Each was over 700 pages in length and each was written and formatted for print using Word itself. And my father's current non-fiction book project is over 200 pages long (so far) and Pages is having no trouble handling it.

However, all of this is history and back story as far as Vellum is concerned. For fiction and narrative non-fiction (biographies, _etc._) there is nothing easier to use than Vellum for formatting your book. Several of us find it so easy to use that we sometimes even compose our original text right within the program itself, with no need to create it somewhere else and import it in. I realize that there are a few specific little features that specific writers wish that Vellum had, and there are several things that are missing if one wants to do, for example, a how-to book. But, for right here right now, as far as I'm concerned, Vellum is "it" for fiction, whether for e-book (now) or print (very soon) or both.


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## amdonehere

HI Brad,

In case you're taking feedback and suggestions:

1. Can you guys add a compile for Word and PDF versions too? While we don't publish in those, I do end up tweaking stuff directly on Vellum after I set up a novel. Problem is, I have betas who really just read on computers and no devices, and those ones want a PDF. I myself always like to keep a Word version around because sometimes I like to print out specific pages to proofread off the screen. I don't like manually adding the corrections and tweaks in 2 different docs because that's guaranteed potential for more typos, and the 2 versions would not be exactly the same. Plus, I ALWAYS like to keep a Word version around for whatever, just in case. One thing I really like about Scrivener is that they let me compile to Word and PDF too.

2. I had this issue which you helped me on before. The "Parts". I wish you guys have more templates where the writer can fill out the word "Part" and the number themselves. My books' pages for "Parts" now ended up with the number twice. I can't remember why now but there was a reason why I had to input the number spelled out, and the templates you had that didn't already have the word "Part" and number in them were very limited. The style did not work for my genre. 

3. In backmatters, it would be great if we can show more than one thumbnail book image for info on our other books. Many of us write series and it woudld be great to be able to show the covers of more than one book in the series.

Anway, thanks and looking forward to your paperback formatting software to launch!


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## Speaker-To-Animals

I write in Scrivener because it's the best in the industry for writing, I do edits in Word because that's why my editor uses and their track changes is the best in the industry, and I format in Vellum because it's the best in the industry for formatting. Of all of those, really the Word for edits is the non-negotiable one because virtually every editor uses it.


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## A. N. Other Author

Every time this thread pops up to the top I get a sense of anticipation expecting it to be news on the paperback upgrade / new software. 

Hoping it's ready by June. And free/cheap to existing customers . . .


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## amdonehere

Speaker-To-Animals said:


> I write in Scrivener because it's the best in the industry for writing, I do edits in Word because that's why my editor uses and their track changes is the best in the industry, and I format in Vellum because it's the best in the industry for formatting. Of all of those, really the Word for edits is the non-negotiable one because virtually every editor uses it.


I edit in Word too. What happens to me is after the book is released, sometimes eagle-eyed readers or friends would send me the 2-3 typos they caught, and I have to fix them. But it gets annoying to fix in Word and regenerate, or I'm short on time, or whatever. If I made the changes in Vellum, I now don't have a Word version of the latest copy. Also, Vellum forces me to save the file in specific folders. But I'd like to keep multiple copies of my Word file stored in diffent places (hard drive, cloud, the computer itselt) as back-up. It's hard to save multiple copies of Vellum files. I get confused which was the latest file and which one to generate from. It's probably just me being retarded but I'm hoping men of higher intelligence like Brad can save me from myself.


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## Steve Voelker

ADDavies said:


> Hoping it's ready by June. And free/cheap to existing customers . . .


They have said they will be charging for the upgrade, which is fair, since they seem to be doing a TON of work to make it something really special.

Honestly, the beta is already so good, at this point I would pretty much pay whatever they ask for it. 

You won't be disappointed.


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## Steve Voelker

AlexaKang said:


> Can you guys add a compile for Word and PDF versions too?


They already have an export to RTF option, which is accepted by pretty much all word processing software, including Word. You can always just open the RTF in Word, then save it as a .doc, .docx, or PDF. 
Also, the new print formatting option in Vellum will give you a PDF.


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## Used To Be BH

Steve Voelker said:


> They have said they will be charging for the upgrade, which is fair, since they seem to be doing a TON of work to make it something really special.
> 
> Honestly, the beta is already so good, at this point I would pretty much pay whatever they ask for it.
> 
> You won't be disappointed.


Companies normally charge for major upgrades, so it's perfectly reasonable for the Vellum folks to do that.

I'm sure I won't be disappointed. I just hope it comes out soon. Since the beta seems to be going well, I'm assuming there aren't a lot of bugs to fix, so maybe we'll all be lucky.


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## Used To Be BH

WDR said:


> I tried Scrivener and gave up on it when I couldn't figure out how to open a simple window that I could actually _write_ in! The learning curve is so steep, it gets in the way of writing for me.


You're obviously very experienced with the technical side of things, certainly more so than I, so this surprises me. Perhaps you were having an off day. There were a couple of things I had to figure out about Scrivener, but that didn't take long, and I immediately figured out how to type in it.

Of course, different people react differently to things. I'd be tempted to just compose right in Vellum (using the RTF export to prepare a Word document for the editor), except that I much prefer using a PC to using a Mac. I know a lot of people love Macs, and I've used both, but the Mac never grabbed me. I'll stick to Scrivener for composing and just use Vellum for the formatting part. (It's worth using a Mac occasionally to be able to use Vellum.)


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## amdonehere

Steve Voelker said:


> They already have an export to RTF option, which is accepted by pretty much all word processing software, including Word. You can always just open the RTF in Word, then save it as a .doc, .docx, or PDF.
> Also, the new print formatting option in Vellum will give you a PDF.


Ok you gotta understand -- Tech Moron talking here --> Me --> I don't really "get" RTF. It scares me. It looks like all the doc formatting is gone (ie center, italics, etc.), or at least that's how it looked to me the last time I saw an RTF file.


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## Mare

I want to compile a collection of six to eight short stories, each with their own title but no chapters, and publish them as one book—is that possible to do using Vellum?


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## JRTomlin

AlexaKang said:


> Ok you gotta understand -- Tech Moron talking here --> Me --> I don't really "get" RTF. It scares me. It looks like all the doc formatting is gone (ie center, italics, etc.), or at least that's how it looked to me the last time I saw an RTF file.


No, RTF retains most formatting; it is just cross platform. There really isn't anything to be scared about it.


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## Used To Be BH

AlexaKang said:


> Ok you gotta understand -- Tech Moron talking here --> Me --> I don't really "get" RTF. It scares me. It looks like all the doc formatting is gone (ie center, italics, etc.), or at least that's how it looked to me the last time I saw an RTF file.


As JR suggests, RTF is not a problem. For the kind of formatting you're likely to have in an ebook, you shouldn't lose anything. I'm sure RTF doesn't support all the fancy things Vellum does with the text, but RTF should retain everything else. Even on a long MS, it takes Word all of about 30 seconds or less to convert to Word.


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## RightHoJeeves

Is there any word on Vellum for print being ready for general consumption?


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## amdonehere

Ok so Vellum when generating, also generates a RTF file? I don't remember seeing it. Wll check.

But it would still be great if Brad & Co can just add a Word and PDF file!!!!


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## Word Fan

RightHoJeeves said:


> Is there any word on Vellum for print being ready for general consumption?


The word is still "Spring/Summer of 2017."


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## RightHoJeeves

Word Fan said:


> The word is still "Spring/Summer of 2017."


That sounds delightfully soon!


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## Magda Alexander

RightHoJeeves said:


> That sounds delightfully soon!


I'm one of the beta testers. It's fabulous. You'll love it. Hopefully, it'll be out soon.


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## E L Russell

About RTF - if you want RichTextFormat it is an EXPORT option - not part of the generate ebook option. I'm using Vellum to brand each series. Vellum. RTF does not keep the internal formatting. With the release of 2.0 your CreateSpace novel will be branded internally. Thank you for saying it is coming SOON!


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## Brad West

Mare said:


> I want to compile a collection of six to eight short stories, each with their own title but no chapters, and publish them as one book-is that possible to do using Vellum?


It is. Authors typically make use of unnumbered chapters for collections like these. Make each story a "chapter," then disable the chapter number using the *Numbered* switch described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/headings/



Word Fan said:


> The word is still "Spring/Summer of 2017."


Indeed, this is still our target for releasing Vellum 2.0. For seasonalists who point out that we're now in Spring, though, we sometimes qualify it as "late Spring / early Summer."


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## Mare

Brad West said:


> It is. Authors typically make use of unnumbered chapters for collections like these. Make each story a "chapter," then disable the chapter number using the *Numbered* switch described here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/headings/
> 
> Indeed, this is still our target for releasing Vellum 2.0. For seasonalists who point out that we're now in Spring, though, we sometimes qualify it as "late Spring / early Summer."


Thanks, Brad! I played with a couple of short stories in Vellum and finally figured it out myself-but thanks for the link. Can't wait for Print-making Vellum!


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## SC

Do you know how much it'll cost for people who already have Vellum?


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## sela

I, for one, can't wait for Vellum for print! I have the unlimited version for eBooks and love it so hard. I'm reformatting all my books now using Vellum. The program produces a beautiful product and is easy to use. If the print version is as good, it will be amazing. Most of us with print books created by Draft 2 Digital had to remove them, and then go through the whole process of reformatting using Createspace / Amazon templates and I HATE IT! So not user friendly. I've decided to wait until Vellum for print comes out and do it then. Can't be soon enough IMO. HURRY PLS!


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## Kristal Shaff

Ahh! (sigh) I'm about ready to publish a new book and was crossing my fingers about the "spring" part as well.



> Indeed, this is still our target for releasing Vellum 2.0. For seasonalists who point out that we're now in Spring, though, we sometimes qualify it as "late Spring / early Summer."


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## Mare

I just published my third book—I couldn't wait for Vellum not knowing just how long it might be, but the whole time I was saying, "This will be the last one done this way!" Yay!!!


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## Word Fan

sela said:


> the whole process of reformatting using Createspace / Amazon templates and I HATE IT! So not user friendly.


I have seen comments like this several places here and I don't quite get it. When I put my coloring book up on CreateSpace, I found the whole thing pretty easy. Not fall-off-a-log easy, mind you, but not bad. I started by reading their _PDF Submission Specification_ booklet, which was a BIG help. Then I just followed their directions. Perhaps because I am an experienced graphic designer I understood the terms and concepts involved. That could be it. Some of them are not obvious to neophytes. I do have to say, when I did have a question, that they got back to me quickly and with a helpful answer.

One thing to bear in mind is that _Vellum for Print_ will not eliminate the need to deal with CreateSpace. You will get a great-looking PDF file of your book, but you will still need to get it up at CreateSpace and figure wrap-around cover size, _etc._, so, if that's where you have been having troubles in the past, those problems won't go away.

On the other hand, what you _will_ get from _Vellum for Print_ is a great-looking PDF file without having to try to figure out how to do it in Word or Pages or some other word processor or fancy (and over-priced) layout program. Vellum is not, and never has been and never will be, completely customizable. It cannot be and still be as easy to use as it is. For me, that's just fine. I will give up complete customization ability in exchange for a program that will generate all six types of e-book files plus a 210-page printed book file in 17 seconds.

Yes. I will give up complete customization any day of the week for that.


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## Anarchist

sela said:


> I, for one, can't wait for Vellum for print! I have the unlimited version for eBooks and love it so hard. I'm reformatting all my books now using Vellum. The program produces a beautiful product and is easy to use.


These days, when I hear that an author doesn't use Vellum, it's like hearing someone say they don't use Mac, prefer absinthe to cognac, and always order a salmon filet when they go to a steakhouse.

I think to myself, "_Hmm. I don't get it. But... cool_."


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## FelissaEly

Anarchist said:


> These days, when I hear that an author doesn't use Vellum, it's like hearing someone say they don't use Mac, prefer absinthe to cognac, and always order a salmon filet when they go to a steakhouse.
> 
> I think to myself, "_Hmm. I don't get it. But... cool_."


I would love to use Vellum, but 5 of hubby's books use tables(LitRPG) and from scouring this thread I understand Vellum doesn't support tables, before I read that I was _this_ close to buying a $100-$200 Mac just to use Vellum and buying the unlimited package.

So yeah... sad panda here. ;(


----------



## Steve Voelker

Word Fan said:


> I have seen comments like this several places here and I don't quite get it. When I put my coloring book up on CreateSpace, I found the whole thing pretty easy. Not fall-off-a-log easy, mind you, but not bad. I started by reading their _PDF Submission Specification_ booklet, which was a BIG help. Then I just followed their directions. Perhaps because I am an experienced graphic designer I understood the terms and concepts involved. That could be it. Some of them are not obvious to neophytes. I do have to say, when I did have a question, that they got back to me quickly and with a helpful answer.


I think you answered your own question. 
You are experienced, and understood all of the terms and concepts, and yet you still had to read through their specs AND contact customer support to complete the process! 

Ain't nobody got time for that.

I'm extremely tech-savvy, and I decided long ago that I would rather just pay for print formatting than use my time for it. Vellum has changed that!


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## Anarchist

FelissaEly said:


> I would love to use Vellum, but 5 of hubby's books use tables(LitRPG) and from scouring this thread I understand Vellum doesn't support tables, before I read that I was _this_ close to buying a $100-$200 Mac just to use Vellum and buying the unlimited package.
> 
> So yeah... sad panda here. ;(


I forgot about Vellum's lack of table support. I can imagine that's a big limitation for some authors (like your husband).

For me, the biggest "win" about Vellum is convenience. The software makes it so darn easy to create good-looking ebooks. If it weren't for Vellum, I'd outsource. 

And with format-to-print coming...


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## Word Fan

Steve Voelker said:


> I think you answered your own question. You are experienced, and understood all of the terms and concepts, and yet you still had to read through their specs AND contact customer support to complete the process!
> 
> Ain't nobody got time for that.
> 
> I'm extremely tech-savvy, and I decided long ago that I would rather just pay for print formatting than use my time for it. Vellum has changed that!


Well, in all fairness to both me and CreateSpace, it's not unreasonable to be expected to read a company's specs before you try to do stuff with them, and the question that I had for CreateSpace was to clarify their page thickness in order to calculate the width of the spine.



Steve Voelker said:


> Ain't nobody got time for that.


Anyone who's going to do printed books will either have to find time for that or pay to have it done, and it can get expensive. Everyone has to make their own call.



Steve Voelker said:


> I'm extremely tech-savvy, and I decided long ago that I would rather just pay for print formatting than use my time for it.


Formatting a word processed file for printing a book is that same as doing it for a term paper. You just have to change the page size and export it as a PDF file. That's it in a nutshell. The problem is in trying to explain the details of it to someone long distance, by back-and-forth e-mail, for example. If I were there in person, I could teach just about anyone how to do it in 10 minutes, and it would save them hundreds of dollars and hours of headaches.



Steve Voelker said:


> Vellum has changed that!


They certainly have, and, to get back on the subject of Vellum: they are finished adding features to the print version and are now working through the bugs. That can be tricky so don't expect them to be finished next week. Patience is a virtue and, in this case, will be well worth it.


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## A. N. Other Author

The print version does have plenty of different trim sizes, though, right? I'm a 5.25 x 8.0 guy myself.


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## SC

FelissaEly said:


> I would love to use Vellum, but 5 of hubby's books use tables(LitRPG) and from scouring this thread I understand Vellum doesn't support tables, before I read that I was _this_ close to buying a $100-$200 Mac just to use Vellum and buying the unlimited package.
> 
> So yeah... sad panda here. ;(


I was able to find a good-condition used Macbook on Craigslist for $120, so I was pretty excited about that. It allowed me to buy it only to use for Vellum and not feel guilty about wasted money. (I played around with it to see if I could use it for other things, but ... yeah, no. Too many simple things I wanted it to do that I couldn't easily figure out how to make it do, and I don't have time to learn a whole new operating system for no real reason. I figured out how to use Vellum on it easily enough so now that's just my Vellum computer.) (Actually, I'm already trying to figure out Linux, so I guess what I mean is I don't have time to learn _another _whole new operating system for no real reason. ;-))

I'm hoping they'll put up a video of how Vellum Print works when they get closer to releasing it.


----------



## Mare

Anarchist said:


> These days, when I hear that an author doesn't use Vellum, it's like hearing someone say they don't use Mac, prefer absinthe to cognac, and always order a salmon filet when they go to a steakhouse.
> 
> I think to myself, "_Hmm. I don't get it. But... cool_."


I've never had a problem with Createspace, that part is easy-it's all that comes before I get to Createspace! I use Joel Freedlander's print book templates and they are easy to use, but the* time* it takes to copy and paste . . . I love the ease and speed of Vellum and can't wait until the print part is on sale!


----------



## Mare

Createspace's cover creator is a breeze the way I use it. I do my own photography, design my cover in lowly Printshop ( for Mac ) and save it as a high-quality jpeg and drop it into the Createspace placeholder. No problems.


----------



## Anarchist

Mare said:


> I've never had a problem with Createspace, that part is easy-it's all that comes before I get to Createspace! I use Joel Freedlander's print book templates and they are easy to use, but the* time* it takes to copy and paste . . . I love the ease and speed of Vellum and can't wait until the print part is on sale!


I relate. For me, learning to format a book for print is like learning to fix a car. I can do it, but I'll do everything I can to avoid it. 

I'm happy to hand the job off to Polgarus Studio.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Shawna Canon said:


> I was able to find a good-condition used Macbook on Craigslist for $120, so I was pretty excited about that. It allowed me to buy it only to use for Vellum and not feel guilty about wasted money. (I played around with it to see if I could use it for other things, but ... yeah, no. Too many simple things I wanted it to do that I couldn't easily figure out how to make it do, and I don't have time to learn a whole new operating system for no real reason. I figured out how to use Vellum on it easily enough so now that's just my Vellum computer.) (Actually, I'm already trying to figure out Linux, so I guess what I mean is I don't have time to learn _another _whole new operating system for no real reason. ;-))


I'm always glad to see a post by someone who reacted to a Mac the way I did. I got one figuring I could use both Vellum and the superior version of Scrivener on it. Nope. Went right back to Scrivener on my Windows laptop, but I do use it for Vellum.


----------



## Mare

Anarchist said:


> I relate. For me, learning to format a book for print is like learning to fix a car. I can do it, but I'll do everything I can to avoid it.
> 
> I'm happy to hand the job off to Polgarus Studio.


My sentiments exactly!


----------



## JRTomlin

ellenoc said:


> I'm always glad to see a post by someone who reacted to a Mac the way I did. I got one figuring I could use both Vellum and the superior version of Scrivener on it. Nope. Went right back to Scrivener on my Windows laptop, but I do use it for Vellum.


I have my SIL's old Mac laptop sitting on a side desk solely for Vellum. I think there are several of us.

ETA: And of course there will always be someone who comes along to preach the "Mac gospel" at us.


----------



## Word Fan

Anarchist said:


> For me, learning to format a book for print is like learning to fix a car.


I agree. Once I saw how stupidly easy it was to check the oil in my car or format a print book, I refused to ever again pay anyone to do it.


----------



## SC

Mark Gardner said:


> Shawna, I'm sure that you already know this, but I'll point it out just the same: any mac manufactured after 2006 can run windows and Linux.


That's good to know, but doesn't Vellum only run on the Mac OS?

I have a stupid number of computers for a non-IT person (5). The problem is each has a specific purpose, and whenever (like with the Mac) I discover that one of my existing computers can't do a new thing I need it to do (or do it as well as I'd like), I have to get a new one. At least the majority of them are laptops, so they don't take up much space.


----------



## Anarchist

Word Fan said:


> I agree. Once I saw how stupidly easy it was to check the oil in my car or format a print book, I refused to ever again pay anyone to do it.


Haha. Once I saw my father change the oil in his car, I thought to myself, "_Ain't no way I will *ever* do that in my life._"

Different strokes for different folks.


----------



## A. N. Other Author

I hate fixing my car. 

I spent a LONG time learning how to format Createspace's templates. Now I find it simple, but it was a longer process. Mainly because I had a firm idea of how I wanted my paperbacks to look, and I do have the occasional odd bit of formatting, so it's partly my own fault. Now I can do it in about 2-3 hours directly from my ebook file.


----------



## Anarchist

ADDavies said:


> I hate fixing my car.
> 
> I spent a LONG time learning how to format Createspace's templates. Now I find it simple, but it was a longer process. Mainly because I had a firm idea of how I wanted my paperbacks to look, and I do have the occasional odd bit of formatting, so it's partly my own fault. Now I can do it in about 2-3 hours directly from my ebook file.


I prefer to outsource as much as possible, including things in my wheelhouse. That frees me up to focus on tasks integral to my businesses, which I've found leads to quicker growth.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Anarchist said:


> I prefer to outsource as much as possible, including things in my wheelhouse. That frees me up to focus on tasks integral to my businesses, which I've found leads to quicker growth.


This.

There is really only one part of this whole process that no one else can do for me, and that is the writing.

Anything else is done at the expense of writing time. So I have to balance what it would cost me to get someone else to do it versus what my writing time is worth. I format my own ebooks, because with Vellum that only takes a few minutes for a very professional result. But I am not willing to put in a few hours for print formatting, when I can get that done (better than I would do) for a reasonable price.

The other side is that some people actually enjoy formatting. I can see the appeal. It can be kind of a zen thing to lose yourself in it. And it gives you that fine control of every last detail, which is important for some.

For me, I neither need the control, nor find the work anything other than tedious.

Which is why I am so happy with the Vellum print beta. It just moved another thing off of my list of expenses to outsource, without adding any real time to my workflow.

Well done, guys!


----------



## Word Fan

Steve Voelker said:


> There is really only one part of this whole process that no one else can do for me, and that is the writing. Anything else is done at the expense of writing time, so *I have to balance what it would cost me to get someone else to do it versus what my writing time is worth.*


After all of our back and forth here, that is the essential idea, with one more thought: how much time does it actually take for me to do that "thing." How much writing time do I actually lose? There is the balance that has to be found.


----------



## WDR

Word Fan said:


> After all of our back and forth here, that is the essential idea, with one more thought: how much time does it actually take for me to do that "thing." How much writing time do I actually lose? There is the balance that has to be found.


To generate a stable EPUB file for each of the major platforms that renders similarly across all? About three weeks. With _Vellum_, it now takes much less than 30 seconds. For those wondering why it took me three weeks to create the ebook files, it's because I crafted them manually. One of my most powerful tools in my self-publishing toolkit is a program called _BBEdit_. A GUI-desktop version of a UNIX line editing tool. (If you don't understand what the heck I just said in that last sentence, then you probably don't need a program like BBEdit.) 

To generate a print-ready PDF file for either CreateSpace or a book manufacturer? About three days. Most of the time is from setting up the TOC which itself is dependent on the book format, font size, and paper thickness when going to print. If there are any edits or adjustments to the actual text, then I have to address the TOC all over again. If there is an index at the back of the book? A little longer. As I'm not a beta tester of the new system, I cannot say how long the new _Vellum_ will take to generate all this. But I anticipate it should be roughly the same as what it takes to render the ebook files.

What excites me about the print-ready generation is this frees me from a key constraint I have in many writing programs: having to fix the format in the master file. This way, the master file of the narrative needs be nothing more than just the pure text of the narrative. I can pass off the nitty-gritty to something else. This means I will NOT have multiple master files for any given book to address each quirk or formatting issue of a given platform (print or digital). If I make a change to the narrative, I will not have to make that change in multiple files. I can just pass the text to the tool and have the tool generate the needed files for the platform it is going to. This makes data management a lot easier and more efficient. It also avoids mistakes like one I made on the release of my first book, where I grabbed the wrong version of my book and published it on one of the platforms.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Thanks for sharing. After they release the paperback add-on, it would be nice if they tackled a version where editors can track changes using a free version, then send back to the writer to edit/make changes. That would make our lives so much easier.



WDR said:


> To generate a stable EPUB file for each of the major platforms that renders similarly across all? About three weeks. With _Vellum_, it now takes much less than 30 seconds. For those wondering why it took me three weeks to create the ebook files, it's because I crafted them manually. One of my most powerful tools in my self-publishing toolkit is a program called _BBEdit_. A GUI-desktop version of a UNIX line editing tool. (If you don't understand what the heck I just said in that last sentence, then you probably don't need a program like BBEdit.)
> 
> To generate a print-ready PDF file for either CreateSpace or a book manufacturer? About three days. Most of the time is from setting up the TOC which itself is dependent on the book format, font size, and paper thickness when going to print. If there are any edits or adjustments to the actual text, then I have to address the TOC all over again. If there is an index at the back of the book? A little longer. As I'm not a beta tester of the new system, I cannot say how long the new _Vellum_ will take to generate all this. But I anticipate it should be roughly the same as what it takes to render the ebook files.
> 
> What excites me about the print-ready generation is this frees me from a key constraint I have in many writing programs: having to fix the format in the master file. This way, the master file of the narrative needs be nothing more than just the pure text of the narrative. I can pass off the nitty-gritty to something else. This means I will NOT have multiple master files for any given book to address each quirk or formatting issue of a given platform (print or digital). If I make a change to the narrative, I will not have to make that change in multiple files. I can just pass the text to the tool and have the tool generate the needed files for the platform it is going to. This makes data management a lot easier and more efficient. It also avoids mistakes like one I made on the release of my first book, where I grabbed the wrong version of my book and published it on one of the platforms.


----------



## Word Fan

Marseille said:


> After they release the paperback add-on, it would be nice if they tackled a version where editors can track changes using a free version, then send back to the writer to edit/make changes. That would make our lives so much easier.


You don't need Vellum to be modified in order to do that now. Just keep your master Word file and do your track changes there.

You can drag-and-drop an entire Word file into a Vellum file and place it anywhere along the Table of Contents that you want. That Word file could be a changed/updated chapter or the entire book. Delete the old one, drop in the new one.

You can also easily move chapters by dragging them in the Vellum T.O.C. list. If your editor says that you need to switch chapters 5 and 6, just drag them to their new positions.

Brad might have some better ideas about how to do these things.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

I may be a lone wolf, but I actually write my books in vellum, so no word files. The last time I tried to export a text file into scrivener, it was such a mess that I now cut and paste, chapter by chapter into scrivener, then go back and re-add all the paragraph breaks, photos, special formatting; etc. Very tedious.



Word Fan said:


> You don't need Vellum to be modified in order to do that now. Just keep your master Word file and do your track changes there.
> 
> You can drag-and-drop an entire Word file into a Vellum file and place it anywhere along the Table of Contents that you want. That Word file could be a changed/updated chapter or the entire book. Delete the old one, drop in the new one.
> 
> You can also easily move chapters by dragging them in the Vellum T.O.C. list. If your editor says that you need to switch chapters 5 and 6, just drag them to their new positions.
> 
> Brad might have some better ideas about how to do these things.


----------



## E L Russell

Shawna Canon said:


> That's good to know, but doesn't Vellum only run on the Mac OS?
> 
> I have a stupid number of computers for a non-IT person (5). The problem is each has a specific purpose, and whenever (like with the Mac) I discover that one of my existing computers can't do a new thing I need it to do (or do it as well as I'd like), I have to get a new one. At least the majority of them are laptops, so they don't take up much space.


I've met several writers who use Vellum on their PC and like it. There may be some differences that would be good to share here for those of us that have had direct experience with both. Sorry, I haven't.


----------



## Word Fan

E L Russell said:


> I've met several writers who use Vellum on their PC and like it.


Uh, no. Vellum is Mac only.


----------



## Word Fan

Marseille said:


> I may be a lone wolf, but I actually write my books in vellum, so no word files. The last time I tried to export a text file into scrivener, it was such a mess that I now cut and paste, chapter by chapter into scrivener, then go back and re-add all the paragraph breaks, photos, special formatting; etc. Very tedious.


If you use Vellum, why go to Scrivener? Is it to do print?


----------



## Steve Voelker

E L Russell said:


> I've met several writers who use Vellum on their PC and like it. There may be some differences that would be good to share here for those of us that have had direct experience with both. Sorry, I haven't.


Vellum is Mac only. There is no other version to compare.

The only way to run it on a PC would be through one of the virtual, Mac in the Cloud services.


----------



## blubarry

WDR said:


> To generate a print-ready PDF file for either CreateSpace or a book manufacturer? About three days. Most of the time is from setting up the TOC which itself is dependent on the book format, font size, and paper thickness when going to print. If there are any edits or adjustments to the actual text, then I have to address the TOC all over again. If there is an index at the back of the book? A little longer. As I'm not a beta tester of the new system, I cannot say how long the new _Vellum_ will take to generate all this. But I anticipate it should be roughly the same as what it takes to render the ebook files.
> 
> What excites me about the print-ready generation is this frees me from a key constraint I have in many writing programs: having to fix the format in the master file. This way, the master file of the narrative needs be nothing more than just the pure text of the narrative. I can pass off the nitty-gritty to something else. This means I will NOT have multiple master files for any given book to address each quirk or formatting issue of a given platform (print or digital). If I make a change to the narrative, I will not have to make that change in multiple files. I can just pass the text to the tool and have the tool generate the needed files for the platform it is going to. This makes data management a lot easier and more efficient. It also avoids mistakes like one I made on the release of my first book, where I grabbed the wrong version of my book and published it on one of the platforms.


The print beta takes about as long to create a book as the ebook version of Vellum - so seconds, especially if you already have the ebook done. You select a trim size, can choose font and size, spacing, and header style, and you're done. Very quick and clean. Like Vellum itself, it won't be for everyone, but it's perfect for most. For those of us who _can_ use Indesign but don't care for the time suck getting everything looking pretty, this is fantastic.


----------



## DanaFraser

Steve Voelker said:


> Vellum is Mac only. There is no other version to compare.
> 
> The only way to run it on a PC would be through one of the virtual, Mac in the Cloud services.


Or a "Hackintosh" - although gray area (not according to Apple, though) of whether that violates the operating agreement of the Apple software and, if it does, then it's a violation of the DMCA, with attendant consequences. Still, there are tens of thousands of Hackintosh PCs out there.


----------



## E L Russell

Word Fan said:


> You don't need Vellum to be modified in order to do that now. Just keep your master Word file and do your track changes there.
> 
> I agree - the time spent on formatting and re-formatting a MS for 6 or more eBook sites and CreateSpace demands is best spent on writing.
> I've seen several good 'paths' writers have used to migrate a MS through the writing-editing-publishing cycle.
> I compose in WORD's docx file format and then I UPLOAD (to save RTF text formats) into Grammarly Premium where I re-read and re-write through subsequent drafts.
> When I DOWNLOAD the last version, Grammarly retains the original docx file format.
> The MS now has a complete set of my Track-Changes that allows my editor to focus on character and plot arcs along with the rest of her magic while the math major inside me learns while writing about grammar, punctuation, and etc.
> I apologize for sounding pedantic about the Uploads and Downloads - the file drop-drag option in Grammarly is good, but will NOT preserve RTF text formats.


----------



## E L Russell

Word Fan said:


> Uh, no. Vellum is Mac only.


Sorry - my comment was incomplete:
https://paulteague.com/how-to-use-vellum-on-a-pc/

I should have mentioned they liked Vellum enough to work a reasonable hack . . .


----------



## Guest

Hello,

I don't know if anyone is around who can answer this, but I put together a cover on Canva today and used a photo that I published at 3000x4000 because vellum kept rejecting my cover - for the image being too small. I'm not sure what to do about this. Any ideas?  

I did send a note to Vellum. I'd like use Vellum because it looks so good and is so easy. Any help would be appreciated. 

Thank you 

T


----------



## DanaFraser

I'm wondering if the resolution is insanely small?  For example, I've used plenty of 1825x2738 in vellum, but the resolution is 300 pixels per inch (ppi).


----------



## Mirtika

TMG said:


> Hello,
> 
> I don't know if anyone is around who can answer this, but I put together a cover on Canva today and used a photo that I published at 3000x4000 because vellum kept rejecting my cover - for the image being too small. I'm not sure what to do about this. Any ideas?
> 
> I did send a note to Vellum. I'd like use Vellum because it looks so good and is so easy. Any help would be appreciated


I uploaded a picture smaller than that (two actually), so I hope they get back to you about the glitch. I know that I was frustrated the first time I tried to upload a pic and over and over it said "too small," even though it met Amazon's standard and was the "Kindle Cover" dimensions from Canva.com that I've used as covers for ebooks before. I now format my ebook covers BIGGER for Vellum, but I wish it didn't reject normal, but smaller, ones.

Let us know what they say.


----------



## Word Fan

The O.P's question was answered and solved in another thread. The Canva settings were incorrect (if I remember correctly).

Vellum discusses its recommendations for cover size here:

http://help.vellum.pub/coverimages/

Vellum will not reject your cover for being "too small" but will warn you because some vendors may.


----------



## Brad West

Word Fan said:


> The O.P's question was answered and solved in another thread. The Canva settings were incorrect (if I remember correctly).
> 
> Vellum discusses its recommendations for cover size here:
> 
> http://help.vellum.pub/coverimages/
> 
> Vellum will not reject your cover for being "too small" but will warn you because some vendors may.


Thank you Word Fan for letting us know the issue with Canva's output size was resolved in another thread. We're glad to hear it.

I do want to reiterate her point that Vellum will never outright reject the cover image you select for your eBook. It only provides feedback about the size of your image based on guidelines from stores, including the KDP guidelines found here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/A2J0TRG6OPX0VM

Specifically, the recommended size is based on this statement:



> To ensure the best quality for your image, particularly on high definition devices, the height of the image should be at least 2,500 pixels.


Go under than that, and Vellum will tell you that while the image does meet minimum requirements, a larger size is recommended. This is likely what you would see if Canva outputs an image that is 2250 pixels tall.

Go a lot lower than that and Vellum will flat out tell you that an image is too small.

Regardless of the feedback, though, Vellum will include the cover image in your eBook and generate a JPEG version of the file suitable for uploading to retailers.

Hope that clarifies things.


----------



## LyraParish

Can anyone tell me if there is a way to remove the border that shows around the images? I don't like the way it looks and ruins the flow of the title pages. Thanks!!


----------



## Word Fan

LyraParish said:


> Can anyone tell me if there is a way to remove the border that shows around the images?


Click on the Exclamation Point on the photo and change the "Kind" setting.

Also, read the Vellum Help files. They explain a lot.


----------



## Nick Marsden

E L Russell said:


> Sorry - my comment was incomplete:
> https://paulteague.com/how-to-use-vellum-on-a-pc/
> 
> I should have mentioned they liked Vellum enough to work a reasonable hack . . .


Thanks for this link, E L. I've been hunting for these instructions for a while.


----------



## Calista Cage

Is there a way to make the page flip function turned off with Vellum? It used to work, but now when I upload a Vellum file, the page flip is on. I hate page flip as a reader and don't want it on my books as an author.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Brad West said:


> Indeed, this is still our target for releasing Vellum 2.0. For seasonalists who point out that we're now in Spring, though, we sometimes qualify it as "late Spring / early Summer."


I'm patient. 









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Brad West

Calista Cage said:


> Is there a way to make the page flip function turned off with Vellum? It used to work, but now when I upload a Vellum file, the page flip is on. I hate page flip as a reader and don't want it on my books as an author.


If you're using the most recent version of Vellum, Enhanced Typesetting cannot be applied to an eBook with a centered chapter heading. If your book uses any Book Style with centered headings, you will likely find that Enhanced Typesetting (and therefore Page Flip) will be disabled.

We do know that Amazon is continuing to make changes to Enhanced Typesetting, so we don't know how long Page Flip will be disabled for these books. We are pretty confident that Amazon will address this issue eventually -- as they have before with other features that disabled Enhanced Typesetting -- but this at least seems to be the case for now.

Hope that helps.

ETA: Here's how to Check for Updates


----------



## DanaFraser

Brad West said:


> If you're using the most recent version of Vellum, ...


I started to ask "how do we know" then checked the website, then (finding nothing specific on a quick perusal) checked my menu bar on vellum, so those who might also wish to ask "how do we know," expand the Vellum tab (that's the first tab, found to the left of file) and the option is the second one down ("Check for updates"). No reverification, etc., easy peasy. Now to regenerate a file and see if I can disable page flip once more.


----------



## DanaFraser

So I did a test re-load (on the 5th, but they dinged me for a very mild SEO subtitle and I had to resubmit) and the new file compiled from latest version of Vellum presently has page flip "disabled" (rather, it's not enabled). I'll check it again Monday and see if that still holds. 

Thanks for the tip


----------



## DanaFraser

DanaFraser said:


> So I did a test re-load...and the new file compiled from latest version of Vellum presently has page flip "disabled"...I'll check it again Monday and see if that still holds.
> ...


Still holding - yay


----------



## Word Fan

Calista Cage said:


> I hate page flip as a reader and don't want it on my books as an author.


Why?

I like page flip as a reader.

Why should I care about it as an author?


----------



## Used To Be BH

Word Fan said:


> Why?
> 
> I like page flip as a reader.
> 
> Why should I care about it as an author?


It's only a concern for Kindle Select members, mostly because of the KU page-counting issue. Pages read while in page flip mode aren't counted. That wouldn't matter if all readers used page flip in the way Amazon intended, but, based on anecdotal evidence, apparently some people do all their reading in page flip mode, thereby robbing the author of page credit. Amazon probably could work out a reasonable fix, but it hasn't yet.

In an ideal world, Amazon would allow authors to choose to have it or not until Amazon solves the KU page leakage issue, but we haven't been given that choice.


----------



## Word Fan

Bill Hiatt said:


> It's only a concern for Kindle Select members, mostly because of the KU page-counting issue. Pages read while in page flip mode aren't counted. That wouldn't matter if all readers used page flip in the way Amazon intended, but, based on anecdotal evidence, apparently some people do all their reading in page flip mode, thereby robbing the author of page credit. Amazon probably could work out a reasonable fix, but it hasn't yet.
> 
> In an ideal world, Amazon would allow authors to choose to have it or not until Amazon solves the KU page leakage issue, but we haven't been given that choice.


So, as Brad said earlier, right now if we don't want page flip, especially if we are going into Kindle Unlimited, we need to use a Vellum Book Style with CENTERED headings.

That good to know because I have a series coming that I'm planning on putting into K.U.


----------



## DanaFraser

Question - is there any way in Vellum to make sure, when referencing ammunition, that the decimal point doesn't get separated from the numbers that follow. Putting a zero before the decimal point is not an option. Ammo that is officially designated as ".223" can be stated as 223 (informally) but you never see 0.223. Similarly, the related weapons, like a .50 caliber machine gun, can be 50 caliber, but never 0.50 caliber.

My fall back is to use the informal, but... 

False alarm - can't replicate in the kindle app on my iphone, just in the draft section of vellum, no matter letter scale.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Word Fan said:


> So, as Brad said earlier, right now if we don't want page flip, especially if we are going into Kindle Unlimited, we need to use a Vellum Book Style with CENTERED headings.
> 
> That good to know because I have a series coming that I'm planning on putting into K.U.


Unfortunately, that's only a temporary fix. As soon as Amazon realizes that something is preventing page flip from functioning, it starts finding a way to work around the issue. Still, some time without page flip is better than no time without.

I didn't notice a drop in pages read after page flip, but some authors took pretty substantial hits--unless, of course, they were really being hit by another problem. We don't know how many readers read with page flip on all the time, but apparently there are some.


----------



## Word Fan

DanaFraser said:


> Question - is there any way in Vellum to make sure, when referencing ammunition, that the decimal point doesn't get separated from the numbers that follow. Putting a zero before the decimal point is not an option. Ammo that is officially designated as ".223" can be stated as 223 (informally) but you never see 0.223. Similarly, the related weapons, like a .50 caliber machine gun, can be 50 caliber, but never 0.50 caliber.
> 
> My fall back is to use the informal, but...


Wow. That's an interesting question. Have you had that happen... had the decimal point (which, to a computer, is the same as a period) get separated from the numbers?


----------



## DanaFraser

Word Fan said:


> Wow. That's an interesting question. Have you had that happen... had the decimal point (which, to a computer, is the same as a period) get separated from the numbers?


Well...it was doing it in the drafting section of Vellum. While I know each device has set page widths and the issue wasn't showing up in the Vellum previews for each device, I thought with text scalability on the devices it might show up for some useres. Following your question, I tested scaling the text on my iphone for the kindle app and no matter what size I made the text, it never forced a line break that separated the decimal point from the number following it. So  false alarm, I guess


----------



## Word Fan

DanaFraser said:


> So  false alarm, I guess


Well, let's hope.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Alan Petersen said:


> I'm patient.


I usually am also. It's just my bad luck that I have a paperback that needs to be released by early May, and it doesn't look as if Vellum 2.0 is going to roll out until after that. Sigh!


----------



## A. N. Other Author

I was hoping for May too, but may have to resort back to my Createspace templates for the time being.


----------



## Word Fan

Alan Petersen said:


> I'm patient.





Bill Hiatt said:


> I usually am also. It's just my bad luck that I have a paperback that needs to be released by early May, and it doesn't look as if Vellum 2.0 is going to roll out until after that. Sigh!





ADDavies said:


> I was hoping for May too, but may have to resort back to my Createspace templates for the time being.


I know that it's hard to sit there, hoping and checking, but, as a beta tester I can tell you this: it will be worth the wait.

I absolutely love it!


----------



## Used To Be BH

Word Fan said:


> I know that it's hard to sit there, hoping and checking, but, as a beta tester I can tell you this: it will be worth the wait.
> 
> I absolutely love it!


I have no doubt it will be worth it. It's just unfortunate that my current paperback project is going to have to be done the old-fashioned way.


----------



## Kristal Shaff

I was also hoping for May. (sigh)


----------



## pdeddy

I love Vellum, but I'm struggling with images. I have a vector image that I want to use at the beginning of each chapter. I've resized it to Vellum's small size requirement, but it's huge in the eBook, taking up half of the page. If I make the image smaller, either as a GIF, JPEG, or PNG, despite Photoshop sharpening and fiddling with the dpi settings, I can't make the image smaller without it pixelating. 

Any tips? Ultimately, I'd love it if Vellum would allow us to do custom chapter headings and scene breaks, but since that's not available, I'm hoping there's a workaround I'm just not seeing.


----------



## WDR

pdeddy said:


> I love Vellum, but I'm struggling with images. I have a vector image that I want to use at the beginning of each chapter. I've resized it to Vellum's small size requirement, but it's huge in the eBook, taking up half of the page. If I make the image smaller, either as a GIF, JPEG, or PNG, despite Photoshop sharpening and fiddling with the dpi settings, I can't make the image smaller without it pixelating.
> 
> Any tips? Ultimately, I'd love it if Vellum would allow us to do custom chapter headings and scene breaks, but since that's not available, I'm hoping there's a workaround I'm just not seeing.


The reason you are having problems is that even though you are generating the image as a vector graphic, you are saving it as a bitmapped image. The image will alway pixelate whenever its size gets changed.

The only way you can ensure that your ornament will look nice when rendered on any ebook reader is to export your vector image as a Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) image.

Instead of Photoshop, use Illustrator to create your ornament. Use your Photoshop image as a layer in the background that you can trace with Illustrator's vector tools. When you are satisfied with the result, export to SVG from Illustrator. That should solve your image quality issue.


----------



## Brad West

pdeddy said:


> I love Vellum, but I'm struggling with images. I have a vector image that I want to use at the beginning of each chapter. I've resized it to Vellum's small size requirement, but it's huge in the eBook, taking up half of the page. If I make the image smaller, either as a GIF, JPEG, or PNG, despite Photoshop sharpening and fiddling with the dpi settings, I can't make the image smaller without it pixelating.
> 
> Any tips? Ultimately, I'd love it if Vellum would allow us to do custom chapter headings and scene breaks, but since that's not available, I'm hoping there's a workaround I'm just not seeing.


pdeddy also contacted us directly and we gave her some workarounds for coercing an inline image to be sized like an ornamental break. We do know that authors would like to supply their own images for ornamental breaks, but with other projects taking priority, we don't currently have a timeline when this option would be available.



WDR said:


> The only way you can ensure that your ornament will look nice when rendered on any ebook reader is to export your vector image as a Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) image.


While Vellum does use SVG images for ornaments within styles, there is not currently a way to provide your own SVG images. One reason for this is that not all platforms fully support SVG. For these platforms (and for Generic EPUB), Vellum switches to provide a PNG instead.


----------



## WDR

Brad West said:


> While Vellum does use SVG images for ornaments within styles, there is not currently a way to provide your own SVG images. One reason for this is that not all platforms fully support SVG. For these platforms (and for Generic EPUB), Vellum switches to provide a PNG instead.


Thanks for the clarification, Brad! (I've been experimenting, trying to nail down the inconsistencies between the devices.)


----------



## Kristal Shaff

So we should add images as a png? I have some chapter illustrations I'd like to include and want to know the best way to do it.


----------



## WDR

Kristal Shaff said:


> So we should add images as a png? I have some chapter illustrations I'd like to include and want to know the best way to do it.


I've had the best results using PNG images on e-ink devices. Keep in mind, contrasty images such as ink drawings do much better than photographs on e-ink screens.


----------



## Brad West

Kristal Shaff said:


> So we should add images as a png? I have some chapter illustrations I'd like to include and want to know the best way to do it.


In general, you can add an image in any format, and Vellum will convert and resize it as necessary to meet the constraints of each platform. Add a TIFF, for example, and Vellum will convert it to a JPEG, using a high resolution version for iBooks and a low resolution version for Nook. More about this can be found here:
https://help.vellum.pub/file-size/#store-size-limits

If you have a simple, black+white illustration, or if you need to make use of transparency (for something like an ornament in a heading), your best bet may be to use GIF.

GIF does a good job of representing black+white efficiently and, because Kindle doesn't support PNG images with transparency, it's the only format that can represent transparency on every eBook platform.

If you'd like more specific advice for your use case, feel free to contact us and send along a sample image.

Hope that helps!


----------



## CassieL

That was not smart...

I'm playing around with Vellum for the first time today and decided to start with my non-fiction titles because Kobo's upload process somehow screws up the Table of Contents on my Word files making them ineligible for a few things I want available to me.  Not something I would recommend to a new user.  My writing book has four separate sections, subheadings, bulleted lists, numbered lists, text I want set apart, text I want left-aligned, etc., etc.  I think every possible formatting issue you could think of other than images, is in that file.  But I did finally get it 98% of the way there. So yay for that.

But nothing like jumping into the deep end.  Now I'm going to try one of my novels and probably have it formatted in the space of five minutes. (As opposed to the three-plus hours I just spent on that first title...)


----------



## Used To Be BH

Cassie Leigh said:


> That was not smart...
> 
> I'm playing around with Vellum for the first time today and decided to start with my non-fiction titles because Kobo's upload process somehow screws up the Table of Contents on my Word files making them ineligible for a few things I want available to me. Not something I would recommend to a new user. My writing book has four separate sections, subheadings, bulleted lists, numbered lists, text I want set apart, text I want left-aligned, etc., etc. I think every possible formatting issue you could think of other than images, is in that file. But I did finally get it 98% of the way there. So yay for that.
> 
> But nothing like jumping into the deep end. Now I'm going to try one of my novels and probably have it formatted in the space of five minutes. (As opposed to the three-plus hours I just spent on that first title...)


Vellum seems to have been designed more for fiction than for nonfiction. It does a great job laying out a novel and letting you make adjustments quickly and easily. (Ironically, it also does images, the one thing you didn't need, well.) When I was working with a nonfiction title, I discovered Vellum doesn't include support for appendices, works cited lists, etc, though one could manually format those. I believe it doesn't directly support tables, either. However, one can only expect so much from a single program, and it does what it was designed for quite well.


----------



## CassieL

Bill Hiatt said:


> Vellum seems to have been designed more for fiction than for nonfiction. It does a great job laying out a novel and letting you make adjustments quickly and easily. (Ironically, it also does images, the one thing you didn't need, well.) When I was working with a nonfiction title, I discovered Vellum doesn't include support for appendices, works cited lists, etc, though one could manually format those. I believe it doesn't directly support tables, either. However, one can only expect so much from a single program, and it does what it was designed for quite well.


Forty-some files converted to Vellum later...

Definitely agree that it's geared more towards fiction than non-fiction. My fiction titles sometimes only took me as long as it took to page through the entire document whereas my non-fiction took much longer. It doesn't read multiple heading layers as meaning anything, so I had to manually convert those before import and then the TOC was never ideal. But...overall, a much prettier file at the end of the day.

And I must insert my images in Word in a way that Vellum doesn't recognize, because the one book I have that uses screenshots didn't convert over. Ran out of time to play with it so that one will just have to be what it is until some future date but they were coming through like untitled chapters and not showing at all.

Reason I came to this thread though was I was trying to figure out how big a problem this is and whether others have noticed it: For some of my novels I used the script drop cap (so the fancy cursive-looking initial letter) and reading the Kindle version on my Samsung Galaxy Tab I'm seeing a line break on the third line about three words in for any paragraph that starts with a K or an H. Other letters could be doing it, too, but those are the only ones I've noticed so far. Didn't happen in the Kindle previewer and doesn't happen when I read it on my laptop. Is this a known issue? Is there a way to fix it? I tried a search but didn't find anything.

Also, just as a general comment, I will say that formatting using Vellum's styles in the Word doc before I imported it into Vellum saved me a ton of time in converting files over. The styles can be found in the Advanced Import Guide and then you can just format sweep one, select all of the others, and change it to the Vellum style. When I forgot to do that before import, it was a lot more work.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Cassie Leigh said:


> Also, just as a general comment, I will say that formatting using Vellum's styles in the Word doc before I imported it into Vellum saved me a ton of time in converting files over. The styles can be found in the Advanced Import Guide and then you can just format sweep one, select all of the others, and change it to the Vellum style. When I forgot to do that before import, it was a lot more work.


Well, that is valuable information! Thanks.


----------



## KaiW

Copy of a post I started earlier - posting here on advice of other members.

Got this email from Amazon this morn and before I could take the time to figure out what it all meant, there was already a Kindle Quality Notice attached to the book on the product page.

_'Error Category: Formatting-Dropcap_Liftcap_ChapterInitial; Comments: Forced page break induced before the starting of the chapter in certain Kindle devices where the first letter in chapter 8, 9,..so on is split from the rest of the sentence . Example Location: 306, 356, 385...so on. Please follow the KPG guidelines to create the Drop cap and that will fix the issue. Here the KPG guidelines are not followed and this is causing the issue. Please follow the KPG guideline section 9.3.5 Drop caps to create the Drop cap.'
_
Have no clue what any of this means and what I'm supposed to do to fix it, as I just use Vellum to format all of my ebooks directly from a word file and have never encountered an issue. Which potentially means they could all have the same problem
Anyone got a clue what I've done wrong?
Modify message


----------



## Brad West

KaiW said:


> Copy of a post I started earlier - posting here on advice of other members.
> 
> Got this email from Amazon this morn and before I could take the time to figure out what it all meant, there was already a Kindle Quality Notice attached to the book on the product page.
> 
> _'Error Category: Formatting-Dropcap_Liftcap_ChapterInitial; Comments: Forced page break induced before the starting of the chapter in certain Kindle devices where the first letter in chapter 8, 9,..so on is split from the rest of the sentence . Example Location: 306, 356, 385...so on. Please follow the KPG guidelines to create the Drop cap and that will fix the issue. Here the KPG guidelines are not followed and this is causing the issue. Please follow the KPG guideline section 9.3.5 Drop caps to create the Drop cap.'
> _


We haven't seen this notice before, but the symptoms sound a bit like a problem we noticed when Enhanced Typesetting was applied to a drop cap preceded by a quotation mark. We released an update earlier this year that works around these issues:
http://blog.180g.co/2017/02/vellum-1-4-2/

If that sounds like what's happening with your book, we'd recommend updating to Vellum 1.4.2, regenerating your eBooks and uploading a new version to KDP.

If it doesn't, please contact us and send a pointer to your book. It'll hopefully give us a better idea of what this message is about.


----------



## N. D. Iverson

Hi! So new user here and I have an issue with the generic EPUB file uploading to D2D properly. It's a box set and the volumes show in the D2D chapter layout but the chapters do not 

I uploaded the Kindle file and it worked great (checking via the Kindle Previewer) with all the chapters listed under each "volume".

How do I fix it so the chapters show on D2D? 

Thanks!


----------



## KaiW

Brad West said:


> We haven't seen this notice before, but the symptoms sound a bit like a problem we noticed when Enhanced Typesetting was applied to a drop cap preceded by a quotation mark. We released an update earlier this year that works around these issues:
> http://blog.180g.co/2017/02/vellum-1-4-2/
> 
> If that sounds like what's happening with your book, we'd recommend updating to Vellum 1.4.2, regenerating your eBooks and uploading a new version to KDP.
> 
> If it doesn't, please contact us and send a pointer to your book. It'll hopefully give us a better idea of what this message is about.


The update seems to have worked, fingers crossed. Thanks!


----------



## snix

Is there a way to produce watermarked ARCs in Vellum? If not, how do you all identify your ARCs when you generate them?


----------



## WDR

Susannah Nix said:


> Is there a way to produce watermarked ARCs in Vellum? If not, how do you all identify your ARCs when you generate them?


You may laugh as you read this: I identify my ARCs by the mistakes in them.

My ARCs are what I send out to my beta readers. They usually still contain errors that I hope to quash before the true release. I mark these as ARCs on the title and copyright pages of the book, noting they are not official release.

In respect to that, _Vellum_ is merely a tool for generating a production ebook file. The version tracking is something I manage outside of _Vellum_ through careful file management.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Susannah Nix said:


> Is there a way to produce watermarked ARCs in Vellum? If not, how do you all identify your ARCs when you generate them?


I use bookfunnel for that.


----------



## Abalone

Are there any plans on letting us use custom images to input at the beginning of the book and between chapter headings and the body of a chapter?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Abalone said:


> Are there any plans on letting us use custom images to input at the beginning of the book and between chapter headings and the body of a chapter?


Hi Abalone,

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are asking, but you can currently add Heading Images to your chapters. Depending on your chosen Book Style, they can appear between the chapter heading and the body of a chapter.

And if you'd like to add an image at the beginning of your book, you can create an Uncategorized element and insert your own Inline Image there.

If you have something else in mind, please feel free to get in touch with us directly on our Contact Page.


----------



## JRTomlin

Ummmm.... Any predictions on when it will be out of beta?


----------



## Abalone

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Abalone,
> 
> I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are asking, but you can currently add Heading Images to your chapters. Depending on your chosen Book Style, they can appear between the chapter heading and the body of a chapter.
> 
> And if you'd like to add an image at the beginning of your book, you can create an Uncategorized element and insert your own Inline Image there.
> 
> If you have something else in mind, please feel free to get in touch with us directly on our Contact Page.


Is it too late to admit I never read the FAQ?


----------



## DanaFraser

Can anyone using 1.4.2 generated mobis confirm that Page Flip is being enabled again (rumored to be converting in batches or smaller)


----------



## DanaFraser

DanaFraser said:


> Can anyone using 1.4.2 generated mobis confirm that Page Flip is being enabled again (rumored to be converting in batches or smaller)


Crud - did a more thorough review of my 1.4.2 titles and some have been changed on amazon's end so that page flip is enabled once more.


----------



## Used To Be BH

I thought I'd put up a Vellum question here before asking Amazon. I'm thinking someone may have had a similar experience.

Today I was making a few corrections in one of my titles, so it seemed a good time to switch it to a Vellum-formatted file. I've already done a new title with no issues, so it seemed likely there would be none in this case.

The file previews correctly, and the Look Inside is correct on all sites--except Amazon.com, where it's pretty messy. Everything is left-aligned (no centered titles or justified text), no ornamental elements, more generic font, different sizing, etc. (All formatting was the same as for the new title whose Look Inside is fine.)

I'm hoping it's just a glitch on Amazon's end and will resolve itself by morning. On the UK site, I saw the messy version appear for a second and then be replaced by the correct version.

Anyone ever seen something similar and/or have a possible fix if it doesn't sort itself out.


----------



## Abalone

Bill: You can try reuploading the file or uploading it in a different format. I get that issue sometimes and reuploading the same file fixes it.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Abalone said:


> Bill: You can try reuploading the file or uploading it in a different format. I get that issue sometimes and reuploading the same file fixes it.


You're probably right, and at the very least, that isn't going to hurt anything, so I'll try it right away.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Well, uploading the same file didn't work. 

I'll think I'll try making some small change and uploading again before I ask Amazon to sort it out.


----------



## Used To Be BH

For the sake of anyone else with the same problem, it is actually addressed in Vellum help here: https://help.vellum.pub/kindleformats/

Apparently, the Look Inside is sometimes initially created using MOBI7 instead of KF8, so the book may appear differently at first. It is supposed to update to KF8 eventually, but they may take days or weeks unless Kindle Support helps it along. Because this problem occurs only intermittently, Abalone's solution (reuploading) may also work, but it wouldn't necessarily.


----------



## E L Russell

Bill, thanks for doing all the legwork on this - much appreciated! -/Enos


----------



## LyraParish

My friends page flip was disabled until today and now it's reenabled and we used vellum to format. Has anyone else experienced this recently? Is there another fix to disable or should wentry to reupload? Thanks in advance! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Mary Ann Clarke Scott

Word Fan said:


> The word is still "Spring/Summer of 2017."


I'm so glad I came here and found this out. I was just considering learning and subscribing to InDesign so I can produce print books in house, but I dreaded the effort and expense. THIS option is so much more civilized, and I hardly have to wait at all. I adore using Vellum. Thank you!


----------



## E L Russell

Just got this in my eMail box:
=  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  
Vellum 2.0
We’re excited to share that Vellum 2.0 will be available on June 1, 2017!

Love creating ebooks in Vellum? Creating books for print will be just as easy. With just a few clicks, you will have a beautiful interior ready for services like CreateSpace and IngramSpark.

Vellum 2.0 will offer these options:

Vellum Press	$249.99
Create Ebooks + Paperbacks
Vellum Ebooks	$199.99
Create Ebooks only
Upgrade to Vellum Press*	$99.99
From Vellum Unlimited
Options will also be available to upgrade from 10-book and 1-book packages.

Upgrading to Vellum Press is optional. You can still produce ebooks in Vellum 2.0, and can upgrade whenever you want to add paperbacks to your library.

Vellum 2.0 will require macOS El Capitan or Sierra.

We’re hard at work putting the final touches on this release, and can’t wait to get it to you! 
—180g, Creators of Vellum

* If you purchased an Unlimited ebooks package after April 1, 2017, you can upgrade to Vellum Press for the difference in price ($50). Check your email for a coupon on June 1.


----------



## WDR

E L Russell said:


> Just got this in my eMail box:
> = = = = = = = = =
> Vellum 2.0
> We're excited to share that Vellum 2.0 will be available on June 1, 2017!


Excuse me while I _**SQUEEEEEEE!**_

Just in time for my launch of _Dragon_!


----------



## Used To Be BH

E L Russell said:


> Bill, thanks for doing all the legwork on this - much appreciated! -/Enos


Glad I could provide useful information.

As a quick update, Amazon Customer Service says it can take the Look Inside seven days to settle into its final form. No one tried to explain why the problem only affected .com. and I didn't push. I'm waiting patiently until May 21 to see if there is any change.


----------



## Used To Be BH

E L Russell said:


> Just got this in my eMail box:
> = = = = = = = = =
> Vellum 2.0
> We're excited to share that Vellum 2.0 will be available on June 1, 2017!
> 
> Love creating ebooks in Vellum? Creating books for print will be just as easy. With just a few clicks, you will have a beautiful interior ready for services like CreateSpace and IngramSpark.
> 
> Vellum 2.0 will offer these options:
> 
> Vellum Press	$249.99
> Create Ebooks + Paperbacks
> Vellum Ebooks	$199.99
> Create Ebooks only
> Upgrade to Vellum Press*	$99.99
> From Vellum Unlimited
> Options will also be available to upgrade from 10-book and 1-book packages.
> 
> Upgrading to Vellum Press is optional. You can still produce ebooks in Vellum 2.0, and can upgrade whenever you want to add paperbacks to your library.
> 
> Vellum 2.0 will require macOS El Capitan or Sierra.
> 
> We're hard at work putting the final touches on this release, and can't wait to get it to you!
> -180g, Creators of Vellum
> 
> * If you purchased an Unlimited ebooks package after April 1, 2017, you can upgrade to Vellum Press for the difference in price ($50). Check your email for a coupon on June 1.


Best news on the paperback formatting scene...well, ever!

Not related the the paperback release, but still interesting, I checked on the new Amazon charts, and the one self-published title up this week in fiction (#19 in Most Sold), Winter Renshaw's _The Perfect Illusion_, is formatted in Vellum (Kindred Template, I believe). I thought that was an interesting piece of trivia.


----------



## Elizabeth Barone

I'm squeeing too. I can't wait to get my books back in paperback! I've been waiting just for Vellum.


----------



## CopperDog

So, still working on my very first three-book series which I will launch around Labor Day. I use Scrivener already for PC, but am considering buying a refurbished, older Mac to use just for writing (with both Scrivener and Vellum). Just wanting to confirm that Vellum will work on older Mac models, before I pull the trigger on one? I have found some reasonable refurbs that look like good deals in the five hundred dollar range, most are somewhere between five and seven or eight years old. 
Thanks in advance!


----------



## Magnus

CopperDog said:


> So, still working on my very first three-book series which I will launch around Labor Day. I use Scrivener already for PC, but am considering buying a refurbished, older Mac to use just for writing (with both Scrivener and Vellum). Just wanting to confirm that Vellum will work on older Mac models, before I pull the trigger on one? I have found some reasonable refurbs that look like good deals in the five hundred dollar range, most are somewhere between five and seven or eight years old.
> Thanks in advance!


The main thing to look out for is that the Mac you plan to buy supports the (two latest?) versions of OSX (details here: https://help.vellum.pub/purchasing/#system-macos). I know a lot of the older Macs will at least require some additional RAM before they'll run the newer versions, but at least RAM is relatively cheap and easy to install.


----------



## Abalone

If you plan on buying used, I recommend buying from Apple's refurbished site. Because Apple themselves will refurbish a unit, not a third-party. A manufacturer refurbishing program is often more stringent than the original production line. Plus, you can purchase 2 years of Apple Care on top! 

Yes, the price isn't as good as cheaper and older used Macs, but the sound of mind you get in knowing your *investment* will be alright trumps all.


----------



## Leanne King

I know you guys are busy with Vellum 2.0, but is there any news on the Google Play affiliate program front? Right now, to include Google aff links I have to have a second version of my Vellum source file so I can set outbound links to web links rather than store links, which defeats the purpose of one source for all retailers.

Not only that, but when entering a Google Play affiliate link as a web link, Vellum tries to be clever and sets it back to a store link. Which means the only way to get a Play affiliate link using Vellum right now is 1) use a separate file and 2) make affiliate links redirect somewhere else first.


----------



## samanthakeel

Hey all! Newbie author looking at her first few publishing run-ins and will probably be waiting until June 1st for Vellum 2.0 (including the print stuff, because _of course I want print!_

First: It's actually surprisingly easy to use Vellum on Windows, provided you use a Virtualbox. Virtualbox basically makes a "fake Mac" on your computer, in which you can use Vellum.

The tutorial for setup: 
The one workaround I needed, which was to let my motherboard know it was okay to make virtual machines:

MY QUESTION IS.

1)* Can you embed different fonts with Vellum?* I have a "signature font" I use across my platform (blog, website) that I'd love to use in my books. I own the rights, including bundling in print and e-book, but I don't know how to make that play well with Vellum. Will this change in 2.0?

2) *Can you change the ornaments in Vellum?* I want to use different ornaments, such as a custom image (my little Stethy logo) for my nonfiction work, and a pirate logo for an upcoming work, but I want to make sure before I invest that I can make these work. If I have to use these as inline images, will Vellum realize they're all the same image and do its size-saving magic on them too?

Thanks so much.

Samantha Keel
ScriptMedicBlog.com


----------



## Used To Be BH

Bill Hiatt said:


> As a quick update, Amazon Customer Service says it can take the Look Inside seven days to settle into its final form. No one tried to explain why the problem only affected .com. and I didn't push. I'm waiting patiently until May 21 to see if there is any change.


Update: the .com Look Inside is still not straightened out, so I emailed again. I'm not sure the first responder really understood the problem (may have thought I wasn't seeing any update instead of an incomplete update), so I attached screen shots that show the differences between the .com Look Inside and the UK one. Let's hope that takes care of the issue.


----------



## A. N. Other Author

samanthakeel said:


> MY QUESTION IS.
> 
> 1)* Can you embed different fonts with Vellum?* I have a "signature font" I use across my platform (blog, website) that I'd love to use in my books. I own the rights, including bundling in print and e-book, but I don't know how to make that play well with Vellum. Will this change in 2.0?
> 
> 2) *Can you change the ornaments in Vellum?* I want to use different ornaments, such as a custom image (my little Stethy logo) for my nonfiction work, and a pirate logo for an upcoming work, but I want to make sure before I invest that I can make these work. If I have to use these as inline images, will Vellum realize they're all the same image and do its size-saving magic on them too?


1) I'll leave the font question to those who've accessed the print beta, but for ebook the font is irrelevant as kindles etc have their own fonts.

2) I use a vey low-res custom PNG for page breaks in three of my ebooks and as the mobi files sit on my hard drive the additional images push the megabytes count into double figures, but after uploading to Amazon the d/l cost is no more than my other novels. I think Amazon does the magic, not Vellum. The file size also shrinks on Bookfunnel. I understand this is because mobi files require a number of different versions depending on the type of reader, so Amazon only sends the portion that's required by the customer.


----------



## Word Fan

samanthakeel said:


> MY QUESTIONS ARE:
> 
> 1)* Can you embed different fonts with Vellum?*
> 
> 2) *Can you change the ornaments in Vellum?*


The simple answers to both are, "NO."

That's "no" for almost everyone who will be buying Vellum for print. Most of the "Vellum for e-books" people already know about not being able to do those things.

However, if you are a whiz at HTML, then the answers are both, "Of course you can." If you REALLY know what you're doing, it's easy but tedious. The thing is that most HTML "experts" are experts in their own minds and don't really know what they're doing when it gets anywhere beyond the basics, so you have to find someone who truly understands the ins-and-outs of the language.


----------



## Leanne King

Seriously? You can't import custom fonts for print? Guess I'll be sticking with trusty In Design then.


----------



## A. N. Other Author

Word Fan said:


> The simple answers to both are, "NO."
> 
> That's "no" for almost everyone who will be buying Vellum for print. Most of the "Vellum for e-books" people already know about not being able to do those things.
> 
> However, if you are a whiz at HTML, then the answers are both, "Of course you can." If you REALLY know what you're doing, it's easy but tedious. The thing is that most HTML "experts" are experts in their own minds and don't really know what they're doing when it gets anywhere beyond the basics, so you have to find someone who truly understands the ins-and-outs of the language.


But there's more than one font for print isn't there? Like with a style change?


----------



## Steve Voelker

Leanne King said:


> I know you guys are busy with Vellum 2.0, but is there any news on the Google Play affiliate program front? Right now, to include Google aff links I have to have a second version of my Vellum source file so I can set outbound links to web links rather than store links, which defeats the purpose of one source for all retailers.
> 
> Not only that, but when entering a Google Play affiliate link as a web link, Vellum tries to be clever and sets it back to a store link. Which means the only way to get a Play affiliate link using Vellum right now is 1) use a separate file and 2) make affiliate links redirect somewhere else first.


This is exactly why I only create one version that has links to the book landing pages on my own website. Readers can choose whichever store they want from there. And I can put the affiliate links wherever I want.

Also, I don't really know about the other guys, but you're definitely not allowed to put amazon affiliate links in your back matter anyway. Making a landing page solves that as well.


----------



## Brad West

Leanne King said:


> I know you guys are busy with Vellum 2.0, but is there any news on the Google Play affiliate program front? Right now, to include Google aff links I have to have a second version of my Vellum source file so I can set outbound links to web links rather than store links, which defeats the purpose of one source for all retailers.


Google Play's affiliate program is still private, and (we presume) behind NDA. We've reached out to them for options for users who are in the program, but unfortunately haven't received any. We'll likely have to wait until the program becomes public before we can offer this in Vellum.

In the meantime, we know some users make use of link shorteners / trackers to enter an affiliate link for Google Play. You don't need to make use of a separate file to do this. Just paste your custom link into the field for Google Play, as shown here:
http://help.vellum.pub/storelinks/#custom-links


----------



## WDR

ADDavies said:


> But there's more than one font for print isn't there? Like with a style change?


_Times New Roman_ has been a popular font face for newspapers. (Hence, "Times".) _Garamond_---created in the 1500s by Claude Garamond---was created to be easy on the eyes when reading. Rowling's _Harry Potter_ series was printed in Garamond.

Sans-serif fonts---like _Arial_---work best on pixelated displays with low resolution. It's easier on the eyes when looking at a bright screen. THat's why Arial is pretty much the default font on the internet.

Serif fonts, such as Times, Garamond, and Georgia, are easier to read in print (ink pigment on paper fiber, or really high resolution digital screens such as newer e-Ink displays). The tiny ornamentations on the letters have a surprisingly significant effect on the eyes, allowing them to slide along the letters more easily as we read.

In the two above examples, if you swap serif and sans serif fonts on paper or display, the result will give you a headache after a while and make reading a chore. A footnote to this is that modern displays are becoming so high resolution, that the need for sans serif fonts is on the wane.

Choosing the right font is vital for print. Very often publishers commission graphic artists to create a custom font for a popular author, making that font their signature font. The font will be used for the cover most often for the author's name. If the book is in a series, then the titles on all the books will use the same cover. Branding. However, for the text of the narrative, stick strictly with the tried and true fonts.


----------



## ImogeneNix

Just a quick Vellum query. Is there any way to add words to the Vellum dictionary? As a mainly SciFi and Paranormal author, I may from time to time create my own words and it would be useful to add them into the dictionary for ease of tracking spelling etc.,


----------



## Brant Williams

I just saw that Vellum 2.0 is now available for purchase. I have a book ready to go and will be buying it later today.


----------



## Renard

Fair warning if you're trying to upgrade today... their system seems to have been a bit overloaded. My payment was processed, then I received an SSL error during the app upgrade process. Now it's saying the store is down in preparation for Vellum 2.0. I imagine they'll have it ironed out shortly, but expect possible kinks in the upgrade process while everyone jumps on the new version.


----------



## David Greene

I had the same problem. I bought the upgrade, but now the PRINT generate option asks me to upgrade again. It might be a good idea to wait till they get settled.


----------



## DesertRatRose

Mark F said:


> Fair warning if you're trying to upgrade today... their system seems to have been a bit overloaded. My payment was processed, then I received an SSL error during the app upgrade process. Now it's saying the store is down in preparation for Vellum 2.0. I imagine they'll have it ironed out shortly, but expect possible kinks in the upgrade process while everyone jumps on the new version.


I'm having the same problem. I'm going to wait it out too but OMG I'm so EXCITED!


----------



## GeneDoucette

I was just playing with it, it looks great.


----------



## TimWLong

And the store is down.

I opened a book I formatted in Vellum a few weeks ago and it allowed me to mess with the paperback settings - I'm very impressed with how easy it is to use. I was about to pull the trigger when I got the message that the store was down. It said they are working to get it back up as soon as possible.


----------



## JRTomlin

I find having to actually go into Vellum in order to purchase rather peculiar. They really should make the purchase as easy as possible as many ways as possible or so I would think.


----------



## Jim Johnson

I just bought it through the program, not the store itself. Seems to be a nice program. Will need to take some time to test it.


----------



## DanaFraser

I just purchased the print upgrade through the application. No SSL, etc., hang-up. While I was apprehensive going through the app  I didn't have any problems and it was quick for me. Used PayPal, not bank card.


----------



## Austin_Briggs

Something strange is happening with pricing. I bought the previous unlimited version for $200, IIRC. To upgrade to Press, it asks me to pay $100, making the total price of Vellum Press for me $300.

Yet to buy a new version of Vellum Press, it costs $250.

Odd that as a repeat and loyal customer, I'm asked to pay $50 more.


----------



## DanaFraser

Mark Gardner said:


> I noticed with 2.0, the print is limited to 5x8... no 6x9? What format does it save the print as? PDF, I assume, what about ms word?


You can change the print size. Go to File >>> Print Settings. Options are 5*8, 5.25*8, 5.5*8 and 6*9. From there, you can also select your inside margin and whether you want only the first chapter to begin on the right or every chapter.

ETA - when you generate the print book, it is as PDF. I haven't noticed anything re outputting to MS Word, just RTF still and I don't know if that RTF output matches the Print version or is same function as it was 1.0.


----------



## Megan Crewe

I went into the app to see about updating, and when I click "Check for Updates" I'm getting the message that my version (Vellum 1.4.3) is the latest version. *scratches head* Anyone else running into that problem?


----------



## DanaFraser

What interior margin are people using for 5*8? With the default .875 (I think that is between both pages - so where the print ends on the left hand page to where the print begins on the right hand?), I'm coming out at 336 pages for a book that is 240 pages in my CS template. I'm not sure what my CS template interior margin is. Never thought about it before.


----------



## Nathalie Aynie

Megan Crewe said:


> I went into the app to see about updating, and when I click "Check for Updates" I'm getting the message that my version (Vellum 1.4.3) is the latest version. *scratches head* Anyone else running into that problem?


I downloaded the new file directly on the website, if that helps!


----------



## Jim Johnson

Mark Gardner said:


> Is there an easy way to specify the font size for the print option? I didn't see this option in the print settings.


Looks like it's in Styles > Body.












Mark Gardner said:


> I also don't see a reliable way to add a table of contents to the print version.


Erm...Chapter > Table of Contents settings...

I'm kinda impressed at how intuitive Vellum is. Certainly a smaller learning curve than Scrivener. Still need to tinker. I need to see how the different templates can be customized.


----------



## Megan Crewe

Oh, I just figured out what the problem is. I'm still running Yosemite. Have to decide whether I want to change operating systems. *goes off to do some research*


----------



## Used To Be BH

Mark Gardner said:


> I'm curious, because my title page image is showing all weird in Vellum, and if I have an issue, I need to know that I can generate a page and insert it...


Once you have the PDF, removing a page and inserting a new one should be easy enough.

I too have gotten very used to Word for creating PDFs. However, Vellum's ability to eliminate problems like orphans by using advanced control of spacing (much like a publisher would be able to) is something I don't think can be replicated very easily in Word. The same goes for optimizing justification using kerning rather than excessive hyphenation. I ran the file for my most recent paperback through Vellum, and although I think I did a good job with it originally, the Vellum version does look better in terms of page layout. What really wins me over is that a process on which I could spend hours took only few seconds in Vellum.


----------



## Guest

DanaFraser said:


> You can change the print size. Go to File >>> Print Settings. Options are 5*8, 5.25*8, 5.5*8 and 6*9. From there, you can also select your inside margin and whether you want only the first chapter to begin on the right or every chapter.


So those are the only print sizes available? You can't do custom print sizes or even 5.5x8.5" which is certainly as common, if not more so, than 5.5*8?



Jim Johnson said:


> Looks like it's in Styles > Body.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Erm...Chapter > Table of Contents settings...
> 
> I'm kinda impressed at how intuitive Vellum is. Certainly a smaller learning curve than Scrivener. Still need to tinker. I need to see how the different templates can be customized.


One thing I'd seen mentioned earlier is that Vellum 2.0 is limited on the fonts for prints. Did you find this to be correct or did you have full access to your installed fonts for doing your print version? Were you able to customize individual pages/sections to different formatting with a different font? And does that font size slider also show the size in numbers or is it just some unknown scale?



Mark Gardner said:


> The latest issue is that the PDF generated by Vellum doesn't have the margins mirrored, or allow me to set margins... This is an absolute must!


Agreed, this is a critical aspect of print formatting.



Bill Hiatt said:


> Once you have the PDF, removing a page and inserting a new one should be easy enough.


Not with a print-ready PDF. The PDF is locked to all changes. Plus adding or removing pages where you have numbering set would be a bad idea.



Bill Hiatt said:


> I too have gotten very used to Word for creating PDFs. However, Vellum's ability to eliminate problems like orphans by using advanced control of spacing (much like a publisher would be able to) is something I don't think can be replicated very easily in Word.


What "advanced control of spacing" are you seeing in Vellum that word cannot do? I can, if need be, adjust individual lines, paragraphs, or chapters pretty easily in Word to handle widows and orphans. Admittedly I'm going off the screenshots posted so far, but I didn't see anything that looked significantly different?


----------



## Brad West

Hi all,

It's been a busy day for us, but wanted to quickly pop in and say:

Our licensing server got absolutely swamped today, and unfortunately some orders didn't have their licenses fulfilled. With some server tweaks, things are back up now, and we've taken care of every one who has emailed us. If you made a purchase and still don't have a working license, please contact us and we'll get things straightened out.

Vellum will take care of many things for your print edition automatically, but there are a few controls you can use to fine tune font size, adjust inner margin, and create print- and ebook-specific content. You'll find an overview of workflow and options here:
https://help.vellum.pub/print/

To every one that purchased today, thank you! We hope you love Vellum 2.0.


----------



## C.F.

Mark Gardner said:


> The latest issue is that the PDF generated by Vellum doesn't have the margins mirrored, or allow me to set margins... This is an absolute must!


The inside margin is set by going to File > Print Settings.


----------



## Justawriter

Anma Natsu said:


> So those are the only print sizes available? You can't do custom print sizes or even 5.5x8.5" which is certainly as common, if not more so, than 5.5*8?


It is 5.5 x 8.5. Other options are 5 x 8, 5.25 x 8, and 6 x 9.


----------



## C.F.

Mark Gardner said:


> I also can't add carriage returns or align to the bottom!


With the copyright page, don't try to put it at the bottom. It does that automatically if you use their copyright page element. Just have the preview pane open and you'll see it.

So go to add element, select copyright, then type what you want there. It'll automatically be at the bottom. If you want it centered, select the text, choose the asterix icon (next to the bold icon), and choose alignment block and it will center it.


----------



## ImogeneNix

Brad West said:


> Vellum will take care of many things for your print edition automatically, but there are a few controls you can use to fine tune font size, adjust inner margin, and create print- and ebook-specific content. You'll find an overview of workflow and options here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/print/


Brad, I'm wondering if you can clarify - with the print edition ISBN do we have to manually add that somewhere or amend our files to replace the ebook ISBN? Or will there be a tweak for that coming? Or, have I just missed a setting somewhere?!


----------



## snix

Am I correct that there is no widow & orphan control in Vellum Print? Or is it hiding somewhere I haven't been able to find it? 

Otherwise, I'm going to have rewrite some of the text in order to get rid of these godawful widows.


----------



## C.F.

ImogeneNix said:


> Brad, I'm wondering if you can clarify - with the print edition ISBN do we have to manually add that somewhere or amend our files to replace the ebook ISBN? Or will there be a tweak for that coming? Or, have I just missed a setting somewhere?!


Create a copyright page for the ebook and then choose the little gear icon in the top right corner and choose "include in" and put ebook. Then make another copyright page, do the same thing and select to just include it in print.


----------



## ImogeneNix

C.F. said:


> Create a copyright page for the ebook and then choose the little gear icon in the top right corner and choose "include in" and put ebook. Then make another copyright page, do the same thing and select to just include it in print.


Ah good thinking CF - I have always had someone do my formatting for print but this is a bit of a new journey


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Joseph J Bailey

I am so excited 2.0 is finally out!

I can't wait to get on and start exploring...


----------



## snix

Rickie Blair said:


> Check to make sure you have the print preview set to "Proof" and not "Draft." (When you're in print preview, click on the Aa icon.) Vellum will automatically correct the widows and orphans.
> 
> https://help.vellum.pub/print-auto-layout/


AHHH!! Bless you! I thought it seemed like a weird thing for them to leave out. All better now!

Also, can I just say thank you to ALL the people from the beta who are here doling out tips and tricks to the rest of us. You're doing the lord's work.


----------



## C.F.

ImogeneNix said:


> Ah good thinking CF - I have always had someone do my formatting for print but this is a bit of a new journey


I was part of the beta, so I have a bit of a head start . Keep in mind that doing it this way also means you don't have to include the copyright page in the same spot in print and ebook. For instance, I put my copyright page in the front of print books and in the back of ebooks.


----------



## C.F.

Mark Gardner said:


> When I generated the PDF, the copyright page was vertically aligned to the top.


Are you using their copyright page element? From the screenshot you posted, it doesn't look like it because their copyright page is just titled "copyright" not "copyright page" like it is in yours. Yours also has a page number in roman numerals at the bottom, which also wouldn't happen if you chose their copyright element. Delete the copyright page you have. Follow the instructions I gave, and you'll get what you want. In the screenshot you posted, you had done a bunch of carriage returns to get it to the bottom. Don't do that. Add their copyright element, change the text to what you want, and it'll work. If you want it centered, choose the asterix icon and then alignment block and it will center it. I just tested it again and the pdf has the copyright info at the bottom of the page, centered.

As for the outside margin, I don't believe that is something that can be changed. I'm not 100% sure because I've never had the desire to change it, but the documentation doesn't seem to list an option for it.


----------



## DanaFraser

Mark Gardner said:


> Grr... I went to purchase Vellum 2.0, but the linkage to paypal won't let me choose a different paypal address.


Odd, it let me type over the address vellum auto-generated.


----------



## C.F.

Mark Gardner said:


> Mirrored margins and not having full margin control is a breaking issue as far as I'm concerned. I'll request a refund. It makes me sad, because with that exception, I really like 2.0.


Make sure you ask Brad or someone else from Vellum about it. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure on it.


----------



## E L Russell

I appreciate the rapid 'research' this discussion is generating for 2.0 - it has helped me avoid some time-wasters.
Here's my offering - I think you find it useful and one you'll probably need:

CS SUPPORT: email them at [email protected] or you can also CALL them at this number: 1-866-356-2153


----------



## Jim Johnson

Anma Natsu said:


> One thing I'd seen mentioned earlier is that Vellum 2.0 is limited on the fonts for prints. Did you find this to be correct or did you have full access to your installed fonts for doing your print version? Were you able to customize individual pages/sections to different formatting with a different font? And does that font size slider also show the size in numbers or is it just some unknown scale?


There are 10 fonts in the font list for print versions:

Adobe Garamond Pro
Athelas
Baskerville
Cochin
Crimson Text
Fanwood
Hoefler Text
Iowan Style
Palatino
Times New Roman

As near as I can tell, you can't customize fonts from section to section or chapter to chapter. The font you pick is carried through the whole document. The font size slider and the font spacing slider are arbitrary--no numbers to help you figure out what font size or spacing is being used other than 'bigger than before' or 'smaller than the last one'.


----------



## Guest

Jim Johnson said:


> There are 10 fonts in the font list for print versions:
> 
> [snipped for brevity  ]
> 
> As near as I can tell, you can't customize fonts from section to section or chapter to chapter. The font you pick is carried through the whole document. The font size slider and the font spacing slider are arbitrary--no numbers to help you figure out what font size or spacing is being used other than 'bigger than before' or 'smaller than the last one'.


Thanks and good to know. Both are serious deal breakers for me on print formatting.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Anma Natsu said:


> Thanks and good to know. Both are serious deal breakers for me on print formatting.


While I know the vast majority of print fiction is laid out in a serif font, I was surprised to see zero sans serif fonts on the list.

I can see Vellum print being good for quick and dirty print edition, maybe ARCs to get a review train going, but I'd be inclined to stick with InDesign for more design customization.


----------



## CassieL

Mark Gardner said:


> How about the ability to exclude chapters from the TOC, or to suppress a page number?


Anyone have the answer on suppressing a page number? That's a biggie if you're using right-hand side chapter starts and have a blank left-hand page.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Cassie Leigh said:


> Anyone have the answer on suppressing a page number? That's a biggie if you're using right-hand side chapter starts and have a blank left-hand page.


Just messed with it. Looks like there are seven print layout options and four of them have the page numbers on the top of the page and all are suppressed on the first page of each chapter. The other three options display the page number on the bottom of the page and are not suppressed.

In the print layout, headers and footers are suppressed on blank pages, so if you have a chapter end on a right side page and have new chapters start on right side pages, the left page will be blank.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

I find it a bit upsetting that those coming to Vellum for the first time get a $50 discount off the price if they buy 2.0.
They have the price at $249 for 2.0 and $199 for unlimited ebooks.

I purchased unlimited at $199 over a year ago. So shouldn't us customers who were loyal, get the same rate as new customers? I should be able to upgrade for $50. But they are charging us $99.

Not cool.

Vellum 2.0 should be $299 for new people if they are charging us loyal, existing customers $99 for an upgrade.


----------



## Austin_Briggs

Marseille said:


> I find it a bit upsetting that those coming to Vellum for the first time get a $50 discount off the price if they buy 2.0.
> They have the price at $249 for 2.0 and $199 for unlimited ebooks.
> 
> I purchased unlimited at $199 over a year ago. So shouldn't us customers who were loyal, get the same rate as new customers? I should be able to upgrade for $50. But they are charging us $99.
> 
> Not cool.
> 
> Vellum 2.0 should be $299 for new people if they are charging us loyal, existing customers $99 for an upgrade.


Yeah, I have the same grievance. Not upgrading until the upgrade price goes down.


----------



## CassieL

Jim Johnson said:


> In the print layout, headers and footers are suppressed on blank pages, so if you have a chapter end on a right side page and have new chapters start on right side pages, the left page will be blank.


Thanks, Jim. That was the issue I was wondering about.


----------



## LeonardDHilleyII

Marseille said:


> I find it a bit upsetting that those coming to Vellum for the first time get a $50 discount off the price if they buy 2.0.
> They have the price at $249 for 2.0 and $199 for unlimited ebooks.
> 
> I purchased unlimited at $199 over a year ago. So shouldn't us customers who were loyal, get the same rate as new customers? I should be able to upgrade for $50. But they are charging us $99.
> 
> Not cool.
> 
> Vellum 2.0 should be $299 for new people if they are charging us loyal, existing customers $99 for an upgrade.


I bought Vellum a month ago. They still didn't have a release date for the PB then, or I'd have waited. I love the digital version though.


----------



## GirlWriter

I searched the help files but did not find anything on this. Can anyone answer me?: 

1. What are the minimum requirements for image size and DPI on the header for both ebook and print?

2. What are the minimum requirements for image size and DPI on the body of the manuscript for both ebook and print for each of the 4 size options available?

Thanks!


----------



## DanaFraser

Jim Johnson said:


> While I know the vast majority of print fiction is laid out in a serif font, I was surprised to see zero sans serif fonts on the list.
> 
> I can see Vellum print being good for quick and dirty print edition, maybe ARCs to get a review train going, but I'd be inclined to stick with InDesign for more design customization.


SF uses a lot of sans serif. Hopefully one or two can be added in future. I don't know if there are issues in licensing the fonts for use in the software? I'll be throwing some of my romance backlist into print since I've already converted those files to Vellum. In the saved time, it should pay for itself and won't matter for romance. I would say same for thriller/suspense (although need sans serif for that, too, IMO).


----------



## Jim Johnson

Erica Alexander said:


> I searched the help files but did not find anything on this. Can anyone answer me?:
> 
> 1. What are the minimum requirements for image size and DPI on the header for both ebook and print?
> 
> 2. What are the minimum requirements for image size and DPI on the body of the manuscript for both ebook and print for each of the 4 size options available?
> 
> Thanks!


Vellum's FAQs are relatively vague, but do address image size for covers (sort of).


----------



## CassieL

DanaFraser said:


> SF uses a lot of sans serif.


Are you sure of that? For main body text? I just checked ten random fantasy novels on my bookshelves and all use a serifed font. Serif fonts are easier to read when you have paragraphs of text. Only time I'd think you'd need a sans serif would be for a non-fiction workbook or something like that.


----------



## DanaFraser

I said SF, not the &F. I was checking new SF releases in B&N at the time (last year). May have just been a coincidence that sans serif predominated.


----------



## CassieL

Interesting. I only have one recent SF title here and it's a serif font as well.  Looked on Amazon at some Look Insides for recent novels from the bigger publishers and what I saw was sans serif for table of contents or title pages or chapter headings but serif for main body text.


----------



## SugarBear57

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> I bought Vellum a month ago. They still didn't have a release date for the PB then, or I'd have waited. I love the digital version though.


If you bought Vellum after April 1, you should have gotten an email telling you how to buy the upgrade for $50.


----------



## LeonardDHilleyII

SugarBear57 said:


> If you bought Vellum after April 1, you should have gotten an email telling you how to buy the upgrade for $50.


 No, I haven't. At least not yet. Fingers crossed ...


----------



## CassieL

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> No, I haven't. At least not yet. Fingers crossed ...


Then reach out to them. I got my email on the 31st and you only have until the 15th to upgrade for $50 instead of $99.


----------



## GirlWriter

For those wondering about the font sizes for print since the little bar doesn't really indicate it, I run a mock test for each of the ticks in the bar for Garamond and checked the font sizes in the PDF and here are the sizes from smallest to greatest:

10 - 10.5 - 11 - 11.5 - 12 - 12.5 - 13


----------



## A. N. Other Author

I've found Vellum print to be fantastic for a clean paperback MS. I write crime thrillers so I don't need masses of formatting. I just want it to look professional - get the trim right, plus eliminate any orphan lines (which it does without being asked!), and make the headings look better than I manage in my MS Word templates. 

I imagine it'll be less flexible for non-fic books and for those with lots of graphics and the like. For me, it's turned a two-day formatting job into a 1-hour job, possibly 2 max, so I'm mightily happy with it.


----------



## TaraCrescent

ADDavies said:


> I've found Vellum print to be fantastic for a clean paperback MS. I write crime thrillers so I don't need masses of formatting. I just want it to look professional - get the trim right, plus eliminate any orphan lines (which it does without being asked!), and make the headings look better than I manage in my MS Word templates.
> 
> I imagine it'll be less flexible for non-fic books and for those with lots of graphics and the like. For me, it's turned a two-day formatting job into a 1-hour job, possibly 2 max, so I'm mightily happy with it.


Totally agree. I'm pretty happy with the output it produces. Paperback sales aren't a huge part of my revenue, so I don't need to make words of art, just clean books. I'm writing contemporary romance, and my time is better spent writing the next book than fiddling with formatting.


----------



## CassieL

Yep. I just approved my first paperback created through Vellum.  Took about ten minutes to generate since I'd already done all of the heavy lifting with the ebook.  If I had been doing it manually there are some tweaks I would've made (it's a non-fiction title), but overall it was decent. And worth the time saved on inserting section breaks at the end of chapters and deleting headers/footers for blank pages before the next chapter start.

Also, I had originally selected the wrong book size and decided I didn't like the header/footer I'd chosen and fixing those two issues took about two minutes.  If you compare that to what I would've had to do on a manually-created paperback...HUGE time savings.


----------



## ......~......

Erica Alexander said:


> For those wondering about the font sizes for print since the little bar doesn't really indicate it, I run a mock test for each of the ticks in the bar for Garamond and checked the font sizes in the PDF and here are the sizes from smallest to greatest:
> 
> 10 - 10.5 - 11 - 11.5 - 12 - 12.5 - 13


Thanks for doing this! Very helpful!

I just reformatted all my print books and it literally took minutes per book. And I was able to get the page count within two pages or to the exact (!) page count I had with my previous print editions, so thankfully I don't have to mess with the covers.

I did create separate Vellum files for my print books because I wanted things in a different order and I didn't want to include some of the things that are in the ebook editions.

I paid $99 for the upgrade and it's worth every penny. It took me literally _hours_ to format one print book before, and now I can do it in minutes. Love it!


----------



## FelissaEly

Just downloaded Vellum yesterday and messed with an eBook for quite a while just learning the ropes, once I figured it out I really enjoyed using it and I love the previewer option, so I bit the bullet today and purchased the ebook + print unlimited license. 

I hadn't messed with the print part yet and it seems just as straight forward as the eBook creation but I'm having an issue where there's a introduction/preface that I don't want labeled as part of the chapters and it works fine in the eBook portion but in the print version it's creating a v at the bottom of the page, is this typical in print books or is there a way to remove that?


----------



## GeneDoucette

FelissaEly said:


> Just downloaded Vellum yesterday and messed with an eBook for quite a while just learning the ropes, once I figured it out I really enjoyed using it and I love the previewer option, so I bit the bullet today and purchased the ebook + print unlimited license.
> 
> I hadn't messed with the print part yet and it seems just as straight forward as the eBook creation but I'm having an issue where there's a introduction/preface that I don't want labeled as part of the chapters and it works fine in the eBook portion but in the print version it's creating a v at the bottom of the page, is this typical in print books or is there a way to remove that?


I haven't encountered this, but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that was a roman numeral, and that Vellum is numbering your preamble separately.


----------



## Steve Voelker

NeedWant said:


> Thanks for doing this! Very helpful!
> 
> I just reformatted all my print books and it literally took minutes per book. And I was able to get the page count within two pages or to the exact (!) page count I had with my previous print editions, so thankfully I don't have to mess with the covers.
> 
> I did create separate Vellum files for my print books because I wanted things in a different order and I didn't want to include some of the things that are in the ebook editions.
> 
> I paid $99 for the upgrade and it's worth every penny. It took me literally _hours_ to format one print book before, and now I can do it in minutes. Love it!


It is helpful to make a separate file if you really want to have your print edition be different from your ebook. 
Just wanted to note, though - Vellum does give you the option to mark pages and sections as included in just the ebook, just the print, or both, with both as the default. 
I use this to include the back matter with links in the ebook version, and a simpler version, with some web addresses spelled out in the print. I also have a book description page in the ebook version that I don't include at all in print, since it is on the back of the book. 
I have also seen people have a copyright page in the back that shows up for the ebook, and one in the front for print. 
It is a pretty cool feature.

And hell yes, it is worth every penny! 
It is one of the best pieces of software I own. I would have paid the full $249 just to add the print option!
For those who are miffed at the upgrade price, think of it this way: You aren't paying $50 more for the print version. You got to use Vellum for all this time, while the poor people who are just buying now had to suffer through god knows what to format their ebooks! 
It's pretty typical pricing. We even do it with our books. 
Would you be saying the same thing about an author who released 2 books in a trilogy, then also put out a box set when the third one released? You paid $5 per book, and now someone who comes along can buy the whole set for less than you paid? It seems silly. Because it is. You paid to get in early. Just like if you wanted to read the books as they came out, instead of waiting for the inevitable box set. 
Or you paid a lot of money for a new car in 2016, and now that same 2016 model is cheaper for someone who comes along to buy one today. But you got it when you wanted it, and you've (hopefully) gotten a lot of good use out of it. 
These guys just gave us the awesome product we've all been clamoring for. 
I was GLAD to pay them for all their hard work.


----------



## C.F.

NeedWant said:


> I did create separate Vellum files for my print books because I wanted things in a different order and I didn't want to include some of the things that are in the ebook editions.


FYI, this isn't necessary as long as the chapters themselves are staying the same. You can mark each element to appear in just the ebook or just the print version to accomplish the same thing. For instance, in my print I have the copyright page up front and in the ebook I have it in the back and my back matter and front matter is different for each. All you do is go to the little gear in the top right corner and choose "Include in" and then choose print or ebook. So I put a copyright page in the front and selected to include that only in print and then I put a copyright page in the back and selected to include that only in the ebook. This way you just have one master file so you don't have to worry about correcting typos in two different files or updating front/back matter in two files down the road.


----------



## WDR

Cassie Leigh said:


> Are you sure of that? For main body text? I just checked ten random fantasy novels on my bookshelves and all use a serifed font. Serif fonts are easier to read when you have paragraphs of text. Only time I'd think you'd need a sans serif would be for a non-fiction workbook or something like that.


In print, always use a serif font!

The sans-serif fonts for most books (usually SF) are used in titles and chapter titles. Often, the publishers wanted to go for a mechanized look, and sans-serif fonts deliver on that note.

But for the narrative, the fonts will always be in a serif font. For print, the serifs guide the eye through the letters and it is easier on the nervous system. (Human brains are weird that way.) Use a sans-serif font for your narrative and your sales will drop off pretty quickly.

Oddly, though, the opposite is in effect when you look at emissive (light-generating, like a computer screen) displays. Serif fonts make letters look fuzzy on these displays. So on computer screens the serif fonts rule. This is changing now because the high resolutions displays like Apple's Retina technology make the serif fonts look a lot sharper.


----------



## WDR

*On Images for the Cover in Print*

We're talking a different paradigm when putting things to print. The general rule of thumb is you want your image to be *minimally* at 300 DPI in its final size. If your image is at 72 DPI, even at 18 inches by 27 inches, it is still going to fall short of being printable for a 6x9 US Trade format cover.

When you have an artist create an image for you, if they are sending you an image file make sure you inform them it must be a minimum of 300 DPI for the target size. It is even better if your artist can deliver 600 DPI. If your artist has sent you the original artwork on canvas, if at all possible scan it at 1200 DPI. It will create an insanely huge image file, but it will be perfect for print.

Remember, you can always scale an image down to meet the book manufacturer's requirements, but you _*cannot*_ scale it up! If you have to scale up an image, it will pixelate and look horrible in print. There is no magic way around this.

Talk to your book manufacturer about what they want for printing the cover. I can guarantee you the answer will be at minimum, a 300 DPI TIFF or JPEG image. The higher DPI you can deliver, the higher quality the cover will look in print.

Something to remember: even if you aren't going to be printing in a larger format now, always target the largest possible format that you MIGHT potentially go to in the future. If you are only printing 4x6 pocket books (average paperback size) and your image is designed for that size, you will have to have new artwork created for the larger size if you ever want to do a 6x9 US Trade hardcover. So, target the largest format size, and scale down to the formats you are currently using.


----------



## AllyWho

Is there a way to set up a template with standard sections that I use all the time - eg: About the Author, Also By? Or do I create a document with sections which are the same across all books and just copy/paste over? At the moment each time I create a new book I copy/paste from an old one but I figured there must be a more efficient way to do it. Thank you


----------



## GirlWriter

> Is there a way to set up a template with standard sections that I use all the time - eg: About the Author, Also By? Or do I create a document with sections which are the same across all books and just copy/paste over? At the moment each time I create a new book I copy/paste from an old one but I figured there must be a more efficient way to do it. Thank you


What I have done is have a vellum file with all those things that I use often, the copyright, about the author, other books and so on. And when I start a new book, I open both the template and the new book and just drag the folders over. It copies to the new Vellum doc. Then rearrange or update as needed.


----------



## lilywhite

Steve Voelker said:


> For those who are miffed at the upgrade price, think of it this way: You aren't paying $50 more for the print version. You got to use Vellum for all this time, while the poor people who are just buying now had to suffer through god knows what to format their ebooks!
> It's pretty typical pricing. We even do it with our books.
> Would you be saying the same thing about an author who released 2 books in a trilogy, then also put out a box set when the third one released? You paid $5 per book, and now someone who comes along can buy the whole set for less than you paid? It seems silly. Because it is. You paid to get in early. Just like if you wanted to read the books as they came out, instead of waiting for the inevitable box set.


This.


----------



## AllyWho

Erica Alexander said:


> What I have done is have a vellum file with all those things that I use often, the copyright, about the author, other books and so on. And when I start a new book, I open both the template and the new book and just drag the folders over. It copies to the new Vellum doc. Then rearrange or update as needed.


Thanks. I was wondering if that might be the easiest way.


----------



## ......~......

Steve Voelker said:


> It is helpful to make a separate file if you really want to have your print edition be different from your ebook.
> Just wanted to note, though - Vellum does give you the option to mark pages and sections as included in just the ebook, just the print, or both, with both as the default.
> I use this to include the back matter with links in the ebook version, and a simpler version, with some web addresses spelled out in the print. I also have a book description page in the ebook version that I don't include at all in print, since it is on the back of the book.
> I have also seen people have a copyright page in the back that shows up for the ebook, and one in the front for print.
> It is a pretty cool feature.





C.F. said:


> FYI, this isn't necessary as long as the chapters themselves are staying the same. You can mark each element to appear in just the ebook or just the print version to accomplish the same thing. For instance, in my print I have the copyright page up front and in the ebook I have it in the back and my back matter and front matter is different for each. All you do is go to the little gear in the top right corner and choose "Include in" and then choose print or ebook. So I put a copyright page in the front and selected to include that only in print and then I put a copyright page in the back and selected to include that only in the ebook. This way you just have one master file so you don't have to worry about correcting typos in two different files or updating front/back matter in two files down the road.


Thank you guys! I just tried this with one of the books I hadn't reformatted yet and it worked like a charm. I guess I just needed to copy one of the elements and have one as Print Only and one as Ebook Only? I just wanted the "Also By" page in a different location and with different formatting. Now that I know how to do this it's even faster! I guess the only reason to create a separate file would be if I wanted a different book style for the print edition? It looks like there's no option to have one style Print Only and another one for just the ebook.


----------



## GeneDoucette

AliceW said:


> Is there a way to set up a template with standard sections that I use all the time - eg: About the Author, Also By? Or do I create a document with sections which are the same across all books and just copy/paste over? At the moment each time I create a new book I copy/paste from an old one but I figured there must be a more efficient way to do it. Thank you


Yes as someone else said downthread, you can drag/drop the section. I update my backmatter in one book and then drag the updated version into the other books and delete the old version. It's pretty efficient.


----------



## LeonardDHilleyII

Mark Gardner said:


> Grrrr.... Vellum 2.0 is frustrating beyond comprehension! I set up the print with a .5 gutter. Uploaded it to CS, and the text rides the gutter. I figure, "A quarter inch should do it!" Of course I can't just punch in .525, it has to be .5249999997. I reupload, and it's still riding the gutter. "Fine," I say, "I'll just bump it up to .625. STILL RIDING THE GUTTER! an adjustment of 1.25 inches changes the page count, but not the positioning.


Every time I've uploaded a PB from my Mac to CS, I get those warnings. I believe it's because we use Macs. I usually click ignore on those and have read online that CS tends to issue 'problems' for PDFs uploaded from Mac. I might be wrong, but my PBs I've sent on through come out perfectly fine.


----------



## CassieL

So I've now done four print books in Vellum.  Very easy to do certainly and a decent looking product.  But I don't like that it makes no attempt at all to fix orphans and that even though it uses hyphenation there are loose lines in the text and I have no ability to manually fix those myself.  The justification for the orphans is from Elements of Typographic Style and I've seen that quote, too, but I've always interpreted it more as a "if you have to choose between a widow and an orphan, choose the orphan" than don't worry about them at all.


----------



## Error404

Steve Voelker said:


> For those who are miffed at the upgrade price, think of it this way: You aren't paying $50 more for the print version. You got to use Vellum for all this time, while the poor people who are just buying now had to suffer through god knows what to format their ebooks!
> It's pretty typical pricing. We even do it with our books.
> Would you be saying the same thing about an author who released 2 books in a trilogy, then also put out a box set when the third one released? You paid $5 per book, and now someone who comes along can buy the whole set for less than you paid? It seems silly. Because it is. You paid to get in early. Just like if you wanted to read the books as they came out, instead of waiting for the inevitable box set.
> Or you paid a lot of money for a new car in 2016, and now that same 2016 model is cheaper for someone who comes along to buy one today. But you got it when you wanted it, and you've (hopefully) gotten a lot of good use out of it.
> These guys just gave us the awesome product we've all been clamoring for.
> I was GLAD to pay them for all their hard work.


Definitely disagree, especially with the first part. Just because someone was better off before someone else doesn't mean they should be punished with paying a greater portion of their hard-earned money. Getting 'paid in early' doesn't apply to the paperback version of Vellum. That wasn't available to anyone until June 1st (other than beta, but did they have to pay?).

For the examples you gave, it's less about brand loyalty (which is what many people have cited as a stab in the back for the higher price) and more about depreciation. A backlog of books need attention, so lower the price to keep up the sales. The vehicle is a physical entity, so it gets old and worn after use. Vellum and its business model don't really apply. It's a digital entity with customers who paid for a previous product only to find that the company thinks they're suckers who will buy anything while they reward new customers. Not cool.

Also, not a great product. Very limited on customization. I was disappointed and got my money back. Maybe I'll upgrade when they stop punishing their loyal customers, or when they improve their limited product in a future update.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Mark Gardner said:


> Grrrr.... Vellum 2.0 is frustrating beyond comprehension! I set up the print with a .5 gutter. Uploaded it to CS, and the text rides the gutter. I figure, "A quarter inch should do it!" Of course I can't just punch in .525, it has to be .5249999997. I reupload, and it's still riding the gutter. "Fine," I say, "I'll just bump it up to .625. STILL RIDING THE GUTTER! an adjustment of 1.25 inches changes the page count, but not the positioning.


Does the PDF itself look all right before uploading it to CS? I've had issues on non-Vellum files where the gutter looked more than big enough and should have been fine, but wasn't quite--even using CS's own specifications. I had to fiddle with it a lot last time to make sure the text near the center was readable.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Anma Natsu said:


> Not with a print-ready PDF. The PDF is locked to all changes. Plus adding or removing pages where you have numbering set would be a bad idea.
> 
> What "advanced control of spacing" are you seeing in Vellum that word cannot do? I can, if need be, adjust individual lines, paragraphs, or chapters pretty easily in Word to handle widows and orphans. Admittedly I'm going off the screenshots posted so far, but I didn't see anything that looked significantly different?


The first observation you're responding to was my response to something Mark was asking, not a general statement. Obviously, you can't randomly subtract pages or add pages without having major problems. His question was whether or not he could substitute a different title page. A straight swap like that wouldn't affect pagination. And no, the file that Vellum produces is not locked to all changes. I opened one in Acrobat and had no difficulty extracting or inserting pages.

With regard to the second issue, yes, one can control both kerning and line spacing in Word--but in order to get rid of widows and have an even bottom margin, one would have to do a lot of manual fiddling. The last time I was foolish enough to attempt something like that, it took hours. The fact that Vellum does it automatically in a very short time is a definite plus. Judging by the book I was experimenting with, whatever internal adjustments the program makes are hard to detect with the naked eye, an effect that's very hard to achieve manually.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Mark Gardner said:


> I figured it out that the gutter doesn't include the inside margin, and once I added it, it started working as expected. I talked to Brad, and there are no plans to add adjustable margins. With all the dead space at the bottom when page numbers are at the top, and the inability to adjust the line lead for the headers, I asked for and received a refund.


That's odd! I wouldn't have thought adjustable margins would be that hard a thing to add. Since I'm not a programmer, I may be missing some technical reason that could be problematic. That said, most of the print books I have do seem to have the same amount of header and footer space, even if one is unoccupied.

I would imagine that the defaults are all consistent with standard design principles in the industry, but it would be nice to see a little more leeway for things like margin adjustments. There are obviously a lot of people who are trying to avoid having to adjust all of their covers, a problem that normally would come up in a trad situation. There also isn't as much room for individual aesthetic judgments or for trying to keep the finished book within a particular price range. In order to keep my older titles from becoming more expensive, I'd have to go with a smaller font size or smaller line spacing than I really want.


----------



## Guest

Bill Hiatt said:


> The first observation you're responding to was my response to something Mark was asking, not a general statement. Obviously, you can't randomly subtract pages or add pages without having major problems. His question was whether or not he could substitute a different title page. A straight swap like that wouldn't affect pagination. And no, the file that Vellum produces is not locked to all changes. I opened one in Acrobat and had no difficulty extracting or inserting pages.


Sorry, I missed the first part of Mark's question. And you're right, while PDF/X does lock it a PDF to lot of changes, it does appear to allow page deletion and addition (just checked with my own which I know for sure is PDF/X as I do it through Acrobat). Though I am curious, does anyone know if Vellum is creating a PDF/X file or a PDF/A? I don't remember seeing it on the FAQ.



Bill Hiatt said:


> With regard to the second issue, yes, one can control both kerning and line spacing in Word--but in order to get rid of widows and have an even bottom margin, one would have to do a lot of manual fiddling. The last time I was foolish enough to attempt something like that, it took hours. The fact that Vellum does it automatically in a very short time is a definite plus. Judging by the book I was experimenting with, whatever internal adjustments the program makes are hard to detect with the naked eye, an effect that's very hard to achieve manually.


I never had an issue with dealing with widows and keeping an even bottom margin. Word handled that automatically, with the correct settings. I just adjusted an individual scene or chapter (if no scenes) very minimally and it was enough while being completely undetectable to the naked eye. It generally didn't take me too long as I only had a few to deal with. That said, Cassie's note seems to indicate that it is not actually handling windows and orphans automatically, or at least not orphans? So there seems to be conflicting reports on whether it is handling it auto magically or not.


----------



## John Magna

> Though I am curious, does anyone know if Vellum is creating a PDF/X file or a PDF/A?


It creates a PDF/X-3:2002 file. It doesn't pass conformance test through preflight though (conformance to ISO 15930-3) which I thought was a requirement for Ingram Spark. I haven't tried to upload to Ingram Spark to see if they would accept it.

Unfortunately, in my novel there are some non-standard formatting and graphics. Tried converting the pdf to word, clean up the conversion (which took two days) only to find out one of the nine fonts available Hoelfer Text generated an error when trying to convert it back to pdf using Adobe Pro. The main error stated embedding Hoelfer Text font into a pdf violated Apple's licensing policy.

I went back to another application to format the file for Ingram Spark that was a lot less hassle than trying to clean up another Vellum print file with a different font converted back to word format.

I'll still keep the application though maybe somewhere down the line I can use it on another project that has simpler formatting.

It would be nice to have an rtf file formatted along with the pdf for the print version. (That keeps the formatting and graphics that Vellum print offers).


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

I'm with you. Overcharging existing customers is not cool.



Austin_Briggs said:


> Yeah, I have the same grievance. Not upgrading until the upgrade price goes down.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

I've been using for over a year, so I bought before April. Won't upgrade and will keep using Scrivener until the upgrade price goes down.



SugarBear57 said:


> If you bought Vellum after April 1, you should have gotten an email telling you how to buy the upgrade for $50.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Could not have said it better myself, Error 404.



Error404 said:


> Definitely disagree, especially with the first part. Just because someone was better off before someone else doesn't mean they should be punished with paying a greater portion of their hard-earned money. Getting 'paid in early' doesn't apply to the paperback version of Vellum. That wasn't available to anyone until June 1st (other than beta, but did they have to pay?).
> 
> For the examples you gave, it's less about brand loyalty (which is what many people have cited as a stab in the back for the higher price) and more about depreciation. A backlog of books need attention, so lower the price to keep up the sales. The vehicle is a physical entity, so it gets old and worn after use. Vellum and its business model don't really apply. It's a digital entity with customers who paid for a previous product only to find that the company thinks they're suckers who will buy anything while they reward new customers. Not cool.
> 
> Also, not a great product. Very limited on customization. I was disappointed and got my money back. Maybe I'll upgrade when they stop punishing their loyal customers, or when they improve their limited product in a future update.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Marseille said:


> I'm with you. Overcharging existing customers is not cool.


Vellum just released a piece of software priced at $250. (WAY underpriced IMO, but that is beside the point.)
If you happen to have used their software in the past, you get this $250 piece of software for $100. 
The way I see it, they are taking great care of loyal customers by giving them over 50% off the new product!

Big thanks to the devs for not going to a subscription model, for not charging loyal customers full price, and for making the best piece of publishing software ever!

Keep it up!

ETA: Looks like the price of the Vellum upgrade got its own thread. So if you want to hear a few people complain, while the vast majority of users chime in and talk about how awesome Vellum is and how it is worth every penny, the you can head over there, and we can get back to actual useful discussion of Vellum features here!


----------



## Used To Be BH

Anma Natsu said:


> I never had an issue with dealing with widows and keeping an even bottom margin. Word handled that automatically, with the correct settings. I just adjusted an individual scene or chapter (if no scenes) very minimally and it was enough while being completely undetectable to the naked eye. It generally didn't take me too long as I only had a few to deal with. That said, Cassie's note seems to indicate that it is not actually handling windows and orphans automatically, or at least not orphans? So there seems to be conflicting reports on whether it is handling it auto magically or not.


Perhaps I just don't know how to do it correctly.  When I used the automatic settings, I got an uneven bottom margin.

I think I read in the documentation that Vellum doesn't do anything with orphans and that there was a reason for that, but my Mac isn't fired up right now, so I can't easily check.


----------



## Used To Be BH

John Magna said:


> Unfortunately, in my novel there are some non-standard formatting and graphics. Tried converting the pdf to word, clean up the conversion (which took two days) only to find out one of the nine fonts available Hoelfer Text generated an error when trying to convert it back to pdf using Adobe Pro. The main error stated embedding Hoelfer Text font into a pdf violated Apple's licensing policy.
> 
> I went back to another application to format the file for Ingram Spark that was a lot less hassle than trying to clean up another Vellum print file with a different font converted back to word format.
> 
> I'll still keep the application though maybe somewhere down the line I can use it on another project that has simpler formatting.
> 
> It would be nice to have an rtf file formatted along with the pdf for the print version. (That keeps the formatting and graphics that Vellum print offers).


It's clear Vellum is a specialized tool that won't meet everyone's needs. The ebook version does well with fiction but has significant problems with nonfiction. I did end up using it for a hybrid project, but it took a little tinkering, and some information (contained in tables) had to be redone in paragraph form. Really formal nonfiction (with works cited page, etc.) would be even more of a headache, though still doable.

In the same way, the print version works well for someone who is happy with the presets and what limited customization there is. It would work fine for most of my projects and take far less time and/or money than doing it myself or hiring a formatter. For people who want greater control over the the output and/or have unusual material, it may not be the best choice yet.

I'm not familiar enough with rtf to know if it supports all of the Vellum features, but if it does, a Vellum-formatted rtf would be a logical request. Of course, some types of adjustments couldn't be made without messing up things like hyphenation, but one could always generate the file with hyphenation unselected.

As others have suggested, I'd also like to see size labels on the font and line spacing controls. It's nice to know what you're doing. I would also like to see outside margin control, at least to some extent. (If someone wants to make something closer to mass market paperback than trade paperback, they should be able to.) As Mark pointed out, it might be nice to have bottom margin control, so if you have page numbers on the top, you don't end up with dead space at the bottom. (.25 inch or so on every single page in the body makes a huge difference in book length, and hence cost).

All of that said, Vellum is a good deal for the price, and, as with the ebook version, Vellum print does well with the features it has; it just doesn't have all the ones we might like. It will work for most of my projects, but I understand why people would want more control.


----------



## Alan Petersen

Steve Voelker said:


> Vellum just released a piece of software priced at $250. (WAY underpriced IMO, but that is beside the point.)
> If you happen to have used their software in the past, you get this $250 piece of software for $100.
> The way I see it, they are taking great care of loyal customers by giving them over 50% off the new product!
> 
> Big thanks to the devs for not going to a subscription model, for not charging loyal customers full price, and for making the best piece of publishing software ever!
> 
> Keep it up!
> 
> ETA: Looks like the price of the Vellum upgrade got its own thread. So if you want to hear a few people complain, while the vast majority of users chime in and talk about how awesome Vellum is and how it is worth every penny, the you can head over there, and we can get back to actual useful discussion of Vellum features here!


There's no thanks button - so I have to do it this way: THANKS for the ETA.

It's annoying to come here for support questions on how to use the software to see people complaining about the price. Now they have their own thread to complain until the cows come home.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

If there's a thread about the complaint of the price for their previous users, then it is a valid point that MANY people have. If you like paying more than a new customer, more power to you... I happen to have a browser I'd like to sell you for $50 that everyone else gets for free. Takers?


----------



## Mary Ann Clarke Scott

Very helpful details. Thank you for commenting. 



C.F. said:


> FYI, this isn't necessary as long as the chapters themselves are staying the same. You can mark each element to appear in just the ebook or just the print version to accomplish the same thing. For instance, in my print I have the copyright page up front and in the ebook I have it in the back and my back matter and front matter is different for each. All you do is go to the little gear in the top right corner and choose "Include in" and then choose print or ebook. So I put a copyright page in the front and selected to include that only in print and then I put a copyright page in the back and selected to include that only in the ebook. This way you just have one master file so you don't have to worry about correcting typos in two different files or updating front/back matter in two files down the road.


----------



## Mary Ann Clarke Scott

Hi Cassie

Just curious... in reading your comment you say "you chose the wrong book size" but I thought I saw only ONE book size choice, 8 x 5. Which is limiting to say the least. Am I mistaken? If so where is this option? Thanks. MA



Cassie Leigh said:


> Yep. I just approved my first paperback created through Vellum. Took about ten minutes to generate since I'd already done all of the heavy lifting with the ebook. If I had been doing it manually there are some tweaks I would've made (it's a non-fiction title), but overall it was decent. And worth the time saved on inserting section breaks at the end of chapters and deleting headers/footers for blank pages before the next chapter start.
> 
> Also, I had originally selected the wrong book size and decided I didn't like the header/footer I'd chosen and fixing those two issues took about two minutes. If you compare that to what I would've had to do on a manually-created paperback...HUGE time savings.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Mary Ann Clarke Scott said:


> Hi Cassie
> 
> Just curious... in reading your comment you say "you chose the wrong book size" but I thought I saw only ONE book size choice, 8 x 5. Which is limiting to say the least. Am I mistaken? If so where is this option? Thanks. MA


File> Print Settings. You can pick 5x8, 5.25x8, 5.25x8.5, or 6x9.


----------



## Jack_Patterson

Mark Gardner said:


> I figured it out that the gutter doesn't include the inside margin, and once I added it, it started working as expected. I talked to Brad, and there are no plans to add adjustable margins. With all the dead space at the bottom when page numbers are at the top, and the inability to adjust the line lead for the headers, I asked for and received a refund.


Thanks for saving me some money by sharing this. After being in publishing for more than 25 years, I've found anything that promises an easy solution when it comes to print is usually misleading. If you can't change the inside margins, Vellum definitely won't work for larger books. If it sounds too good to be true ...


----------



## Mary Ann Clarke Scott

Jim Johnson said:


> File> Print Settings. You can pick 5x8, 5.25x8, 5.25x8.5, or 6x9.


Thank you for replying! I read back in the thread and found all sorts of things out. I should have done it before. I'm all set now! Thanks.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Good to know. Thanks.



Jim Johnson said:


> File> Print Settings. You can pick 5x8, 5.25x8, 5.25x8.5, or 6x9.


----------



## C.F.

Jack_Patterson said:


> Thanks for saving me some money by sharing this. After being in publishing for more than 25 years, I've found anything that promises an easy solution when it comes to print is usually misleading. If you can't change the inside margins, Vellum definitely won't work for larger books. If it sounds too good to be true ...


You can change the inside margins. It's the other margins you can't.


----------



## John Magna

> FYI, I've uploaded two (fiction) books to Ingram Spark using Vellum Print so far and they were accepted with no problems.


Thanks for letting me know. That will save me hours on my next project trying to figure out how to make the vellum print file pass preflight, when it isn't even necessary.



> It's clear Vellum is a specialized tool that won't meet everyone's needs.


I agree.

I posted my experience as a fyi to those that want to convert the vellum print back to a rtf or docx file, make some changes, and then recompile back to a pdf. If you want to keep the chapter graphics, drop caps, etc that vellum print does, it's not an easy thing to do. It takes a lot of time. It's also an early warning about using hoefler text and trying to compile to pdf with Adobe Pro. If someone wants to go through the process, use another font in Vellum Print before you compile to pdf and avoid the error altogether. These are simply observations to help someone else save time.

There's other functionality I'd like to see in Vellum Print that has been mentioned before (such as font size numericals on sliders and line spacing, rtf export for those that need just a tiny bit of tinkering...etc.).
I will be using both in future projects regardless, but I'm interested to see what happens down the road as far as future tweaks to the software.

I like Vellum. I like Vellum Print. Both are invaluable time savers.

I'm extremely grateful to the developers that the software is *not* subscription based or accessed online only. I'd also like to thank them for their hard work on some wonderful software.

My two cents. YMMV.


----------



## WDR

Bill Hiatt said:


> It's clear Vellum is a specialized tool that won't meet everyone's needs.


Definitely true. But also true is that as a tool it will improve with time and feedback we get to them.


----------



## Used To Be BH

WDR said:


> Definitely true. But also true is that as a tool it will improve with time and feedback we get to them.


Given how much has changed just in the short time I've been aware of Vellum, I'd have to agree.


----------



## Steve Voelker

Marseille said:


> If there's a thread about the complaint of the price for their previous users, then it is a valid point that MANY people have. If you like paying more than a new customer, more power to you... I happen to have a browser I'd like to sell you for $50 that everyone else gets for free. Takers?


First, a new thread means precisely ONE person had this issue. 
If you read that three, you will see the vast majority disagree. 
Also, making a thread about something false does not make it any less false. 
I could make a thread about how Amazon is giving all authors 100% royalties. It wouldn't make it more likely to happen.

Second, no existing customer is being asked to pay more than a new customer.

A new customer has to pay either $200 for Vellum 2, or $250 for Vellum Print.

An existing customer gets to upgrade to Vellum 2 for FREE, and can add Vellum Print for $100.

HOW IN THE WORLD to people keep misconstruing this as new customers paying less?

Current users either get the $200 option FREE, or the $250 option for $100.

That is a great deal, and a great way to treat loyal customers.

Thanks for everything, guys!!


----------



## DaniO

I'm loving the new Vellum print option. One thing I'd like to see added in the future is some even larger font options. I'd like to be able to produce large print books. Some of my readers are older and have made a point of asking me for large print.

Now, all I need is my editor to edit my manuscript in Vellum and I'd never have to use anything else.  I have been writing in Vellum and find it less cumbersome and more responsive than Word.


----------



## KeraEmory

Been out of the game a bit. Didn't there used to be an option to REimport your Word doc on an existing project? If I do Import Word File now, it starts a new untitled Vellum project rather than replacing my existing text.


----------



## Shelley K

Have I lost my mind, or is there no download link at vellum.pub? I checked the  purchasing FAQ, and its free download link takes me back to vellum.pub.

I was going to ask someone to screenshot before and after print pages, and ask here to clarify that you really can't control widows or orphans. Then I thought I'd just download the whole thing and play with it myself to see if I want it. Can't find a place to do that, however. Granted, I'm slow today, but I didn't think I was that slow.


----------



## Brad Andalman

KeraEmory said:


> Been out of the game a bit. Didn't there used to be an option to REimport your Word doc on an existing project? If I do Import Word File now, it starts a new untitled Vellum project rather than replacing my existing text.


Hi Kera,

Reimport is indeed gone. This has long been a problematic feature for us - despite the warning, many people were surprised to find that it would replace all of their existing content.

Instead, with Vellum 2.0, we recommend just importing the new file and dragging over any content that you want to replace. (As a reminder, you can select multiple elements by clicking on the first element, then holding down Shift and clicking on the last element.)

It's perhaps an extra step sometimes, but we think safer and less confusing.


----------



## John Quixote

Does anybody have any idea how to make Vellum format poetry properly? The Verse option is unfortunately, and completely unconventionally, locked to output _in italics_, which isn't what I want at all (to put it mildly)

I need the output to look like this (centred, left-justified, font-face normal):

One plus one is two
two plus two is do
three plus three is new
four plus four is who
five plus five is glue.

Instead of like this (centred, left-justified, font-face _italics_!):

_One plus one is two
two plus two is do
three plus three is new
four plus four is who
five plus five is glue._

Those of you who have not sampled the Verse setting yet might not believe me that it is locked to italics (I struggled to come to terms with it myself - it seems literally unbelievable), but it is.

Any ideas?

I know enough about stuff to be able to edit the ebook output files in Calibre (changing CSS settings for every file.). I have other software to change the Print version's PDF output from italics to normal. These workarounds do work. But oh, it's a pain having to do this when Vellum seems to promise to take all that away.

Whatever poetry style guide they're going by, it's totally wrong. When was the last time you opened a book of verse to see it all i_n italics_? I don't understand why this is like this.

So I'm hoping there's a workaround I've missed, somehow. I believe I've messed about with every option and combination of options, and there is no way to get Vellum to do something that should be as straightforward as a paragraph indentation!

e.g. I've explored Alignment Block and other things and this won't do at all:

One plus one is two
two plus two is do
three plus three is new
four plus four is who
five plus five is glue.​
Poetry is always typographically centred and left-justified and in a normal font-face. I have no idea what the Vellum-makers were thinking here.


----------



## CassieL

Have you tried an alignment block and then changing it from centered to left using the little gear on the right-hand side of the block?


----------



## John Quixote

Cassie Leigh said:


> Have you tried an alignment block and then changing it from centered to left using the little gear on the right-hand side of the block?


I did, and just re-tried it (just in case), no joy I'm afraid (thanks anyway!). A left-aligned Alignment Block instantly snaps to the left side of the page.

I believe I've tried every permutation of every setting, but I might have missed something. I'm hoping somebody out there has encountered this problem with formatting poetry in Vellum before and found a workaround I've missed. (A workaround other than manually changing the CSS for each output file and editing the PDF in Adobe Reader or similar.)

Vellum support have it on their Suggestions list and it's not a priority, which surprises me as it seems to be one of those massive oversights that is quickly and easily corrected. A simple ability to toggle between italics and normal in the Verse option would be amazing. Almost as amazing as it not being possible from the start.


----------



## amdonehere

John Quixote said:


> Does anybody have any idea how to make Vellum format poetry properly? The Verse option is unfortunately, and completely unconventionally, locked to output _in italics_, which isn't what I want at all (to put it mildly)
> 
> I need the output to look like this (centred, left-justified, font-face normal):
> 
> One plus one is two
> two plus two is do
> three plus three is new
> four plus four is who
> five plus five is glue.
> 
> Instead of like this (centred, left-justified, font-face _italics_!):
> 
> _One plus one is two
> two plus two is do
> three plus three is new
> four plus four is who
> five plus five is glue._
> 
> Those of you who have not sampled the Verse setting yet might not believe me that it is locked to italics (I struggled to come to terms with it myself - it seems literally unbelievable), but it is.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> I know enough about stuff to be able to edit the ebook output files in Calibre (changing CSS settings for every file.). I have other software to change the Print version's PDF output from italics to normal. These workarounds do work. But oh, it's a pain having to do this when Vellum seems to promise to take all that away.
> 
> Whatever poetry style guide they're going by, it's totally wrong. When was the last time you opened a book of verse to see it all i_n italics_? I don't understand why this is like this.
> 
> So I'm hoping there's a workaround I've missed, somehow. I believe I've messed about with every option and combination of options, and there is no way to get Vellum to do something that should be as straightforward as a paragraph indentation!
> 
> e.g. I've explored Alignment Block and other things and this won't do at all:
> 
> One plus one is two
> two plus two is do
> three plus three is new
> four plus four is who
> five plus five is glue.​
> Poetry is always typographically centred and left-justified and in a normal font-face. I have no idea what the Vellum-makers were thinking here.


I had the same problem with my last ebook. There is no way to do poetry correctly and I had to resort to simply justified centered. It's not correct but there's nothing else I can do.


----------



## Word Fan

John Quixote said:


> Poetry is always typographically centred and left-justified and in a normal font-face. I have no idea what the Vellum-makers were thinking here.


Calm down! You'll give yourself a heart attack.

Poetry isn't "always" anything. It can be found laid out in all sorts of ways. Sometimes it depends upon whether the poetry is part of an entire book thereof or merely a short snippet within a longer text or quoted within a line of dialog.

I _will_ give you one thing: it is rare that you see an entire poem set in italics.


----------



## Shelley K

John Quixote said:


> I did, and just re-tried it (just in case), no joy I'm afraid (thanks anyway!). A left-aligned Alignment Block instantly snaps to the left side of the page.


This seems like a better option than all italics. If it's within a narrative, I think that'll be fine. Even italics would be if it's a poem in the middle of prose. If it's a book of poetry, I'd rather read it left-justified on the left side of the page than every line centered in the middle, I'll tell you that much. It wouldn't bother me at all that it's on the left side of the page.

You could probably get someone to tinker with the CSS for you, if it's seriously important to you to have it centered and left-justified without italics.


----------



## John Quixote

Word Fan said:


> Calm down! You'll give yourself a heart attack.


I'm calm, I'm calm! Even with this very unwelcome (and thoroughly baffling) formatting restriction, Vellum is still the revolution we need. I like how they're keeping it free of the bells and whistles that put so many off Scrivener. But we definitely need full italics/non-italics control over all formatting options!



AlexaKang said:


> I had the same problem with my last ebook. There is no way to do poetry correctly and I had to resort to simply justified centered. It's not correct but there's nothing else I can do.


If you have Calibre, it's a relatively simple fix.

1 First, format your poetry in Vellum's verse formatting complete with the italics (I know how wrong it looks, but we're fixing it here).

2 Generate the file - epub, mobi, etc.

3 Import that file into Calibre.

4 Right-click on the book in your Calibre library and choose 'Edit Book'.

5 A window pops up. Scroll down the list of files in the pane on the left until you see 'style.css'. Double-click on it.

6 Press CTRL-F (CMD-F on Mac) and enter 'verse' as the search string (try not to boo and hiss at the thought that you're having to do this).

7 Find 'font-style:italics' under one of the verse headings (press FIND a couple of times until you spot it). Change the 'italics' to 'normal', save and exit.

Congrats, all verse that appears in your Vellum-formatted ebook will now appear as it should, in normal typeface. Any words or sections of the verse that you want to appear in italics will still do so if you select them in the Vellum editor and change them to italics yourself. Your deliberate choice will carry over despite you changing the master style to normal typeface.


----------



## Word Fan

John Quixote said:


> If you have Calibre, it's a relatively simple fix.


The problem with using Calibre for this is that you now are sending Amazon a Calibre file instead of a Vellum file. Calibre runs your Vellum file through its conversion engine and that's what you now have. If you have Calibre create an EPUB from your Vellum file, and then unzip that Calibre file, you will see that it is filled with Calibre designations and code. The whole purpose in buying and using Vellum is to send Amazon a Vellum-formatted file with all of the wonderful stuff that the Brads put into it to make it perfect for Amazon. The Calibre-converted file may not (probably will not) have all of that.

A better way to do what you want, if you are a bit of a codehead, is to do a search through past threads here and find a TERMINAL instruction that, when you run it, will have Vellum make visible the EPUB file that it uses to create the MOBI file that you are to send to Amazon. Unzip that EPUB file and make the change(s) that you list above, zip it back up and upload that EPUB file to Amazon. That way you will still be sending Amazon a Vellum file with all of the wonderful Vellum code that the Brads have spent many months perfecting. (Yeah, I know, to you, it's not "perfect.")


----------



## MarkParragh

Forgive me if this is asked and answered, but I didn't see it. (It's a big thread!)

New user, and very happy with Vellum so far. But I'm still finding my way through some features.

My John Crane books have a little "John Crane will return in NextBook" page after The End and before the bonus material and back matter. What I'd like to do with that is vertically center it on the page and make the text a little more emphatic, but I can't figure out how.  (I'm using the Meridian template BTW.)

My first attempt was to make it another "Dedication" element, but that comes with its own ideas about the typeface. Other elements in Meridian place things well down on the page as a matter of course, but once I remove the heading, the body text pops to the top.

Basically, can I do this in Vellum, and if so, how?


----------



## Word Fan

MarkParragh said:


> Forgive me if this is asked and answered, but I didn't see it. (It's a big thread!)
> 
> New user, and very happy with Vellum so far. But I'm still finding my way through some features.
> 
> My John Crane books have a little "John Crane will return in NextBook" page after The End and before the bonus material and back matter. What I'd like to do with that is vertically center it on the page and make the text a little more emphatic, but I can't figure out how. (I'm using the Meridian template BTW.)
> 
> My first attempt was to make it another "Dedication" element, but that comes with its own ideas about the typeface. Other elements in Meridian place things well down on the page as a matter of course, but once I remove the heading, the body text pops to the top.
> 
> Basically, can I do this in Vellum, and if so, how?


I'm not sure that you can do that.

Vellum is a template-driven app and, as such, offers a limited number of choices for layout. That's to offer the best compromise between "easy to use" and "creates a good looking book."

People who want things "exactly like this" need to learn HTML code thoroughly or hire someone who knows.

Vellum does what it does very well. If it doesn't offer exactly what any particular person wants, that's just the reality that we all have to live with.


----------



## Sonya Bateman

Hello -- brand new (and very happy!) Vellum user here with an incredibly stupid noob question, the answer to which I'm sure is obvious (I have never used a Mac before now, so that might be contributing to the issue).

Where the heck is the File menu?! I have clicked every word and tiny little icon thingy in the program, and none of them give me a File menu... 

If anyone can solve this mystery for me, that would be awesome.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

Sonya Bateman said:


> Hello -- brand new (and very happy!) Vellum user here with an incredibly stupid noob question, the answer to which I'm sure is obvious (I have never used a Mac before now, so that might be contributing to the issue).
> 
> Where the heck is the File menu?! I have clicked every word and tiny little icon thingy in the program, and none of them give me a File menu...
> 
> If anyone can solve this mystery for me, that would be awesome.


It's not in the Vellum program itself, it's up at the top in the menu bar, next to the little Apple icon.


----------



## Sonya Bateman

ShayneRutherford said:


> It's not in the Vellum program itself, it's up at the top in the menu bar, next to the little Apple icon.


Ah! That's why I couldn't find it (I suspected it was a Mac thing!)

Thank you! <3


----------



## ShayneRutherford

You're welcome.


----------



## SK Randolph

I am going off to an "internet/cell-phone free zone" and while there would like to work on Vellum. But Vellum 'help' appears to be via internet only. Has anyone found a workaround or a downloadable manual?

2017-06-17 update: I found an app for this.   SiteSucker for $4.55 from Apple App Store grabs web page down to specified levels, including graphic images (after I tweeked a few parameters) and delivers the package to my hard drive for viewing off line. The ability reminds me of what MS Internet Explore of many seasons ago could do.


----------



## MikeRyan

I've used Vellum through Macincloud for ebooks, and I've found it pretty good, no major problems. I bought the upgrade for 2.0 for paperbacks, and it keeps asking for an administrator name and password. My experience with Macs is strictly the few hours I've spent using macincloud so I'm really not sure if it's something I'm doing wrong or if I need an actual Mac for this. Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## SugarBear57

MikeRyan said:


> I bought the upgrade for 2.0 for paperbacks, and it keeps asking for an administrator name and password. My experience with Macs is strictly the few hours I've spent using macincloud so I'm really not sure if it's something I'm doing wrong or if I need an actual Mac for this.


You're not doing anything wrong. You do not need an actual Mac. You're totally okay.

What you need to do is contact Macincloud support (click "New Support Ticket") and ask them to update your Vellum version to 2.0.
https://support.macincloud.com/support/home


----------



## Shelley K

My daughter is home from college for the summer with her Macbook Air. You don't know how tempted I've been to invest in Vellum and have her install it and let me borrow her 'puter briefly to redo all my books. The print thing, though, I can do that in a flash right from Word and get it how I want it, so I'm hesitant for that part, but for the lovely ebooks, super tempting. 

When she goes back in August, I'd have to use Macincloud, which I found a laggy pain in the butt. And after trying to transfer a bunch of her pictures to Shutterfly to surprise her with a photobook for her birthday, I decided that I detest Macs almost more than most things on the planet. So I'm torn, at best. 

I suspect I'll break down one day, and then offer to do books for all my friends, because I'm just a stellar person *coughs*, but I'm reluctant at the moment. I like options, and doing my own print books offers me that.


----------



## MikeRyan

SugarBear57 said:


> You're not doing anything wrong. You do not need an actual Mac. You're totally okay.
> 
> What you need to do is contact Macincloud support (click "New Support Ticket") and ask them to update your Vellum version to 2.0.
> https://support.macincloud.com/support/home


Thanks so much for the tip, SugarBear!! Really appreciate it. I'm off to try that now.


----------



## Tom Swyers

Hi Everyone.

I'm choosing fonts for my print book. Does anyone have any thoughts as to which one is the most readable?

I write in the thriller genre.

Thank you,

Tom


----------



## A. N. Other Author

Tom Swyers said:


> Hi Everyone.
> 
> I'm choosing fonts for my print book. Does anyone have any thoughts as to which one is the most readable?
> 
> I write in the thriller genre.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Tom


I played around with a couple for my thrillers - haven't updated them all yet, though.

Palaetino seems clean and crisp, although I'm not on my Mac so can't check the spelling. Also, it gave me the closest number of pages to my original versions on Createspace.

I've seen Garamond Pro recommended for thrillers in the past too, but stuck with my gut.


----------



## WDR

Tom Swyers said:


> Hi Everyone.
> 
> I'm choosing fonts for my print book. Does anyone have any thoughts as to which one is the most readable?
> 
> I write in the thriller genre.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Tom


First thing you should do is talk to a book manufacturer about what they recommend for their best practices. For a US Trade (6x9) hardcover, the book manufacturer i'm working with recommends Garamond with an 11.5 point size. For example, it was used for printing the _Harry Potter_ series. (Sorry, no Garamond in the font face menu, so I can't show it here.)

Grab a couple of popular books in your genre and look at the fonts they used. Check in the front matter or back matter to see if the book manufacturer that printed the book is listed there, and then call them about what they used for a font face and point size for that particular book.

Also, smaller book format sizes may require you step down the point size to minimize the amount of paper used in the book. Look at 6x9, 5x7, and 4x6 formatted books and you will see the font size is different for each. If your book is particularly long, you may want to stay away from the smaller formats and stick with larger ones. You could end up with a book that is small, but unpleasantly thick with really tiny type making it difficult to hold and read.

Times New Roman is another strong candidate. But the font can be a bit small, so you may need to up the point size. Might work better for smaller formatted book sizes where you need to minimize the number of pages/amount of paper.

Georgia might be one to take a look at as well. The problem with Georgia is that the numbers are stylized to drop below the small-letter baseline. If you have digits in your narrative, it could be slightly jarring to readers or might mess with your line kerning.

Palatino (sorry, no font sample again) is a personal favorite of mine, I like how the P and the R have a decorative gap in them. The letters are very even and consistent, but ever so slightly wider than Garamond. If you have a longer book, the slight wideness of the letters might add paper to your book, making it more expensive to print and harder for readers to hold.

Again, talk to the pros. Font point size will vary depending on the size of the book you are printing. For a final test, try cutting up some paper to match the book size you are targeting and print up a few pages of your book.


----------



## WDR

A little easier to see what I'm talking about. The link below is an image of the fonts I mentioned at 11.5 points. The image is magnified, so not WYSIWYG.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Name of the font + point size
[*]Numbers, the letters M & W as the widest letters in a font. A hypen, an N-dash, and an M-dash. The word "field" to show if the font uses ligatures.
[*]The classic fox sentence to show how the letters line up
[/list]
http://www.williamdrichards/images/font.png


----------



## Guest

The Book Designer has some excellent articles on picking fonts:

https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/06/picking-fonts-for-your-self-published-book/
https://www.thebookdesigner.com/understanding-fonts-typography/

Unfortunately, only one of the best ones seems to be available in Vellum, namely Garamond . I prefer Minion myself, with Caslon used for some things like letters. Times New Roman is, IMHO, an absolutely hideous font for a novel.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Shelley K said:


> I decided that I detest Macs almost more than most things on the planet.


So nice to find a soulmate here. 

I bought a MacBook Pro figuring to use it for the "better" Scrivener and Vellum. I quickly realized the Windows Scrivener on my laptop is the better version for me and that Vellum is probably all I'll ever use the thing for - which makes me give one of those lopsided grins at the people fussing over the $50 difference in Vellum 2's price for old/new users. I kind of understand, but in my mind what I paid includes the price of the MacBook. It's an old/new one and "only" cost eight hundred something, but still....

Now I have to figure how to upgrade the thing from Yosemite and have decided to see how much the local Apple shop would charge to do it rather than struggle with it myself.


----------



## JRTomlin

ellenoc said:


> So nice to find a soulmate here.
> 
> I bought a MacBook Pro figuring to use it for the "better" Scrivener and Vellum. I quickly realized the Windows Scrivener on my laptop is the better version for me and that Vellum is probably all I'll ever use the thing for - which makes me give one of those lopsided grins at the people fussing over the $50 difference in Vellum 2's price for old/new users. I kind of understand, but in my mind what I paid includes the price of the MacBook. It's an old/new one and "only" cost eight hundred something, but still....
> 
> Now I have to figure how to upgrade the thing from Yosemite and have decided to see how much the local Apple shop would charge to do it rather than struggle with it myself.


Another soulmate.

I was lucky. My techie SIL had an old MacBook that he no longer used since he has a couple of newer ones so he updated it for me and gave it to me. It sits in a corner gathering dust until I want to format a book.


----------



## Used To Be BH

John Quixote said:


> If you have Calibre, it's a relatively simple fix.
> 
> 1 First, format your poetry in Vellum's verse formatting complete with the italics (I know how wrong it looks, but we're fixing it here).
> 
> 2 Generate the file - epub, mobi, etc.
> 
> 3 Import that file into Calibre.
> 
> 4 Right-click on the book in your Calibre library and choose 'Edit Book'.
> 
> 5 A window pops up. Scroll down the list of files in the pane on the left until you see 'style.css'. Double-click on it.
> 
> 6 Press CTRL-F (CMD-F on Mac) and enter 'verse' as the search string (try not to boo and hiss at the thought that you're having to do this).
> 
> 7 Find 'font-style:italics' under one of the verse headings (press FIND a couple of times until you spot it). Change the 'italics' to 'normal', save and exit.
> 
> Congrats, all verse that appears in your Vellum-formatted ebook will now appear as it should, in normal typeface. Any words or sections of the verse that you want to appear in italics will still do so if you select them in the Vellum editor and change them to italics yourself. Your deliberate choice will carry over despite you changing the master style to normal typeface.


...Or the Brads could just fix the problem. It is nice to know there's a workaround, though I agree with Word Fan that running a Vellum ebook through Calibre may be problematic. In any case, unless the program has changed quite a bit since the last time I looked, it was designed for readers to be able to convert ebooks to whatever format they wanted. It was not designed for writers to create submission-ready files. There used to be a disclaimer to the effect that Calibre files are not guaranteed to pass submission guidelines. That was enough to put me off it.

I think the origin of the problem is that the Vellum verse format is really designed for short quotations in verse, not whole poetry books. For the moment, we may need to say that poetry, like nonfiction, isn't really a good fit for Vellum.


----------



## kenbritz

ellenoc said:


> Now I have to figure how to upgrade the thing from Yosemite and have decided to see how much the local Apple shop would charge to do it rather than struggle with it myself.


You can upgrade for free. Just download Sierra from the Mac App Store on your Mac. As always, backing up your drive is recommended.


----------



## Word Fan

ellenoc said:


> Now I have to figure how to upgrade the thing from Yosemite and have decided to see how much the local Apple shop would charge to do it rather than struggle with it myself.


If you're talking about an actual Apple Store, not just an Apple-authorized service provider, every one that I have ever been to will upgrade your operating system for free. Just make an appointment.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Word Fan said:


> If you're talking about an actual Apple Store, not just an Apple-authorized service provider, every one that I have ever been to will upgrade your operating system for free. Just make an appointment.


Oh, really? Thanks for that info. I'll look to find an Apple Store around here. I did look into doing it myself, but considering the trouble I have doing anything with it except using Vellum, I don't think I want this learning experience.


----------



## GirlWriter

For anyone creating a paperback to use with IngramSpark. Any tips or suggestions? Things to look for? Specially concerned about the inner margins as I've had to do a lot of tweaking in CreateSpace.
The book page count is 354. What would be the ideal margin size?

Thanks.


----------



## Guest

Erica Alexander said:


> For anyone creating a paperback to use with IngramSpark. Any tips or suggestions? Things to look for? Specially concerned about the inner margins as I've had to do a lot of tweaking in CreateSpace.
> The book page count is 354. What would be the ideal margin size?
> 
> Thanks.


You should be able to use the same interior file with both, presuming you are setting up the trim and everything else the same. I would generally do around 0.75" inside and outside, with a .15" gutter for that size of a book.


----------



## WDR

Erica Alexander said:


> For anyone creating a paperback to use with IngramSpark. Any tips or suggestions? Things to look for? Specially concerned about the inner margins as I've had to do a lot of tweaking in CreateSpace.
> The book page count is 354. What would be the ideal margin size?
> 
> Thanks.


Knowing your page count, they should be able to give you the recommended margins.

Book manufacturers (not "printers." there is a difference!) buy their rolls of paper on a quarterly basis. So the thickness of paper can change every couple of months, depending on what roll of paper they are going to use when your book is printed. This changes the thickness of the book and therefore the recommended margins and gutter. What gutter works for printing this month, will not work come September when a different roll of paper is inserted into the printing presses.

Happily, there is a lot of wiggle room. But for optimal results---to deliver the best possible quality in your product: your book---you want to fine tune that gutter to the paper lot that is being used at the time of printing.


----------



## Cherise

I love Vellum so far, but I cannot make the same image add to multiple chapter heads. It wants me to duplicate the image each time, which will make the book delivery fee too high on Amazon. I followed the directions in the help menu, but Vellum only ads the heading image to the first element selected, not all the elements selected.

In other words, this doesn't work:

Assigning Heading Images to Multiple Elements

To assign the same heading image to multiple elements, select the elements you want to affect in the Navigator, and then use the Heading section of the Chapter menu:

https://help.vellum.pub/headings/?ss=image#heading-image-multiple-elements

Please help.


----------



## GirlWriter

Cherise said:


> I love Vellum so far, but I cannot make the same image add to multiple chapter heads...


I just did this week and the first time I tried it did not work. Only the first selected chapter had the heading. I tried a couple more times, and it worked. No idea why. I did the same thing both times.


----------



## Cherise

Erica Alexander said:


> I just did this week and the first time I tried it did not work. Only the first selected chapter had the heading. I tried a couple more times, and it worked. No idea why. I did the same thing both times.


Yeah, I just got it to work, too, lol!


----------



## GirlWriter

If at first you don't succeed....


----------



## Jim Johnson

Using Vellum for the first time for a release and getting cheesed off--some of the header titles are centered as they should be, but some are showing up flush left. What setting am I missing to correct this? Do I need to go back into the Word document and fix before moving into vellum?


----------



## GirlWriter

Jim Johnson said:


> Using Vellum for the first time for a release and getting cheesed off--some of the header titles are centered as they should be, but some are showing up flush left. What setting am I missing to correct this? Do I need to go back into the Word document and fix before moving into vellum?


No need to go back to Word. Vellum will correct it. I have never seen anything like. Whenever I import a word doc into Vellum, it applies the same style to the whole document. And I have formatted dozens of books. Make sure they are chapters and not some other option.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Erica Alexander said:


> No need to go back to Word. Vellum will correct it. I have never seen anything like. Whenever I import a word doc into Vellum, it applies the same style to the whole document. And I have formatted dozens of books. Make sure they are chapters and not some other option.


The chapters are fine. The Epilogue, Afterword, Acknowledgements, About the Author, Also By, and Copyright headers are the ones affected. Some are centered, some are flush left. No apparent rhyme or reason.


----------



## GirlWriter

Jim Johnson said:


> The chapters are fine. The Epilogue, Afterword, Acknowledgements, About the Author, Also By, and Copyright headers are the ones affected. Some are centered, some are flush left. No apparent rhyme or reason.


Have you tried creating new ones and then copying/pasting the text into it and manually typing the headings again? That might be a bug. I have never encountered it.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Erica Alexander said:


> Have you tried creating new ones and then copying/pasting the text into it and manually typing the headings again? That might be a bug. I have never encountered it.


I futzed with it. Looks like the problem might be in the Oxford template. I switched to a different layout and the problem went away (but different problems arose). The actual mobi doesn't look exactly like the preview within Vellum, so I'm guessing there are bugs in the works.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Hi Jim,

If your Copyright, Also By, and About the Author have the correct type, then you shouldn't be seeing headers at all. You can read about how to check the types of your elements here:
http://help.vellum.pub/element-types/#convert-to

That said, the headers shouldn't randomly be centering. We'd be happy to take a look at your book, if you'd like. You can send it to us via our Contact Page:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/

Lastly, your mobi should look the same as it does in Vellum. Please check out our Troubleshooting page for answers to the most common issues:
https://help.vellum.pub/troubleshooting/


----------



## Jim Johnson

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Jim,
> 
> If your Copyright, Also By, and About the Author have the correct type, then you shouldn't be seeing headers at all. You can read about how to check the types of your elements here:
> http://help.vellum.pub/element-types/#convert-to
> 
> That said, the headers shouldn't randomly be centering. We'd be happy to take a look at your book, if you'd like. You can send it to us via our Contact Page:
> https://help.vellum.pub/contact/
> 
> Lastly, your mobi should look the same as it does in Vellum. Please check out our Troubleshooting page for answers to the most common issues:
> https://help.vellum.pub/troubleshooting/


Thanks, I'll check out those links. Might just be a problem with the preview. The book comes out on Saturday, so I'll check out the results direct from Amazon when it hits my Kindle and then reach out if it looked messed up.


----------



## Kyla S

I'm not sure how to word this correctly, but even though I have hyphens turned on, I still have enormous variations in the spacing between letters on different lines. I've been going through and actually changing the wording of certain sentences to lessen the spacing on certain lines. Occasionally, a line will have spacing that's like 4x normal, and it looks horrible. 

Am I missing something here? How are people formatting their print books so quickly? To me, it looks like I have to go through every line of every page and make changes to at least one sentence per page, sometimes more.


----------



## Word Fan

Kyla S said:


> I'm not sure how to word this correctly, but even though I have hyphens turned on, I still have enormous variations in the spacing between letters on different lines. I've been going through and actually changing the wording of certain sentences to lessen the spacing on certain lines. Occasionally, a line will have spacing that's like 4x normal, and it looks horrible.
> 
> Am I missing something here? How are people formatting their print books so quickly? To me, it looks like I have to go through every line of every page and make changes to at least one sentence per page, sometimes more.


It sounds like you have some goofy invisible coding/formatting in the original Word file that you are putting into Vellum. Vellum is designed to accept some of Word's internal coding. That's so you don't have to completely re-do your book when you put your text into a Vellum file. But if you have invisible goofs in your Word file, some of that may come in also.

Just one possibility.


----------



## Kyla S

I think it was formatted as justified in Word when I uploaded it into Vellum. Would that do it? So everyone else has text that's completely even, without stretched out spaces between some letters on some lines?


----------



## Gessert Books

Kyla S said:


> I think it was formatted as justified in Word when I uploaded it into Vellum. Would that do it? So everyone else has text that's completely even, without stretched out spaces between some letters on some lines?


Can't speak for this specific piece of software, but in general with most typesetting engines you will practically never have identical WORD spacing line-to-line, but LETTER spacing should be pretty uniform, unless something has gone wrong somewhere.


----------



## Kyla S

Okay, yes, it is the uneven spacing between words. I don't need them exact, but when some lines have word spacing 3-4x as stretched as other lines, it is very obvious and looks unprofessional to me. 

Is there some way that others are using to fix this without manually going through the entire book and adjusting offending sentences?


----------



## Gessert Books

Kyla S said:


> Okay, yes, it is the uneven spacing between words. I don't need them exact, but when some lines have word spacing 3-4x as stretched as other lines, it is very obvious and looks unprofessional to me.
> 
> Is there some way that others are using to fix this without manually going through the entire book and adjusting offending sentences?


The usual approach in the broad sense would be to increase the width of the text block, which is usually done with some combination of increasing trim size / reducing margin / reducing font size, but as for a specific fix I'll bet you'll have to provide a screen shot of the issue along with the specs you're working with so folks more knowledgable with Vellum can advise


----------



## Shelley K

Kyla S said:


> Okay, yes, it is the uneven spacing between words. I don't need them exact, but when some lines have word spacing 3-4x as stretched as other lines, it is very obvious and looks unprofessional to me.
> 
> Is there some way that others are using to fix this without manually going through the entire book and adjusting offending sentences?


Try doing a ragged right margin in your word file before loading it into Scrivener.


----------



## thesmallprint

Can I take it from this line-spacing discussion that I shouldn't worry if I have an extra space between words when writing the original? Sometimes I unintentionally hit the space bar twice and I usually watch out for this in the final edit and fix these one by one.  But it seems like I'm giving myself extra work for nothing?


----------



## Word Fan

thesmallprint said:


> Can I take it from this line-spacing discussion that I shouldn't worry if I have an extra space between words when writing the original? Sometimes I unintentionally hit the space bar twice and I usually watch out for this in the final edit and fix these one by one. But it seems like I'm giving myself extra work for nothing?


First: it's a discussion of word spacing, not line spacing.

And what you're speaking about is not extra work for nothing. Yes, you should do a search-and-replace all of those extra 2 spaces with 1.

The way to get a clean formatted file, from any formatting program, is to start with a clean text file, whether a DOCX from Word or plain text from a simple text editor or whatever.

G.I.G.O. ("garbage in, garbage out") is still valid, even in this day of "smart" apps.


----------



## Kyla S

Word fan, I will try to strip all formatting and reimport to see if that works.


----------



## Word Fan

Kyla S said:


> Word fan, I will try to strip all formatting and reimport to see if that works.


Try it. Personally, I always do my final fancy paragraph formatting in Vellum itself: adding ornamental breaks, pull quotes, _etc._ Vellum _will_ remember any simple character formatting that you have done in Word: bold, italic, _etc._, which is very handy to not have to go through and re-do.

I, along with some others, thought that you were talking about line spacing at first (my mistake or misread). That can be goofed up by Word's hidden codes. Spacing between words---what you are talking about---can be tweaked a bit for the print file by changing the line length and/or the font size.

In Vellum the line length is set by the menus:

File>Print Settings...>Inside Margin

The font size is set at:

View>Navigator>Styles>Body>Print Edition>Font size

The smaller the font size, the easier it is for the program to space out the words more evenly.


----------



## DanaFraser

Is there an *in-program* way to VIEW ON SCREEN the text at a larger size (with word, you set to 100%, 150%, 75% etc.)? I am not talking about outputting large text for the ebook or paper version. I'm talking about while I'm working in the program. I do my original drafts in Vellum and it's killing my eyes (I use a separate monitor when I'm at my desk). I know I can go into settings and scale the display's screen, but the result is just as hard on the eyes (basically small crisp print versus big fuzzy print).

Preview can be scaled, but preview is static, staying on the first page unless you page ahead - not conducive to writing.

Hopefully I'm just overlooking something and someone knows what it is.


----------



## DanaFraser

B said:


> Which half ...where you type the text, or the formatted preview?
> 
> ...
> 
> For the text itself (on the left side of the screen), go to Vellum > Preferences > Text Editor and you can adjust font and size.


Thank you! Typing the text itself was what I was asking.


----------



## CarolineAndrus

First - I created a couple of books now with Vellum and I'm in LOVE. Books formatted in minutes instead of an hour plus? SIGN ME UP! 

So my question - when I load my Mobi at Amazon and preview it, my store link (basically "click here to check out this other book" - link was inserted with the affiliate link set up thingy) works, but if I send the Mobi straight to my Kindle via email, it does not. Is this simply because the file wasn't delivered THROUGH Amazon? Or should I be worried that something is going on that is messing up the links in my files? 

Thanks! (This is my first time on KBoards!  )


----------



## LisaMills

Hi Everyone, (reposting this from my original post, someone kindly told me to post it here so it's seen quicker. I'm very new to kboards. Forgive me.)

Apols if this has been answered already. I did search, honest!

New to Vellum, trialling it today. It's amazing! Smooth and intuitive.

One snag: *TOC hierarchy*.

So, the .docx import was a bit messed up. I've been going through, renaming chapters, etc. As I work my way down, I see that it has treated chapters in Part 1 differently to those in Parts 2 & 3.

Part 1 has Chapters at the same level, eg no little arrow to click next to Part 1, and the chapters are directly aligned beneath it.

Parts 2 & 3, the Chapters are viewed by clicking the arrow next to the Part, and are indented beneath the Part.

I don't care which way the chapters are listed, I just want consistency. Trouble is, I see no where to change this. Hopefully I have correctly added a screen shot of the problem, below.

I'm sure it's a simple solution! Thanks for reading


----------



## LisaMills

I've cracked it!

A workaround, anyway.

I created a new Part and moved the unruly chapters into it. Now they all are indented, and the newly created Part has the arrow next to it. So everything is consistent.

I'd still love to know if there is a top level solution to this.  Thanks everyone!


----------



## C.F.

I just downloaded the most recent update to Vellum, and in the release notes it says:

Reimport Word File is back and better than ever: added front and back matter is left in place, and it’s now undoable

What is reimport word file? What does it do and when/why would someone use it? Also, what does "added front and back matter is left in place, and it’s now undoable" mean?

I searched and couldn't find any info. I'm thinking this isn't a feature I'd use, but I'd like to know what it is in case I'm missing out on something. Thanks!


----------



## Steve Voelker

C.F. said:


> I just downloaded the most recent update to Vellum, and in the release notes it says:
> 
> Reimport Word File is back and better than ever: added front and back matter is left in place, and it's now undoable
> 
> What is reimport word file? What does it do and when/why would someone use it? Also, what does "added front and back matter is left in place, and it's now undoable" mean?
> 
> I searched and couldn't find any info. I'm thinking this isn't a feature I'd use, but I'd like to know what it is in case I'm missing out on something. Thanks!


Reimport word file is just like it sounds. If you made changes to the original word file you used to create the book in Vellum, you can reimport the file to bring in those changes. The only problem was that when you did that, it started the interior of the book over from scratch. All of your front an back matter were gone. You only had the body of the book you just reimported from the word file. So Vellum removed this option in the new version.

It looks like they've brought it back, but in a way that is actually usable, and preserves the other elements you might have in place.

I still don't see myself using it. I usually have the book split into parts or volumes, plus a sample of the next book and some links in the body. I wouldn't want to lose all that.

For me, once I create a book in Vellum, that copy becomes the master version. If i need to make and changes, I make them in Vellum. And if I need a word or PDF file for any reason, I just export one from the Vellum version.


----------



## NeilMosspark

So disappointed....
I was beginning to switch my back catalog over to vellum, and my newest release had just come back from editing. Cut and pasted and tweaked and then went to push the export button... and was notified that I needed to upgrade.
No problem. Attempted upgrade.
Was notified I needed the newest Mac OS .... my mac wont upgrade to the newest OS.

I can't run the old version of vellum software installed on my Mac using the same old operating system I used a month ago. 
It basicly made the software unusable. What makes matters worse is that I've paid for the export of the old books but I can't re-export them because the server side of vellum no longer supports my older version.

Lol. Not much to do but buy a new mac to sort this out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Word Fan

NeilMosspark said:


> Lol. Not much to do but buy a new mac to sort this out.


Send a note to Vellum Support ([email protected]) explaining what's going on and see what they say before you buy a new computer.


----------



## GirlWriter

@ NeilMosspark:

If you bring your Mac to the Apple store they may be able to upgrade your computer. I brought my old 2009 iMac to the Apple store because it was running very slow and they restored it to factory settings with El Capitan 10.11.6. 
According to Vellum requirements in the help file, it should run on Mac OS El Capitan (10.11).

Now, I can't confirm that Vellum runs on that version because I use it on a newer laptop with Sierra. But it's worth a shot. If you go to the Apple store, you need to make an appointment online first and the clean up and upgrade was free. Also make sure to back-up ALL of your documents to an external drive. Good luck.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Word Fan said:


> Send a note to Vellum Support ([email protected]) explaining what's going on and see what they say before you buy a new computer.


I second that motion.

By the way, the software doesn't actually require the very newest. I think either of the last two will do it (El Capitan or Sierra, unless something's changed).

Nor do you need a new Mac necessarily. Apply says anything from mid 2010 up should run Sierra. My Macbook Pro was that vintage, and it runs Sierra just fine.

On the other hand, if the Mac is your primary computer, and you have one old enough not to be able to update to Sierra, maybe it's time for new equipment. The older a system gets, the more likely software glitches like this become, and if you use your Mac heavily enough, the extra speed will doubtless be a welcome change. (I'm still using my old machine, but just for Vellum; I'm primarily a PC user.)


----------



## Steve Voelker

NeilMosspark said:


> Was notified I needed the newest Mac OS .... my mac wont upgrade to the newest OS.


Here is the list of computers that can run El Capitan, and thus Vellum:

iMac: Late 2006 or newer
MacBook: Late 2008
MacBook White/Black: Early 2009 or newer
MacBook Retina: All
MacBook Air: Late 2008 or newer
MacBook Pro: 13-inch: Mid 2009 or newer
MacBook Pro: 15-inch: Mid 2007 or newer
MacBook Pro: 17-inch: Late 2007 or newer[7]
Mac Mini: Mid 2007 or newer
Mac Pro: Early 2008 or newer

So pretty much anything in the last decade will work. Not unreasonable IMHO. 
You do run into this from time to time. I guess it's Apple's fault for making computers reliable enough that people will still be using them when they're over a decade old! 

As far as having to buy a "new" Mac to run Vellum - I'm sure you can grab something on the older end of that spectrum for considerably less than what a new Mac would cost you.

I've been in your situation before. It sucks. Good luck sorting it out!


----------



## Guest

LeeMountford said:


> Am I right in thinking the option to pay per ebook has now gone, and you need to buy the full product?


Yep. They now only offer the full for $199, or full with print for $249


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

I second the thought that Neil should check and see if his older machine will run El Capitan if it won't run Sierra. I had to check on my machine, which was running Yosemite, so saw how old a machine could be and run Sierra, and what Steve posted looks to me as if a machine can be a couple of years older and run El Capitan.

And if that won't work, I second the advice to shop around rather than just buy a new latest and greatest. I almost bought a refurbished, but in the end bought an older MacBook Pro that was still new, so there are ways to get something not very old for less than thousands.


----------



## LeeMountford

Anma Natsu said:


> Yep. They now only offer the full for $199, or full with print for $249


Bugger, that's caught me out. Was just about to put an ebook together 

Ah well, guess I'll have to shell out the money. Thanks for the reply!


----------



## Brad West

NeilMosspark said:


> So disappointed....
> I was beginning to switch my back catalog over to vellum, and my newest release had just come back from editing. Cut and pasted and tweaked and then went to push the export button... and was notified that I needed to upgrade.
> No problem. Attempted upgrade.
> Was notified I needed the newest Mac OS .... my mac wont upgrade to the newest OS.
> 
> I can't run the old version of vellum software installed on my Mac using the same old operating system I used a month ago.
> It basicly made the software unusable. What makes matters worse is that I've paid for the export of the old books but I can't re-export them because the server side of vellum no longer supports my older version.
> 
> Lol. Not much to do but buy a new mac to sort this out.


Hi Neil,

I'll echo the other comments that if you're stuck, get in touch with us. Vellum does include some checks that should keep it from updating to 2.0 if you're on an older version of macOS, but it's possible that check failed for some reason. If you do need to go back to 1.4.3, we can tell you how.

That said, we don't think any one should have to buy a new Mac in order to update to Vellum 2.0. Support for some older Macs have been dropped for macOS Sierra (10.12), but El Capitan (10.11) should support the same list of Macs as 10.9 and 10.10. You can learn more about El Capitan here:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886

Hope that helps.


----------



## GirlWriter

Someone I know got the email below from Amazon and is of course very scared. Has anyone gotten this? She had uploaded several other books formatted with Vellum before without any issues. A few people said that this is KDP response because of page flip and to just ignore the message. I would like to know if anyone got this, what did they do, if anything and what's Vellum position on this. Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Error Category: Formatting-Others; Comments: We noticed that your eBook which is currently in high demand with the customers is not enabled with enhanced typesetting.

Issue: The Epub file consists of tag/property "Mobi media query" which is not currently supported in Enhanced Typesetting conversion.
Issue location: The tag/property is present in CSS file inside the Epub.
Associated Class: The media query is used in all classes in CSS file media.css.
Proposed Solution: The Mobi media query is used to give particular properties to non-kindle devices. These media queries are not supported in Enhanced Typesetting conversion, hence remove the screen size properties from the media queries. This will enable the title with Enhanced Typesetting features.

This will not affect the availability of your book. After you've made the correction, please upload your revised content through the Book Content section of your KDP Bookshelf. If you have further questions, please reply directly to this email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
For more information about specific book errors (including why some errors are more critical than others), see our Help page: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A1MMQ0JHRBEINX

For a complete guide to building a book for Kindle, see the Kindle Publishing Guidelines: https://kindlegen.s3.amazonaws.com/AmazonKindlePublishingGu&#8230;

Thanks for using Amazon KDP.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Erica Alexander said:


> Someone I know got the email below from Amazon and is of course very scared. Has anyone gotten this? She had uploaded several other books formatted with Vellum before without any issues. A few people said that this is KDP response because of page flip and to just ignore the message. I would like to know if anyone got this, what did they do, if anything and what's Vellum position on this. Thank you.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> Error Category: Formatting-Others; Comments: We noticed that your eBook which is currently in high demand with the customers is not enabled with enhanced typesetting.
> 
> Issue: The Epub file consists of tag/property "Mobi media query" which is not currently supported in Enhanced Typesetting conversion.
> Issue location: The tag/property is present in CSS file inside the Epub.
> Associated Class: The media query is used in all classes in CSS file media.css.
> Proposed Solution: The Mobi media query is used to give particular properties to non-kindle devices. These media queries are not supported in Enhanced Typesetting conversion, hence remove the screen size properties from the media queries. This will enable the title with Enhanced Typesetting features.
> 
> This will not affect the availability of your book. After you've made the correction, please upload your revised content through the Book Content section of your KDP Bookshelf. If you have further questions, please reply directly to this email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
> For more information about specific book errors (including why some errors are more critical than others), see our Help page: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A1MMQ0JHRBEINX
> 
> For a complete guide to building a book for Kindle, see the Kindle Publishing Guidelines: https://kindlegen.s3.amazonaws.com/AmazonKindlePublishingGu&#8230;
> 
> Thanks for using Amazon KDP.


This message is a relatively new, and needlessly scary, form response sent whenever Amazon fails to apply their "Enhanced Typesetting" to a title.

As the message states, the book's availability isn't affected. It just means that Amazon's Enhanced Typesetting feature won't be enabled for that book.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Is enhanced typesetting anything except the weird hyphenation? Or is that even part of it?


----------



## LeeMountford

Can anyone give any guidance on what the best size is for print out of the options given in Vellum Press? I'm going to be producing a paperback through Createspace soon (hopefully), so just wondered what the best size is for this?

Apologies if this has been asked earlier.


----------



## Gessert Books

ellenoc said:


> Is enhanced typesetting anything except the weird hyphenation? Or is that even part of it?


Enhanced typesetting mainly refers to hyphenation, but it appears along with other KFX features like Page Flip.


----------



## WDR

LeeMountford said:


> Can anyone give any guidance on what the best size is for print out of the options given in Vellum Press? I'm going to be producing a paperback through Createspace soon (hopefully), so just wondered what the best size is for this?
> 
> Apologies if this has been asked earlier.


This is going to sound awfully vague: it depends.

Industry standard for print is Garamond 11.5 in a US Trade 6x9. If you are going to be printing to a smaller format, then you will want to consider using a smaller font size to keep the page counts down.

If your book is fairly long, 140K+ words, then you might want to avoid the smaller paperback formats, because that would push up the page counts so high that the book could be many inches thick. That would be uncomfortable to hold while reading. To balance that, you could push the font size so small, that it would be straining to the eyes to read it.

Set a format size and font size, then generate the PDF and look at how many pages it is. Next, look up the paper thickness used to print your book and multiply that by the number of pages-cut that number in half and that should be the thickness of your book. (Half because each piece of paper has two pages on it.) If it is too thick, drop the font size or move up to the next size book format.

It's a balancing act. Book size, font size, font face, margins, gutter-all these come into play when formatting a book for print. Go and grab a few of your favorite books and hold them. Determine which ones feel the most comfortable and try to target that size.


----------



## Word Fan

WDR said:


> Industry standard for print is Garamond 11.5 in a US Trade 6x9.


I don't know where in the world you came up with that nonsense but let me state this plainly for the Original Poster:

THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR TRADE PAPERBACKS.

Did you get that WDR?

Don't believe it? Take a ruler to any decent-sized bookstore that has bunches of trade paperbacks and actually measure them. Then look inside a bunch of them and compare typefaces.

THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR TRADE PAPERBACKS.

There is a often-used range of book sizes and Vellum gives you a few of them from which to choose. There is even less commonality among typefaces and line lengths and margin sizes. Those are adjusted as desired by the publisher to result in a page length that fits the book's budget. If the number of pages is a bit short, there is even a thing called "loft" that can be specified in the type of paper used in the book so the book will end up being of an acceptable thickness without being overly heavy.

So, to the O.P.: there is no "best" size. You have to adjust the options to fit your own desires. Generally that means the number of pages, since that's what affects the cost of the book.


----------



## WDR

Word Fan said:


> I don't know where in the world you came up with that nonsense but let me state this plainly for the Original Poster:
> 
> THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR TRADE PAPERBACKS.


Talk to an actual book manufacturer. Not a "printer", but a manufacturer. The guys who do the printing for the Big-5 and most small publishing houses. King Printing, Lowell, Massachusetts.

Garamond 11.5 is their standard choice, and then they adjust from there depending on format, pages, etc. That's where I get the numbers from. As I said in my post, you have to adjust depending on format, pages, font face choices, etc.


----------



## Used To Be BH

I'll have to agree that it's a question of trial and error. I wouldn't under any circumstances go lower than 11 point. (I wish Vellum gave the point sizes, instead of just unlabeled spots on a continuum.)

I also wish Vellum would allow some control over outside and bottom margins. The bottom in particular, if one isn't putting page numbers down there, could be set somewhat smaller and still look good.

We can manipulate the inside margin, but that's really driven more by the length of the book than anything else, and making it too small would be a big mistake. (I find I need to add a little to the CS specs to avoid having text too close to the gutter.

By the way, Vellum 2.0.3 appears to have a little glitch with smaller point sizes and line spacing. I was doing some experimenting and discovered that going down a couple of notches on each throws off spread balancing (making the facing pages have the same number of lines by subtly altering line spacing after correcting widows). I've reported the issue, and it will doubtless be fixed soon, but it's worth noting right now as something you need to watch for. The problem doesn't occur with the defaults.


----------



## LeeMountford

Thanks for the advice everyone! Looks like this is something I will have to play around with.


----------



## Used To Be BH

zzz said:


> I measured 50 fiction trade paperbacks (from traditional publishers, not Createspace) while watching the World Series of Poker Final Table.
> 
> Here are the actual trim sizes and the count for each size. Note that the most common size by far is 5.5 x 8.2. There were only two 6 x 9 and one of those was 778 pages.
> 
> 5.0 x 7.7 1
> 5.0 x 7.8 1
> 5.0 x 8.0 1
> 5.1 x 7.8 1
> 5.1 x 7.9 2
> 5.1 x 8.0 1
> 5.1 x 8.3 1
> 5.2 x 8.0 5
> 5.2 x 8.3 1
> 5.3 x 8.0 5
> 5.3 x 8.2 2
> 5.3 x 8.3 1
> 5.4 x 8.2 1
> 5.4 x 8.3 2
> 5.4 x 8.5 1
> 5.5 x 8.1 1
> 5.5 x 8.2 17
> 5.5 x 8.4 2
> 5.5 x 8.5 1
> 5.6 x 8.9 1
> 6.0 x 9.0 2


I'm enough of a bibliophile to think that might not be a representative same. My collection has grown fairly large over the years (7,000 or so titles the last time I counted--yes, I'm eccentric), and eventually I started shelving by size to maximize storage space. Because of that, I know that 6 X 9 is the single most common size in my collection. That said, some of those are hardbacks, so it's possible the average for paperbacks alone is a little smaller. (I assume we're talking trade paperback. Mass market ones are definitely smaller, but that format works well only for relatively short books. Otherwise, they get too thick.)

When reorganizing, I have to measure to be sure, though, as most of the sizes close to 6 X 9 aren't that easy to tell apart visually. This would suggest to me that the average consumer isn't going to care. That being the case, I'd go with 6 X 9 over the slightly smaller sizes simply because it lowers production costs. An author could go with one of the smaller sizes if he or she preferred, though, because, as I've said, the difference isn't that visible.

This is the kind of issue authors stress over that readers don't really care about.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

The first books I did, I chose a smaller size, thinking they would be more like "real" paperbacks. Then I had a 138,000-word novel and did it in 6 x 9, and found I liked it better. The larger size made for a longer line length, which made formatting without large gaps between words easier. It's the size of a hard cover, not a paperback, but then none of the Create Space sizes are really like a conventional paperback.

Create Space claims 6 x 9 is it's most popular size, for what that's worth.

As for readers, I doubt whether anyone who purchases worries about size before making the purchase. Once they get it, I bet the story is more important than the size.


----------



## CandyCromwell

Question on spacing/justification/some other typesetting word I don't know? Although I'm referring only to ebooks right now.

I previously wrote one book with Vellum, last year, and the book was originally written in Pages on Mac (I don't recall specifically but I must have 'saved as' doc to import it into Vellum). I don't remember having the problem I'm having now on my new novel, which is that when previewing in various modes (both as Vellum emulating various devices, and in iBooks or kindle apps on my iOS devices), I occasionally spot sentences where    very    awkward    spacing  like    this  is used to make a line fit, even when one of the leading or trailing words on an adjacent line is very short (would have fit in the spaced-out line) AND the sentence is ending a graph.

The main difference on this novel vs the last one is that it's been written mostly in Word 2016. Have I inadvertently changed or set some setting that's adding formatting to cause this? I've tried turning off Word's full justification on some of the affected paragraphs, although I haven't tried turning it off for the whole document. 

I can provide screenshots if that would help, but something tells me I've just made some common error (this is only my second novel, and I don't have a lot of current-day word processing knowledge). 

P.S., love that re-import has been added back.


----------



## LeonardDHilleyII

LeeMountford said:


> Am I right in thinking the option to pay per ebook has now gone, and you need to buy the full product?


 Yes, but it's worth every penny.


----------



## Used To Be BH

CandyCromwell said:


> Question on spacing/justification/some other typesetting word I don't know? Although I'm referring only to ebooks right now.
> 
> I previously wrote one book with Vellum, last year, and the book was originally written in Pages on Mac (I don't recall specifically but I must have 'saved as' doc to import it into Vellum). I don't remember having the problem I'm having now on my new novel, which is that when previewing in various modes (both as Vellum emulating various devices, and in iBooks or kindle apps on my iOS devices), I occasionally spot sentences where very awkward spacing like this is used to make a line fit, even when one of the leading or trailing words on an adjacent line is very short (would have fit in the spaced-out line) AND the sentence is ending a graph.
> 
> The main difference on this novel vs the last one is that it's been written mostly in Word 2016. Have I inadvertently changed or set some setting that's adding formatting to cause this? I've tried turning off Word's full justification on some of the affected paragraphs, although I haven't tried turning it off for the whole document.
> 
> I can provide screenshots if that would help, but something tells me I've just made some common error (this is only my second novel, and I don't have a lot of current-day word processing knowledge).
> 
> P.S., love that re-import has been added back.


I'd get tech support from the Vellum folks. They're very good about helping out and could probably identify the issue faster than any of us.

That said, sometimes the effect you describe is caused by extra spaces in the source material. Go back to the Word document with "view nonprinting characters" turned on. (In recent versions, that's the Home Tab, Paragraph Section, icon that looks like a paragraph break symbol on the far right of the section. It should have a gray border if it's turned on.) Anyway, go to the sections that were problematic in the Vellum version and check for things like extra spaces and manual line breaks, both of which could cause odd results in justification.

You can also try uploading the Word file to Amazon and seeing what the mobi conversion on the Word file looks like. If it previews with the same justification issues, you know it's a Word issue. If the problem disappears, it's more like a Vellum issue.


----------



## JDMatheny

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> Yes, but it's worth every penny.


I pulled the trigger and picked up a used Mac and purchased Vellum. Loving it so far!


----------



## WDR

Bill Hiatt said:


> I'd get tech support from the Vellum folks. They're very good about helping out and could probably identify the issue faster than any of us.
> 
> That said, sometimes the effect you describe is caused by extra spaces in the source material. Go back to the Word document with "view nonprinting characters" turned on. (In recent versions, that's the Home Tab, Paragraph Section, icon that looks like a paragraph break symbol on the far right of the section. It should have a gray border if it's turned on.) Anyway, go to the sections that were problematic in the Vellum version and check for things like extra spaces and manual line breaks, both of which could cause odd results in justification.
> 
> You can also try uploading the Word file to Amazon and seeing what the mobi conversion on the Word file looks like. If it previews with the same justification issues, you know it's a Word issue. If the problem disappears, it's more like a Vellum issue.


Good point: one of my foundation editing habits is to do a search-and-destroy (aka "Find-and-Replace") on double-spaces in my manuscripts. They get created inadvertently when I cut-and-paste a section or delete something in the middle of a phrase. Even when I think I am being careful, it is amazing how many of these artifacts can creep into the manuscript over time.


----------



## CandyCromwell

Bill Hiatt said:


> I'd get tech support from the Vellum folks. They're very good about helping out and could probably identify the issue faster than any of us.
> 
> *That said, sometimes the effect you describe is caused by extra spaces in the source material. Go back to the Word document with "view nonprinting characters" turned on. (In recent versions, that's the Home Tab, Paragraph Section, icon that looks like a paragraph break symbol on the far right of the section. It should have a gray border if it's turned on.) Anyway, go to the sections that were problematic in the Vellum version and check for things like extra spaces and manual line breaks, both of which could cause odd results in justification.
> *
> You can also try uploading the Word file to Amazon and seeing what the mobi conversion on the Word file looks like. If it previews with the same justification issues, you know it's a Word issue. If the problem disappears, it's more like a Vellum issue.


Yep, I see the extra/unneeded markup in the source now, and removing it straightens out the justification when I reimport. Now to see if I can bulk fix it somehow, as there's a fair bit. 

Thank you for the step-by-step instructions on revealing that stuff.


----------



## SunshineOnMe

Is there anyone here also interested in large print books? Currently, Vellum doesn't offer this, and I was just curious how others handled it?


----------



## CandyCromwell

CandyCromwell said:


> Question on spacing/justification/some other typesetting word I don't know? Although I'm referring only to ebooks right now.
> 
> I previously wrote one book with Vellum, last year, and the book was originally written in Pages on Mac (I don't recall specifically but I must have 'saved as' doc to import it into Vellum). I don't remember having the problem I'm having now on my new novel, which is that when previewing in various modes (both as Vellum emulating various devices, and in iBooks or kindle apps on my iOS devices), I occasionally spot sentences where very awkward spacing like this is used to make a line fit, even when one of the leading or trailing words on an adjacent line is very short (would have fit in the spaced-out line) AND the sentence is ending a graph.
> 
> The main difference on this novel vs the last one is that it's been written mostly in Word 2016. Have I inadvertently changed or set some setting that's adding formatting to cause this? I've tried turning off Word's full justification on some of the affected paragraphs, although I haven't tried turning it off for the whole document.
> 
> I can provide screenshots if that would help, but something tells me I've just made some common error (this is only my second novel, and I don't have a lot of current-day word processing knowledge).
> 
> P.S., love that re-import has been added back.


Quoting myself for posterity's sake:

After Bill Hiatt pointed me in the direction of Word's underlying code, I think I identified the main problem. It wasn't double spaces, but I think an artifact of me sometimes selecting the spaces on either side of a word of phrase when I italicized it. The italicized spaces seem to be coded differently from normal spaces (they show a different little character). Word for Windows wouldn't let me easily copy/paste that kind of space into a Find and replace, it just found normal spaces when I tried. However, Word for Mac recognized the difference between an italicized space and a normal one, and thus I was able to find and replace them all with normal spaces. This seems to have knocked out the problem, although I'm still proofing.


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## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


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## Brad Andalman

Rickie Blair said:


> I'm having a really weird problem with my latest file.
> 
> It won't generate... it can't seem to find the location I'm selecting.
> Doesn't matter if I change locations, either.
> 
> And when I ask it to "show me" the file, I get this:
> 
> The application "Vellum" does not have permission to open "name of book."
> 
> How can I fix this?


It sounds like you are running against issues with the system by which macOS grants Vellum permission to access your files.

Please first quit Vellum. If you are able to save your files, please do so. Otherwise, Vellum will auto-save your files, so you should find them open again when you return.

Then, see if things are better after restarting Vellum. You should find that you can again access your files. If not, then a full reboot should resolve the issue.


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## NoLongerPosting

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## LeeMountford

JDMatheny said:


> I pulled the trigger and picked up a used Mac and purchased Vellum. Loving it so far!


Yeah I made the leap a couple of weeks ago. Already used to the ebook formatting (which is gold), and will try out the paperback in the coming weeks.


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## CandyCromwell

Is it possible the "small caps" function isn't working? I'm working with my first possible print copy, so I have all the other settings set to default. I'm just trying to change all my acronyms to small caps, but it doesn't seem to change it (visibly) anywhere except in the editor. The resulting PDF (and vellum previewer) still have acronyms that look huge. I can provide screenshots if needed. 

Side question, new to layout: if I want to tweak anything else, what do people typically use? Acrobat?


----------



## NoLongerPosting

CandyCromwell said:


> Is it possible the "small caps" function isn't working?


I'm having the same problem. I just uploaded my most recent book from BookFunnel and all the small caps (which I inserted in Vellum) are gone. That's on a Kindle Paperwhite.

Why would that be?


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Sorry if this has been asked already, and I think it might have been, but I could not find it in my search, so I'll ask (again?): Brads, are you planning on making Vellum non-fiction friendly for authors? Is that at all in the works? Scrivener can do the links to citations and on and on, but the formatting and look is...well, left much desired. Thanks to anyone who already knows this answer and can smack me down with a 'duh' answer. I swear I couldn't find the answer I'm looking for!


----------



## CandyCromwell

Rickie Blair said:


> I'm having the same problem. I just uploaded my most recent book from BookFunnel and all the small caps (which I inserted in Vellum) are gone. That's on a Kindle Paperwhite.
> 
> Why would that be?


I'm glad it's not just me (also quick bump here).

Does anyone have experience with going back and tweaking a Vellum-outputted print PDF in Acrobat? I'm on a pretty tight deadline and I'm new to print layout, not sure if I can get away with just reducing the font size in Acrobat after the fact (on the acronyms).


----------



## NoLongerPosting

CandyCromwell said:


> I'm glad it's not just me (also quick bump here).
> 
> Does anyone have experience with going back and tweaking a Vellum-outputted print PDF in Acrobat? I'm on a pretty tight deadline and I'm new to print layout, not sure if I can get away with just reducing the font size in Acrobat after the fact (on the acronyms).


On the Vellum file I just mentioned, the small caps came out fine in the print PDF. It's just on my Kindle that they've disappeared.

One thing I've noticed about small caps in Vellum: if you type the word originally in all-caps, it looks almost the same as regular type. You need to type the original word in non-caps for it to work.

E.g.: Don't type IBM in the original, type ibm, then apply the small caps coding.


----------



## Used To Be BH

CandyCromwell said:


> Quoting myself for posterity's sake:
> 
> After Bill Hiatt pointed me in the direction of Word's underlying code, I think I identified the main problem. It wasn't double spaces, but I think an artifact of me sometimes selecting the spaces on either side of a word of phrase when I italicized it. The italicized spaces seem to be coded differently from normal spaces (they show a different little character). Word for Windows wouldn't let me easily copy/paste that kind of space into a Find and replace, it just found normal spaces when I tried. However, Word for Mac recognized the difference between an italicized space and a normal one, and thus I was able to find and replace them all with normal spaces. This seems to have knocked out the problem, although I'm still proofing.


Good to know. I never would have guessed spaces could be italicized or that such a thing would through Vellum off. I can add that to my checklist for the future.


----------



## Used To Be BH

CandyCromwell said:


> I'm glad it's not just me (also quick bump here).
> 
> Does anyone have experience with going back and tweaking a Vellum-outputted print PDF in Acrobat? I'm on a pretty tight deadline and I'm new to print layout, not sure if I can get away with just reducing the font size in Acrobat after the fact (on the acronyms).


I've occasionally edited PDFs in Acrobat, but mostly to add or subtract pages, not to change specific content. PDF is a fairly rigid format that doesn't just reflow in response to that kind of editorial change, so I fear reducing the font size of part of a line would create justification issues. If the line weren't justified, you could do it, but the justification won't adjust to a font size change.

That said, I've never actually tried what you're suggesting. You could experiment, though if I were you, I'd try a less expensive alternative than Acrobat.


----------



## CandyCromwell

Rickie Blair said:


> On the Vellum file I just mentioned, the small caps came out fine in the print PDF. It's just on my Kindle that they've disappeared.
> 
> One thing I've noticed about small caps in Vellum: if you type the word originally in all-caps, it looks almost the same as regular type. You need to type the original word in non-caps for it to work.
> 
> E.g.: Don't type IBM in the original, type ibm, then apply the small caps coding.


Thank you, I'll give this a try!


----------



## CandyCromwell

Rickie Blair said:


> On the Vellum file I just mentioned, the small caps came out fine in the print PDF. It's just on my Kindle that they've disappeared.
> 
> One thing I've noticed about small caps in Vellum: if you type the word originally in all-caps, it looks almost the same as regular type. You need to type the original word in non-caps for it to work.
> 
> E.g.: Don't type IBM in the original, type ibm, then apply the small caps coding.


So here's what I've found so far, if I type 'ibm' and then small-cap it in Vellum:

PDF (via various viewers): Looks right
ePub (via iBooks app): Looks right, BUT, if I search the epub for IBM, the search results window will show all the hits as 'ibm'. 
mobi via calibre viewer: Looks right
mobi via Windows Desktop Kindle app: Looks right, search results appear as 'ibm'
mobi via iOS Kindle app (iPhone): appears as 'ibm' everywhere including reading view
I don't have my hands on my physical kindle (paperwhite) so can't test that right now.

There are all off the same generation run.

As such I'm kind of nervous about trying to use small caps in any of the ebook versions; will probably do a separate run for the PDF and then, ugh, switch everything else back by hand. Or just save a separate Vellum project for the PDF, derp.


----------



## Brad Andalman

CandyCromwell said:


> So here's what I've found so far, if I type 'ibm' and then small-cap it in Vellum:
> 
> [test results elided]
> 
> As such I'm kind of nervous about trying to use small caps in any of the ebook versions; will probably do a separate run for the PDF and then, ugh, switch everything else back by hand. Or just save a separate Vellum project for the PDF, derp.





Rickie Blair said:


> On the Vellum file I just mentioned, the small caps came out fine in the print PDF. It's just on my Kindle that they've disappeared.
> 
> One thing I've noticed about small caps in Vellum: if you type the word originally in all-caps, it looks almost the same as regular type. You need to type the original word in non-caps for it to work.
> 
> E.g.: Don't type IBM in the original, type ibm, then apply the small caps coding.


Vellum, when small caps is applied to some text, will leave uppercase letters as they are and apply small caps to the lowercase letters. This is how many other word processing programs work, and allows you to set entire sentences in small caps. For example, you could set "My name is Cormac McCarthy" in small caps, and it would read a lot better than if it were in all caps. However, for acronyms like IBM, you probably just want to use all caps.

That said, if you'd like to use small caps, you shouldn't worry about using them in ebooks. According to our tests, they will work fine on all platforms. Unfortunately, testing on Kindle/iOS can be tricky, and if you don't do it exactly right then some formatting can go missing. This is likely what happened in Candy's and Rickie's tests. To proof on Kindle/iOS correctly, you'll need to follow the instructions we've outlined on our Proofing help page.

That can be a giant pain (thanks, Amazon!), so we recommend proofing using the desktop Kindle app instead. Candy and Rickie, if you do that, do you see your small caps?

Hope that helps!


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## NoLongerPosting

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## CandyCromwell

I'm also slightly confused about how _testing_ or proofing will resolve the issue. The file looks right on the Windows Desktop Kindle app, but doesn't on my iPhone Kindle app. Since some people read on the iOS app, that's a problem, even if it does work right on the desktop app.

All I'm doing is selecting text in the Vellum editor and using the "small caps" option. Where is the process breaking down, in the original Word formatting somehow?

Sorry if I'm still not understanding.


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## NoLongerPosting

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## NoLongerPosting

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## Brad Andalman

CandyCromwell said:


> I'm also slightly confused about how _testing_ or proofing will resolve the issue. The file looks right on the Windows Desktop Kindle app, but doesn't on my iPhone Kindle app. Since some people read on the iOS app, that's a problem, even if it does work right on the desktop app.
> 
> All I'm doing is selecting text in the Vellum editor and using the "small caps" option. Where is the process breaking down, in the original Word formatting somehow?
> 
> Sorry if I'm still not understanding.


You're right, testing or proofing won't resolve the issue, but making sure you are proofing correctly will ensure that you see all of the formatting that you've set up in Vellum. Sorry my previous post was not clear.



Rickie Blair said:


> After conferring with the BookFunnel folks, I've found the answer to that particular problem:
> 
> http://authors.bookfunnel.com/help/mobi-format-and-kf8/
> 
> Turns out you have to tick the box that says "include the KF8" or else the readers won't see your "floopties".
> 
> Who knew? (Not me, obviously. ) I'm off to fix those files now. (Which you can do without re-uploading; check details in link above.)


Aha! That's good to know! You definitely want to make sure that the KF8 formatting isn't lost. We, too, have a help page on this topic:
https://help.vellum.pub/kindleformats/


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## CandyCromwell

Rickie Blair said:


> Candy, I just checked one of my previous books using the Kindle app on my iPhone and the small caps look fine. They're also fine using the Kindle app on my laptop. Also, on my Kindle (Paperwhite) itself.
> 
> I wonder why yours is different? Something's gone wrong.
> 
> However, my _small caps don't work in BookFunnel_, which is really a pain. But they seem fine elsewhere.


I'll give it another go when I'm done wrestling with the print PDF. Just to make sure we're on the same page:

I'm talking about using small caps for acronyms (like IBM, as discussed), and following the advice of typing them in lower case and then using the small caps formatting option in Vellum. Are we still talking about the same thing?


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## NoLongerPosting

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## Word Fan

scott.marmorstein said:


> Sorry if this has been asked already, and I think it might have been, but I could not find it in my search, so I'll ask (again?): Brads, are you planning on making Vellum non-fiction friendly for authors? Is that at all in the works? Scrivener can do the links to citations and on and on, but the formatting and look is...well, left much desired. Thanks to anyone who already knows this answer and can smack me down with a 'duh' answer. I swear I couldn't find the answer I'm looking for!


There is no "duh" answer so no smackdown. Making Vellum truly useful for non-fiction would entail adding so many features that, in my humble opinion, it ain't going to happen soon. This is not to denigrate in any way its usefulness for fiction books, for which it is outstanding.

However, if you have a Mac with the Sierra operating system, you have an answer: Apple's Pages app version 6.2. After several years of us suffering through the loss of the wonderful usefulness of Pages 4.1 (which did so many things that it had a User Guide of 279 pages!), many of those features have now been put back. Especially great is the ability to create internal links, so you can jump to citations and end notes, and even design and create your own multi-level table of contents that will look and operate exactly the way that you want.

You might want to give it a look.


----------



## Flay Otters

Sorry if this has been dealt with earlier.
I searched, but maybe my search-fu is lacking.

In a traditional trade paperback (basic book without tons of introduction) the pages go as follows:
Inside cover - half title
blank page - full title
copyright - blank page (or dedication)
blank page - Ch 1

I'm trying to get that order in print Vellum, but by filling in the title page info it gives me a full title as the first page.
Not sure how to create a half title page or how to arrange it to come before the full title.

Any help or direction to online help would be appreciated, thanks!


----------



## Flay Otters

Bumping to see if there is an answer to my question.
Thanks!


----------



## Brad West

Flay Otters said:


> Sorry if this has been dealt with earlier.
> I searched, but maybe my search-fu is lacking.
> 
> In a traditional trade paperback (basic book without tons of introduction) the pages go as follows:
> Inside cover - half title
> blank page - full title
> copyright - blank page (or dedication)
> blank page - Ch 1
> 
> I'm trying to get that order in print Vellum, but by filling in the title page info it gives me a full title as the first page.
> Not sure how to create a half title page or how to arrange it to come before the full title.


Hi Flay,

Vellum doesn't currently have a way to create a proper half title. We do have a suggestion on file for this, and would like to add this in the future. In the meantime, though, you can get something like what you're looking for using a Blurbs element, which will be inserted before the (full) title page:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Create a Blurbs Element (Chapter > Add Element > Blurbs)
[*]Rename the Blurbs from "Praise for Watery Fowls" to something like "Half title"
[*]Hide the Heading (Chapter > Heading > Hide Heading in Book)
[*]Add whatever text you'd like for your half title (you can use an Alignment Block to center)
[/list]
Hope that helps.

_Update 1/23/18: We've since released Vellum 2.1, which includes a dedicated element for Half Title._


----------



## Flay Otters

Brad West said:


> Hi Flay,
> 
> Vellum doesn't currently have a way to create a proper half title. We do have a suggestion on file for this, and would like to add this in the future. In the meantime, though, you can get something like what you're looking for using a Blurbs element, which will be inserted before the (full) title page:
> [list type=decimal]
> [*]Create a Blurbs Element (Chapter > Add Element > Blurbs)
> [*]Rename the Blurbs from "Praise for Watery Fowls" to something like "Half title"
> [*]Hide the Heading (Chapter > Heading > Hide Heading in Book)
> [*]Add whatever text you'd like for your half title (you can use an Alignment Block to center)
> [/list]
> Hope that helps.


Thanks!
I'll give that a go.
And "Watery Fowls" - it's always funny when somebody gets the joke.


----------



## LeeMountford

Not sure if anyone can help with this. Just going through my first book making some edits, and I noticed that when I copied the word file from Scrivener, the quotation marks are just vertical marks, like so: ' 

I would like these to show as quotation marks (the curvy ones), but going through the whole manuscript changing each one is a bit of a task. And I can't do a find and replace as I'd end up with opening quotation marks being used everywhere, even when closing speech. 

So, does anyone know of a quick way to convert these? Just hoping there is an easy way I'm not aware of, otherwise I'm going to have to go through the whole manuscript changing all of the speech marks. And that will suck! lol


----------



## Guest

LeeMountford said:


> Not sure if anyone can help with this. Just going through my first book making some edits, and I noticed that when I copied the word file from Scrivener, the quotation marks are just vertical marks, like so: '
> 
> I would like these to show as quotation marks (the curvy ones), but going through the whole manuscript changing each one is a bit of a task. And I can't do a find and replace as I'd end up with opening quotation marks being used everywhere, even when closing speech.
> 
> So, does anyone know of a quick way to convert these? Just hoping there is an easy way I'm not aware of, otherwise I'm going to have to go through the whole manuscript changing all of the speech marks. And that will suck! lol


If you are still working in the Word file, make sure you have smart quotes turned on in (File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Auto Format tab). Then open Find/Replace (CTRL+H on windows), put " in the find and replace and hit Replace All. Word will automatically format them correctly for the smart quotes. Do the same for the single quotes.


----------



## Word Fan

Anma Natsu said:


> Do the same for the single quotes.


The single quotes thing works for all but the occasional contraction that begins with an apostrophe (*'til* for _until_ and *'em* as in _Go get 'em._). Those you have to track down and do manually. If you don't, they will end up being curved the wrong way.


----------



## Guest

Word Fan said:


> The single quotes thing works for all but the occasional contraction that begins with an apostrophe (*'til* for _until_ and *'em* as in _Go get 'em._). Those you have to track down and do manually. If you don't, they will end up being curved the wrong way.


Weird...I just tested it in my version Word (365) and it seemed to curve them the right way when I did a search/replace as described


----------



## Word Fan

Anma Natsu said:


> Weird...I just tested it in my version Word (365) and it seemed to curve them the right way when I did a search/replace as described


I doubt it. (Not you. Microsoft.)

There should be no space between the apostrophe and the text of the contraction, and a beginning apostrophe curves like an ending parenthesis: *)*

So you get this: Go get [size=6pt]*)*em.[/size]

Word, and other apps, always end up substituting a opening single quote, which curves like an opening apostrophe: *(*

Go get [size=6pt]*(*em.[/size]

To clearly see if it's working correctly, you have to use a typeface that has curly quotes, not those straight-line, slanted wedges that some typefaces use and that are difficult to discern at small sizes.

If Word 365 has really, truly fixed that, my hat is off to them.

(But I would have to see it to believe it.)


----------



## Guest

Ahhhh...then yep, you're right.  I've always though the curve like an opening was the right one


----------



## LeeMountford

Anma Natsu said:


> If you are still working in the Word file, make sure you have smart quotes turned on in (File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Auto Format tab). Then open Find/Replace (CTRL+H on windows), put " in the find and replace and hit Replace All. Word will automatically format them correctly for the smart quotes. Do the same for the single quotes.


Unfortunately I'm past using the word document as I have previously made changes in the Vellum file. Looks like I'll have to do it the long way 

Thank for the help, though, it is appreciated.


----------



## Brad Andalman

LeeMountford said:


> Unfortunately I'm past using the word document as I have previously made changes in the Vellum file. Looks like I'll have to do it the long way
> 
> Thank for the help, though, it is appreciated.


Hi Lee,

Though it isn't as ideal as fixing your whole document in Word, you can select your chapter's text in Vellum and then right-click (or control-click) to bring up a context menu with *Apply Smart Quotes*. Choosing that menu item will fix up the straight quotes in your selected text.

Hope that helps,
Brad


----------



## LeeMountford

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Lee,
> 
> Though it isn't as ideal as fixing your whole document in Word, you can select your chapter's text in Vellum and then right-click (or control-click) to bring up a context menu with *Apply Smart Quotes*. Choosing that menu item will fix up the straight quotes in your selected text.
> 
> Hope that helps,
> Brad


Brad, you are my hero!!! This worked like a charm and has saved me a massive amount of work. Thank you so much!


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

I really love the option now on my Kindle to have ragged right margin, which takes out the huge gaps between words and silly hyphenating that regularly occurs in justified right ebooks. It's not available in all ebooks, so I decided to check my own. The recent books I formatted with Vellum don't allow this choice. I assume I either checked or didn't check something when formatting that I need to remedy. Can someone save me experimenting and tell me what that is?


----------



## novotny

I am new to this forum but I would like to ask this question:

Assuming you have constructed an *Index* in Word 2016 for Mac, does this transfer over to Vellum smoothly?

I am writing a non-fiction book with footnotes, bibliography, and Index.

Will this be an issue?

Thanks for any advice


----------



## toddhoffious

ellenoc said:


> I really love the option now on my Kindle to have ragged right margin, which takes out the huge gaps between words and silly hyphenating that regularly occurs in justified right ebooks. It's not available in all ebooks, so I decided to check my own. The recent books I formatted with Vellum don't allow this choice. I assume I either checked or didn't check something when formatting that I need to remedy. Can someone save me experimenting and tell me what that is?


There's a "Justify Text" option on the Styles page. Does that do what you want?


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

toddhoffious said:


> There's a "Justify Text" option on the Styles page. Does that do what you want?


I haven't regenerated, sideloaded, and tested yet, but I wouldn't think so. Was hoping someone knew. I don't want to set it to ragged right for everyone. I want the reader to be able to choose ragged right if, like me, they want it. I suspect it may have something to do with enhanced page options. I may have them off because for a while that stopped page flip. Now that nothing stops page flip, when I get time to play with it, I'll enable it and see if that does it.


----------



## C L Salaski

Has anyone experienced this problem I've had with Vellum.

I purchased the product and absolutely loved it. However, after correcting a few minor problems the software generated in my original manuscript, I began making lots of changes to my novel in Vellum. I have a habit of obsessively saving my files in Word, Pages, Scrivener, and did the same with Vellum. After about three days of revisions and constant saving, I encountered an agonizing problem. 

I had been leaving the Vellum app open while doing all my work. When I was finished with a session, I would simply close the lid on my MacBook Air. However on Tuesday night my Mac was running slow so I shut down several programs including Vellum. The next morning I opened the Vellum app and discovered that all of my saved changes were GONE. The only thing in Vellum was my original imported manuscript. And the revised file is not on my hard drive. I followed Brad's instructions to search and it is nowhere to be found.

How could this possibly have happened? I've been going back and forth with one of the Brads who created Vellum and he keeps telling me the program saves the same as Word, Pages, and Scrivener. Well, it didn't for me. And I did nothing that should have caused this problem. I'm a perfectionist and save all docs constantly.

Has anyone here had this happen to them? Did my download of Vellum get corrupted somehow?


----------



## Flay Otters

C L Salaski said:


> Has anyone experienced this problem I've had with Vellum.
> 
> I purchased the product and absolutely loved it. However, after correcting a few minor problems the software generated in my original manuscript, I began making lots of changes to my novel in Vellum. I have a habit of obsessively saving my files in Word, Pages, Scrivener, and did the same with Vellum. After about three days of revisions and constant saving, I encountered an agonizing problem.
> 
> I had been leaving the Vellum app open while doing all my work. When I was finished with a session, I would simply close the lid on my MacBook Air. However on Tuesday night my Mac was running slow so I shut down several programs including Vellum. The next morning I opened the Vellum app and discovered that all of my saved changes were GONE. The only thing in Vellum was my original imported manuscript. And the revised file is not on my hard drive. I followed Brad's instructions to search and it is nowhere to be found.
> 
> How could this possibly have happened? I've been going back and forth with one of the Brads who created Vellum and he keeps telling me the program saves the same as Word, Pages, and Scrivener. Well, it didn't for me. And I did nothing that should have caused this problem. I'm a perfectionist and save all docs constantly.
> 
> Has anyone here had this happen to them? Did my download of Vellum get corrupted somehow?


I am so sorry you have had this happen, but at least you didn't lose the entire document! (Been there, which has made me paranoid).

This doesn't help now, but at the end of each session I duplicate the work document (Vellum, Word, whatever). That way I'm always working on the prime document but there are generations saved (copy 1, copy 2, copy 3... copy 200). When disaster strikes I can step backward to the most recent duplicate and hopefully lose only a day's work at most.

One other thing, if I make changes in... let's say "untested software" (Vellum, Scrivener etc.) I always make the same changes in the master Word file. I know it's laborious but this way you always have a master Word file (Word being a default format pretty much everywhere).


----------



## C L Salaski

Flay Otters said:


> I am so sorry you have had this happen, but at least you didn't lose the entire document! (Been there, which has made me paranoid).
> 
> This doesn't help now, but at the end of each session I duplicate the work document (Vellum, Word, whatever). That way I'm always working on the prime document but there are generations saved (copy 1, copy 2, copy 3... copy 200). When disaster strikes I can step backward to the most recent duplicate and hopefully lose only a day's work at most.
> 
> One other thing, if I make changes in... let's say "untested software" (Vellum, Scrivener etc.) I always make the same changes in the master Word file. I know it's laborious but this way you always have a master Word file (Word being a default format pretty much everywhere).


Thanks for the advice, Flay! I appreciate your help.


----------



## Flay Otters

C L Salaski said:


> Thanks for the advice, Flay! I appreciate your help.


Thanks!
I felt really bad after posting because all I did was lecture you.
But believe me I feel your pain!


----------



## kit_kat

Hey there, quick question.

Can anyone tell me the payment methods Vellum accepts when you purchase? I'm not seeing this information on their website. I'm especially hoping they accept Paypal.

Thanks!


----------



## C L Salaski

Well, I got through my problem thanks to Brad at Vellum. I'm back to loving this great software!

I finished my revisions in Vellum, sent my PDF file to CreateSpace, and should receive my proofs by the end of next week.

I know that without Vellum, many people have lots of errors that show up in Amazon's book previews and on the Kindle App. I'm hoping that by using Vellum, there will be no problems with that.


----------



## C L Salaski

kit_kat said:


> Hey there, quick question.
> 
> Can anyone tell me the payment methods Vellum accepts when you purchase? I'm not seeing this information on their website. I'm especially hoping they accept Paypal.
> 
> Thanks!


Yes. I'm pretty sure that PayPal is how I paid for Vellum.


----------



## kit_kat

C L Salaski said:


> Yes. I'm pretty sure that PayPal is how I paid for Vellum.


Thanks!


----------



## GirlWriter

Hello everyone. I have a question about the final output size.
I formatted a fairly large book, 160K words and added custom headings with images.
The final Vellum file size is 12.9 MB (which I understand is because of all the images for the headers.)

The final output size is a follow:
Generic ePub: 1.7 MB
Google Play: 3.7 MB
iBooks: 4.5 MB
Kindle: 9.1 MB
Kobo: 3 MB
Nook: 1.7 MB

1. Does the cover add to the final file size? I noticed that when the books are generated, the covers generated with them have different sizes from the original uploaded one. 

1a. And if for Amazon and iBooks, the cover is uploaded separately, do I need to include it in the formatting? Why?

2. Why such a difference in sizes between formats?

3. If all the files are ePub (with exception of the mobi file) what makes the difference in size? 

4. Can I upload the generic ePub to iBooks, Kobo, Nook and Google Play instead? 

Side question: If anyone is using Photoshop to create custom headers, have you found a way to make those images a lot smaller?  

Thank you so much!


----------



## Brad West

Erica Alexander said:


> Hello everyone. I have a question about the final output size.
> I formatted a fairly large book, 160K words and added custom headings with images.
> The final Vellum file size is 12.9 MB (which I understand is because of all the images for the headers.)
> 
> The final output size is a follow:
> Generic ePub: 1.7 MB
> Google Play: 3.7 MB
> iBooks: 4.5 MB
> Kindle: 9.1 MB
> Kobo: 3 MB
> Nook: 1.7 MB
> 
> ...
> 
> 2. Why such a difference in sizes between formats?
> 
> 3. If all the files are ePub (with exception of the mobi file) what makes the difference in size?


Hi Erica,

Images in your book -- including the cover -- may be resized by Vellum according to file size limits of each store. iBooks has a very generous 2GB size limit, so Vellum typically doesn't do much resizing for these images. Nook, on the other hand, limits files to 20MB. For this version of your book, Vellum may be a bit more aggressive in resizing.

As for the mobi file, this is much larger because the file generated by KindleGen will include multiple versions of your book. That file size isn't what's used for KDP's delivery costs, however.

More details about mobi file size and about image sizing can be found on our File Size help page here:
https://help.vellum.pub/file-size/

I should note that KDP is the only platform that adds a charge based on file size (and again, that charge is not based on the file size you see above). For other stores, file size won't matter much so long as you are under each store's limit.



Erica Alexander said:


> 1. Does the cover add to the final file size? I noticed that when the books are generated, the covers generated with them have different sizes from the original uploaded one.
> 
> 1a. And if for Amazon and iBooks, the cover is uploaded separately, do I need to include it in the formatting? Why?


Yes, if you add a cover image in Vellum, it will be included in the generated ebook files (and therefore influence the file size). Were you only publishing to Amazon, this step would be optional, as KDP will automatically include the cover you upload in your ebooks (replacing any cover that is already there). KDP is the only platform that does this, though. For all other stores, you must include a cover in the ebook file: the cover image you upload to the store is only used for your book's listing.



Erica Alexander said:


> 4. Can I upload the generic ePub to iBooks, Kobo, Nook and Google Play instead?


You could, but if you are uploading directly to stores, we recommend using the version tailored for each store. Each store has subtle differences, and by uploading a store-specific version, you can make use of Vellum's Store Links. All of the sizes you list above are below the limits of each store, so you should be able to do so.



Erica Alexander said:


> Side question: If anyone is using Photoshop to create custom headers, have you found a way to make those images a lot smaller?


For simple black and white images that are typically used in headings, the most efficient format is often GIF. If you'd like advice more specific to the images you are using in your book, feel free to contact us and send along your Vellum file.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Word Fan

Brad West said:


> Hi Erica,
> 
> Images in your book...
> 
> As for the mobi file...
> 
> More details about mobi file size and about image sizing can be found...
> 
> I should note that KDP is the only platform...
> 
> Yes, if you add a cover image in Vellum...
> 
> ...we recommend using the version tailored for each store...
> 
> ...the most efficient format is often...
> 
> If you'd like advice more specific to the images you are using in your book, feel free to contact us and send along your Vellum file.
> 
> Hope that helps!


And responses like that---this goes to all of those who don't have Vellum, don't want Vellum (with the attitude of _"$%#@ Vellem and the Mac it came in on!"_), and can't understand those of us who do---is why we have paid our significant amount of cash to get this outstanding program and its outstanding service and support. (And we "put up with" having to use a Mac to get it.)


----------



## WDR

Brad West said:


> Erica Alexander said:
> 
> 
> 
> 4. Can I upload the generic ePub to iBooks, Kobo, Nook and Google Play instead?
> 
> 
> 
> You could, but if you are uploading directly to stores, we recommend using the version tailored for each store. Each store has subtle differences, and by uploading a store-specific version, you can make use of Vellum's Store Links. All of the sizes you list above are below the limits of each store, so you should be able to do so.
Click to expand...

For those of you wondering why each EPUB file is tailored to a specific ebook reading device, the answer is on the browser engine that each ebook reader (iOS, Nook, & Kobo) is using to render that ebook file as readable text. The "rendering engine" (the core program that contracts and presents the text for view) is exactly the same thing that a web browser program (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc.) uses to present a webpage. That's all an ebook file is: a web site. Each chapter in a book is a separate web page.

The iOS devices use a WebKit-based browser (Safari) to render ebooks. It is by far the most robust of the rendering engines and in my testing, has been able to render almost any EPUB file I've thrown at it.

I believe the B&N Nook is using a rendering engine based on Firefox, and I put it at a close second to Apple's as far as rendering EPUB files with minimal issues.

As much as I like my Kobo (it's the reader I take camping with me), it has the most picky rendering engine. If the EPUB file isn't _just_ right, it messes up in rather annoying ways. I'm not sure what they are using as a rendering engine, but they really need to take another look at what they are using.

Basically, an ebook reader is a handheld device that is dedicated to presenting localized web pages (ebooks).


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Hey Brad(s),

In the next version of Vellum, is there going to be a way to choose more industry standard trim sizes for paperback/hardback books? I sure hope that's on the list. Feeling a bit limited here. 

Thanks!


----------



## Used To Be BH

Word Fan said:


> And responses like that---this goes to all of those who don't have Vellum, don't want Vellum (with the attitude of _"$%#@ Vellem and the Mac it came in on!"_), and can't understand those of us who do---is why we have paid our significant amount of cash to get this outstanding program and its outstanding service and support. (And we "put up with" having to use a Mac to get it.)


The customer service is definitely first-rate.


----------



## Brad West

scott.marmorstein said:


> In the next version of Vellum, is there going to be a way to choose more industry standard trim sizes for paperback/hardback books? I sure hope that's on the list. Feeling a bit limited here.


For 2.0, we started with the four most popular trim sizes according to CreateSpace and according to responses to our survey to beta testers. Those options can be found in Print Settings:
https://help.vellum.pub/print-settings/

We may add more trim sizes in the future if we receive enough requests for a particular size. If you'd like to cast a vote for a trim size we should consider, please get in touch!


----------



## C L Salaski

Vellum did a beautiful job formatting my novel and creating files for all the different devices. I'm getting ready to launch my book on KDP. Do I need to use Amazon's Kindle Previewer or am I good to go since I have Vellum's mobi file?


----------



## GirlWriter

@ C L Salaski

You can just upload the mobi. It is ready to go.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

Just out of curiosity, is it possible to open the print PDF in Adobe Acrobat (or other PDF program) and make tweaks to the content? Or do you have to make the tweaks in the Vellum file and regenerate the PDF?


----------



## GirlWriter

> Just out of curiosity, is it possible to open the print PDF in Adobe Acrobat (or other PDF program) and make tweaks to the content? Or do you have to make the tweaks in the Vellum file and regenerate the PDF?


Yes, you can. I have done this extensively, changing chapter headers to match cover font, and lots more. But you have to be careful, because unlike Word, when you edit something in Adobe Acrobat Pro, the text goes into text boxes and when you shift things around, the text just overlaps. So as along as you are very careful, yes, you can change it with a PDF editor.


----------



## C L Salaski

Erica Alexander said:


> @ C L Salaski
> 
> You can just upload the mobi. It is ready to go.


Thank you, Erica!


----------



## Abalone

Why do I have to import something before I can access Vellum? And why only Doc/x files? So annoying. '


Edit: Never mind. I'm such an idiot. Less coffee, more thinking!


----------



## Used To Be BH

C L Salaski said:


> Vellum did a beautiful job formatting my novel and creating files for all the different devices. I'm getting ready to launch my book on KDP. Do I need to use Amazon's Kindle Previewer or am I good to go since I have Vellum's mobi file?


I'd use the Previewer just to be on the safe side. I've never had a problem with a Vellum mobi file, but it's always possible something could have changed on Amazon's end that might make a difference. I've always thought it was better to spend the extra few minutes than have the book become available with some kind of glitch.


----------



## rasnell

Any idea why footnotes and the end note file from docx did not import or display during the file import? I can add the end note, but none of the footnotes is marked and displaying within the manuscript.


----------



## rasnell

To avoid a double post, please let me know if you can help me on a photo formatting question before I begin the import of my finished manuscript.

I didn't realize there was an official Vellum thread before I posted this.

https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,255740.0.html


----------



## Word Fan

C L Salaski said:


> Vellum did a beautiful job formatting my novel and creating files for all the different devices. I'm getting ready to launch my book on KDP. Do I need to use Amazon's Kindle Previewer or am I good to go since I have Vellum's MOBI file?
> 
> 
> 
> Bill Hiatt said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'd use the Previewer just to be on the safe side. I've never had a problem with a Vellum MOBI file, but it's always possible something could have changed on Amazon's end that might make a difference. I've always thought it was better to spend the extra few minutes than have the book become available with some kind of glitch.
Click to expand...

Use the Vellum file. It is customized in all sorts of ways especially for KDP.

Kindle Previewer 3 does not export a MOBI file that has Enhanced Typesetting enabled and the file that it exports is not nearly as suitable as the Vellum file for uploading to KDP. The purpose of Kindle Previewer 3 is just that: for you to *preview* your file and see how it will look to those who download it from Amazon.


----------



## Abalone

Bill Hiatt said:


> I'd use the Previewer just to be on the safe side. I've never had a problem with a Vellum mobi file, but it's always possible something could have changed on Amazon's end that might make a difference. I've always thought it was better to spend the extra few minutes than have the book become available with some kind of glitch.


Do you recommend Kindgen 2 or 3, Bill?


----------



## Used To Be BH

Word Fan said:


> Use the Vellum file. It is customized in all sorts of ways especially for KDP.
> 
> Kindle Previewer 3 does not export a MOBI file that has Enhanced Typesetting enabled and the file that it exports is not nearly as suitable as the Vellum file for uploading to KDP. The purpose of Kindle Previewer 3 is just that: for you to *preview* your file and see how it will look to those who download it from Amazon.


I'm sorry if my original advice sounded misleading. I've never used the Kindle Previewer for anything but previewing. I thought that's what the original question was about.

As I think about, I don't use Kindle Previewer as a double-check myself most of the time. I download the book file after conversion and check that way.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Abalone said:


> Do you recommend Kindgen 2 or 3, Bill?


I looked at the files and seem to have 2 installed. However, I haven't really been using Kindlegen since I stopped using Scrivener, so I may not be the best one to ask.


----------



## Abalone

Bill Hiatt said:


> I looked at the files and seem to have 2 installed. However, I haven't really been using Kindlegen since I stopped using Scrivener, so I may not be the best one to ask.


Oh. I actually meant Kindle Previewer 2 or 3. But it looks like you answered my question in a way in the one above where you quoted me.


----------



## rasnell

I was just starting to use Vellum and it solves so many formatting and photo issues. Then I realized no footnotes were displaying and this feature is not supported. 

I only write non-fiction. I hate for this to be a deal-breaker. Can anyone think of a workaround or are only novel writers using this otherwise great software?


----------



## Alarmcall

Hello Everyone! 

I'm getting a really strange error in Vellum 1.2.2 when I try to generate an ebook. 

It says "Could not find resource: SIL-Open-Font-License-1.1"  and I can't for the life of me figure out what to do. 

I can see on google that the SIL-open-font-license is an open source license for a class of fonts used applications and web pages but I don't see anywhere how I can, (I guess) acquire the license and make it available to the application. 

Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks so much in advance


----------



## Brad Andalman

Alarmcall said:


> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I'm getting a really strange error in Vellum 1.2.2 when I try to generate an ebook.
> 
> It says "Could not find resource: SIL-Open-Font-License-1.1" and I can't for the life of me figure out what to do.
> 
> I can see on google that the SIL-open-font-license is an open source license for a class of fonts used applications and web pages but I don't see anywhere how I can, (I guess) acquire the license and make it available to the application.
> 
> Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks so much in advance


It looks like you are using a really old version of Vellum. Nevertheless, you shouldn't be hitting this error.

First, we'd recommend updating to the latest version of Vellum that your computer supports. You can learn how to update Vellum on our Updating Vellum help page.

If that doesn't work, please feel free to contact us directly!


----------



## writerc

Hello

I recently bought Vellum. It's amazing. After all the slow of writing my book it made the formatting fun/amazing!

I just wanted to ask if its possible to have the dedication after the ToC, so that if you flicked back from the first page of chapter one you would land on the dedication instead of the Toc?

It's  a minor issue and I couldn't see any way to do it on the help section and indeed maybe you can't!

Grateful for any suggestions!
x


----------



## Used To Be BH

rasnell said:


> I was just starting to use Vellum and it solves so many formatting and photo issues. Then I realized no footnotes were displaying and this feature is not supported.
> 
> I only write non-fiction. I hate for this to be a deal-breaker. Can anyone think of a workaround or are only novel writers using this otherwise great software?


Vellum does a really nice job of what it does, but it isn't designed for nonfiction. No footnotes, endnotes, bibliography (or works cited page), no tables.

During the writing process, you could do endnotes manually, and Vellum would treat them like any other part of the text, though you'd probably have to forgo superscript numbers. In the text I'd use parenthetical numbers. Of course, trying to do that after the fact would be a major hassle.

That's the only thing I can think of, but maybe somebody else has a better idea.


----------



## Brad West

catlife said:


> I just wanted to ask if its possible to have the dedication after the ToC, so that if you flicked back from the first page of chapter one you would land on the dedication instead of the Toc?
> 
> It's a minor issue and I couldn't see any way to do it on the help section and indeed maybe you can't!


Hi catlife,

When marked as a Dedication, the Table of Contents will follow. Currently, there is not a way to directly change this ordering. You can, however, affect the ordering by changing the type of your dedication from Dedication to Uncategorized. You can do that using the Convert To menu shown here:
https://help.vellum.pub/element-types/#convert-to

Changing the type will also affect the formatting of your Dedication, and will cause it to be listed in your Table of Contents. This may be more of a change than than you want, but we thought we'd offer it as a possibility.


----------



## writerc

Brad West said:


> Hi catlife,
> 
> When marked as a Dedication, the Table of Contents will follow. Currently, there is not a way to directly change this ordering. You can, however, affect the ordering by changing the type of your dedication from Dedication to Uncategorized. You can do that using the Convert To menu shown here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/element-types/#convert-to
> 
> Changing the type will also affect the formatting of your Dedication, and will cause it to be listed in your Table of Contents. This may be more of a change than than you want, but we thought we'd offer it as a possibility.


Thankyou for getting back to me. That's really useful thanks!
Vellum is the most fabulous software I have ever used btw. You guys rock


----------



## AYClaudy

I've recently purchased the print version of vellum and am wondering is there a way to insert a half title page before the full title page? Or even get rid of the title page that vellum generates all together? I don't mind the generated versions within the ebook, but for the print, I'd love to use the title overlay my designer gave me for the title page instead.


----------



## Brad Andalman

AYClaudy said:


> I've recently purchased the print version of vellum and am wondering is there a way to insert a half title page before the full title page? Or even get rid of the title page that vellum generates all together? I don't mind the generated versions within the ebook, but for the print, I'd love to use the title overlay my designer gave me for the title page instead.


Vellum doesn't currently have an official way to create half titles, which is something we'd like to improve in a future version. For now, though, you can use (abuse?) Vellum's Blurbs element, which will appear before your Title Page. Here's how:

1. Create a Blurbs Element (*Chapter > Add Element > Blurbs*)
2. Rename the Blurbs from "Praise for AYClaudy" to something like "Half Title"
3. Hide the Heading (*Chapter > Heading > Hide Heading in Book*)
4. Add an Inline Image with the graphic that you'd like to feature

Hope that helps!


----------



## AYClaudy

That is very helpful! Thank you!


----------



## E L Russell

Hi - I may have missed a post, and I apologize for asking. Has anyone been able to register a book at Ingram using the PDF interior generated by Vellum?
Thanks in advance - -/ELR


----------



## GirlWriter

> Hi - I may have missed a post, and I apologize for asking. Has anyone been able to register a book at Ingram using the PDF interior generated by Vellum?
> Thanks in advance - -/ELR


I haven't uploaded to IngramSpark myself, but I did format paperbacks for others who have used it without any problems.


----------



## E L Russell

Thank you! I wanted to avoid making another $49.00 wager with Ingram.  -/Enos


----------



## GirlWriter

IngramSpark has a sale right now and they are waiving the fee:

http://www.ingramspark.com/lp/indie-fringe-2017?hsCtaTracking=34d7037d-525e-4e63-bf97-cbd89501731f%7Cbb321021-e2e3-4ca8-89d6-1ebadf12657e


----------



## GirlWriter

> I have a support request in to Vellum, but wondered if anyone else has had the problem of their Vellum file refusing to save after pasting in some text. I copy the plain text, paste it into the Vellum file, and then when I go to save, it says the file doesn't exist. It has happened on two different Vellum files now, so I'm really feeling stuck. Anyone else see this with Vellum?


I never had this problem in Vellum, but had it in other programs. When it happens, I paste the text to a plain TXT doc and the copy again from there and it works. Sometimes I had to save it first to strip whatever hidden code was attached to the text. Maybe give it a try.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Rickie Blair said:


> Hi, would you guys have any idea why "reimport word file" would be grayed out as a Edit selection?
> I want to update a book, but it's not letting me. I can wipe it and drag and drop, so it's not a tragedy, but I'd like to know what's wrong. (If I use "import" Vellum creates an entirely new file, so that's not an option.)


If I recall correctly, reimport was disabled in one of the updates. Make sure you have version 2.0.3 or higher, and you should be able to reimport.


----------



## It&#039;s A Mystery

I'm not sure if feature requests are acceptable here, but I'd love the ability to export to word for sending to an editor

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


----------



## Steve Voelker

A.G.B said:


> I'm not sure if feature requests are acceptable here, but I'd love the ability to export to word for sending to an editor
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


It already exports to .RTF, which you can then save in just about any word processing program. 
It adds an extra click, but it is probably the best solution, since it keeps the output universal.


----------



## It&#039;s A Mystery

Steve Voelker said:


> It already exports to .RTF, which you can then save in just about any word processing program.
> It adds an extra click, but it is probably the best solution, since it keeps the output universal.


Whoa! Thanks, I had totally missed that!


----------



## Brad West

Rickie Blair said:


> Hi, would you guys have any idea why "reimport word file" would be grayed out as a Edit selection?
> I want to update a book, but it's not letting me. I can wipe it and drag and drop, so it's not a tragedy, but I'd like to know what's wrong. (If I use "import" Vellum creates an entirely new file, so that's not an option.)


Hi Rickie,

In the current version of Vellum, Reimport will only replace the items that were originally imported, leaving in place items like front and back matter that you add in Vellum.

For this to work properly, you'll need to have initially created the Vellum document using Import Word File (or by using Open on a docx). If you create a Vellum document using New and then add content to it (via copy and paste or via drag and drop), Reimport won't be available. If that's the case, your workaround of using drag and drop is probably the best option.

Hope that explains things.


----------



## MBA

In Vellum, my heading images look centered, but when I preview them at Kindlepreview.amazon.com during uploading of a new book to KDP, the heading images appear off-center, like this:










Do you know why it does this and/or how I can fix it?

I'm uncertain if the heading images look off center on readers' devices but have polled them on my blog.

Thanks a bunch!


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Brad West said:


> Hi Rickie,
> 
> In the current version of Vellum, Reimport will only replace the items that were originally imported, leaving in place items like front and back matter that you add in Vellum.
> 
> For this to work properly, you'll need to have initially created the Vellum document using Import Word File (or by using Open on a docx). If you create a Vellum document using New and then add content to it (via copy and paste or via drag and drop), Reimport won't be available. If that's the case, your workaround of using drag and drop is probably the best option.
> 
> Hope that explains things.


Thanks for the explanation, Brad. Actually, that's pretty cool because it means I can use reimport on future files and still keep the backmatter, etc. the same.

@Bill Hiatt, thanks for your input, good idea always to check. I'm using 2.0.5.


----------



## Brad West

MBA said:


> In Vellum, my heading images look centered, but when I preview them at Kindlepreview.amazon.com during uploading of a new book to KDP, the heading images appear off-center, like this:
> 
> ...
> 
> Do you know why it does this and/or how I can fix it?


Hi MBA,

We just tried to reproduce this problem with an example heading image and found that it was still centered as expected at KDP. We might recommend double-checking that there isn't any unexpected whitespace in the image you're using. If that's not it, we can take a closer look at your Vellum file to see what the problem might be. The best way to send us your file is with the *Attach a File* option on our contact page:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/


----------



## LyraParish

Is there a way to make it where there aren't blank pages at the end matter of a print book in Vellum? For example, we have About the Author then when we turn the page, we want social media links on the left hand side and also by the author on the right hand side. Is this possible? I've been racking my brain trying to get this to work! Any help is appreciated.


----------



## GirlWriter

For those using header images or other images in Vellum (excluding cover), what image resolution size are you using?

Trying to figure what's the lowest resolution I can use--to save on file size--and still have a good final product. Thank you.


----------



## Brad Andalman

LyraParish said:


> Is there a way to make it where there aren't blank pages at the end matter of a print book in Vellum? For example, we have About the Author then when we turn the page, we want social media links on the left hand side and also by the author on the right hand side. Is this possible? I've been racking my brain trying to get this to work! Any help is appreciated.


Hi Lyra,

Vellum will automatically place end matter elements, like the About the Author and Also By, so that they begin on the right hand side of a page spread. Unfortunately, there is no way to change this behavior.

However, if your About the Author is two pages long (or, really, any even number of pages), then there won't be a blank page between your About the Author and Also By elements. So, if you were to pad out the text in the About the Author page, you could force your social links to the next (left hand) page, and then your Also By would begin on the right.

Hope that helps!


----------



## LyraParish

We actually found a work around to force this to happen for our print.


----------



## Cherise

Erica Alexander said:


> For those using header images or other images in Vellum (excluding cover), what image resolution size are you using?
> 
> Trying to figure what's the lowest resolution I can use--to save on file size--and still have a good final product. Thank you.


I think Vellum adjusts the image file size down to the minimum for ebooks, but I hope Brad will comment, as this is my question, too. I know Vellum converts color photos to black and white automatically, for print.


----------



## Brad West

Cherise said:


> I think Vellum adjusts the image file size down to the minimum for ebooks, but I hope Brad will comment, as this is my question, too. I know Vellum converts color photos to black and white automatically, for print.


Vellum does provide recommendations about what size an image should be to ensure a quality result in print and on high resolution devices like an iPad or a Kindle Fire HD. You'll see this in places like the popover for inline images, shown here:
https://help.vellum.pub/inline-images/#properties

Vellum will also resize an image if it's larger than it needs to be. A page of text in the Kindle app for iPad is 1280 pixels wide, so any images larger than this will be resized for the Kindle version of your ebook.

Vellum won't make images smaller than that, however.

One thing to keep in mind for Kindle is that KindleGen, which Vellum uses to produce a mobi file, performs its own image optimization to produce the mobi7 version of your book. Because it is this version that is used to compute delivery costs, you can often include high resolution images in your book and only be charged for the lower resolution versions. More about file size and delivery costs can be found here:
https://help.vellum.pub/file-size/

There are, however, scenarios where you can make changes to your images that make for a better optimization than what KindleGen will do. If you have a simple black and white graphic, for example, saving it in the GIF format can give you a small file size even with a high resolution image.

It can take some experimentation based on your particular images to find the right balance on Kindle. As discussed in the page above, though, you'll want to base your decisions on the delivery cost reported by KDP, and not the size of the mobi file generated by KindleGen.

I know that's a long-winded answer, but hope that helps.


----------



## Cherise

I was hoping for a long-winded answer, Brad. Thank you.



Brad West said:


> Vellum does provide recommendations about what size an image should be to ensure a quality result in print and on high resolution devices like an iPad or a Kindle Fire HD. You'll see this in places like the popover for inline images, shown here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/inline-images/#properties
> 
> Vellum will also resize an image if it's larger than it needs to be. A page of text in the Kindle app for iPad is 1280 pixels wide, so any images larger than this will be resized for the Kindle version of your ebook.
> 
> Vellum won't make images smaller than that, however.
> 
> One thing to keep in mind for Kindle is that KindleGen, which Vellum uses to produce a mobi file, performs its own image optimization to produce the mobi7 version of your book. Because it is this version that is used to compute delivery costs, you can often include high resolution images in your book and only be charged for the lower resolution versions. More about file size and delivery costs can be found here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/file-size/
> 
> There are, however, scenarios where you can make changes to your images that make for a better optimization than what KindleGen will do. If you have a simple black and white graphic, for example, saving it in the GIF format can give you a small file size even with a high resolution image.
> 
> It can take some experimentation based on your particular images to find the right balance on Kindle. As discussed in the page above, though, you'll want to base your decisions on the delivery cost reported by KDP, and not the size of the mobi file generated by KindleGen.
> 
> I know that's a long-winded answer, but hope that helps.


----------



## Sarah Barbour

Apologies if this has been asked before (I looked, but … long thread).

I'm trying to create a table of contents for a print book. Each chapter has three distinct elements: the chapter; one page of prompts; and a blank page to write notes. Because the notes and prompts are separate elements from the chapter, the TOC looks like this:

Chapter 1....p. x

Prompts ....p. y
Notes .......p. z


Is there anyway to incorporate the Prompts and the Notes in the chapter, at least as far as the TOC is concerned? I'd like it to read:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
etc.

Thank you!


----------



## Guest

I have a tiny suggestion... for the "about the author" page, would it be possible to add the links for Instagram and Pinterest? At the moment it only allows FB and Twitter (and shows the icons) but I am more active on Instagram and Pinterest but have to add the full link, which doesn't look as tidy


----------



## GirlWriter

> I have a tiny suggestion... for the "about the author" page, would it be possible to add the links for Instagram and Pinterest? At the moment it only allows FB and Twitter (and shows the icons) but I am more active on Instagram and Pinterest but have to add the full link, which doesn't look as tidy


I second this and would also suggest Goodreads links as well.

Another thing that I'd love to do is be able to edit the title page and upload my own fonts.


----------



## amdonehere

Hey Vellum guys,

I really wish you all add to the "elements" a way for us to tell our readers a list of our other published work, including thumbnails of book cover images. Right now, we can only recommend one book per page, and it's hard when we have a backlist or if we have a series.

Thanks.


----------



## Guest

AlexaKang said:


> I really wish you all add to the "elements" a way for us to tell our readers a list of our other published work, including thumbnails of book cover images. Right now, we can only recommend one book per page, and it's hard when we have a backlist or if we have a series.


You can do that already (although not with thumbnails). I use the also by element to include all my titles/series and I love that once I add all the store links, the ebook files automatically include the relevant links for each store.


----------



## SugarBear57

Tilly said:


> You can do that already (although not with thumbnails). I use the also by element to include all my titles/series and I love that once I add all the store links, the ebook files automatically include the relevant links for each store.


Yeah, agreed - that's what "also by" is for. And you can put in small version of your hyperlinked book covers very easily as images - you can change the sizes.

http://help.vellum.pub/inline-images/


----------



## amdonehere

Tilly said:


> You can do that already (although not with thumbnails). I use the also by element to include all my titles/series and I love that once I add all the store links, the ebook files automatically include the relevant links for each store.


I already do that. I want to include the thumbnail cover image.



SugarBear57 said:


> Yeah, agreed - that's what "also by" is for. And you can put in small version of your hyperlinked book covers very easily as images - you can change the sizes.
> 
> http://help.vellum.pub/inline-images/


I don't like adding my own small size images. I'm not techie and I don't have the tools or skills to make high resolution small images. I don't want to spend hours dealing with KDP telling me my pixel is not high resolution of whatever problems they have with me when I upload a book.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

Writing my NaNoWriMo novel straight into the program because I can't be bothered with Word right now. I prefer Vellum's side panel and layout.

Just one question--how do I add new parts? Whenever I try it creates a part inside of another part. So it goes back to a header with Part One.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

Nevermind. I figured it out. I just created a bunch of blank chapters, highlighted some, and turned them into a part. Seems like you have to do it that way. I couldn't make a new independent part when I only had one part, couldn't figure out how to make new chapters outside of the part.


----------



## JustThanks

Anyone use the print version of Vellum yet? How do you get a print-ready version that accounts for the mirror margins and bleeds that go into creating a print on demand product? -- Oops. Never mind. I found it here: https://help.vellum.pub/print-settings/


----------



## WDR

JustThanks said:


> Anyone use the print version of Vellum yet? How do you get a print-ready version that accounts for the mirror margins and bleeds that go into creating a print on demand product? -- Oops. Never mind. I found it here: https://help.vellum.pub/print-settings/


I used it for print and it did just fine.

I did make one mistake: I had a brief section of prose that was supposed to be distinct from the narrative. Vellum will not automagically detect a small section like that and treated the lines as paragraphs in section changes due to the extra line between each line. It made a mess of it that I completely missed.

I caught the error when I ordered a print for myself and flipped through it; my eye caught the discrepancy. I went into Vellum, corrected the mistake by removing my formatting from the prose and set the section as a block quote.


----------



## SND

Mac OS High Sierra; ok to update?


----------



## kenbritz

SND said:


> Mac OS High Sierra; ok to update?


I've been running it in High Sierra here. No issues for me.


----------



## Bella Breen

Do you have any current Vellum discounts for NaNoWriMo authors? Or any discounts in general?


----------



## GirlWriter

HELP!!!! I just got the new Vellum update and now there's nothing displayed in the preview pane.

I don't have High Sierra yet. I have Sierra 10.12

I have 2 books to format today and tomorrow.

What's happening!!!!


----------



## Brad Andalman

Erica Alexander said:


> HELP!!!! I just got the new Vellum update and now there's nothing displayed in the preview pane.
> 
> I don't have High Sierra yet. I have Sierra 10.12
> 
> I have 2 books to format today and tomorrow.
> 
> What's happening!!!!


Hi Erica,

We've heard from another person with a similar issue. Can you contact us directly, and let us know the exact version of Sierra you are using? You can find that information in the *About This Mac* menu item accessible from the  menu.


----------



## GirlWriter

I emailed support with screenshots. Thank you.


----------



## GirlWriter

To the Brads: Thank you for the superfast workaround.


----------



## DIAMONDSINTHESKY

Having similar issues with Vellum myself. I want to purchase the $250 package to do both E-Book and book formatting. I've downloaded something as suggested from the main page. Really not sure what I am doing from here and cannot find any prompts to go any further or purchase the actual software. I am sure I am just being really dense. Unfortunately, also I am a PC User, the Mac mainly gets used for editing in my office, but otherwise is a little alien to me, so do please be patient.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Erica Alexander said:


> To the Brads: Thank you for the superfast workaround.


In case anyone else has the same issue, can you or the Brads post what the workaround is? (I haven't applied the update yet and don't want to get caught in a problem.)


----------



## Used To Be BH

DIAMONDSINTHESKY said:


> Having similar issues with Vellum myself. I want to purchase the $250 package to do both E-Book and book formatting. I've downloaded something as suggested from the main page. Really not sure what I am doing from here and cannot find any prompts to go any further or purchase the actual software. I am sure I am just being really dense. Unfortunately, also I am a PC User, the Mac mainly gets used for editing in my office, but otherwise is a little alien to me, so do please be patient.


I'm a PC guy myself, but I don't remember running into the problem you're describing. When I get the chance, I'll look on the Macbook I use for Vellum and see what I can figure out.


----------



## Used To Be BH

DIAMONDSINTHESKY said:


> Having similar issues with Vellum myself. I want to purchase the $250 package to do both E-Book and book formatting. I've downloaded something as suggested from the main page. Really not sure what I am doing from here and cannot find any prompts to go any further or purchase the actual software. I am sure I am just being really dense. Unfortunately, also I am a PC User, the Mac mainly gets used for editing in my office, but otherwise is a little alien to me, so do please be patient.


First, follow the instructions to actually install Vellum. Here's a recent explanation: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25083?locale=en_US Since Vellum isn't downloaded from the app store, follow the directions for "apps downloaded from the internet."

Once Vellum is installed, go to the Applications folder and click on it to open it. Then click the far left menu labeled "Vellum." Click on the menu item, "Purchases." In my case, it shows me my license. In your case, it should give you option to purchase one of the packages.

I know that worked for me, so it should work for you as well.


----------



## Brad West

Bill Hiatt said:


> In case anyone else has the same issue, can you or the Brads post what the workaround is? (I haven't applied the update yet and don't want to get caught in a problem.)


We've identified some problems with Vellum 2.0.6 for users running early versions of macOS Sierra (10.12.0 through 10.12.3). If you are using one of these versions, we'd recommend holding off on upgrading to 2.0.6. More current versions of Sierra (e.g. 10.12.5, 10.12.6) are not affected, nor are any versions of El Capitan or High Sierra.

Because Erica was using one of these affected versions, we sent her instructions for how to manually revert back to Vellum 2.0.5.

We're currently testing a fix that we plan to release later today. In the meantime, if any one else experiences these issues in the Preview, please contact us and we'll help you get working again.

_Update: Vellum 2.0.7 is now available, and includes a fix for this issue_


----------



## Used To Be BH

Brad West said:


> We've identified some problems with Vellum 2.0.6 for users running early versions of macOS Sierra (10.12.0 through 10.12.3). If you are using one of these versions, we'd recommend holding off on upgrading to 2.0.6. More current versions of Sierra (e.g. 10.12.5, 10.12.6) are not affected, nor are any versions of El Capitan or High Sierra.
> 
> Because Erica was using one of these affected versions, we sent her instructions for how to manually revert back to Vellum 2.0.5.
> 
> We're currently testing a fix that we plan to release later today. In the meantime, if any one else experiences these issues in the Preview, please contact us and we'll help you get working again.


Thanks for the quick, specific response and the speed with which you're addressing the issue. That's one of the reasons your company is so successful.


----------



## kenbritz

I’d like to replace the ornamental break with a custom one, but replacing with an image results in something consistently larger than the ornamental break provided with the existing style. Also, it would be nice to have versions of the custom ornamental break for various kindle color modes (I typically read in dark mode, so generic white inline images pop out pretty badly).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Brad West

kenbritz said:


> I'd like to replace the ornamental break with a custom one, but replacing with an image results in something consistently larger than the ornamental break provided with the existing style. Also, it would be nice to have versions of the custom ornamental break for various kindle color modes (I typically read in dark mode, so generic white inline images pop out pretty badly).


Thanks Ken, we do have a suggestion on file for providing your own ornamental break image, and I'll add your name to it. We don't have a timeline for this right now, however.

We agree that it'd be nice to change the particular image based on color scheme. Unfortunately, Kindle does not provide any way for an ebook to respond to color mode. We do try to make Vellum's built-in ornaments work in night mode by surrounding them with a white outline, which you can see by changing the color scheme in Vellum's Preview. Regretfully, this doesn't work as well with Amazon's "Enhanced Typesetting." Because Enhanced Typesetting doesn't support any form of transparency in images, there just isn't any way to avoid those bright white rectangles in night mode.



Rickie Blair said:


> I'd really like to do mass-market paperbacks for my cozies, which would bring the price down for readers. Do you have any plans for a 4x7 or 4.25x7 print size? (Both are allowed at Ingram Spark.)


Thanks for the suggestion! We do we receive requests for a mass-market option, but we get several different answers when we ask for a particular trim size. When this is something we're ready to work on, we plan to send out a survey so we can nail down a specific size (or sizes). Support at IngramSpark is definitely something we'll keep in mind.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Removed due to site owner's change to TOS.


----------



## Word Fan

Rickie Blair said:


> KDP Print unfortunately doesn't offer anything smaller than 5x8, and I don't think CreateSpace does, either.


Don't just "think," know for sure before you spread incorrect information. 

Per the Createspace _PDF Submission Specification_ booklet, page 32: the minimum trim size is 4 inches wide by 6 inches high. This was mentioned in another post a few months back.


----------



## GeneDoucette

I'm trying to format a book as follows:

Chapter 1
Part 1

Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Part 2

Chapter 4
Chapter 5

etc

It does some funky things when I try either dragging Chapter 1 out of part one, or when dragging Part 1 down past Chapter 1.


----------



## It&#039;s A Mystery

GeneDoucette said:


> I'm trying to format a book as follows:
> 
> Chapter 1
> Part 1
> 
> Chapter 2
> Chapter 3
> 
> Part 2
> 
> Chapter 4
> Chapter 5
> 
> etc
> 
> It does some funky things when I try either dragging Chapter 1 out of part one, or when dragging Part 1 down past Chapter 1.


Hi Gene, can't help with the vellum question, but I'm interested to know why chapter 1 can't be an epilogue in that structure?


----------



## GeneDoucette

A.G.B said:


> Hi Gene, can't help with the vellum question, but I'm interested to know why chapter 1 can't be an epilogue in that structure?


It can be a prologue, but I'd rather it wasn't. It's just a stylistic choice. The book has four parts broken down into months. The first chapter isn't a part of the first month. So in other words, "Part One: March" is everything from chapters 2-6. Chapter 1 isn't so temporally specific.


----------



## It&#039;s A Mystery

GeneDoucette said:


> It can be a prologue, but I'd rather it wasn't. It's just a stylistic choice. The book has four parts broken down into months. The first chapter isn't a part of the first month. So in other words, "Part One: March" is everything from chapters 2-6. Chapter 1 isn't so temporally specific.


Ah I see, makes sense!


----------



## Abalone

Is there a way to remove the "Made with Vellum" byline in the copyright or is that a permanent fixture?


----------



## WDR

Abalone said:


> Is there a way to remove the "Made with Vellum" byline in the copyright or is that a permanent fixture?


Yes, there is a checkmark for it on the "Copyright" page in the "Contents" mode of Vellum.


----------



## DIAMONDSINTHESKY

Bill Hiatt said:


> First, follow the instructions to actually install Vellum. Here's a recent explanation: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25083?locale=en_US Since Vellum isn't downloaded from the app store, follow the directions for "apps downloaded from the internet."
> 
> Once Vellum is installed, go to the Applications folder and click on it to open it. Then click the far left menu labeled "Vellum." Click on the menu item, "Purchases." In my case, it shows me my license. In your case, it should give you option to purchase one of the packages.
> 
> I know that worked for me, so it should work for you as well.


Thanks, Bill, all sorted. I love this software. Fortunately, Mark Gardner has helped me with a few things. Waiting on my book from the proofreaders now, then I can get stuck in, but played around with the software with an older draft. I am actually really enjoying it. So satisfying to see your book actually taking shape on screen and properly formatted.


----------



## saklopfenstein

Hi, I am playing around with Vellum software. I'm a fantasy writer and plan to have a full page world map at the beginning of the book. However, the only way I've found to bring in the map in Vellum is as an in-line image, which is much too small for my purposes, particularly for print. Is there a way to have an image fill the entire page in Vellum?


----------



## Gerald

I wonder if there's going to be any special Black Friday deals on ... you know ... really great software? *wink* *wink*


----------



## 91831

Hi,

Sorry to bother here, but I'm a bit stuck.

I'm using Mac In Cloud in order to use your software and it tells me there's an update, but I keep getting this when I try and install it:










I can't find any Vellum details to use and my Mac In Cloud details don't work either. So how do I update?

Thanks!

Victoria


----------



## SugarBear57

evdarcy said:


> I'm using Mac In Cloud in order to use your software and it tells me there's an update, but I keep getting this when I try and install it:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I can't find any Vellum details to use and my Mac In Cloud details don't work either. So how do I update?


Send in a new support ticket to Mac in Cloud. Vellum can't help you with your system permissions to install their update.
https://support.macincloud.com/support/home


----------



## 91831

SugarBear57 said:


> Send in a new support ticket to Mac in Cloud. Vellum can't help you with your system permissions to install their update.
> https://support.macincloud.com/support/home


Brilliant. Thanks!


----------



## Amy Maroney

Hello, I'm formatting a book in Vellum for the first time. Loving the ease of use and how great everything looks. However, I'm stuck on one thing. Each of my chapters has a "subheading" (i.e. Chapter 1. Autumn, 1483.) Vellum makes the A in Autumn the drop cap, rather than converting the first letter of the first word in the chapter's text to a drop cap. Is there a way around this? I can't find reference to a fix in the Vellum troubleshooting info.Thanks for any help you can give me.


----------



## SugarBear57

Amy Maroney said:


> Each of my chapters has a "subheading" (i.e. Chapter 1. Autumn, 1483.) Vellum makes the A in Autumn the drop cap, rather than converting the first letter of the first word in the chapter's text to a drop cap.


Add Subtitle: http://help.vellum.pub/headings/

Alternate method: put Autumn, 1483 in an alignment block, and then the drop cap will apply to the first letter of the first word of the body text.


----------



## saklopfenstein

Amy Maroney said:


> Hello, I'm formatting a book in Vellum for the first time. Loving the ease of use and how great everything looks. However, I'm stuck on one thing. Each of my chapters has a "subheading" (i.e. Chapter 1. Autumn, 1483.) Vellum makes the A in Autumn the drop cap, rather than converting the first letter of the first word in the chapter's text to a drop cap. Is there a way around this? I can't find reference to a fix in the Vellum troubleshooting info.Thanks for any help you can give me.


I had the same problem. If you select that text and then apply an Alignment Block, which is in the dropdown in your taskbar, it should solve that.


----------



## Kyle Alexander Romines

I can't believe it took me so long to discover this thread. I have never heard of Vellum before. I am used to paying whatever cover design team I'm using to do formatting as well. Based on what I have read here and on their website, it sounds like Vellum is a formatting program that will format my manuscripts into paperback and ebooks. Is that correct? Are there any downsides or issues I should be aware of? If not, this might be my Christmas gift to me, because I would save a lot of money by not having to pay for formatting.


----------



## SND

Kyle,

I endorse Vellum as a Christmas present from you to you. As you research further you'll find Vellum is showered and garlanded with praise. The only niggles I've come across is that some writers would like a greater variety of 'styles' to be on offer. And some authors have very specific formatting needs with their manuscript where Vellum may fall short. For the majority of authors, if I may be so bold as to speak for the majority of authors , those are non-issues and more choice would potentially compromise it's main attraction which is simplicity and ease of use.


While I'm here I'll mention one advantage I haven't read about elsewhere. I write directly into Vellum, rather than importing a document from elsewhere, and when you see the pages fill up in in the preview screen on the right-hand-side in whatever device is selected (paperwhite, iPad etc.) it gives a sense of forward progress in the manuscript in a way that I don't get when writing in other programs. It somehow makes the goal of finishing seem closer and more tangible.

My two cents. Keep the change and Merry Christmas.


----------



## Used To Be BH

SND said:


> Kyle,
> 
> I endorse Vellum as a Christmas present from you to you. As you research further you'll find Vellum is showered and garlanded with praise. The only niggles I've come across is that some writers would like a greater variety of 'styles' to be on offer. And some authors have very specific formatting needs with their manuscript where Vellum may fall short. For the majority of authors, if I may be so bold as to speak for the majority of authors , those are non-issues and more choice would potentially compromise it's main attraction which is simplicity and ease of use.
> 
> While I'm here I'll mention one advantage I haven't read about elsewhere. I write directly into Vellum, rather than importing a document from elsewhere, and when you see the pages fill up in in the preview screen on the right-hand-side in whatever device is selected (paperwhite, iPad etc.) it gives a sense of forward progress in the manuscript in a way that I don't get when writing in other programs. It somehow makes the goal of finishing seem closer and more tangible.
> 
> My two cents. Keep the change and Merry Christmas.


I'd agree. The one caveat is that some aspects of Vellum can't be customized, but if you like the output Vellum produces, it's much faster than doing it yourself and much cheaper than paying someone to do the format (depending on how many books you intend to write).

The company is small but it's very responsive and corrects glitches when they occur pretty fast.


----------



## Amy Maroney

SugarBear57 said:


> Add Subtitle: http://help.vellum.pub/headings/
> 
> Alternate method: put Autumn, 1483 in an alignment block, and then the drop cap will apply to the first letter of the first word of the body text.


Thanks so much SugarBear57! I'll try these options.


----------



## Amy Maroney

saklopfenstein said:


> I had the same problem. If you select that text and then apply an Alignment Block, which is in the dropdown in your taskbar, it should solve that.


Thank you Saklopfenstein! I'm so glad I found this thread


----------



## Kyle Alexander Romines

SND said:


> Kyle,
> 
> I endorse Vellum as a Christmas present from you to you. As you research further you'll find Vellum is showered and garlanded with praise. The only niggles I've come across is that some writers would like a greater variety of 'styles' to be on offer. And some authors have very specific formatting needs with their manuscript where Vellum may fall short. For the majority of authors, if I may be so bold as to speak for the majority of authors , those are non-issues and more choice would potentially compromise it's main attraction which is simplicity and ease of use.
> 
> While I'm here I'll mention one advantage I haven't read about elsewhere. I write directly into Vellum, rather than importing a document from elsewhere, and when you see the pages fill up in in the preview screen on the right-hand-side in whatever device is selected (paperwhite, iPad etc.) it gives a sense of forward progress in the manuscript in a way that I don't get when writing in other programs. It somehow makes the goal of finishing seem closer and more tangible.
> 
> My two cents. Keep the change and Merry Christmas.





Bill Hiatt said:


> I'd agree. The one caveat is that some aspects of Vellum can't be customized, but if you like the output Vellum produces, it's much faster than doing it yourself and much cheaper than paying someone to do the format (depending on how many books you intend to write).
> 
> The company is small but it's very responsive and corrects glitches when they occur pretty fast.


Thank you both for your feedback! I usually pay $100-$200 extra for formatting( in addition to what I pay for a cover), so the cost of this package would pay for itself in two books. This looks like another great Kboards discovery.


----------



## Dragonwriter11

Hi,

I just started playing with Vellum and I really like it--planning to make the purchase this weekend. But I have a few questions, for things I couldn't figure out how to do and didn't see (or managed to miss) in the help files:

1. Can you suppress the default title page? My cover artist sends me a graphical title page that looks much nicer, and I'd prefer to use that. I could use both, but it would look nicer IMO if I only had the one.
2. Can you suppress items from showing up in the Table of Contents (like the copyright page, for example.) I figured out how to rename it so it shows as "Copyright" instead of "Untitled," but I'd like to get rid of the ToC entry completely and have the ToC start with "Chapter 1."
3. Can you alter the chapter headings? There's one with just a number, but the number is tiny. I'd like to make it larger.
4. I substitute a graphic for an ornamental break. It looks good, except Vellum seems to force me to add an extra blank line either before or after the graphic in order for the first paragraph of the new section to not be indented and to start with small caps. (If I don't add the line, it starts indented with no small caps). I suppose I could add the small caps manually, but I couldn't find where to set a paragraph to unindented. Ideally I'd just like to have this happen automatically.

Thanks much! I can't believe I waited this long to try Vellum.


----------



## saklopfenstein

Kyle Alexander Romines said:


> Thank you both for your feedback! I usually pay $100-$200 extra for formatting( in addition to what I pay for a cover), so the cost of this package would pay for itself in two books. This looks like another great Kboards discovery.


I hear you, Kyle. I am about to purchase it as well. As I was scoping out prices, I estimated I would have to pay nearly as much as Vellum costs to get equivalent quality from someone else for only ONE book. The more I have been playing with it, the more I think it does everything that I need, with minimal effort and time. After the first book, it will be a huge money saver.


----------



## FelissaEly

Dragonwriter11 said:


> 1. Can you suppress the default title page? My cover artist sends me a graphical title page that looks much nicer, and I'd prefer to use that. I could use both, but it would look nicer IMO if I only had the one.


Oh my gosh, I came here wondering this exact same thing for the exact same reason!!! How weird, lol! But I agree, if there's a way to suppress the headings from showing there should be a way to suppress or assign a different page as the title page. Or I *hope* it will be a soon added feature


----------



## Gerald

Sorry to start a new question, but:

Scrivener 3 vs Vellum for formatting book files?

N.B. I already use Scriv 2.something. Compile is a complete dog's dinner. I heard they improved it for Scriv3, but updating for me would mean changing to OS X High Sierra, and losing MS Office and various other programs. But that's okay if Scriv3 is really an improvement, and matches (or nearly so) the formatting capabilities of Vellum.

Thank you.


----------



## NoLongerPosting

Gerald said:


> Sorry to start a new question, but:
> 
> Scrivener 3 vs Vellum for formatting book files?
> 
> N.B. I already use Scriv 2.something. Compile is a complete dog's dinner. I heard they improved it for Scriv3, but updating for me would mean changing to OS X High Sierra, and losing MS Office and various other programs. But that's okay if Scriv3 is really an improvement, and matches (or nearly so) the formatting capabilities of Vellum.
> 
> Thank you.


I recently updated to Scriv 3 and I don't have High Sierra. It works fine on Sierra. (I can't comment on the compile feature, since I use Vellum and would never go back.)


----------



## TBD

Gerald said:


> Sorry to start a new question, but:
> 
> Scrivener 3 vs Vellum for formatting book files?
> 
> N.B. I already use Scriv 2.something. Compile is a complete dog's dinner. I heard they improved it for Scriv3, but updating for me would mean changing to OS X High Sierra, and losing MS Office and various other programs. But that's okay if Scriv3 is really an improvement, and matches (or nearly so) the formatting capabilities of Vellum.
> 
> Thank you.


I write in Scriv (I keep each series -- Books AND Bible -- in ONE Scriv project per series on my PC. I compile each finished book into a Word docx and then open in my Mac and format the final version using Vellum. I do correct the docx as I need it for Vellum corrections so I have a final accurate WORD and Vellum at the end of the process ;-)


----------



## Used To Be BH

TBD said:


> I write in Scriv (I keep each series -- Books AND Bible -- in ONE Scriv project per series on my PC. I compile each finished book into a Word docx and then open in my Mac and format the final version using Vellum. I do correct the docx as I need it for Vellum corrections so I have a final accurate WORD and Vellum at the end of the process ;-)


When I first discovered Vellum, I wrote in Scrivener and formatted in Vellum. Later I switched to Word for the writing, but the point that the two are not mutually exclusive is a good one.

Unlike some in this thread, I actually never had a problem formatting an ebook in Scrivener. For me, the biggest selling point for Vellum (if you can live without stuff like drop caps) is the paperback formatting. I found that much easier in Vellum. With Scrivener I exported to Word and tinkered to get the layout I wanted.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

It's true you don't need High Sierra for Scrivener 3. El Capitan or higher.

I've never tried to format an ebook for publication from Scrivener, because before I ever got Scrivener I had started formatting another way and continued with it. I did quick compilations from Scriv for beta readers but exported an rtf and worked on it in WordPerfect once I was getting ready to publish. When Amazon stopped supporting the way I was using, I looked at other programs and methods and in the end went to Vellum, but still used WP for a pdf for paperbacks.

Now that Vellum does both ebooks and paperbacks, I'll skip WP.

I do think with some experimentation one could produce a great ebook with Scrivener and it would allow a little more individualism in design if desired. And, for me at least, it's not as if Vellum has no learning curve at all. Just going through every possible combination of styles and deciding which to use took me quite a while and then there was figuring out a few other features.

As to Scrivener and paperbacks, I haven't a clue, but I have seen posts by KBoards members who used it for that and were happy with it and that's even before version 3.

I think we all decide based on our own budgets and preferences, just as we decide whether to use Scriv for writing in the first place vs. a word processor or other program.


----------



## DIAMONDSINTHESKY

Hi Vellum,

So finally got my manuscript back from the proofreader and editor and about to drop it into Vellum today to do my final personal check on everything. 

I wanted to ask - my proofreader has made notes within my word, will these disappear on Vellum and are they easy to remove if not? I work off PC normally but do have a MAC. Just off to get a new keyboard for it today, as I can't stand the one that we have on the MAC in the office. (My own keyboard on my PC is the same one I used from 2001!)


----------



## WDR

DIAMONDSINTHESKY said:


> Hi Vellum,
> 
> So finally got my manuscript back from the proofreader and editor and about to drop it into Vellum today to do my final personal check on everything.
> 
> I wanted to ask - my proofreader has made notes within my word, will these disappear on Vellum and are they easy to remove if not? I work off PC normally but do have a MAC. Just off to get a new keyboard for it today, as I can't stand the one that we have on the MAC in the office. (My own keyboard on my PC is the same one I used from 2001!)


They should disappear. At least that's what my testing shows when I insert comments into a document, export to DOCX, and then import that into Vellum.


----------



## Brad West

Dragonwriter11 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just started playing with Vellum and I really like it--planning to make the purchase this weekend. But I have a few questions, for things I couldn't figure out how to do and didn't see (or managed to miss) in the help files:


Hi Dragonwriter11, I'll answer your questions below:



> 1. Can you suppress the default title page? My cover artist sends me a graphical title page that looks much nicer, and I'd prefer to use that. I could use both, but it would look nicer IMO if I only had the one.


Currently, there is not a way to disable Vellum's automatically-generated Title Page. Since the release of 2.0, we've received a number of requests for this, and so we are investigating options for a future update to Vellum. Stay tuned in early 2018.



Dragonwriter11]
2. Can you suppress items from showing up in the Table of Contents (like the copyright page said:


> Hi Vellum,
> 
> I wanted to ask - my proofreader has made notes within my word, will these disappear on Vellum and are they easy to remove if not?


Yes. When Vellum imports your manuscript it only looks for the content, and ignores any notes that may have been added by a proofreader. You won't have to worry about these finding their way into your book.

Hope that helps!


----------



## DIAMONDSINTHESKY

WDR said:


> They should disappear. At least that's what my testing shows when I insert comments into a document, export to DOCX, and then import that into Vellum.


Thank you!


----------



## Dragonwriter11

Brad West said:


> Hi Dragonwriter11, I'll answer your questions below:
> 
> Currently, there is not a way to disable Vellum's automatically-generated Title Page. Since the release of 2.0, we've received a number of requests for this, and so we are investigating options for a future update to Vellum. Stay tuned in early 2018.
> 
> Vellum will exclude a Copyright element from your Table of Contents. For this to work, though, you'll need to let Vellum know the page is a Copyright. You can do that using the Convert To menu, which will allow you to convert an Uncategorized element to a Copyright.
> 
> There is not a way to adjust the size of a heading, though these do adapt to different devices for your ebook and to different trim sizes in your print edition. If a heading option is too small for you, we'd recommend trying a different Book Style or Heading style.
> 
> At the moment, these are the only options if you're using an image to approximate ornamental break. We do have a request on file for custom ornamental breaks, and I'll add your name to this. We don't have a timeline for when this will be available in Vellum, however.
> 
> Hope those answers help.


Thank you for those answers! Very helpful to know what I can and can't do.


----------



## Brad West

Quills said:


> Is there a way to take a Vellum file and import it into another Vellum file? I've just realised that when I made some corrections straight into Vellum for book 1, I neglected to do them in the Vellum box set file as well.


Hi Quills,

You can import a Vellum file into another by just dragging it into the Navigator on the left, as seen here:
https://help.vellum.pub/box-sets/#adding-books

I should note, though, that just like importing a Word document, importing a Vellum file copies all of the information from the original. So if you find you need to make a correction afterward, you will need to make it in both places.

Hope that helps.


----------



## deprox

Can you properly import tables in vellum ?

I tried to import a .doc with tables but i can't see them in vellum.

Does it happen to you too ? suggestions ?

thanks


----------



## Used To Be BH

deprox said:


> Can you properly import tables in vellum ?
> 
> I tried to import a .doc with tables but i can't see them in vellum.
> 
> Does it happen to you too ? suggestions ?
> 
> thanks


Vellum doesn't support tables. It's really geared for fiction, and most fiction doesn't use tables.


----------



## yellowlycra

Can i have the same front and back matter across all my titles in Vellum, without having to change each and every book file? any short cuts?


----------



## Used To Be BH

yellowlycra said:


> Can i have the same front and back matter across all my titles in Vellum, without having to change each and every book file? any short cuts?


There isn't an automated routine, but it's relatively easy to copy from one Vellum title to another as long as both are open at the same time. Some people have a separate file that's just front and back matter. Of course, if you change the front or back matter, you do have to manually copy the new material to each book. There isn't any way around that, yet.

The aggregator D2D has a system like that, but to use it you'd have to format through D2D rather than using Vellum.


----------



## yellowlycra

I have some text in bold in my docx file, which Vellum is reading as a chapter. how can i convert a chapter to main body of the book? newbie here


----------



## 98368

How well does Vellum hyphenate? That's actually my #1 problem with using Word for typesetting, since Word 2016's idea of hyphenation includes, for example:
alt-
hough

and

re-
al

I'm not kidding.


----------



## 97251

I migrated to an old computer and can't install KindleGen. 

If I go through the Vellum window, I click on Download and nothing happens. 

I can go straight to Amazon and download KindleGen. Then I have to open it, open Terminal, and it's super complicated. Anyways, instructions followed. But it doesn't connect to Vellum. It's still asking me to downloand Kindlegen.

Does anyone know what I should do? It worked fine in the other computer.


----------



## Used To Be BH

yellowlycra said:


> I have some text in bold in my docx file, which Vellum is reading as a chapter. how can i convert a chapter to main body of the book? newbie here


I'm not sure what you mean by main body, but what I do if Vellum misidentifies as a separate chapter is copy and paste to where I want it then delete the superfluous chapter.

The bolding shouldn't trigger a chapter break, though. It's usually spacing that causes that, at least in my experience.


----------



## Used To Be BH

RTW said:


> How well does Vellum hyphenate? That's actually my #1 problem with using Word for typesetting, since Word 2016's idea of hyphenation includes, for example:
> alt-
> hough
> 
> and
> 
> re-
> al
> 
> I'm not kidding.


Hmmm. I've never had that problem with Word. At times it does break a word that should be broken according to CMOS, like want-ed (because you can't break a word in such a way that only two letters go to the next line.

That said, I just ran through the first five chapters of a print version I made a little while ago with Vellum, and every hyphenation is in the right spot. There aren't as many as I would typically see with Word, I suspect in part because Vellum may adjust the kerning automatically to minimize the number. It does a lot of things you'd have to do by hand in word, which is one of the reasons it's faster.

Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, Vellum breaks words appropriately.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Day Leitao said:


> I migrated to an old computer and can't install KindleGen.
> 
> If I go through the Vellum window, I click on Download and nothing happens.
> 
> I can go straight to Amazon and download KindleGen. Then I have to open it, open Terminal, and it's super complicated. Anyways, instructions followed. But it doesn't connect to Vellum. It's still asking me to downloand Kindlegen.
> 
> Does anyone know what I should do? It worked fine in the other computer.


I'm afraid that's a problem I haven't encountered. A regular Mac user can probably do better for you. One should respond soon.


----------



## WDR

Day Leitao said:


> I migrated to an old computer and can't install KindleGen.
> 
> If I go through the Vellum window, I click on Download and nothing happens.
> 
> I can go straight to Amazon and download KindleGen. Then I have to open it, open Terminal, and it's super complicated. Anyways, instructions followed. But it doesn't connect to Vellum. It's still asking me to downloand Kindlegen.
> 
> Does anyone know what I should do? It worked fine in the other computer.


If you migrated to an older computer, I would suspect that the version of Java installed needs to be updated to the most recent version.


----------



## 97251

Thanks for the answers!  

I'll see what I can do.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Quills said:


> I'm having trouble with chapter headings when viewing a Vellum mobi file on my ipad kindle app. The chapter headings are all slightly off centre (to the right). I've checked the original word doc to make sure there isn't any additional hidden formatting but I'm not sure what else to look for. Any suggestions?


I would recommend an experiment. Type a very small file with at least one chapter heading in Vellum, then create a mobi and see how it looks in the ipad kindle app. If it looks fine, the problem is with your source document. If not, then I'd recommend reaching out to Vellum tech support.

If the problem turns out to be with the source file, check and make sure your chapter style doesn't have a superfluous paragraph indent by mistake. I made exactly that mistake once, and it produces the chapter title slightly to the right. It's possible Vellum corrects that kind of formatting issue during conversion, but it would definitely be something to check.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Happy New Year, everyone! Looks like we've got some questions to answer:



Quills said:


> I'm having trouble with chapter headings when viewing a Vellum mobi file on my ipad kindle app. The chapter headings are all slightly off centre (to the right). I've checked the original word doc to make sure there isn't any additional hidden formatting but I'm not sure what else to look for. Any suggestions?


Unfortunately, when you sideload a mobi file into the Kindle app for iOS, it will display your book using Amazon's older mobi7 format. You won't see drop caps or ornaments, and mobi7 can be a bit...overzealous about indenting.

This won't affect readers who purchase your book through Amazon, though. To get an idea of what they'll see, we currently recommend making use of Kindle Previewer, available here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000765261



Day Leitao said:


> I migrated to an old computer and can't install KindleGen.


You shouldn't have to do anything special in order to get this to work. If you are still having issues, please contact us  directly with any information you have about what is failing, and we'll help you install KindleGen.



RTW said:


> How well does Vellum hyphenate?


For your print edition, Vellum will only hyphenate words if the "fragment" on either side of the hyphen is four or more letters. So, you won't see the kinds of unsightly examples that you've seen in Word.



yellowlycra said:


> I have some text in bold in my docx file, which Vellum is reading as a chapter. how can i convert a chapter to main body of the book? newbie here


If Vellum is creating a chapter break where you don't want one, you can merge chapters by selecting them both (click on one, hold down the *Command* key and click the other) and then choosing *Chapter > Merge Selected Chapters* from Vellum's main menu.


----------



## 97251

WDR said:


> If you migrated to an older computer, I would suspect that the version of Java installed needs to be updated to the most recent version.


Yes! That did the trick. Thank you so much for the tip.


----------



## MongoMan

Hi. I like Vellum a lot, but I am having the following issues.

*1.* I finished writing a non-fiction book and it has the following structure:

cover
copyright
dedication
Introduction
Volume 1: <volume title goes here>
chapter 1 title
chapter 2 title
Volume 2: <volume title goes here>
Part 1:
chapter 3 title
chapter 4 title
chapter 5 title
Part 2:
chapter 6 title
chapter 7 title
chapter 8 title

When I view the generated mobi file in the Kindle app and bring up the sliding contents panel after clicking on the hamburger icon that is located in the top left corner, I see that "Volume 1" and "Volume 2" have a caret symbol besides their names and are expandable and collapsible, but "Part 1" and "Part 2" are not. They don't have a caret symbol besides their names nor are their respective chapters indented to indicate that the respective chapters belong to their corresponding Parts. How can I make the "Parts" behave and look the same way after export the book in vellum to mobi and see it in the Kindle app? By the way, the chapter titles for each "Part" is indented in the actual table of contents that is printed on the table of contents page in the book. It just is not indented in the table of contents panel that flies out when you click on the hamburger icon. Also, when I preview the table of contents within vellum by clicking on the hamburger icon that is located to the far right of the screen, I see the chapters indented for the "Parts" sections though.

*2.* Another issue that I am having is that I want to change the names of the Volume and Parts sections so that they look like this:

cover
copyright
dedication
Introduction
Part 1: <part title goes here>
chapter 1 title
chapter 2 title
Part 2: <part title goes here>
Section 1: 
chapter 3 title
chapter 4 title
chapter 5 title
Section 2: 
chapter 6 title
chapter 7 title
chapter 8 title

I can change the Volume names to "Part 1" etc. by double clicking on the text and changing it and the headings for those pages change to "Part 1 <part title goes here>" etc., but when I change the "Part 1" or "Part 2" names to "Section 1: " etc I see a "i." and "ii." placed before each "Section" name and in the previewer to the right, I still see "Part I" and "Part II" printed at the top of the screen as the heading. Below it is shown the "Section " title. How can I make it so that the "Section: " is the heading of the that page instead of "Part I" or "Part II"?

*3.* The clickable table of contents that is shown in the actual book when viewing it in the Kindle app, but it does not have the title page, copyright, nor dedication page links, only the introduction page of the front mater. What do I need to do to make them appear there? Also I don't see the "title page" listed in the contents panel that slides out when you click on the hamburger icon in the top left corner. How can I make it appear here as well?

I am using the latest version of Kindle App.

Thanks for your help in advance.


----------



## MongoMan

No one knows the answer to my questions? This is very disappointing.  Such a waste of money. I'm considering buying Jutoh and using that instead.


----------



## Shelley K

MongoMan said:


> No one knows the answer to my questions? This is very disappointing. Such a waste of money. I'm considering buying Jutoh and using that instead.


Did you email Vellum support?


----------



## MongoMan

Oh yes, I forgot about having the option of emailing support. I'll do that too.


----------



## Brad Andalman

MongoMan said:


> Hi. I like Vellum a lot, but I am having the following issues.
> 
> *1.* I finished writing a non-fiction book and it has the following structure:
> 
> [... structure elided...]
> 
> When I view the generated mobi file in the Kindle app and bring up the sliding contents panel after clicking on the hamburger icon that is located in the top left corner, I see that "Volume 1" and "Volume 2" have a caret symbol besides their names and are expandable and collapsible, but "Part 1" and "Part 2" are not.


Unfortunately, this is a limitation of the Kindle app - it will only show carets for one level of hierarchy. If this is important to you, we recommend logging a suggestion with KDP Support. We, too, would love it if they'd add this feature!



MongoMan said:


> *2.* Another issue that I am having is that I want to change the names of the Volume and Parts sections so that they look like this:
> 
> [... structure elided ...]
> 
> I can change the Volume names to "Part 1" etc. by double clicking on the text and changing it and the headings for those pages change to "Part 1 <part title goes here>" etc., but when I change the "Part 1" or "Part 2" names to "Section 1: " etc I see a "i." and "ii." placed before each "Section" name and in the previewer to the right, I still see "Part I" and "Part II" printed at the top of the screen as the heading. Below it is shown the "Section " title. How can I make it so that the "Section: " is the heading of the that page instead of "Part I" or "Part II"?


To do this, you might be able to make use of Vellum's *Terminology* dialog:
https://help.vellum.pub/elements/parts/#terminology

Simply set the word for *Volume* to _Part_, and the word for *Part* to _Section_, and you should be able to achieve your desired structure.



MongoMan said:


> *3.* The clickable table of contents that is shown in the actual book when viewing it in the Kindle app, but it does not have the title page, copyright, nor dedication page links, only the introduction page of the front mater. What do I need to do to make them appear there? Also I don't see the "title page" listed in the contents panel that slides out when you click on the hamburger icon in the top left corner. How can I make it appear here as well?


The Title Page, Copyright, and Dedication will not show up in your book's Table of Contents, much like in other professionally-published books. However, they still will show up in the _logical TOC_, which is what's shown when you click the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of your Kindle for Mac app.

Hope that helps!

If you have other, specific questions like this, we recommend getting in touch with us directly:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/

Best,
Brad


----------



## nancyBirnes

D. Zollicoffer said:


> The price drops by $50 a few days after I buy it? Come on, no fair!!
> 
> Ha-ha, I'm kidding! Love the program -- worth every penny -- and thanks for the update! You don't know how happy I am, the ability to change the text size in the editor is a game changer for me! Now I can set it to '36' and save my eyes


How do you enlarge the text for the editor? I have been away from the program for many months, due to a hard-drive failure and replacement. I know I used to do it, but now I can't find the command -- help?

Edited to add: It's in the Preferences. Sorry about that! Vellum is great. Hoping for internal links.


----------



## Nikolas TorVald

Love your guys software. I used it to format both of my novels and both of my short stories. It's definitely what I'll use in the future. The ease of use is awesome and the results are amazing.


----------



## jonauthor

deprox said:


> Can you properly import tables in vellum ?
> 
> I tried to import a .doc with tables but i can't see them in vellum.
> 
> Does it happen to you too ? suggestions ?
> 
> thanks


First, in the time since this thread started Vellum is used by fiction & non-fiction, so the previous commenter who stated that it was intended for fiction is wrong or perhaps misinformed.

While Vellum doesn't support tables in the traditional fashion this is easily solved and I've done it for all three of my non-fiction books and I plan on doing it for all future ones that use tables.

The secret? Create the table in Word or whatever program you want and then create a JPEG or other image of the table. Then simply import that image into the proper location. The benefit of this is the table format and look won't be screwed up by ebook or other publishing formats/websites.

It's easy, clean and has worked beautifully in my books.


----------



## Cherise

Brad West said:


> Hi Rickie,
> 
> In the current version of Vellum, Reimport will only replace the items that were originally imported, leaving in place items like front and back matter that you add in Vellum.
> 
> For this to work properly, you'll need to have initially created the Vellum document using Import Word File (or by using Open on a docx). If you create a Vellum document using New and then add content to it (via copy and paste or via drag and drop), Reimport won't be available. If that's the case, your workaround of using drag and drop is probably the best option.
> 
> Hope that explains things.


Yay!

I didn't even have to ask my question.


----------



## Used To Be BH

jonauthor said:


> First, in the time since this thread started Vellum is used by fiction & non-fiction, so the previous commenter who stated that it was intended for fiction is wrong or perhaps misinformed.
> 
> While Vellum doesn't support tables in the traditional fashion this is easily solved and I've done it for all three of my non-fiction books and I plan on doing it for all future ones that use tables.
> 
> The secret? Create the table in Word or whatever program you want and then create a JPEG or other image of the table. Then simply import that image into the proper location. The benefit of this is the table format and look won't be screwed up by ebook or other publishing formats/websites.
> 
> It's easy, clean and has worked beautifully in my books.


I have no doubt some nonfiction writers do use it, but it doesn't support a number of features nonfiction writers might find useful. Yes, a small enough table can be inserted as a jpeg, but Vellum also doesn't support footnotes or end notes, works cited pages or bibliographies, and appendices. All of those can probably be worked around, but software specifically designed for nonfiction would certainly include them.

Since Vellum does what it does very well (without requiring workarounds in most cases), I'm inclined to assume the developers had fiction in mind. Certainly, the examples on the website and in help are all related to fiction.


----------



## Reaper

Looking forward to playing around with the added features in the new update 



Erica Alexander said:


> For those wondering about the font sizes for print since the little bar doesn't really indicate it, I run a mock test for each of the ticks in the bar for Garamond and checked the font sizes in the PDF and here are the sizes from smallest to greatest:
> 
> 10 - 10.5 - 11 - 11.5 - 12 - 12.5 - 13


For those of you who have formatted paperbacks (and thanks in advance to Erica Alexander for the above data), what do you use for line spacing and font size? My epic fantasy is clocking at 190k+ words (currently with betas, I'm looking to get that number down), and for a 6x9 paperback it's a meaty 604 pages (I'm at work just now so can't check the specific settings I've used, but going by the above, I'm pretty sure it's 11-point font with the second-to-lowest line spacing option in Vellum's option bar).

The words on the PDF look fine (actually, it looks readable at the 10.5 point, but I think that may be too small for some readers), and I'll print out a few pages later, but if I was to select the smallest font and the narrowest line spacing, would that be unreadable? I uploaded it to CreateSpace and it looks like I have room to play with in the margins too, which should help lower the page count and make it a touch less expensive.

When I'm home, I'll check the name of the font etc. if that helps.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## JDMatheny

Erica Alexander said:


> For those wondering about the font sizes for print since the little bar doesn't really indicate it, I run a mock test for each of the ticks in the bar for Garamond and checked the font sizes in the PDF and here are the sizes from smallest to greatest:
> 
> 10 - 10.5 - 11 - 11.5 - 12 - 12.5 - 13


This is really nice to see! I keep seeing people post total page counts far beyond mine though my word counts are higher. I've just been using the standard settings. My recent manuscript finished just under 90k words and has a print page count of 286, where I feel like it should be around 330. I'll have to adjust my settings.


----------



## Reaper

JDMatheny said:


> This is really nice to see! I keep seeing people post total page counts far beyond mine though my word counts are higher. I've just been using the standard settings. My recent manuscript finished just under 90k words and has a print page count of 286, where I feel like it should be around 330. I'll have to adjust my settings.


I found that post completely by accident while looking upthread -- glad I did!


----------



## Brad West

Hello Kboards!

We recently released Vellum 2.1, which includes these new features:

In your About the Author page, you can now add buttons for Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and more. In your paperback, you can now list the web address next to each icon.
The Title Page that Vellum creates for your book is now shown in the Navigator. This means you can move it wherever you want, or just delete it. If you have custom artwork for a Title Page, you can use the new Full Page Image element.
You'll also see your TOC in the Navigator. It'll appear at the front by default, but you can move it wherever you'd like.
There's a new Half Title element, which you can use to begin your paperbacks. These are great to use as a signing page.
You'll find a new section for Verse in Styles. If you're creating a book with longer sections of Verse, you can now choose to set these in a Roman font instead of italics.
More details can be found in our announcement.

Almost all of the additions in 2.1 have been discussed in this thread, so we thought you'd like to know!


----------



## saklopfenstein

Brad West said:


> Hello Kboards!
> 
> We recently released Vellum 2.1, which includes these new features:
> 
> In your About the Author page, you can now add buttons for Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and more. In your paperback, you can now list the web address next to each icon.
> The Title Page that Vellum creates for your book is now shown in the Navigator. This means you can move it wherever you want, or just delete it. If you have custom artwork for a Title Page, you can use the new Full Page Image element.
> You'll also see your TOC in the Navigator. It'll appear at the front by default, but you can move it wherever you'd like.
> There's a new Half Title element, which you can use to begin your paperbacks. These are great to use as a signing page.
> You'll find a new section for Verse in Styles. If you're creating a book with longer sections of Verse, you can now choose to set these in a Roman font instead of italics.
> More details can be found in our announcement.
> 
> Almost all of the additions in 2.1 have been discussed in this thread, so we thought you'd like to know!


Excited for these changes. Just purchased the software and will be prepping my first book for release in the next couple months. Love this software the more I use it.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

I just upgraded to paperback. How do I flip back and forth from ebook editing and generating to print book editing and generating?


----------



## Used To Be BH

Brad West said:


> Hello Kboards!
> 
> We recently released Vellum 2.1, which includes these new features:
> 
> In your About the Author page, you can now add buttons for Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and more. In your paperback, you can now list the web address next to each icon.
> The Title Page that Vellum creates for your book is now shown in the Navigator. This means you can move it wherever you want, or just delete it. If you have custom artwork for a Title Page, you can use the new Full Page Image element.
> You'll also see your TOC in the Navigator. It'll appear at the front by default, but you can move it wherever you'd like.
> There's a new Half Title element, which you can use to begin your paperbacks. These are great to use as a signing page.
> You'll find a new section for Verse in Styles. If you're creating a book with longer sections of Verse, you can now choose to set these in a Roman font instead of italics.
> More details can be found in our announcement.
> 
> Almost all of the additions in 2.1 have been discussed in this thread, so we thought you'd like to know!


Bravo!


----------



## Used To Be BH

Marseille said:


> I just upgraded to paperback. How do I flip back and forth from ebook editing and generating to print book editing and generating?


I don't have the program open at the moment since I don't use the Mac for anything but that. However, this should help: .https://help.vellum.pub/print/

Most of the print layout is done automatically, so you don't really edit it _per se_. There are settings you can change, and you find those in the file menu. You generate the print edition at the same time you generate the ebook version(s).


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Thanks, Bill. The issue is when I choose to print as a paperback, then go back to the book, it looks like a paperback and not the ebook. Wondering how to toggle the views.



Bill Hiatt said:


> I don't have the program open at the moment since I don't use the Mac for anything but that. However, this should help: .https://help.vellum.pub/print/
> 
> Most of the print layout is done automatically, so you don't really edit it _per se_. There are settings you can change, and you find those in the file menu. You generate the print edition at the same time you generate the ebook version(s).


----------



## sfsamperi13

Vellum...good to know, thanks!


----------



## Used To Be BH

Marseille said:


> Thanks, Bill. The issue is when I choose to print as a paperback, then go back to the book, it looks like a paperback and not the ebook. Wondering how to toggle the views.


I've not run into that. As I think about it, I've always had at least one ebook format selected as well. Do you just have the paperback selected for generation? That's the only thing I can think of offhand.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Awesome. Thank you.


----------



## iancattanach

Does the new update make it easier to create poetry books with the modifications of more options in verse? So we can change it from italics? Can we also change if it is centered and what not?


----------



## Authoriann

Thanks, I wanted to know that too.


----------



## Brad West

iancattanach said:


> Does the new update make it easier to create poetry books with the modifications of more options in verse? So we can change it from italics? Can we also change if it is centered and what not?


In Vellum 2.1, you'll find a new section for Verse in Styles. The default option matches previous behavior: each block of Verse is centered and italicized. This typically works best for books that only include small selections of Verse within a story.

The additional options instead inset by a fixed amount and do not italicize the text. This can work better for books with larger, more frequent sections of poetry. Let us know how these options work for you!


----------



## Andres

Okay, I'm trying Vellum for the first time. The first thing I noticed is that its spell checking my document based on U.K. English? Is it using the Microsoft Word dictionary? My Keyboard is set to U.S. English. Why is this happening? I'm in Canada but my novel is edited in American English.

Thanks,

Andres


----------



## Andres

So I spent several hours creating chapters and creating the book in Vellum. When I click on the purchase button, I don't see any per-book $30 option. Has that been phased out?

Thanks,
Andres


----------



## Reaper

Andres said:


> So I spent several hours creating chapters and creating the book in Vellum. When I click on the purchase button, I don't see any per-book $30 option. Has that been phased out?
> 
> Thanks,
> Andres


Yes, it's just the unlimited ebook or Press options now.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

There was someone here on KBoards who was offering formatting via Vellum. It sticks in my mind because I was surprised Vellum allowed it, but evidently they don't care. If the unlimited license is too much for you right now, maybe you can find that formatter and he/she would be willing to make your already set-up project into a book for $30 or so.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Andres said:


> So I spent several hours creating chapters and creating the book in Vellum. When I click on the purchase button, I don't see any per-book $30 option. Has that been phased out?
> 
> Thanks,
> Andres


As Ellenoc suggests, there may be a formatter who will do it for considerably less. However, think about what your future plans are. If this is going to be your only book, then a less expensive option makes sense. If you plan to keep on writing, the program pays for itself eventually--unless you were planning on doing all your own formatting. In that scenario, though, you probably wouldn't have been looking at Vellum in the first place.


----------



## Andres

Thank you everyone for the clarifications. Yes, I plan to write more, so I'm going to make the investment. But boy is it a lot (in Canadian dollars). Thanks again!


----------



## WDR

ellenoc said:


> There was someone here on KBoards who was offering formatting via Vellum. It sticks in my mind because I was surprised Vellum allowed it, but evidently they don't care. If the unlimited license is too much for you right now, maybe you can find that formatter and he/she would be willing to make your already set-up project into a book for $30 or so.


Brad & Brad put no restrictions on the use of Vellum, so if folks want to use their unlimited license to generate ebooks for others, that's fine. There are some people who are just not technically inclined to deal with the minutiae of assembling an ebook.

That being said, it pretty much guarantees that there will be a new customer to buy Vellum in the future when an independent writer decides they want to handle generating their ebooks themselves rather than leaving it for someone else to do.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Andres said:


> Okay, I'm trying Vellum for the first time. The first thing I noticed is that its spell checking my document based on U.K. English? Is it using the Microsoft Word dictionary? My Keyboard is set to U.S. English. Why is this happening? I'm in Canada but my novel is edited in American English.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Andres


Hi Andres,

Vellum uses the system spelling dictionary when spell-checking your document. You can change the system dictionary using the *Language & Region* pane in your Mac's System Preferences.

That will, of course, affect other programs as well.

(And, yes, as other people have mentioned, we discontinued the single-book option last year, when we released Vellum 2.0.)

Hope that helps!


----------



## Andres

Thank you Brian! One more newbie question: I spent time creating my own style layout. My own combination of headers, main text, ornamental breaks, and so forth. Is there a way to save this template? I am reading through the help files but have not yet figured it out.
Thanks again!

Andres


----------



## devalong

Brad West said:


> Thanks Ken, we do have a suggestion on file for providing your own ornamental break image, and I'll add your name to it. We don't have a timeline for this right now, however.


Any change on the ornamental break issue? If not, please add my name to the list of Vellum customers who wish we could customize an ornamental break .


----------



## Andres

This might be obvious, but I want to confirm that my Vellum license will migrate to a new laptop before I spend the money on the software.

Thanks,

Andres


----------



## Brad Andalman

Andres said:


> One more newbie question: I spent time creating my own style layout. My own combination of headers, main text, ornamental breaks, and so forth. Is there a way to save this template? I am reading through the help files but have not yet figured it out.


There is currently no way to save your style options as a template. However, any new books you create will use the last set of style options you selected. We realize that this doesn't help if you are bouncing between series that have different styles, and we do have a feature request logged for this use case. However, if you are creating multiple books in the same series, then the current behavior might come in handy.



Andres said:


> This might be obvious, but I want to confirm that my Vellum license will migrate to a new laptop before I spend the money on the software.


When you buy a new laptop, you can install your license on it by following our instructions here:
How can I install my license on a new or second computer?


----------



## Used To Be BH

Puddleduck said:


> When I create a mobi file with Vellum and side load it onto my Kindle Fire, it shows up in the 'docs' area instead of 'books', yet files I created with Calibre show up in 'books' as they should. What's up with that?
> 
> Also, how does Vellum recognize chapter titles? I'm having to copy/paste the chapter titles into the chapter area because Vellum interprets them as the first line of the chapter, despite a double line break after them.
> 
> Also, what file type is best for the publisher logo? I've got a .png file that looks like it has a transparent background, but when I put it into Vellum and look at it on a Kindle Fire with the sepia background chosen, the publisher logo appears in a white box.


I'm guessing on the first one, but the Vellum mobi is different from what a customer would get after Amazon processing. Vellum includes coding for all the possible devices, but when someone downloads from Amazon to a device, he or she gets just what that device needs. I've not tried sideloading, but my Vellum-generated books always show up in books when I download from Amazon.

I think Vellum looks for a chapter style. It does use spacing to decide if there should be a chapter break, but as far as I know, not to identify titles. I've formatted titles using styles in Word and never have had an issue.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Puddleduck said:


> When I create a mobi file with Vellum and side load it onto my Kindle Fire, it shows up in the 'docs' area instead of 'books', yet files I created with Calibre show up in 'books' as they should. What's up with that?


Vellum uses kindlegen to generate mobi files, which is the only recommended way to create them. Unfortunately, Amazon has decided that any files created with kindlegen should show up in the "docs" section when side-loaded on a Kindle. There are ways around this - and it sounds like you have configured Calibre to use one of them - but it involves modifying the result of kindlegen, which Amazon does not recommend.



Puddleduck said:


> Also, how does Vellum recognize chapter titles? I'm having to copy/paste the chapter titles into the chapter area because Vellum interprets them as the first line of the chapter, despite a double line break after them.


The best way to format chapter headings in your manuscript is to use a centered, bolded chapter number and title. If each chapter in your docx file begins (after a page break), with something like the following, then Vellum should import it as expected:

*Chapter 1
Loomings
*​
[nobbc] Call me Ishmael.[/nobbc]

You can read more about importing manuscripts on our Importing help page.



Puddleduck said:


> Also, what file type is best for the publisher logo? I've got a .png file that looks like it has a transparent background, but when I put it into Vellum and look at it on a Kindle Fire with the sepia background chosen, the publisher logo appears in a white box.


We recommend using a transparent GIF for your publisher logo, since those are supported on a wide variety of platforms. On Kindle, though, this transparency will be removed once the ebook is delivered to a reader by Amazon (due to "Enhanced Typesetting," which does not support image transparency).

Hope that helps!


----------



## SA_Soule

Well, I just bought the full package and uploaded the Vellum software to my daughter's MAC.

But since I have a PC (and can't afford to buy a MAC laptop right now), is using MacinCloud an option for me?

Can I download Vellum to MacinCloud and use the software that way?

Is MacinCloud similar to Dropbox?

Please advise. And thank you. (_I just don't want to have to bother my daughter each time I need to borrow her laptop._)

~ ~ ~

And if you ever do create a PC version, I suspect you guys would be millionaires overnight.


----------



## MKK

I'm no Mac evangelist...but as a life-long Windows user who bought a Mac a few years ago because I was sick and tired of reinstalling everything when my PC went wonky, do yourself a favour if you write, and want to use Vellum...buy a Mac—even a used one.


----------



## SA_Soule

MKK said:


> I'm no Mac evangelist...but as a life-long Windows user who bought a Mac a few years ago because I was sick and tired of reinstalling everything when my PC went wonky, do yourself a favour if you write, and want to use Vellum...buy a Mac even a used one.


I did look into buying a used one at the Apple website, but they are still out of my budget range. (Close to a $900 or higher.) While I found a few on Best Buy, the reviews were negative, so I'd only buy direct from Apple if I could afford it.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

SA_Soule said:


> I did look into buying a used one at the Apple website, but they are still out of my budget range.


I too looked for a less expensive way to get a Mac for Vellum. Also figured I could use it for the "better" version of Scrivener, which helped justify the decision - which turned into a long story which I'll save for the next Windows vs. Mac thread to come along.

So, yes, I agree the Apple refurbs aren't discounted enough to be attractive. I researched all over the web, though, and ended up buying a 13" MacBook Pro that was new but a couple of years old from Amazon. I had to update the OS, but even though that was a PITA, I got it done with some further research on how to. So I had a new machine for the price of used (about $800), warranty and all.

Buying through Amazon never scares me because I know they'll take anything back if it doesn't work or isn't as advertised, although with computers you have to be careful to keep to the conditions for return. I don't know how often you can find old-new machines such as mine, but it's worth keeping an eye out.


----------



## SA_Soule

Is there anyway to just make the copyright page font/text smaller? Please advise.


----------



## Brad Andalman

SA_Soule said:


> Is there anyway to just make the copyright page font/text smaller? Please advise.


If you are using Vellum's Copyright element, then it will automatically use a smaller font size for its text. However, beyond that, there's no way to change the font size for just one element.

To learn how to check if your copyright has the correct element type and, if necessary, to change its type to Copyright, please see the Element Types section of our Elements help page.


----------



## Nobody222

Hello. Planning to get Vellum, but... I just found out it doesn't support endnotes for Kindle or footnotes for Print. How is that possible? That's a huge drawback.

Can you guys please add it? I use it in all my books!

Thanks.


----------



## SA_Soule

Brad Andalman said:


> If you are using Vellum's Copyright element, then it will automatically use a smaller font size for its text. However, beyond that, there's no way to change the font size for just one element.
> 
> To learn how to check if your copyright has the correct element type and, if necessary, to change its type to Copyright, please see the Element Types section of our Elements help page.


Hi Brad,

Thank you for the response. Two days ago, I uploaded my Word doc into Vellum, then generated my first nonfiction eBook, and it was an awesome experience.

And my only disappoint was the lack of different style options. There are not many to choose from that are genre specific, nor can you upload your own fonts. It would be great to have more Book Styles and more chapter heading options.

_In future updates will there be a way to import our own fonts?_ For example, so authors can create Chapter Headings that match the book cover fonts? (There are lots of free font sites.)

_May I offer a suggestion about styles in future updates?_

It would be awesome if the software had maybe 10 or more templates/styles to choose from in popular genres with "genre fonts" for the title, headers, etc. Like styles for horror/urban fantasy and romance and science fiction and fantasy and paranormal romance and thriller/mystery/suspense, etc.

Or if the software accepted fonts like other programs, so that a writer could have a drop-down menu with their uploaded fonts and apply it to chapter headings or the title, etc.

Please consider these options!!!


----------



## A. N. Other Author

SA_Soule said:


> I did look into buying a used one at the Apple website, but they are still out of my budget range. (Close to a $900 or higher.) While I found a few on Best Buy, the reviews were negative, so I'd only buy direct from Apple if I could afford it.


If you google around there are ways of installing OSX on a partition on your PC. From what I understand, it's not illegal, but Apple don't like it. I haven't done it myself, so it's not a recommendation (and I'm not a lawyer, etc), but I have heard on these boards it is possible and relatively simple even if you're not a tech head.

If you'd rather buy a cheap Macbook, you might find a reconditioned one somewhere like Groupon. Check out the model number, though, and be sure it'll run Sierra at least. They won't be all singing all dancing, but should be sufficient for writing.


----------



## SA_Soule

ADDavies said:


> If you google around there are ways of installing OSX on a partition on your PC. From what I understand, it's not illegal, but Apple don't like it. I haven't done it myself, so it's not a recommendation (and I'm not a lawyer, etc), but I have heard on these boards it is possible and relatively simple even if you're not a tech head.
> 
> If you'd rather buy a cheap Macbook, you might find a reconditioned one somewhere like Groupon. Check out the model number, though, and be sure it'll run Sierra at least. They won't be all singing all dancing, but should be sufficient for writing.


Thank you for the suggestion.


----------



## SA_Soule

Anyone else know where to buy a refurbished MAC laptop?


----------



## Matt Helbig

I bought mine from http://www.macofalltrades.com/ for about $250 (it's a little on the slow side when Vellum starts up but it's fine after about a minute). Just be sure you get one that can at least run El Capitan (OS 10.1) since that's the minimum requirement to run Vellum.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Just to share a funny/strange experience. Ever since I got the 13" MacBook Pro mentioned above, I was sorry I saved money by getting it instead of a 15". I told the whole tale here:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,261389.25.html (Reply #34)

Refurbished machine with upgrades from what the model usually has, including 16 GB RAM. To my surprise it came with the latest operating system installed, which you can tell from the ads not all refurbs do. Amazon reseller and 60-day warranty, so I knew I could return if it wasn't as advertised. It's a late 2013 ME293LL/A, and I paid $1,099, so you can compare with others you're looking at. I did pay another $99 for a 2-year warranty on top. Which I'm surprised anyone would offer on a refurb. Hope I never find out how good it is.

So my funny/strange story is that before getting the machine I ended up with, I ordered one from Macofalltrades. Days passed, and while the order went through, and I got an email confirmation, nothing else happened. Supposedly they ship quickly. So I contacted them, and they told me they weren't going to sell to me because they'd decided I was a security risk. I'm a retired old broad, born in NJ and lived in Colorado since I was 19. Never had any run ins with the police except for a few traffic tickets, never been involved in a lawsuit, etc. I was astounded (and still am), enough to send them an email telling them they're nuts. My guess is they did it because I use a VPN when buying stuff over the internet, but I saw no reason to argue with them. They had charged my credit card but did credit the amount promptly. I ended up with a better deal IMO.

If they don't consider you a security risk, and if you would be happier with a 13" than I was, Matt's right, you can get some really good deals on those. Make sure you get something new enough to run the latest and greatest OSX. Even though Vellum doesn't require the very latest right now, that might change. Scrivener's requirements for their latest are higher than for the last iteration of the program.


----------



## Gone 9/21/18

Oops, sorry. Only just realized you said $900 was over your budget. Do check out the 13" refurbs.


----------



## BGArcher

SA_Soule said:


> Anyone else know where to buy a refurbished MAC laptop?


Honestly the best bet for a refurbished mac is the mac story. They sell them right there, and the best thing is that you can still buy a warranty with them. https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac As far as refurbished go, no one comes close to Apples. They're basically brand new computers that have just been tested. I'm writing this on a refurb 5K iMac, that still screams and is the best computer I've ever owned.


----------



## IWFerguson

My last several Mac and iPad purchases for my family have all been from the refurbished section of the apple store web site. I recently got a 2017 13 in. MacBook Air for $850 +tax. Came with the latest OS, and a slight marking on the monitor that I haven't gotten around to trying to remove yet. I don't need the Retina monitors and touchbar nonsense that they're adding to the new pricey macbook pro. This thing is wicked fast, wicked light, and runs what I need it to run: Scrivener, Vellum, Office 2011.


----------



## Lydniz

This has probably been asked before, so if it has I'd be grateful if someone could direct me to the post in question: I'm trying to build a box set of three books, and I'd like one TOC at the beginning which links just to the three titles (i.e. click here to get to book 1, book 2 etc), plus a TOC of chapters within each book (i.e. click here to get to chapter 1, chapter 2 etc). If I set it to exclude chapters within parts, all I get is the links to the titles and no chapter TOC within each book, but if I set it to inlcude chapters within parts, I get a humungous four-page TOC at the start of the box set listing each chapter. Is there any way around this?


----------



## Word Fan

Lydniz said:


> This has probably been asked before, so if it has I'd be grateful if someone could direct me to the post in question: I'm trying to build a box set of three books, and I'd like one TOC at the beginning which links just to the three titles (i.e. click here to get to book 1, book 2 etc), plus a TOC of chapters within each book (i.e. click here to get to chapter 1, chapter 2 etc). If I set it to exclude chapters within parts, all I get is the links to the titles and no chapter TOC within each book, but if I set it to inlcude chapters within parts, I get a humungous four-page TOC at the start of the box set listing each chapter. Is there any way around this?


If you can't find an answer quickly, feel free to contact Vellum Support. Even if it has been asked before, they will gladly help you out without making you feel stupid for not knowing. They are great. They truly want people to be happy with their program. It won't do everything for everybody but it's great at what it DOES do.


----------



## Lydniz

Word Fan said:


> If you can't find an answer quickly, feel free to contact Vellum Support. Even if it has been asked before, they will gladly help you out without making you feel stupid for not knowing. They are great. They truly want people to be happy with their program. It won't do everything for everybody but it's great at what it DOES do.


Thanks, I might do that.


----------



## Brad West

Lydniz said:


> This has probably been asked before, so if it has I'd be grateful if someone could direct me to the post in question: I'm trying to build a box set of three books, and I'd like one TOC at the beginning which links just to the three titles (i.e. click here to get to book 1, book 2 etc), plus a TOC of chapters within each book (i.e. click here to get to chapter 1, chapter 2 etc). If I set it to exclude chapters within parts, all I get is the links to the titles and no chapter TOC within each book, but if I set it to inlcude chapters within parts, I get a humungous four-page TOC at the start of the box set listing each chapter. Is there any way around this?


Hi Lydniz,

Though Vellum does offer the controls you found for showing or hiding chapters within a Volume, there is not currently a way to limit a TOC to only show the contents of a single book in your set. We do have a suggestion on file to consider this in the future, and I've added your name to it.

In the meantime, if you have a box set with a large number of books/chapters, we might recommend only including the minimal TOC (that includes links to each book) at the beginning. Readers will still be able to access individual chapters using the pop-up/side-bar TOC on their device.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Lydniz

Thanks, Brad. That's what I did in the end.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Puddleduck said:


> Why does Vellum create a new cover image file every time it generates an ebook file? I've been using Vellum for a while now, and I still haven't figured that out. Obviously I have the cover image file already if I've put it into the book, and the ebook file shows the cover image fine without having to store it as a separate image file as well. Is there some important use to this new cover image file that I'm missing?


I've wondered that myself. I know Vellum optimizes the cover for each vendor. Do some of them require the cover file to be uploaded separately? I think I've been asked for a cover once or twice, but I can't remember which vendors do that. Most of them have you upload a file that includes the cover.

That's the only reason I can think of, but maybe I'm missing something.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Puddleduck said:


> Why does Vellum create a new cover image file every time it generates an ebook file? I've been using Vellum for a while now, and I still haven't figured that out. Obviously I have the cover image file already if I've put it into the book, and the ebook file shows the cover image fine without having to store it as a separate image file as well. Is there some important use to this new cover image file that I'm missing?


This separate image file is your _marketing_ or _catalog_ cover image, which should be uploaded separately from your ebook when you are publishing.

Of course, as you noted, if you have the original cover, you could just upload that. However, since some stores place certain restrictions on the marketing image size, Vellum creates a store-specific marketing image for you as a convenience.


----------



## SA_Soule

The website states: _Vellum will automatically add blank pages to your PDF so that your front and back matter elements start on the right side of a page spread, like most traditionally published books. _

Why is this a default for print books?

Because most traditionally published fiction books do not have every chapter start on the right side. It seems very outdated to add unnecessary pages, and I couldn't find any options to fix this. 

EDIT: Figured out how to fix it so not every new heading starts on the right side, but a few still do anyway. Weird.


----------



## Used To Be BH

SA_Soule said:


> The website states: _Vellum will automatically add blank pages to your PDF so that your front and back matter elements start on the right side of a page spread, like most traditionally published books. _
> 
> Why is this a default for print books?
> 
> Because most traditionally published fiction books do not have a new chapter start on the right side. It seems very outdated to add unnecessary pages, and I couldn't find any options to fix this.
> 
> Does anyone have a solution? Thanks!


I don't have access to my Mac right now, but I'm pretty sure the blank pages are added only where it says in the passage you cite--not at the beginning of every chapter. At least, my Vellum print layouts have never come out that way. The trad books I've seen all start on the right at the beginning of chapter 1, and typically any back matter does the same thing. Interior chapters don't necessarily, as you point out.


----------



## Brad Andalman

SA_Soule said:


> The website states: _Vellum will automatically add blank pages to your PDF so that your front and back matter elements start on the right side of a page spread, like most traditionally published books. _
> 
> Why is this a default for print books?
> 
> Because most traditionally published fiction books do not have every chapter start on the right side. It seems very outdated to add unnecessary pages, and I couldn't find any options to fix this.
> 
> EDIT: Figured out how to fix it so not every new heading starts on the right side, but a few still do anyway. Weird.


By default, Vellum will ensure that your first chapter starts on the right side of a page spread. However, if you've changed the *Chapter begins on right side* option in Print Settings, then you may have indicated that you wanted Vellum to start each chapter on the right side.

This option only affects Chapters, though, so you'll want to double-check (and convert, if necessary) the types of your elements, as described here:
https://help.vellum.pub/elements/#convert

For front and back matter elements, you can control this behavior on a per-element basis using the *Begin On* menu item:
https://help.vellum.pub/elements/#side-of-spread

Hope that helps!


----------



## Justawriter

Does anyone know where Vellum typically stores the files on the Mac? I've been using Vellum for several years and never had a problem until this latest upgrade and suddenly I can't find the files once they are generated. When I click show files, it shows the folder, but not where the folder is located on the mac. When I do a search this Mac, the file/folder does not come up.  I've emailed support, a few days ago but haven't heard anything yet and am anxious to update a book, so thought I'd check here too.  Thanks!


----------



## WDR

PamelaKelley said:


> Does anyone know where Vellum typically stores the files on the Mac? I've been using Vellum for several years and never had a problem until this latest upgrade and suddenly I can't find the files once they are generated. When I click show files, it shows the folder, but not where the folder is located on the mac. When I do a search this Mac, the file/folder does not come up. I've emailed support, a few days ago but haven't heard anything yet and am anxious to update a book, so thought I'd check here too. Thanks!


A quick and dirty way to find your Vellum files:

In the Finder, open a new window and then type 'vellum' into the search window. It should give you the option to search for "Kinds: vellum." Select that and your vellum files should be listed.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

I was formatting a book for a friend tonight, and I noticed that everything is justified except for the Also By The Author section. Can anyone tell me why that would be?


----------



## Brad Andalman

PamelaKelley said:


> Does anyone know where Vellum typically stores the files on the Mac? I've been using Vellum for several years and never had a problem until this latest upgrade and suddenly I can't find the files once they are generated. When I click show files, it shows the folder, but not where the folder is located on the mac. When I do a search this Mac, the file/folder does not come up. I've emailed support, a few days ago but haven't heard anything yet and am anxious to update a book, so thought I'd check here too. Thanks!


Hi Pam,

It seems like our emails are not getting through to you (we've responded to both of them). You might want to check your spam folder to see if our responses have ended up there!

Anyhow, clicking Show Files in Vellum will open a Finder window to the folder where Vellum is generating your files. Once you are using the Finder, there are many ways to show where that folder is located on your Mac. One way is to click in that Finder window and then choose *View > Show Path Bar*, which will display the full path at the bottom of that window.

Of course, you could also change the location where Vellum generates your files, if that's easier:
https://help.vellum.pub/generating/#changing-options

Hope that helps!


----------



## Brad Andalman

ShayneRutherford said:


> I was formatting a book for a friend tonight, and I noticed that everything is justified except for the Also By The Author section. Can anyone tell me why that would be?


The Also By element in Vellum is intended to be used as a page where you can simply list your other titles. As a result, in some styles, its contents will be centered.

If you have a lot of text, then, this element type probably isn't the right choice. Instead, we'd recommend using an Uncategorized element (which you can title "Also By," if you like). You can find information on how to convert elements here:
https://help.vellum.pub/elements/#convert

If that doesn't solve your problem, please contact us directly (and include your Vellum file), and we'll be better able to help you.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

Brad Andalman said:


> The Also By element in Vellum is intended to be used as a page where you can simply list your other titles. As a result, in some styles, its contents will be centered.
> 
> If you have a lot of text, then, this element type probably isn't the right choice. Instead, we'd recommend using an Uncategorized element (which you can title "Also By," if you like). You can find information on how to convert elements here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/elements/#convert
> 
> If that doesn't solve your problem, please contact us directly (and include your Vellum file), and we'll be better able to help you.


Thank you very kindly!


----------



## Leanne King

Someone posted a page or so back asking about footnotes, but it was never answered. I’d like to know if this is ever going to happen in Vellum?

I’m just getting to the end of a project which makes extensive use of footnotes and was planning on outputting it with Vellum. Now it looks like I’ll have to go back to Scrivener for the final epub.


ETA: I just found a better solution. Apple’s Pages app, updated yesterday to incorporate what was iBooks Author, outputs gorgeous ePubs and supports footnotes. It also workes great on the iPad, so not only does this get round Vellum’s limitation, it means I don’t even have to fire up the old Mac to output the final version.

Would still like to know if Vellum have footnotes on the roadmap though.


----------



## Brad West

Leanne King said:


> Someone posted a page or so back asking about footnotes, but it was never answered. I'd like to know if this is ever going to happen in Vellum?


We do have footnotes/endnotes on our roadmap. While we can't offer a specific timeframe right now, we currently plan to have something available later this year.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Reaper

One of my beta readers is also the graphic designer I hired to make a small graphic of my publishing logo -- when she was reading through my current WIP and saw the logo, she mentioned it looked a touch blurry/pixelated (this was for the print-ready PDF generated by Vellum). According to Vellum, the image met the size requirements, but I wonder if one type of image works better than the other? Should I ask her to resize the image to a higher dpi and upload a bigger image then resize it in Vellum? I don't know much about image files -- she sent me a PDF file of the image, though Vellum does state using JPEG, TIFF and PNG files, so perhaps that's where the issue lies.

Has anyone else encountered this, where Vellum gives an image a green tick but it still looks pixelated?

(Just to clarify -- it looks fine to my eye, but I'm defaulting to my graphic designer's expertise!)

Apologies if this has been answered upthread already, I couldn't find an answer.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Steven McKinnon said:


> One of my beta readers is also the graphic designer I hired to make a small graphic of my publishing logo -- when she was reading through my current WIP and saw the logo, she mentioned it looked a touch blurry/pixelated (this was for the print-ready PDF generated by Vellum). According to Vellum, the image met the size requirements, but I wonder if one type of image works better than the other? Should I ask her to resize the image to a higher dpi and upload a bigger image then resize it in Vellum? I don't know much about image files -- she sent me a PDF file of the image, though Vellum does state using JPEG, TIFF and PNG files, so perhaps that's where the issue lies.
> 
> Has anyone else encountered this, where Vellum gives an image a green tick but it still looks pixelated?
> 
> (Just to clarify -- it looks fine to my eye, but I'm defaulting to my graphic designer's expertise!)
> 
> Apologies if this has been answered upthread already, I couldn't find an answer.


Hi Steve,

It's hard to offer advice without more information, but we'd be happy to take a look at your book to see if there's anything that can be done. The best way to send us your Vellum file is to use the *Attach a File* link at the bottom of our contact page.


----------



## Reaper

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Steve,
> 
> It's hard to offer advice without more information, but we'd be happy to take a look at your book to see if there's anything that can be done. The best way to send us your Vellum file is to use the *Attach a File* link at the bottom of our contact page.


Thanks, I'll do just that!


----------



## Sophie Kisker

Hi there! I've read the last 30 pages and didn't see this question.  I have a PC, so I'm using MacinCloud. I've created a docx on the PC,  uploaded to google docs, opened MacinCloud, downloaded the google doc, and loaded it into Vellum. I'd like to move the finished Vellum file back to my PC so that I can do the whole loading into KDP (setting prices, choosing keywords, etc) from there and not pay for the time on Macincloud. Will the Vellum doc go back through google docs and onto my PC without changes? Do I need to move it through Dropbox instead? Thanks.

ETA: I'd also like to check the file on the different apps from my PC, instead of doing it on the Mac. Is this possible?


----------



## Used To Be BH

Sophie Kisker said:


> Hi there! I've read the last 30 pages and didn't see this question. I have a PC, so I'm using MacinCloud. I've created a docx on the PC, uploaded to google docs, opened MacinCloud, downloaded the google doc, and loaded it into Vellum. I'd like to move the finished Vellum file back to my PC so that I can do the whole loading into KDP (setting prices, choosing keywords, etc) from there and not pay for the time on Macincloud. Will the Vellum doc go back through google docs and onto my PC without changes? Do I need to move it through Dropbox instead? Thanks.
> 
> ETA: I'd also like to check the file on the different apps from my PC, instead of doing it on the Mac. Is this possible?


Personally, I use Dropbox for that. I'm sure whatever Google Drive is called these days would work. Any cloud storage accessible on both platforms should do that.

The files you generate with Vellum (mobi, PDF, the various kinds of EPUBs) are all readable by the appropriate apps in the PC. I get on a Mac to do the file conversions in Vellum, then do the checking, uploading, etc. on my PC.


----------



## SA_Soule

For some odd reason, I updated only the eBook cover on a file today and when I went to convert it into a Kindle and generic epub, the Kindle version doesn't show the cover. (yes, it meets requirements.)

It's very frustrating and I don't want to have to redo the entire file. *sigh* 

Okay, so I went ahead and redid the entire file and re-uploaded the book cover and now it is finally showing on the Kindle version. _Whew...._


----------



## Sophie Kisker

@Bill Hiatt - thank you.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Sophie Kisker said:


> @Bill Hiatt - thank you.


You're welcome!


----------



## WDR

Sophie Kisker said:


> Hi there! I've read the last 30 pages and didn't see this question. I have a PC, so I'm using MacinCloud. I've created a docx on the PC, uploaded to google docs, opened MacinCloud, downloaded the google doc, and loaded it into Vellum. I'd like to move the finished Vellum file back to my PC so that I can do the whole loading into KDP (setting prices, choosing keywords, etc) from there and not pay for the time on Macincloud. Will the Vellum doc go back through google docs and onto my PC without changes? Do I need to move it through Dropbox instead? Thanks.
> 
> ETA: I'd also like to check the file on the different apps from my PC, instead of doing it on the Mac. Is this possible?


Just stating this based on what I think I understood from your post:

The Vellum file is merely the file that Vellum uses to store all the book's information that it then uses to create ebook files. You do not actually upload the Vellum file to the retailers as an ebook.

What you want to be uploading are the ebook files that Vellum generates from that data for each of the platforms---Kindle, iOS, Kobo, and generic ebook readers.


----------



## Nancy Warren

Help! I'm getting some books printed for a conference and sent the Vellum print file (pdf) to the printer who came back with this note:

"
Also the text pages have been saved in full colour – which means that the black is made up of the 4 printing colours.

This needs to be amended, so that it is black only."

I can't find anything in Velllum help that explains how to do this. How do I make the print files black black? Anyone?

tia, Nancy


----------



## Used To Be BH

Nancy Warren said:


> Help! I'm getting some books printed for a conference and sent the Vellum print file (pdf) to the printer who came back with this note:
> 
> "
> Also the text pages have been saved in full colour - which means that the black is made up of the 4 printing colours.
> 
> This needs to be amended, so that it is black only."
> 
> I can't find anything in Velllum help that explains how to do this. How do I make the print files black black? Anyone?
> 
> tia, Nancy


The problem may lie with your source material. Try selecting the entire text in Word, then changing the font color to black. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's possible you have something nonblack somewhere in the document. If verifying the font color doesn't work, try page color and similar settings. Because Word has the capability of generating a document in color, it's occasionally possible to introduce color without realizing it.

I assume you have no graphics. If you did, they'd almost certainly be the culprits.


----------



## Seneca77

Hi Everyone,

I'm about to pull the trigger on Vellum (after fighting with InDesign and Scrivener for too long). Quick question...should I be paying attention to paragraph styles, formatting, etc. in Word before I import my MS? Or will Vellum format everything correctly regardless of what the Word doc looks like? If it matters, it's a novel, straight text, no images. 

Thank you!
- Bob


----------



## Nancy Warren

Bill Hiatt said:


> The problem may lie with your source material. Try selecting the entire text in Word, then changing the font color to black. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's possible you have something nonblack somewhere in the document. If verifying the font color doesn't work, try page color and similar settings. Because Word has the capability of generating a document in color, it's occasionally possible to introduce color without realizing it.
> 
> I assume you have no graphics. If you did, they'd almost certainly be the culprits.


Thank you, Bill! I've tried doing what you said and I'll resubmit the file. Fingers crossed and really appreciate the quick response!

best, Nancy


----------



## A. N. Other Author

Seneca77 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I'm about to pull the trigger on Vellum (after fighting with InDesign and Scrivener for too long). Quick question...should I be paying attention to paragraph styles, formatting, etc. in Word before I import my MS? Or will Vellum format everything correctly regardless of what the Word doc looks like? If it matters, it's a novel, straight text, no images.
> 
> Thank you!
> - Bob


It formats everything. Unless you have some odd manual formatting already. I can think of two things that will throw it:

1. If you arrange your paragraphs in Word by using a double return to give you a line of white space between paragraphs, that might cause some problems, thinking each additional space is a paragraph space. But otherwise it will allow you to decide if you want indents or white space.

2. If you've made your own indents using the tab button, this may create larger indents in Vellum. If you've used the settings in the ruler, again, it'll be fine.

Both ebooks and print. Awesome.


----------



## Seneca77

ADDavies said:


> It formats everything. Unless you have some odd manual formatting already. I can think of two things that will throw it:
> 
> 1. If you arrange your paragraphs in Word by using a double return to give you a line of white space between paragraphs, that might cause some problems, thinking each additional space is a paragraph space. But otherwise it will allow you to decide if you want indents or white space.
> 
> 2. If you've made your own indents using the tab button, this may create larger indents in Vellum. If you've used the settings in the ruler, again, it'll be fine.
> 
> Both ebooks and print. Awesome.


Thank you very much! I'm moments away from bringing my MS in. Excited to have something that works relatively easily.

- Bob


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

I busted my 2017 MBP and I can't afford to get another one right now. So I'm looking at a cheap, $200, 2009 Plastic MacBook (for ebooks only). It's updated to High Serra. But I'm still wondering if Vellum will work with it. The site doesn't have any minimum requirements, it just lists the last three major macOS updates. 

It has 4GB of RAM and a Intel Core 2 Duo 26GHz. I feel like the program shouldn't be too demanding, but what do I know? It's an awesome piece of software. I know it worked fine on my 2011 iMac, but that had an i5 and 16GB of RAM. 

My books are around 80k words. I don't know if bigger documents matter.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

D. Zollicoffer said:


> I busted my 2017 MBP and I can't afford to get another one right now. So I'm looking at a cheap, $200, 2009 Plastic MacBook (for ebooks only). It's updated to High Serra. But I'm still wondering if Vellum will work with it. The site doesn't have any minimum requirements, it just lists the last three major macOS updates.
> 
> It has 4GB of RAM and a Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz. I feel like the program shouldn't be too demanding, but what do I know? It's an awesome piece of software. I know it worked fine on my 2011 iMac, but that had an i5 and 16GB of RAM.
> 
> My books are around 80k words. I don't know if bigger documents matter.


Anyone? Is everyone using new Macs?


----------



## Used To Be BH

D. Zollicoffer said:


> I busted my 2017 MBP and I can't afford to get another one right now. So I'm looking at a cheap, $200, 2009 Plastic MacBook (for ebooks only). It's updated to High Serra. But I'm still wondering if Vellum will work with it. The site doesn't have any minimum requirements, it just lists the last three major macOS updates.
> 
> It has 4GB of RAM and a Intel Core 2 Duo 26GHz. I feel like the program shouldn't be too demanding, but what do I know? It's an awesome piece of software. I know it worked fine on my 2011 iMac, but that had an i5 and 16GB of RAM.
> 
> My books are around 80k words. I don't know if bigger documents matter.


Vellum should run on El Capitan and any later updates, though I'm using Sierra on an older system, not High Sierra, so I can't speak from experience.

I can say that bigger documents don't matter. One of mine was around 200k and worked fine.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

Bill Hiatt said:


> Vellum should run on El Capitan and any later updates, though I'm using Sierra on an older system, not High Sierra, so I can't speak from experience.
> 
> I can say that bigger documents don't matter. One of mine was around 200k and worked fine.


Thanks. I'm going to give it a try


----------



## bananaz88

Sorry if this has already been covered. 

Can someone please tell me why Vellum generated my ebooks but didn't save an original file?

I kept pressing file save throughout the entire process. I've proofed and added back matter directly through Vellum. Does this mean all my work is lost or is there a way to retrieve the original file through the generated files? 

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Word Fan

bananaz88 said:


> Sorry if this has already been covered.
> 
> Can someone please tell me why Vellum generated my ebooks but didn't save an original file?
> 
> I kept pressing file save throughout the entire process. I've proofed and added back matter directly through Vellum. Does this mean all my work is lost or is there a way to retrieve the original file through the generated files?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


Yes, your original Vellum file is there somewhere. You just have to find where you have placed it on your hard drive. Despite what some non-technical computer users think, a program will only make a _suggestion_ about where to save a file. (Microsoft Word, for example, when it is first installed on your computer, will generally suggest that you save your Word documents in your "Documents" folder.) If you don't like where the program suggests, you can place your file somewhere else and it will stay there. You, the user, have the final say, but only if you know the basics of how to navigate around your file system.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

bananaz88 said:


> Sorry if this has already been covered.
> 
> Can someone please tell me why Vellum generated my ebooks but didn't save an original file?
> 
> I kept pressing file save throughout the entire process. I've proofed and added back matter directly through Vellum. Does this mean all my work is lost or is there a way to retrieve the original file through the generated files?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


That's odd. Could it have saved to another location? I've never had that happen to me with any Mac program.


----------



## bananaz88

Thank you both for replying!

I found it...in my trash of all places. Now I feel dumb. 
First time experience with Vellum, so I automatically blamed the program. Didn't want to believe the user was to blame. Not sure how it ended up in my trash, but if anyone has this problem in the future, you know where to look.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

bananaz88 said:


> Thank you both for replying!
> 
> I found it...in my trash of all places. Now I feel dumb.
> First time experience with Vellum, so I automatically blamed the program. Didn't want to believe the user was to blame. Not sure how it ended up in my trash, but if anyone has this problem in the future, you know where to look.


Be careful! And look into Dropbox. All of my files save to the cloud (you can set it up to do this automatically if you download the app and save all files to the Dropbox folder). Some kind of online backup solution is a must for writers


----------



## Andres

I noticed that my Look Inside on Amazon.com does not have the right ornamental breaks (it's just showing three stars) and the first letter of each Chapter is also not appearing on the Look Inside. Apologies if this issue has been discussed by I can't find it. Is there any way to make the Look Inside appear properly? I bought my own book and on my Kindle, I do see the proper Vellum formatting.

Thanks!


----------



## Word Fan

Vellum 2.2 just came out.

Among other things: choose your own ornamental break images.


----------



## Used To Be BH

Andres said:


> I noticed that my Look Inside on Amazon.com does not have the right ornamental breaks (it's just showing three stars) and the first letter of each Chapter is also not appearing on the Look Inside. Apologies if this issue has been discussed by I can't find it. Is there any way to make the Look Inside appear properly? I bought my own book and on my Kindle, I do see the proper Vellum formatting.
> 
> Thanks!


The Look Inside is often set up using an older version of the code that doesn't display the Vellum features well. If you point this out to the KDP folks, they will fix it for you--eventually. It may take a few rounds of emails. I had an odd situation in which a book displayed correctly on the UK Look Inside but not on the US one. I kept getting messages that the two Look Insides were now identical, and I had to keep emailing back with screenshots to show just how nonidentical they were. They did get it squared away eventually.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

Got the old MacBook from Ebay and I have to hand it to Vellum's developers. This program works just as well on this relic as it did on my 2017 MBP (RIP). No spinning beachballs of death, lock-ups, or anything. Also the program opens super fast, even on an HDD, much faster than Word 2016. The machine only has 4GBs of RAM. 

So if any non-Mac users are reading this thread: You don't have to spend a fortune to run this program. Just grab a used 2010 MacBook from Ebay for under $200


----------



## Andres

Bill Hiatt said:


> The Look Inside is often set up using an older version of the code that doesn't display the Vellum features well. If you point this out to the KDP folks, they will fix it for you--eventually. It may take a few rounds of emails. I had an odd situation in which a book displayed correctly on the UK Look Inside but not on the US one. I kept getting messages that the two Look Insides were now identical, and I had to keep emailing back with screenshots to show just how nonidentical they were. They did get it squared away eventually.


Bill,
Thanks for your insight. I'll do the same and reach out to customer support. Thanks.


----------



## Brad West

Bill Hiatt said:


> The Look Inside is often set up using an older version of the code that doesn't display the Vellum features well. If you point this out to the KDP folks, they will fix it for you--eventually. It may take a few rounds of emails. I had an odd situation in which a book displayed correctly on the UK Look Inside but not on the US one. I kept getting messages that the two Look Insides were now identical, and I had to keep emailing back with screenshots to show just how nonidentical they were. They did get it squared away eventually.


Thanks for the answer, Bill.

In many cases, the Look Inside will also update on its own. Sometimes, it takes just a few days for it to be updated to a format that displays everything correctly.

Unfortunately, that isn't always the case: we've seen some cases where the delay can be longer. As Bill says, KDP can sometimes help with this, though his isn't the first report we've heard of KDP not quite understanding the issue.


----------



## DAEbookservices

Am I right in thinking that it's impossible to use italics in the caption for an image?

I am putting together a print book, and in the caption for one of the photos I want to mention a newspaper, the name of which should be italicized. When I try to italicize it though, nothing happens 

Also, is it possible to force a page break in a print edition without making a new 'chapter'/uncategorized etc. ? I have a chapter with some text, then there is a subtitle along the lines of "Some photos of the House", followed by a few pages of photos. Unfortunately it seems to end up with the subtitle "Some photos of the House" with about 40% of the page blank, with the photos starting on the following page. This is obviously due to the fact the image won't fit on the previous page, but it would look much better if I could force the subtitle onto the following page so that it could be immediately above the first photo.
(The reason I don't really want to make a new chapter is because it then appears in the Table of Contents, which is not ideal. If I could choose for it to not appear in the ToC that would be an alternative solution.)


----------



## cdmixson

I've read here that Vellum has Adobe Garamond Pro as a font option for print. 

I don't see it listed in my Styles/Print Edition/Font family. I show:
Athelas
Baskerville
Cochin
Crimson Text
Fanwood
Hoefler Text
Iowan Old Style
Palatino
Times New Roman

What do I need to do? If I need to download it, what is a good source?

Thanks,
David


----------



## Brad Andalman

cdmixson said:


> I've read here that Vellum has Adobe Garamond Pro as a font option for print.
> 
> [snip]
> 
> What do I need to do? If I need to download it, what is a good source?
> 
> Thanks,
> David


You can purchase (or "sync," if you have a TypeKit subscription) Adobe Garamond Pro from Adobe here:
https://typekit.com/fonts/adobe-garamond

Once you have Adobe Garamond Pro installed on your computer, you will be able to select it as the font for your print edition.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Used To Be BH

Brad Andalman said:


> You can purchase (or "sync," if you have a TypeKit subscription) Adobe Garamond Pro from Adobe here:
> https://typekit.com/fonts/adobe-garamond
> 
> Once you have Adobe Garamond Pro installed on your computer, you will be able to select it as the font for your print edition.
> 
> Hope that helps!


That's a good tip. I've always been a Garamond fan!


----------



## Sophie Kisker

Apologies if my search missed this answer-

I need to upload an epub to Instafreebie. An epub  file type is required. But I can't seem to generate an epub that leaves my book links (all Amazon) intact. Since this is going to be a giveaway to entice more buying, I obviously need the links to be live. Am I missing something?


----------



## HilaryD

Hi Guys! 

Sorry if this has been covered - I've read pages and pages of this thread and haven't found an answer so here I go:

When it comes to choosing a font on Vellum for paperbacks, is there a way to compare, for example: Fanwood font at the center of the size scale, is similar to Times New Roman size 14 point? 

I previously used a professional formatter and Create Space and my first book was about 250 pages. Now, when I'm formatting in Vellum, it's showing about 400 pages (yikes!) when the font size ticker is in the middle of the size bar. But I'm afraid that if I make the font smaller it will be so tiny! 

I've used the preview in Vellum but it's hard to tell how it's really going to look when it's printed, you know? 

Thanks in advance for any help/advice!


----------



## Word Fan

HilaryD said:


> Hi Guys!
> 
> Sorry if this has been covered - I've read pages and pages of this thread and haven't found an answer so here I go:
> 
> When it comes to choosing a font on Vellum for paperbacks, is there a way to compare, for example: Fanwood font at the center of the size scale, is similar to Times New Roman size 14 point?
> 
> I previously used a professional formatter and Create Space and my first book was about 250 pages. Now, when I'm formatting in Vellum, it's showing about 400 pages (yikes!) when the font size ticker is in the middle of the size bar. But I'm afraid that if I make the font smaller it will be so tiny!
> 
> I've used the preview in Vellum but it's hard to tell how it's really going to look when it's printed, you know?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help/advice!


Have Vellum create the print version, which is a PDF file, then print just 1 page of it yourself and see.


----------



## Used To Be BH

HilaryD said:


> Hi Guys!
> 
> Sorry if this has been covered - I've read pages and pages of this thread and haven't found an answer so here I go:
> 
> When it comes to choosing a font on Vellum for paperbacks, is there a way to compare, for example: Fanwood font at the center of the size scale, is similar to Times New Roman size 14 point?
> 
> I previously used a professional formatter and Create Space and my first book was about 250 pages. Now, when I'm formatting in Vellum, it's showing about 400 pages (yikes!) when the font size ticker is in the middle of the size bar. But I'm afraid that if I make the font smaller it will be so tiny!
> 
> I've used the preview in Vellum but it's hard to tell how it's really going to look when it's printed, you know?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help/advice!


That sounds like more than just a font difference. Have you generated the file and checked to see if there were any issues?

Depending upon how your source material is laid out, Vellum may misinterpret some things. For instance, a certain number of blank lines will be interpreted as a chapter break. Enough extra chapter breaks would throw off the sizing considerably.

Also, check the settings. Some, such as starting each new chapter on the right, may slightly lengthen the manuscript. Inside margin size can make a huge difference. Could yours be set larger than it needs to be?

If none of those checks produce an obvious result, convert using different font sizes and see if the one that brings your manuscript closest to the size you want is really too small.

When the paperback option first came out, a lot of people had to adjust manuscript size to fit a preexisting cover. Generally, they were successful in doing so.


----------



## HilaryD

Word Fan said:


> Have Vellum create the print version, which is a PDF file, then print just 1 page of it yourself and see.


<Palm-to-forehead> That is a smart idea. Haha. Thank you, I'll try it.


----------



## HilaryD

Bill Hiatt said:


> That sounds like more than just a font difference. Have you generated the file and checked to see if there were any issues?
> 
> Depending upon how your source material is laid out, Vellum may misinterpret some things. For instance, a certain number of blank lines will be interpreted as a chapter break. Enough extra chapter breaks would throw off the sizing considerably.
> 
> Also, check the settings. Some, such as starting each new chapter on the right, may slightly lengthen the manuscript. Inside margin size can make a huge difference. Could yours be set larger than it needs to be?
> 
> If none of those checks produce an obvious result, convert using different font sizes and see if the one that brings your manuscript closest to the size you want is really too small.
> 
> When the paperback option first came out, a lot of people had to adjust manuscript size to fit a preexisting cover. Generally, they were successful in doing so.


Thank you, Bill - these are all great ideas to check. I did generate one file and it looked okay at a quick glance - it was still too long but it gave me an idea of how things looked. I hadn't gone through page by page but I think I need to do that, and check for extra chapter breaks, etc. like you mentioned. Thank you so much!


----------



## Brad West

Sophie Kisker said:


> I need to upload an epub to Instafreebie. An epub file type is required. But I can't seem to generate an epub that leaves my book links (all Amazon) intact. Since this is going to be a giveaway to entice more buying, I obviously need the links to be live. Am I missing something?


Any links you create to stores like Amazon will become Store Links. Store Links ensure that links to Amazon only end up in your Kindle edition and don't, for example, cause your book to be rejected by iBooks. You can learn more about them here:
https://help.vellum.pub/storelinks/

If you're creating a Generic EPUB file, you'll see a separate option to enter a URL to use in this generic file:
https://help.vellum.pub/storelinks/#generic-url

A Generic EPUB file is what's typically used for a service like D2D, who will send your book to several different stores. For this reason, we usually recommend using a link to a neutral destination, such as your website. If you're only using the Generic EPUB for Instafreebie, though, you can include a link to Amazon here. Vellum will display a warning about using a store-specific link in a Generic file, but will include it nonetheless.



HilaryD said:


> I previously used a professional formatter and Create Space and my first book was about 250 pages. Now, when I'm formatting in Vellum, it's showing about 400 pages (yikes!) when the font size ticker is in the middle of the size bar. But I'm afraid that if I make the font smaller it will be so tiny!
> 
> I've used the preview in Vellum but it's hard to tell how it's really going to look when it's printed, you know?


We'd second Word Fan's suggestion of sending a page to a home printer. You can do this by opening your generated PDF in the Preview app on your Mac and then using the Print function there. When you do this, you'll want to be sure the scale is set to 100% (rather than filling the page).

We took a quick look at your current books on Amazon, and it looks like the line spacing is a bit tighter than Vellum's default. If you're looking to match page length or overall feel of your previous books, you might consider this control as well. That's in Body style, shown here:
https://help.vellum.pub/styles/#body-style

Hope those answers help!


----------



## Brad West

Hi all,

When we developed Vellum 2.0, we started with the four most popular trim sizes used at services like KDP and CreateSpace. We've since received many requests for additional trim size options, from a smaller, mass market option to sizes that are standard in regions like the U.K. and Germany.

To help us determine the next set of trim sizes that would most benefit our users, we've put together a survey. If you've been looking for more trim size options, please give us your vote here: [SURVEY CLOSED]

Though this is still early in the process, we hope to have a new set of sizes available later this year.

Thanks for your help!

_Update 2/2019: New trim sizes are now available_


----------



## Sophie Kisker

Brad West said:


> If you're creating a Generic EPUB file, you'll see a separate option to enter a URL to use in this generic file:
> https://help.vellum.pub/storelinks/#generic-url


Thanks! Understanding has dawned.


----------



## SND

For a novel written directly within Vellum, what's the best way to convert to .doc or .docx format for sending manuscript off to an editor?


----------



## Brad Andalman

SND said:


> For a novel written directly within Vellum, what's the best way to convert to .doc or .docx format for sending manuscript off to an editor?


You can export an RTF for your book by going to Vellum's main menu and choosing *File > Export to RTF*. You can then open the RTF in any word processing application (like Word or Pages) to convert to docx.

Note that this RTF will not contain the styles that you selected in Vellum. However, all of your content will still be there.

Hope that helps!


----------



## SND

Great. Thanks Brad.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Puddleduck said:


> I recently made an e-book in the Kobo format (I made others too, but I haven't checked them) that had centered chapter headers and a centered publisher logo. But when I put the file on my Kobo, those things were left-aligned. Why weren't they showing up as centered, and how can I fix that? (I didn't do anything custom to try to make them centered, just used Vellum's own formatting choices.)


We just tested a Kobo file, and everything looked as we'd expect. If you get in touch with us using our contact page, we'll be better able to help you:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/

You can use that form to attach the Vellum-generated Kobo file as well as tell us any other pertinent information (e.g. what Kobo device you were trying, how you transferred it to your device, etc.).

Thanks!


----------



## ZanaHart

I just want to add that I am using Vellum for books with quite a few color photos in them, for both Kindle and Createspace paperback formats. I am very happy with the results. While the image formatting is relatively simple (compared to what my husband does with InDesign for his more complex page layouts), it works fine as illustrations for non-fiction texts.


----------



## Heather Boyd

Brad West said:


> Hi all,
> 
> When we developed Vellum 2.0, we started with the four most popular trim sizes used at services like KDP and CreateSpace. We've since received many requests for additional trim size options, from a smaller, mass market option to sizes that are standard in regions like the U.K. and Germany.
> 
> To help us determine the next set of trim sizes that would most benefit our users, we've put together a survey. If you've been looking for more trim size options, please give us your vote here:
> Vellum Trim Size Survey
> 
> Though this is still early in the process, we hope to have a new set of sizes available later this year.
> 
> Thanks for your help!


Any update on smaller mass market trim sizes? Hoping for sooner than later. 

Heather Boyd


----------



## Brad West

Heather Boyd said:


> Any update on smaller mass market trim sizes? Hoping for sooner than later.
> 
> Heather Boyd


We're glad to hear you're looking forward to a mass market option! Right now, though, we're just in the investigative phase, and still gathering feedback through the survey. We can't give a specific release date this early, but we hope to have something ready in the second half of the year.


----------



## SND

Is Dragon Dictation by Nuance compatible with Vellum (for those who like to write directly into Vellum)?


----------



## GirlWriter

Quick question: Can the PDF file be also used for hardbacks or it is for paperbacks only.


----------



## ZanaHart

Erica Alexander said:


> Quick question: Can the PDF file be also used for hardbacks or it is for paperbacks only.


I used the PDF files that Vellum made for 5 books recently, Createspace paperbacks. No problems!

LATER: Oops, didn't quite answer your question, glad others did below!


----------



## R.D. Smith

Erica Alexander said:


> Quick question: Can the PDF file be also used for hardbacks or it is for paperbacks only.


The Vellum PDF can be used for both hardcovers and paperbacks. My hardcover and paperback editions are published through IngramSpark with the Vellum PDF. Just make sure the PDF dimensions match the trim size for the cover.


----------



## WDR

Erica Alexander said:


> Quick question: Can the PDF file be also used for hardbacks or it is for paperbacks only.


The only difference between a hardcover or a paperback is that one has a more stiff cover.

Just make sure that you can generate the page layout for the proper size of the book being printed. So, if you are going to publish a 6x9 US Trade version of your book, make sure you generate the PDF for a 6x9 book.

Keep in mind, paper selection can make a difference in the margin settings. If you are going with a thicker paper stock in a longer book, then that is going to effect the depth of the gutter (the inner margin) of the book to keep text from disappearing into the fold of the book. This is true whether the cover is soft or hard.


----------



## GirlWriter

Thank you very much for the reply.


----------



## Brad Andalman

SND said:


> Is Dragon Dictation by Nuance compatible with Vellum (for those who like to write directly into Vellum)?


Unfortunately, we don't have direct experience with Dragon Dictation, so we can't say for certain that it will work with Vellum. Sorry!

However, we do know that Apple's built-in dictation functionality works well when entering text in Vellum. You can find more information on Apple's website, here:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht202584

_Update: We've since tested Dragon Dictation (albeit briefly) with Vellum, and can confirm that it works._


----------



## WDR

SND said:


> Is Dragon Dictation by Nuance compatible with Vellum (for those who like to write directly into Vellum)?


Dragon Naturally Speaking is programmed to work with your writing program to enter text.

Most of these dictation programs function by telling the operating system that the dictation program is now the keyboard and will supply the writing program with input for the text. In simpler terms: Dragon is acting as your keyboard and typing out the words you speak. In light of this, it _should_ work with Vellum. But as Brad stated above, it hasn't been officially tested. Since Apple's built-in dictation does work with Vellum, I will assume it is a safe bet that Dragon Naturally Speaking will, too.

Keep in mind, I don't use dictation software for my writing so I am no authority on this. I just know the programming and operating system side of things. If Dragon takes a different approach to sending the transcription of your dictation to the writing software, then it might not work.

I think your safest bet would be to contact Nuance (publisher of Dragon Naturally Speaking) and ask them about compatibility. It is easier for them to afford to buy a program to see if it works with their software than for you to buy their program and discover it doesn't work. Though, even if it doesn't work directly with Vellum, you can still use it with your other writing software and simply import your text into Vellum via a DOCX file.


----------



## BethRaymond

I did a quick search and didn't see anything on this--so I think it is a feature request more than anything--but does anyone know if it is possible to have multiple copyright pages for multiple print/ebook formats? I know you can specify certain elements to show up in either electronic or print forms, but then it applies to ALL electronic and ALL print forms. So, if I have four ISBNs for four different formats, I'm currently having to create two separate Vellum files with the same content EXCEPT for the copyright pages (one file with the ISBNs for Kindle/paperback, and another file with the ISBNs for ePub/hardback). This isn't the end of the world, but it would be great to only have to keep track of one file.


----------



## Brad Andalman

BethRaymond said:


> I did a quick search and didn't see anything on this--so I think it is a feature request more than anything--but does anyone know if it is possible to have multiple copyright pages for multiple print/ebook formats? I know you can specify certain elements to show up in either electronic or print forms, but then it applies to ALL electronic and ALL print forms. So, if I have four ISBNs for four different formats, I'm currently having to create two separate Vellum files with the same content EXCEPT for the copyright pages (one file with the ISBNs for Kindle/paperback, and another file with the ISBNs for ePub/hardback). This isn't the end of the world, but it would be great to only have to keep track of one file.


At most, Vellum allows you to have one Copyright element for all ebook versions and another for your print version. If you have ISBNs for different formats, we typically recommend using one Copyright page and listing your ISBNs with descriptions. This is (basically) the example we use on our help page:



> © 2018 BethRaymond. All rights reserved.
> ISBN-13: 978-1-5427-5405-7 (Paperback edition)
> ISBN-13: 978-3-16-148410-0 (Ebook edition)


If you'd prefer to break your ISBNs down further (e.g. iBooks, Amazon, etc.) you could do something similar.

Hope that helps!


----------



## SND

I made a silly mistake. Without belabouring the details, I ended up up deleting my Vellum master file and then removing it from trash so it's gone permanently (novel was written directly into Vellum, not imported from other writing software).

I purchased Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery but so far have been unable to locate and recover the Vellum document.

I do still have the generated vellum files; Generic EPUB and Kindle and PDF Print versions.
However, I need to make a few editing tweaks and regenerate these.

Is there a way to convert back to Word or retroactively recreate the Vellum master document? Or is it lost in time like tears in rain (thanks Bladerunner).


----------



## GirlWriter

> I made a silly mistake. Without belabouring the details, I ended up up deleting my Vellum master file and then removing it from trash so it's gone permanently (novel was written directly into Vellum, not imported from other writing software).
> 
> I purchased Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery but so far have been unable to locate and recover the Vellum document.
> 
> I do still have the generated vellum files; Generic EPUB and Kindle and PDF Print versions.
> However, I need to make a few editing tweaks and regenerate these.
> 
> Is there a way to convert back to Word or retroactively recreate the Vellum master document? Or is it lost in time like tears in rain (thanks Bladerunner).


Yes. You can convert PDF to word and reimport into Vellum. There are several apps that do this. The best if Adobe Acrobat Pro. It's expensive, but you can download a 1-month free trial from Adobe.
You can also download Calibre. It's a free book formatting app. You should be able to upload the ePub or pdf to it and edit in the tool. It can be a bit cumbersome. But you should be able to get your manuscript converted back to Word.


----------



## WDR

SND said:


> I made a silly mistake. Without belabouring the details, I ended up up deleting my Vellum master file and then removing it from trash so it's gone permanently (novel was written directly into Vellum, not imported from other writing software).
> 
> I purchased Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery but so far have been unable to locate and recover the Vellum document.
> 
> I do still have the generated vellum files; Generic EPUB and Kindle and PDF Print versions.
> However, I need to make a few editing tweaks and regenerate these.
> 
> Is there a way to convert back to Word or retroactively recreate the Vellum master document? Or is it lost in time like tears in rain (thanks Bladerunner).


You could try and use Apple's Time Machine backup system to recover the file. If that doesn't work, as long as you have the EPUB files, you still have your work available.

You can open the EPUB and extract the HTML files. You can then open each chapter in Safari and simply cut and paste the text into Word.

To do this:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Create a new folder and _copy_ the EPUB file into it. (Hold down the Option key while you drag the file and that will create a copy of it.)
[*]Open the Terminal program and *cd* (change directory) to the folder where the EPUB copy was just placed. The easy way to do this is to type "*cd* <space>" and then drag the folder onto the Terminal window. This will create the path you need to that folder.
[*]Type this command: *unzip filename.epub* (Replace _filename_ with the name of the EPUB file.)
[*]Going back to Finder, you will see a few files have appeared. Open the folder named OEBPS. This will reveal the XHTML files that represent each chapter of your book.
[*]Open the XHTML files in Safari and start cutting and pasting.
[/list]

You may have to go through your manuscript and fix the formatting. Go through it carefully to ensure there is nothing missing. The formatting for your book is contained in the CSS files contained in the _css_ folder.

This is one of the reasons I like EPUB so much, as one can recover data from it easily.

In the future, remember to keep a backup.


----------



## Sophrosyne

I would use the PDF instead of messing around with E-book files.You can open the PDF and save it as a word document, and then clean it up. I  use Adobe acrobat pro to do the conversion to Word, and then I move it into Vellum.


----------



## WDR

Sophrosyne said:


> I would use the PDF instead of messing around with E-book files.You can open the PDF and save it as a word document, and then clean it up. I use Adobe acrobat pro to do that.


Apple's Preview can do the same.

Edit: Er- I mean, you can cut-and-paste from Preview.


----------



## SND

Thanks, I downloaded Calibre and converted epub to docx and reimported to Vellum.


----------



## ZanaHart

SND said:


> Thanks, I downloaded Calibre and converted epub to docx and reimported to Vellum.


Yay! Been rooting for you!


----------



## Cebelius

I figure most people exploring this thread are doing so to answer some technical question, but for those who haven't heard of the program and are just checking the back to see what people are saying ... I bought a macmini for the express purpose of running Vellum. I HATE mac ... but for this program I put up with it.

I have absolutely no complaints. The preview functionality, the ease of formatting, everything is letter perfect. 

Highly recommend it.


----------



## Nobody222

Any news on adding the footnotes feature? It is highly requested and it is the only thing that prevents me from buying it.


----------



## BethRaymond

Brad Andalman said:


> At most, Vellum allows you to have one Copyright element for all ebook versions and another for your print version. If you have ISBNs for different formats, we typically recommend using one Copyright page and listing your ISBNs with descriptions. This is (basically) the example we use on our help page:
> 
> If you'd prefer to break your ISBNs down further (e.g. iBooks, Amazon, etc.) you could do something similar.
> 
> Hope that helps!


Thank you! I don't know why I didn't think of this, but it solves the problem brilliantly.


----------



## Nobody222

People have been asking for footnotes support for ages. Every month I run a google search on_ vellum footnotes_, and I find lots of people requesting this feature, always with the same answer by the developers: "It's something we have in mind, but have no timeframe for it".

Since it's been a few years, would anyone from vellum actually tell us if it's really in "your minds", or if it's not, and thus vellum will stay exclusive for fiction writers?

Please, be sincere and honest. Either tell us that it will not happen because you're not (and never have) attempted to truly solve this problem, or that you really have it in your minds and are scheduling that update to be released @ MONTH/YEAR.

Thanks for understanding!


----------



## WDR

The problem isn't so much with Vellum as it is with ereading devices and the ebook file formats and how they render text.

The problem is there is no way to anchor the text block containing the footnote to the same displayed-page where the superscripted reference number appears in an ebook reader.

If you go to any page on Wikipedia, you will see they footnote extensively. Lots of nicely formatted footnote numbers appear and all the way down at the bottom of the page are the footnotes. Looks nice. The problem is, those footnotes are all the way at the bottom of the HTML _web_page. They don't appear a few lines below the number citing the footnote.

Each chapter in your book is a single HTML page. So your footnotes would not appear until the absolute end of the chapter. This would make them _end_notes, not footnotes.

It is possible that maybe in the EPUB-4 format or the EPUB-5 format that they may include a mechanism for footnoting. But for that to work would require the e-reader manufacturers to add in the programming that would allow this to work smoothly, so that a give footnote appears on the same displayed page as the reference number attached to it.


----------



## writerc

Hello

Quick query.

My chapter headings on my Vellum preview are centered but I just bought my book and on my kindle, the chapter headings are not.

Instead of      1          
                  -------

I have        1
              -----------

So the actual chapter number is off to the left of the actual centered line.
Any idea what this might be. I'm not sure how to fix it cos it looks fine on my computer?

ETA It also looks fine on the mobi I emailed myself to my kindle before publication to proofread.
Does Amazon sometimes make these things wonky?

Thanks for any help
Theresa


----------



## ZanaHart

catlife said:


> My chapter headings on my Vellum preview are centered but I just bought my book and on my kindle, the chapter headings are not.
> 
> Instead of 1
> -------
> 
> I have 1
> -----------


I just took a look at Amazon for your book Garrick, and the chapter headings show as centered with Look Inside.


----------



## Used To Be BH

WDR said:


> The problem isn't so much with Vellum as it is with ereading devices and the ebook file formats and how they render text.
> 
> The problem is there is no way to anchor the text block containing the footnote to the same displayed-page where the superscripted reference number appears in an ebook reader.
> 
> If you go to any page on Wikipedia, you will see they footnote extensively. Lots of nicely formatted footnote numbers appear and all the way down at the bottom of the page are the footnotes. Looks nice. The problem is, those footnotes are all the way at the bottom of the HTML _web_page. They don't appear a few lines below the number citing the footnote.
> 
> Each chapter in your book is a single HTML page. So your footnotes would not appear until the absolute end of the chapter. This would make them _end_notes, not footnotes.
> 
> It is possible that maybe in the EPUB-4 format or the EPUB-5 format that they may include a mechanism for footnoting. But for that to work would require the e-reader manufacturers to add in the programming that would allow this to work smoothly, so that a give footnote appears on the same displayed page as the reference number attached to it.


A lot of formats either allow for or prefer endnotes, anyway. (See for example CMOS, 17th edition, 1.62). The problem is that Vellum doesn't support endnotes, either.

Some formats [MLA, for instance, have moved to parenthetical notes (intext or inline citations/reference list) rather than footnotes or endnotes]. I just checked CMOS, and it now includes parenthetical notes as an alternative form of citation (CMOS 15). Given the difficulty with getting footnotes to appear correctly in an ebook, adopting this alternative may be the best way to get around the problem.


----------



## writerc

ZanaHart said:


> I just took a look at Amazon for your book Garrick, and the chapter headings show as centered with Look Inside.


Thanks for looking 

Yes, it looks fine there too. Maybe my kindle is wonky or it got melted in the ether on the way to Devon 

theresa x


----------



## Brad West

Nobody222 said:


> People have been asking for footnotes support for ages. Every month I run a google search on_ vellum footnotes_, and I find lots of people requesting this feature, always with the same answer by the developers: "It's something we have in mind, but have no timeframe for it".
> 
> Since it's been a few years, would anyone from vellum actually tell us if it's really in "your minds", or if it's not, and thus vellum will stay exclusive for fiction writers?


Hi Nobody,

This is a long thread, but if you look a few pages back, you'll find that our last answer to this question was that we are planning to release something later this year. Please understand that this is a large, complex project. That's why, in the past, we haven't been able to prioritize footnotes/endnotes over more popular requests like print. And it's why, today, we can't give a more precise ETA. But we are working on it, and have been for quite some time.



catlife said:


> My chapter headings on my Vellum preview are centered but I just bought my book and on my kindle, the chapter headings are not.
> 
> Instead of 1
> -------
> 
> I have 1
> -----------
> 
> So the actual chapter number is off to the left of the actual centered line.
> Any idea what this might be. I'm not sure how to fix it cos it looks fine on my computer?
> 
> ETA It also looks fine on the mobi I emailed myself to my kindle before publication to proofread.
> Does Amazon sometimes make these things wonky?
> 
> Thanks for any help
> Theresa


Hi Theresa,

This appears to be the result of a bug in the rendering of Amazon's Enhanced Typesetting. Fortunately, Amazon seems to be in the middle of addressing it. As far as we can tell, the problem is no longer visible on the Kindle Fire, and an update for iOS was released earlier this week. Unfortunately, the problem can still be seen on a Paperwhite. We're assuming that will be fixed with a forthcoming update, but we don't have any information about when this might be available. You and your readers won't need to do anything to see the fixed behavior: once the update is applied, your books will again appear as you expect.

Hope that helps.

---

Update 10/3/18: Based on our most recent checks, this fix has since been applied to the Paperwhite


----------



## rkbentley

Question about page count, Vellum vs. Scrivener for print, I know font size and page size can make a difference between page counts but Scrivener gave me a paperback page count of 340 and Vellum is 430.

Which should I use?

Thanks!


----------



## GirlWriter

> Question about page count, Vellum vs. Scrivener for print, I know font size and page size can make a difference between page counts but Scrivener gave me a paperback page count of 340 and Vellum is 430.


Use which ever you are using to format. If you are using Vellum, then you have to got with Vellum's page count. Also check Body, under Styles and play with the fonts. There can be a big difference in page count depending on Font, Line Spacing, book size and All pages starting on right or not.
I do not recommend going less than the middle tick for fonts/line spacing as they might be too small/tight on print. I tested them all and the middle tick is between PT 10 and 11.5 depending on the font.


----------



## writerc

Brad West said:


> Hi Theresa,
> 
> This appears to be the result of a bug in the rendering of Amazon's Enhanced Typesetting. Fortunately, Amazon seems to be in the middle of addressing it. As far as we can tell, the problem is no longer visible on the Kindle Fire, and an update for iOS was released earlier this week. Unfortunately, the problem can still be seen on a Paperwhite. We're assuming that will be fixed with a forthcoming update, but we don't have any information about when this might be available. You and your readers won't need to do anything to see the fixed behavior: once the update is applied, your books will again appear as you expect.
> 
> Hope that helps.


Hi Brad

Thanks for getting back to me. I had wondered if I had messed up the Vellum settings somehow as I am not the most computery person ever. So good to know it's Amazon's fault and not mine  (for a change!)

Cheers
Theresa


----------



## PaulMcParlandAuthor1

Hi everybody

Has anyone had issues with Vellum Print creating a PDF where the text is back to front and upside down.

I tried to flip and mirror the text again using various programmes but I couldn't get it to completely fix itself. When I managed to get the text to appear correctly, the sentences are out of order i.e. the words are in the correct order but the 1st sentence is actually the last in the chapter, the second sentence is the penultimate etc etc.

Any idea if I have a setting on Vellum incorrect or of an easy fix for the PDF file itself?


----------



## Brad Andalman

PaulMcParlandAuthor1 said:


> Hi everybody
> 
> Has anyone had issues with Vellum Print creating a PDF where the text is back to front and upside down.
> 
> I tried to flip and mirror the text again using various programmes but I couldn't get it to completely fix itself. When I managed to get the text to appear correctly, the sentences are out of order i.e. the words are in the correct order but the 1st sentence is actually the last in the chapter, the second sentence is the penultimate etc etc.
> 
> Any idea if I have a setting on Vellum incorrect or of an easy fix for the PDF file itself?


This sounds like a bug that appeared when macOS High Sierra was first released, which means that you might be running a very old version of Vellum. You can learn how to update to the latest version of Vellum here:
https://help.vellum.pub/updating/

If that doesn't fix your issue, feel free to get in touch with us directly:
https://help.vellum.pub/contact/


----------



## BethRaymond

> This appears to be the result of a bug in the rendering of Amazon's Enhanced Typesetting. Fortunately, Amazon seems to be in the middle of addressing it. As far as we can tell, the problem is no longer visible on the Kindle Fire, and an update for iOS was released earlier this week. Unfortunately, the problem can still be seen on a Paperwhite. We're assuming that will be fixed with a forthcoming update, but we don't have any information about when this might be available. You and your readers won't need to do anything to see the fixed behavior: once the update is applied, your books will again appear as you expect.


Brad, thanks for this--I hadn't updated my iPad Kindle software in a bit and panicked when I saw this same formatting error in a newly released book. Came here and saw your post, then immediately updated my app. All now is well! And, in the event a reader with a Paperwhite encounters this and reaches out to me, I will know what to tell them.


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

I'm about to sell my MacBook. I'm getting another one soon. But I'm worried that I've activated Vellum on too many computers already. Over the last three years, I've had it on about three Macs. Is there a limit on how many times I can activate/register Vellum? And if so is there a way I can deactivate this MacBook because I don't want y'all to think I'm just giving folks my account info so they can use it lol.


----------



## FictionAtlas

Hello. I've been very happy with the ebook side of Vellum, but the print side is giving me many errors.

First of all, the difference between proof and draft mode are considerable.

Then, and this is the biggest problem I have found, the inability to use double returns or page breaks to position content.

I have ornamental breaks throughout my book. I do not want these to appear at the top of bottom of the print page. If I take them out, the entire page rearranges and I get more text on the top or bottom depending on where the break was situated on the page. Now that means I can leave a blank line as a break, but that is not consistent with all my ornamental breaks. Why is it that I can't control where these breaks appear? Why can't I double space or insert a break to the next page? The same is true for specific date subheadings that are getting separated from their corresponding text.

Please tell me there is a fix for this, or at least an update soon? I am a publisher and I want my books to look professional. That's why I bought Vellum to begin with!


----------



## Nobody222

Brad West said:


> Hi Nobody,
> 
> This is a long thread, but if you look a few pages back, you'll find that our last answer to this question was that we are planning to release something later this year. Please understand that this is a large, complex project. That's why, in the past, we haven't been able to prioritize footnotes/endnotes over more popular requests like print. And it's why, today, we can't give a more precise ETA. But we are working on it, and have been for quite some time.


Thanks for answering. Really looking forward to this feature.


----------



## Brad West

D. Zollicoffer said:


> I'm about to sell my MacBook. I'm getting another one soon. But I'm worried that I've activated Vellum on too many computers already. Over the last three years, I've had it on about three Macs. Is there a limit on how many times I can activate/register Vellum? And if so is there a way I can deactivate this MacBook because I don't want y'all to think I'm just giving folks my account info so they can use it lol.


Hi D,

The limit is based on active use: you should be fine with your three Macs. If you are selling your MacBook, though, be sure to first completely and securely erase all of the data on it. Unused licenses will automatically deactivate, but a complete erase will ensure that happens as quickly as possible.



FictionAtlas said:


> I have ornamental breaks throughout my book. I do not want these to appear at the top of bottom of the print page. If I take them out, the entire page rearranges and I get more text on the top or bottom depending on where the break was situated on the page. Now that means I can leave a blank line as a break, but that is not consistent with all my ornamental breaks. Why is it that I can't control where these breaks appear? Why can't I double space or insert a break to the next page? The same is true for specific date subheadings that are getting separated from their corresponding text.


Hi Fiction,

If you have subheadings that you want to keep from landing on the bottom of the page, we'd recommend making use of Vellum's Subhead feature (https://help.vellum.pub/textfeatures/). Vellum includes built-in adjustments to discourage these from landing at the bottom of the page.

As for ornamental breaks, though, there's nothing "unprofessional" about one appearing at the top (or bottom) of page. Here's one in the book I'm reading now. (_Expanse_ fans will recognize the distinctive ornament, but don't read too closely if you're not at Book 6!):










If you're seeing a big difference between Draft and Proof mode, it means Vellum's doing a lot to eliminate widows, balance spreads, etc. More details about the work Vellum does in Proof mode (and in your final book) can be found here:
https://help.vellum.pub/print-auto-layout/



Nobody222 said:


> Thanks for answering. Really looking forward to this feature.


Hi Nobody,

We're glad to hear it. We think it will be worth the wait!


----------



## Anarchist

JRTomlin said:


> I'm sure this is discussed in this extremely long thread but I don't want to go through the whole thing so maybe someone can tell me...
> 
> Is there any way to do an omnibus or box set using it?


Not Brad, but...

https://help.vellum.pub/box-sets/


----------



## GirlWriter

For the emojis under Edit, Emoji and Symbols, has anyone tried using them?

Do they work for Kindle and other platforms? 
When I test it, it shows on iBooks but not with with sideloading into Kindle. I don't have other apps/devices to test it.

Can someone confirm that this is one of those things that works once uploaded to Amazon and other vendors?

Thanks!


----------



## WDR

Erica Alexander said:


> For the emojis under Edit, Emoji and Symbols, has anyone tried using them?
> 
> Do they work for Kindle and other platforms?
> When I test it, it shows on iBooks but not with with sideloading into Kindle. I don't have other apps/devices to test it.
> 
> Can someone confirm that this is one of those things that works once uploaded to Amazon and other vendors?
> 
> Thanks!


Also not one of the Brads&#8230;

My gut feeling is it won't work. The issue being, the device that is rendering the ebook---the Kindle---might not be set up to display emojis.

The best way to test this is to simply generate an ebook that is composed of a few pages of emojis and generate the Kindle version, thence load it into your Kindle and see if it works.

One key thing to remember, make sure your Kindle is set to display the ebook according to the publisher's settings, not your personal preferences. I can make alternate fonts appear in my text if I used the publisher settings on my Kindle, but when I override that with using other fonts, margins, etc., the fonts go away. I suspect the emojis will behave in the same way: disappear.

If you really need those emojis, you could make JPEGs of them and insert those into the text. That might get it done.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Erica Alexander said:


> For the emojis under Edit, Emoji and Symbols, has anyone tried using them?
> 
> Do they work for Kindle and other platforms?
> When I test it, it shows on iBooks but not with with sideloading into Kindle. I don't have other apps/devices to test it.
> 
> Can someone confirm that this is one of those things that works once uploaded to Amazon and other vendors?
> 
> Thanks!


While emojis will appear in iBooks, they aren't guaranteed to appear on other apps/devices. In particular, they aren't allowed in Kindle ebooks (if you do include them you may receive an inscrutable auto-response from Amazon about improper unicode values). As a result, we typically recommend avoiding emojis in your ebooks.


----------



## juliatheswede

I confess that I haven't gone through this entire thread. Maybe the answer is there for this question: Why can't I open a Vellum-generated mobi file in Vellum?? When I try, my Mac doesn't give me the option to open it with Vellum so I can create files for other platforms. Anyone know why?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## lilywhite

Brad(s), a request: Please let us include Chapters in ebook/print versions only. 

I've got ornamental breaks wherever a scene break occurs within a chapter, and I think that's really important for an ebook, because we have no way of knowing where the scene will break, and if it breaks at the top of bottom of a page (screen, I guess), the only way a reader knows there was a break is with a visual like the ornament.

This is also the case if a scene breaks at the top or bottom of a print page. 

I've been through a good dozen print versions of trad books to check this today, and I found not a single instance where there was an ornament if a scene break appeared in the middle of the page. The convention in this case is to leave a double space. 

The way Vellum works now, I can either have ornaments at every break within a chapter, or at none. Being able to duplicate chapters and designate each version as either print or ebook would allow me to remove the unnecessary ornaments in the print version but retain them for the ebook.

Thanks for considering this!


----------



## juliatheswede

Marty South said:


> You make changes and/or generate formats through the Vellum file (the one with the "vellum" extension). The mobi file is just an end product.


A kind soul explained this to me in more detail, but thanks for chiming in

I SEE WE CAN MAKE REQUESTS ON THIS THREAD. BRAD: PLEASE ADD A WAY TO VERY SIMPLY DELETE VELLUM FILES YOU NO LONGER WANT INSIDE THE VELLUM APP.


----------



## Brad Andalman

lilywhite said:


> I've got ornamental breaks wherever a scene break occurs within a chapter, and I think that's really important for an ebook, because we have no way of knowing where the scene will break, and if it breaks at the top of bottom of a page (screen, I guess), the only way a reader knows there was a break is with a visual like the ornament.
> 
> This is also the case if a scene breaks at the top or bottom of a print page.
> 
> I've been through a good dozen print versions of trad books to check this today, and I found not a single instance where there was an ornament if a scene break appeared in the middle of the page. The convention in this case is to leave a double space.
> 
> The way Vellum works now, I can either have ornaments at every break within a chapter, or at none. Being able to duplicate chapters and designate each version as either print or ebook would allow me to remove the unnecessary ornaments in the print version but retain them for the ebook.
> 
> Thanks for considering this!


Thanks for the suggestion! I've gone ahead and logged it in our database. Duplicating chapters does mean that certain things - like fixing typos, for instance - would then become twice as difficult. So, we'll definitely consider alternative solutions for your underlying issue.

That said, we have seen a great many traditionally-published books that use ornamental scene breaks throughout. If your personal preference, though, is to avoid using an ornament, then you might consider choosing a different *Paragraph After Break* style. Even though Vellum won't indent the first paragraph after a break, a more obvious *Paragraph After Break* style (e.g. using small caps for the first phrase) might be a good way to make it very clear that a new scene is beginning.



juliatheswede said:


> BRAD: PLEASE ADD A WAY TO VERY SIMPLY DELETE VELLUM FILES YOU NO LONGER WANT INSIDE THE VELLUM APP.


Vellum's startup window shows the most recent files you've worked with in Vellum. If you no longer need one of these files, you can simply delete it by locating your Vellum file in the Finder and dragging it into the Trash. After the file is deleted, it will disappear from this recent file list.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Musicreb

I am trying to format a music education book for Kindle using Vellum.  I want the images of sheet music to be readable on the various different device types.  I created a .mobi using the Vellum generate command.  When I view the file in the Kindle Previewer the music images are fuzzy and a little hard to read.  When I double click on sheet music image to zoom in on it the music becomes completely illegible - the lines on the music staff disappear. 

Is this a problem with Kindle Previewer?  The lines on the staff were also fuzzy in the preview pane of Vellum. 

How can I figure out the best image type to put into my ebook in Vellum to get a legible image in my ebook? I have used 2 different type images as source images:  .tiff at 1200 ppi, and a .gif created from the 1200 ppi .tiff.


----------



## Musicreb

P.S.  The images display in the finished eBook as too small to be legible even when I click 'separate page' on the image selection inline menu.


----------



## RPatton

Musicreb said:


> I am trying to format a music education book for Kindle using Vellum. I want the images of sheet music to be readable on the various different device types. I created a .mobi using the Vellum generate command. When I view the file in the Kindle Previewer the music images are fuzzy and a little hard to read. When I double click on sheet music image to zoom in on it the music becomes completely illegible - the lines on the music staff disappear.


If Vellum has a fixed layout option, try that. Anything with images or special formatting almost always has to be in a fixed layout or it will go all wonky.

If you are already doing that, my only recommendation is to use a .png at 300 ppi. I have little to no luck using .tiffs


----------



## Brad Andalman

Musicreb said:


> P.S. The images display in the finished eBook as too small to be legible even when I click 'separate page' on the image selection inline menu.


It sounds like you've chosen the largest Inline Image size in Vellum. If you see a green check at the top of the Inline Image popover, then you should be all set and your image should be legible in your generated ebooks. You can see an example of this on our Inline Images help page.

If that doesn't help, feel free to send us your Vellum file directly, and we'll take a look. The best way to send us a Vellum file is by using the *Attach a File* link at the bottom of our contact page.


----------



## Roman_writer

Good morning,
A simple question... I have a four-word title to a chapter and would like to split it into two words per line for the print version, i.e. work round the automatic wrapping which makes it three words on the first line and one word on the second.

I think I've tried the obvious things, but a. is it possible and b. if so, how do you do it?
Many thanks,
Alison


----------



## Brad Andalman

Roman_writer said:


> Good morning,
> A simple question... I have a four-word title to a chapter and would like to split it into two words per line for the print version, i.e. work round the automatic wrapping which makes it three words on the first line and one word on the second.
> 
> I think I've tried the obvious things, but a. is it possible and b. if so, how do you do it?
> Many thanks,
> Alison


If you have two words that should not be split across two lines, we recommend making use of a _non-breaking space_ in your title. A non-breaking space will keep adjacent words together on the same line.

To use one, delete the space between the last two words in your title. Then replace it with a non-breaking space, which you can enter by holding down the *Option* key as you press *Space*.

You should then see the two words together on the same line in the Preview.


----------



## hlsbs

Hi
I really want to be able to include two fonts in both ebooks and print so that the reader can distinguish between characters or see that a section of text is a letter. Using italic isn't working. Is there a way of doing this?
I'd also like to be able to place an image on the title page between the title and author name.


----------



## TexasGirl

I just downloaded Vellum yesterday and I have two types of quotes -- straight and slanted. I've already made substantive changes inside Vellum and really don't want to have to re-import or I will lose it all. Any updates on the feature to standardize the quote marks?


----------



## 98475

Hi, Vellum. I have a question. Is there a way to add more fonts to the printed editions on the module? I'd love to see more fonts added if this isn't already an option. It feels limited with 7-8 fonts only to use for print versions.


----------



## Brad Andalman

hlsbs said:


> Hi
> I really want to be able to include two fonts in both ebooks and print so that the reader can distinguish between characters or see that a section of text is a letter. Using italic isn't working. Is there a way of doing this?
> I'd also like to be able to place an image on the title page between the title and author name.


To format a section of text as a letter, you might consider using a Block Quotation or Alignment Block. Both of these Text Features will inset your text from its surroundings. If you'd like to change the font, you could consider using Sans Serif or Monospace Character Formatting.

If you are having problems using italics, please contact us directly so we can help you solve this problem.

Lastly, if you'd like to use a custom title page, you can replace the Title Page element that Vellum creates for you with a Full Page Image element.



TexasGirl said:


> I just downloaded Vellum yesterday and I have two types of quotes -- straight and slanted. I've already made substantive changes inside Vellum and really don't want to have to re-import or I will lose it all. Any updates on the feature to standardize the quote marks?


If you'd like to clean up your quotes in Vellum, select some text in the Text Editor and then right-click (or Control-click) on the selection to bring up the context menu. Then, choose *Apply Smart Quotes*.



ericreese said:


> Hi, Vellum. I have a question. Is there a way to add more fonts to the printed editions on the module? I'd love to see more fonts added if this isn't already an option. It feels limited with 7-8 fonts only to use for print versions.


Currently, there is no way to add more fonts for your print edition. Vellum does, however, support Adobe Garamond Pro. So, if you don't have this font installed on your Mac already, it will appear in Vellum's font popup menu if/when you install it.


----------



## Brad West

Since it's been asked about a few times in this thread, we thought we'd share that Vellum 2.3 is now available and adds *endnotes*.

In print, endnotes appear at the back of the book, in a Notes section. In ebooks, these notes appear in a popup, so a reader access each note without losing their place. Endnotes and footnotes in a Word file automatically converted when you import. You can also add endnotes to your text right in Vellum.

More details can be found in our announcement of Vellum 2.3.


----------



## GirlWriter

Has anyone used Vellum to create a cookbook?
If so, can you please reply to me with links to your cookbook?
I'd love to see what you came up with.

Thank you!


----------



## GirlWriter

Hi Brad and Brad.

Thanks for the new update. I would love to be able to print 8.5 x 11 paperbacks.
I know this is one of the sizes that has been asked about before.
Any plans on adding that option?
If so, do you have an ETA?

Thanks a bunch!


----------



## Brad Andalman

GirlWriter said:


> Hi Brad and Brad.
> 
> Thanks for the new update. I would love to be able to print 8.5 x 11 paperbacks.
> I know this is one of the sizes that has been asked about before.
> Any plans on adding that option?
> If so, do you have an ETA?


Adding more trim sizes is something we are currently investigating, and we don't have an ETA for when that feature will land. We are currently polling for additional size options, though, so if you haven't voted in our survey yet, please do:
https://vellum.typeform.com/to/XmfO4Y


----------



## Humble Quill

I installed Vellum a couple of days ago and am very impressed. Wonderful application.

I have one formatting problem. My novel has a foreword and an epilogue, which Vellum handles well. But I also have a midword. I'd like that to act very much like a foreword, but in the middle of the book.

The problem I'm hitting is that my novel has parts. I can't find a way to insert something between two parts, without making it a part, too. I won't want the midword to say "Part XXIX: Midword".

Any suggestions?


----------



## GirlWriter

> I installed Vellum a couple of days ago and am very impressed. Wonderful application.
> 
> I have one formatting problem. My novel has a foreword and an epilogue, which Vellum handles well. But I also have a midword. I'd like that to act very much like a foreword, but in the middle of the book.
> 
> The problem I'm hitting is that my novel has parts. I can't find a way to insert something between two parts, without making it a part, too. I won't want the midword to say "Part XXIX: Midword".


You can just add a Foreword or another element like Uncategorized in between and rename it. Close the parts. Add the new element and then drag between the parts. It will show a line when you can drop it in the right place. Let go. It will create a page between the parts.


----------



## Humble Quill

Thanks, GirlWriter. For some reason, Vellum won't let me drop anything between two parts. 

I created a new Prologue and renamed it Midword. Then I closed all the parts and tried to drag the Midword between two of them. The cursor never shows a line between the parts--it'll only let me drop the page into a part. (I also tried this with a new Chapter and a new Uncategorized, but with the same result.)

On the other hand, I can freely move the Midword between elements at the very beginning and very end--before the parts begin, and after they end.

Have you been able to drag something between two parts?


----------



## SND

Sometimes I'll accidentally have two spaces between words instead of one. Over the course of a manuscript they add up.

Is there a way to hunt those suckers down and correct them in one fell swoop?

Thanks.


----------



## ID Johnson

SND said:


> Sometimes I'll accidentally have two spaces between words instead of one. Over the course of a manuscript they add up.
> 
> Is there a way to hunt those suckers down and correct them in one fell swoop?
> 
> Thanks.


Go to Find... and hit the space bar twice and then hit return and it will highlight them all yellow (Word does the same thing.) I've never tried to do Find and Replace with that because I want to look at each of them, but it probably works the same as in Word as well.


----------



## SND

That just might be crazy enough to work. Thanks.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Humble Quill said:


> Thanks, GirlWriter. For some reason, Vellum won't let me drop anything between two parts.
> 
> I created a new Prologue and renamed it Midword. Then I closed all the parts and tried to drag the Midword between two of them. The cursor never shows a line between the parts--it'll only let me drop the page into a part. (I also tried this with a new Chapter and a new Uncategorized, but with the same result.)
> 
> On the other hand, I can freely move the Midword between elements at the very beginning and very end--before the parts begin, and after they end.
> 
> Have you been able to drag something between two parts?


Vellum will let you drag something between two parts, but it can be a bit tricky. If, during the drag, your mouse is towards the middle of the Navigator, then Vellum will prefer dropping _into_ the part. However, if you move your mouse closer to the left side of the Navigator, then Vellum will allow you to drop your element between the parts.

If you are having problems with this, feel free to contact us directly. Hope that helps!


----------



## Humble Quill

That was exactly the problem -- I was dragging between titles rather than dragging near the left edge. I'm able to insert a midword now.

Thanks Brad!


----------



## bghouse

I've been trying to find this information re Table of Contents for Print Edition

I need to be able to have the print edition have my Chapters AND Sub-Chapters listed, not just the top level hierarchy.  I write non-fiction and technical books, and consumers are looking at the table of the contents in print editions to get more details on all the topics covered in these types of books.

I use standard heading 1 and heading 2 formatting, and I read the help files on the website - but I'm not seeing where I set this up.  How can I get the second level to show on my TOC?

Example

Chapter 1 (heading 1)
  Sub-Chapter (heading 2)
  Sub-Chapter
  Sub-Chater
Chapter 2

If this can't be done currently, is there a way I could cheat it?  For example, make the auto-generated TOC not included in the Print version and manually build my own as a page that isn't included in the eBook or something?

And if this doesn't exist - how can I vote for multi-level table of contents for print books?


----------



## Brad Andalman

bghouse said:


> I've been trying to find this information re Table of Contents for Print Edition
> 
> I need to be able to have the print edition have my Chapters AND Sub-Chapters listed, not just the top level hierarchy. I write non-fiction and technical books, and consumers are looking at the table of the contents in print editions to get more details on all the topics covered in these types of books.
> 
> I use standard heading 1 and heading 2 formatting, and I read the help files on the website - but I'm not seeing where I set this up. How can I get the second level to show on my TOC?
> 
> Example
> 
> Chapter 1 (heading 1)
> Sub-Chapter (heading 2)
> Sub-Chapter
> Sub-Chater
> Chapter 2
> 
> If this can't be done currently, is there a way I could cheat it? For example, make the auto-generated TOC not included in the Print version and manually build my own as a page that isn't included in the eBook or something?
> 
> And if this doesn't exist - how can I vote for multi-level table of contents for print books?


The Table of Contents created by Vellum will only include Chapter titles. Subheads are not included. We do have a suggestion on file for this, though we don't have a timeframe for when this would be available.

As for workarounds, you could create your own TOC manually and insert that as a Full Page Image in your print edition. Another option to consider is using a Parts/Chapter structure rather than a Chapter/Subhead structure. If you use the former structure, then both the Parts and Chapters will be listed in the Vellum-generated TOC. You can find more information on our Parts help page.


----------



## Humble Quill

The "Copyright Page" help text says it's possible to hide the "Created with Vellum" credit. It says "you can hide this note using the switch at the bottom of the Text Editor" and shows a picture of a checkbox.

https://help.vellum.pub/elements/copyright/#created-with-vellum

I can't find that checkbox in the app, at the bottom of the text editor or elsewhere.

Is it still possible to do this? If so, can someone let me know where to find the checkbox?

Thank you.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Humble Quill said:


> The "Copyright Page" help text says it's possible to hide the "Created with Vellum" credit. It says "you can hide this note using the switch at the bottom of the Text Editor" and shows a picture of a checkbox.
> 
> https://help.vellum.pub/elements/copyright/#created-with-vellum
> 
> I can't find that checkbox in the app, at the bottom of the text editor or elsewhere.
> 
> Is it still possible to do this? If so, can someone let me know where to find the checkbox?
> 
> Thank you.


If you click on your Copyright element in Vellum's Navigator, then you'll see the "Include *Created with Vellum*" checkbox at the bottom of the Text Editor. If you don't have a Copyright element, then the *Created with Vellum* badge won't show up at all in your book.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Humble Quill

Thanks Brad! Now that I know where to look, it makes sense that it's on the Copyright page.


----------



## ccmontgom

New user and loving the software. The non-profit I work for is going to do several book(lets) a year using it.

However, because we always put bios of our community contributors at the front of their fiction/poems, we frequently end up with split pages - i.e. an intro then just one or two lines from the poem or story. We could conceivably split these up into two pages, but we like the flow.^^

Is there any way to decrease the header whitespace taken up by the title/subheading/space left for a graphic. Seems like in all designs it's about 40% of the first page of a chapter.

Thanks for your response!

Charles Montgomery


----------



## Brad Andalman

ccmontgom said:


> New user and loving the software. The non-profit I work for is going to do several book(lets) a year using it.
> 
> However, because we always put bios of our community contributors at the front of their fiction/poems, we frequently end up with split pages - i.e. an intro then just one or two lines from the poem or story. We could conceivably split these up into two pages, but we like the flow.^^
> 
> Is there any way to decrease the header whitespace taken up by the title/subheading/space left for a graphic. Seems like in all designs it's about 40% of the first page of a chapter.
> 
> Thanks for your response!
> 
> Charles Montgomery


There is no way to decrease the amount of whitespace used by the chapter headings, sorry!

As a workaround, you could consider hiding chapter headings (*Chapter > Hide Heading in Book*) and using an Alignment Block to create your own, simple headings. You can learn more about Alignment Blocks here:
https://help.vellum.pub/text-features/alignment-block/

Hope that helps,
Brad


----------



## ccmontgom

Thanks!

We can work around the first-page design by splitting the intros from the text and I'll take a look at your suggestions.

Great software, so far!!


----------



## ahenderson

Hi all you Vellum users,
I am seriously thinking about making the big switch to purchase Vellum (and will need to buy a MAC). But before I do so, I've been researching as much as I can about Vellum to make sure it will provide all my needs for printing my non-fiction book. Could you answer these questions please? 
Thanks so much!!!
--ahenderson

1) Can I create custom "Elements" (I think they're called) in Vellum, identified as the Appendix or Footnotes in the TOC, that will be physically placed at the end of my book?
2) Is there a sample of the different Book Styles I will be able to choose from? I could only find some quick views, and would like to see more details about my choices.
3) I bold and italicize my text a lot in my raw DOCX file. Will that be a problem when I import it into the Vellum project? Ie, will I end up having a lot of Chapters shown where I don't need them in the formatted Vellum document?


----------



## WDR

ahenderson said:


> Hi all you Vellum users,
> I am seriously thinking about making the big switch to purchase Vellum (and will need to buy a MAC). But before I do so, I've been researching as much as I can about Vellum to make sure it will provide all my needs for printing my non-fiction book. Could you answer these questions please?
> Thanks so much!!!
> --ahenderson
> 
> 1) Can I create custom "Elements" (I think they're called) in Vellum, identified as the Appendix or Footnotes in the TOC, that will be physically placed at the end of my book?
> 2) Is there a sample of the different Book Styles I will be able to choose from? I could only find some quick views, and would like to see more details about my choices.
> 3) I bold and italicize my text a lot in my raw DOCX file. Will that be a problem when I import it into the Vellum project? Ie, will I end up having a lot of Chapters shown where I don't need them in the formatted Vellum document?


1. Yes, you can make custom elements. If you need an element that doesn't exist, you can use "Uncategorized" and label it as you wish. One thing you may have issues with is Footnotes. I haven't seen any examples of someone embedding a footnote the appears on the same page as the notation mark itself. But you can create _End_notes by placing them all at the end of the book. Vellum even has a custom element for this. (Note: on the issue of footnotes, Brad & Brad are the final authority on this as far as Vellum is concerned. It just might be possible...)

2. The styles are built into Vellum, and they work on a pick your mix sort of way. The heading styles, paragraph styles, first line styles, ornamental breaks, etc. can all be selected independently. Putting together a compendium of all the different combinations gets a bit involved.

3. The chapters are triggered by the Heading Style you choose for the chapter designation. In particular, *Heading 1* or *Title* heading, depending on the writing software you are using. It is not cued by selected bold or italics. The text styling you set in your document will carry across faithfully through the DOCX format.

I'd like to warn you that switching from a Windows-based computer and going to a Mac is going to drive you nuts. During the first month or two, you are absolutely going to hate the Mac. The primary reason is that the keyboard shortcuts and control keys are very different. Also, the OS actually does what you tell it to do-such as physically moving a file from one location to another instead of copying it when you drag a file icon from one folder to another. "Command" key instead of "Control" and they are in different positions. "Option" instead of "Alt," and "What the hell are these weird symbol thingies on the keys?!?"

You can combine the SHIFT, Command, Option, and Control keys along with the t keyboard keys to perform different functions. That's a huge %#@!-ing number of key shortcuts. I can't even remember them all. Sometimes even the Function key can be thrown in for yet another set of shortcuts. Much of this depends on what program you are using. A lot of Mac users are artists and don't like to take their eyes off the screen or remove their hands from the keyboard while working. So the huge number of combinations gives you a lot of flexibility without even having to reach for the mouse (or touch pad.) It can be worse: you can combine the above function buttons with the two (sometimes three, four, five, or nine) mouse buttons to do the same bit. (Yes, I have a five button trackball I use for 3d-CAD work.)

The more of a power-user you are in Windows, the more you are going to hate the Mac. A friend of mine was a high-level Windows power-user, and it took her about three months to get used to the Mac. Now she absolutely loves her Mac because it works flawlessly. Most Mac users tend to use their computers until they completely wear out. (In my case, I had worn the letters and paint off the keys so they were completely blank, even worn down to the lights underneath.) This means an average of about 6 years, which makes any given computer pretty obsolete by that point.

The best advice I can give you is be patient and focus on learning to use the software you want to use. Then delve into the mysteries of all the other capabilities in the Mac OS. It takes time to get used to it after Windows, but once you do you'll love it.


----------



## Silly Writer

I love Vellum and have been using it a few years, but I find once I import my (alleged) final manuscript in to format it, I end up finding so many things to change, thus my final ms on Word is no longer correct.

Is there an easy way to export the final Vellum file (which ends up being the final manuscript) out of Vellum, so that I have a Word file with final changes? 

If so, is there a step by step somewhere for us Technically-Challenged folks?


----------



## Patty Jansen

Silly Writer said:


> I love Vellum and have been using it a few years, but I find once I import my (alleged) final manuscript in to format it, I end up finding so many things to change, thus my final ms on Word is no longer correct.
> 
> Is there an easy way to export the final Vellum file (which ends up being the final manuscript) out of Vellum, so that I have a Word file with final changes?
> 
> If so, is there a step by step somewhere for us Technically-Challenged folks?


You can export to RTF, which you can then read in any text editor including Word.

The only niggle I have with this option is that it does not make a title page.


----------



## david_macrae

Vellum uses KindleGen when compiling to mobi. I noticed KindleGen has not been updated since 2014 and appears to be a 32 bit unix executable. I was wondering if the software engineers have heard anything from amazon about if and when they plan on updating it?


----------



## countwordsmith

Is there a way to add sub-headers in the table of contents? I see that the software automatically adds chapters, but in some chapters I have three or more sub-headers inside it. How can I get them to show in the TOC? Thanks.


----------



## atree

When PC?
There are 8-10x as many PC authors globally as there are Mac-based. (I know because I lead writing groups)
When PC?


----------



## Brad Andalman

david_macrae said:


> Vellum uses KindleGen when compiling to mobi. I noticed KindleGen has not been updated since 2014 and appears to be a 32 bit unix executable. I was wondering if the software engineers have heard anything from amazon about if and when they plan on updating it?


We haven't heard anything from Amazon about this, though you can read our short blog post about this issue here:
https://blog.vellum.pub/2019/01/warnings-from-kindlegen-on-mojave/



countwordsmith said:


> Is there a way to add sub-headers in the table of contents? I see that the software automatically adds chapters, but in some chapters I have three or more sub-headers inside it. How can I get them to show in the TOC? Thanks.


Vellum doesn't currently offer a way to list subheads in the TOC. We do have a suggestion on file for this feature, though we don't currently have a time frame for when we might get to it. Sorry!


----------



## countwordsmith

Okay, thanks.


----------



## david_macrae

There actually is a 64 bit version of kindlegen. It is distributed with kindle previewer 3

the location is here: /Applications/Kindle\ Previewer\ 3.app/Contents/MacOS/lib/fc/bin/kindlegen

when i ran a file command on it the result was: Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64

Amazon probably just never got around to updating the download link page

*note*: I copied the file from there and replaced the one vellum downloads here: /Users/yourname/Library/Containers/co.180g.Vellum/Data/Library/Application\ Support/Vellum/KindleGen/kindlegen

it works fine and without popup.


----------



## WDR

david_macrae said:


> There actually is a 64 bit version of kindlegen. It is distributed with kindle previewer 3
> 
> the location is here: /Applications/Kindle\ Previewer\ 3.app/Contents/MacOS/lib/fc/bin/kindlegen
> 
> when i ran a file command on it the result was: Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64
> 
> Amazon probably just never got around to updating the download link page
> 
> *note*: I copied the file from there and replaced the one vellum downloads here /Users/yourname/Library/Containers/co.180g.Vellum/Data/Library/Application\ Support/Vellum/KindleGen/kindlegen
> 
> it works fine and without popup.


Oooo! Good heads-up, Dave!

I jumped over to Amazon and downloaded the new Kindle Preview app for MacOS. While they don't label it as such on the webpage, it _does_ download the newest Kindle Preview 3---and that includes the new 64-bit version of kindlegen.

For those looking to update and can't remember where Amazon hides it:

On your KDP account page, in the block titled _Create A New Book_, click on the link *Get started with Kindle content creation tools*. The link to download Kindle Previewer is on the resulting page.

(I didn't link directly to it for two reasons: One, Amazon could change the location at anytime. Two, security---posting a link where you expect to log in could be a phishing trap. Best you log into your account manually/cleanly to get that program.)


----------



## Brad Andalman

david_macrae said:


> There actually is a 64 bit version of kindlegen. It is distributed with kindle previewer 3
> 
> the location is here: /Applications/Kindle\ Previewer\ 3.app/Contents/MacOS/lib/fc/bin/kindlegen
> 
> when i ran a file command on it the result was: Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64
> 
> Amazon probably just never got around to updating the download link page
> 
> *note*: I copied the file from there and replaced the one vellum downloads here: /Users/yourname/Library/Containers/co.180g.Vellum/Data/Library/Application\ Support/Vellum/KindleGen/kindlegen
> 
> it works fine and without popup.


Hi David,

We are aware that a 64-bit version of kindlegen is bundled with Amazon's Kindle Previewer application. However, this is not an officially released kindlegen version. In fact, if you query its version, it reports that it's a development build:


Code:


Amazon kindlegen(MAC OSX) V2.9 build 0000-kdevbld

This doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, so we aren't recommending the copy-kindlegen-out-of-Kindle-Previewer route to our users.

Since there is nothing wrong with running a 32-bit version of kindlegen on Mojave, we think the best option is simply to dismiss this dialog. It should only appear occasionally -- about once every 30 days. And it shouldn't affect how Vellum generates your Kindle files at all.

As we mentioned in our blog post, we are also currently investigating ways to create ebooks for Kindle without triggering this warning.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Is there a way to add "lines" that will stay formatted correctly? I'm turning a nonfiction book into a workbook and adding lines for people to write notes down.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Marseille said:


> Is there a way to add "lines" that will stay formatted correctly? I'm turning a nonfiction book into a workbook and adding lines for people to write notes down.


Vellum doesn't offer a built-in way to add lines for workbooks. However, you could create a flush-left Alignment Block and fill it with some lines that are made up solely of underscores, e.g.:
________________________________________

Hope that helps,
Brad


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Hi Brads,

Here's a request that could really help non-fiction authors out.

I love the Endnotes feature. However, I find its limitations a bit frustrating. Is there a way to implement the option to add endnotes as footnotes so that these appear at the back of the book in their own separate section, rather than at the end of each chapter? If this is already an option I could not find it on your website or in any of the settings. 

I've been using Vellum itself to write an MS that is non-fiction and am enjoying it. I did use Scrivener at one point and when I imported to Vellum, all the endnotes became footnotes on their own separate page at the back of the book. I just didn't want to use two pieces of software when the one suffices well enough. In other words, it seems like a lot of unnecessary back and forth between two pieces of software to achieve one basic maneuver. 

I hope this makes sense and that I'm not the only one trying to figure out a more streamlined solution.
Thanks.


----------



## Brad West

scott.marmorstein said:


> Hi Brads,
> 
> Here's a request that could really help non-fiction authors out.
> 
> I love the Endnotes feature. However, I find its limitations a bit frustrating. Is there a way to implement the option to add endnotes as footnotes so that these appear at the back of the book in their own separate section, rather than at the end of each chapter? If this is already an option I could not find it on your website or in any of the settings.
> 
> I've been using Vellum itself to write an MS that is non-fiction and am enjoying it. I did use Scrivener at one point and when I imported to Vellum, all the endnotes became footnotes on their own separate page at the back of the book. I just didn't want to use two pieces of software when the one suffices well enough. In other words, it seems like a lot of unnecessary back and forth between two pieces of software to achieve one basic maneuver.
> 
> I hope this makes sense and that I'm not the only one trying to figure out a more streamlined solution.
> Thanks.


Hi Scott,

To gather all of your endnotes at the end of the book, you can add an *Endnotes* element. You'll find this in the Add Element section of the Chapter menu. More about this element can be found here:
https://help.vellum.pub/elements/endnotes/

Vellum automatically adds an Endnotes element when importing a manuscript that includes endnotes. If you're adding endnotes manually in Vellum, though, you'll need to add this yourself.

Hope that helps.


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Brad West said:


> Hi Scott,
> 
> To gather all of your endnotes at the end of the book, you can add an *Endnotes* element. You'll find this in the Add Element section of the Chapter menu. More about this element can be found here:
> https://help.vellum.pub/elements/endnotes/
> 
> Vellum automatically adds an Endnotes element when importing a manuscript that includes endnotes. If you're adding endnotes manually in Vellum, though, you'll need to add this yourself.
> 
> Hope that helps.


Yes, I somehow did not see that, and this was super helpful, thank you!


----------



## Jake Needham

I'm formatting a book that has an unusually long title. On both the title page and the half title, Vellum insists on breaking the words of my title into two lines in a way that is both awkward and different from the layout on the cover.

I can't find any way to control the phrasing of the title on the title page so that the layout will break the way I want it to break. Am I missing something, or is there simply no way to control that?


----------



## ShayneRutherford

atree said:


> When PC?
> There are 8-10x as many PC authors globally as there are Mac-based. (I know because I lead writing groups)
> When PC?


I'm pretty sure the Brads have said they'd rather focus on making the Mac version the best it can be, rather than splitting their focus on a PC version.


----------



## Jen Peters

Is there a way to add an extra blank line space between paragraphs without triggering the ornamental break?  Or is there a way to turn off the ornamental break for the style I'm using? (Kindred)

Im formatting a novel for an author friend, who insists on getting rid of orphans in the print version.  Vellum takes care of widows but says that, according to a typographic manual, orphans are now allowed.  She cites CMOS, which still says that orphans are to be avoided.  

We're looking for options, the first of which is just to add an extra line space before the orphan line, moving it to the next page.  But when I do, it triggers the ornamental break.  I can't find a way to choose "none" or to turn it off.

On a side note, I'd love to be able to add line spaces in other places, to occasionally add more white space between alignment blocks for visual effect in print. 

Thanks!


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

I'm a little worried because I no longer have access to the email tied to my Vellum account. I keep switching Macs so I don't have one registered right now, but when I do get one again, will I be able to activate the program if I can't get into that email?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Jake Needham said:


> I'm formatting a book that has an unusually long title. On both the title page and the half title, Vellum insists on breaking the words of my title into two lines in a way that is both awkward and different from the layout on the cover.
> 
> I can't find any way to control the phrasing of the title on the title page so that the layout will break the way I want it to break. Am I missing something, or is there simply no way to control that?


Hi Jake. We answered this via email, but just in case other people have the same issue: the solution is to use a _non-breaking space_, which will keep the words around it on the same line. To use one:

[list type=decimal]
[*]Go to the Title or Subtitle field and delete the space between two words that shouldn't be broken up
[*]Enter a non-breaking space by holding down the Option key (⌥) as you press the space bar
[*]Press return to commit your change
[/list]

With the non-breaking space in place, the two words on either side of the non-breaking space will not be placed on different lines.



Jen Peters said:


> Is there a way to add an extra blank line space between paragraphs without triggering the ornamental break? Or is there a way to turn off the ornamental break for the style I'm using? (Kindred)
> 
> Im formatting a novel for an author friend, who insists on getting rid of orphans in the print version. Vellum takes care of widows but says that, according to a typographic manual, orphans are now allowed. She cites CMOS, which still says that orphans are to be avoided.


Hi Jen,

Hitting return in Vellum to add an empty line will not add an Ornamental Break. It will, however, add a Scene Break. If that Scene Break appears at the beginning or end of a page, then it will be _clarified_ (i.e. it will appear as three small dots) so that it is clear to the reader that there is a scene break at that location. You can read more about Scene Breaks here:
https://help.vellum.pub/text-features/scene-break/

There is no way to change this behavior.

Vellum prevents widows (when the last line of a paragraph appears at the top of a page), but has always allowed orphans (when the first line of a new paragraph appears at the bottom of a page). This is in keeping both with Bringhurst's _The Elements of Typographic Style_, as well as the _Chicago Manual of Style_. In fact, here's what the latter has to say on the topic:



> A page should not begin with the last line of a paragraph unless it is full measure. (A page can, however, end with the first line of a new paragraph.)
> - Chicago Manual of Style, 2.113, Sixteenth Edition


Hope that clarifies (ha!) things,
Brad


----------



## GirlWriter

Hi. I'm getting an error trying to generate a mobi for kindle.
All other platforms, including PDF generate fine.


Error: Encountered an error running KindleGen

Mac info:
Vellum: Direct Version 2.5.1 (Build 25100)
macOS: Version 10.14.3 (Build 18D109)

Help?


----------



## Brad Andalman

GirlWriter said:


> Hi. I'm getting an error trying to generate a mobi for kindle.
> All other platforms, including PDF generate fine.
> 
> Error: Encountered an error running KindleGen
> 
> Mac info:
> Vellum: Direct Version 2.5.1 (Build 25100)
> macOS: Version 10.14.3 (Build 18D109)
> 
> Help?


Kindlegen can be a little finicky, and these errors almost always disappear on the next run. If you continue to encounter problems, though, please send us your Vellum file and we'll look into it. The best way to send us your file is by using the *Attach a File* link on our contact page.

Best,
Brad


----------



## SA_Soule

Just did an update and now the software has a darker screen, which I hate. I cannn't find anything on the website or in preferences to revert back to the lighter, white screen. Please help!


----------



## WDR

SA_Soule said:


> Just did an update and now the software has a darker screen, which I hate. I cannn't find anything on the website or in preferences to revert back to the lighter, white screen. Please help!


That's Apple's Dark Mode.

You can turn it off in *System Preferences->General* and select "Appearance" whether you want it to be light or dark. Not sure if you can target specific apps.


----------



## Speaker-To-Animals

I'm sorry you've had such a disappointing experience with Vellum, I assure you that with a little more experience it will never take you as long as 30 minutes to format a novel...


----------



## WDR

When I published my first novel, I built the EPUB file by hand. Literally. I wrote out the XML files for the manifest, the container file, navigation file, the CSS, and the mimetype file. Then assembled them into the zip archive named nobody.epub. I also had to modify each variation of the EPUB files for each of the platforms: iOS, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. The B&N version I then used to generate the MOBI file for Amazon.

Because each platform has its quirks depending on which HTML rendering engine they were using, each EPUB file had to be customized for the platform. The entire process took me three to four weeks to complete before I had files that would display properly on each platform ebook reader.

For my second novel, I used Vellum. The whole process took 13 seconds. That's a hell of an improvement for productivity!

In fact, Vellum is SO fast, I now use it to create autographed ebooks when I'm selling books at an event. I use a graphics program such as Pixelmator or Painter to simulate an ink pen, then sign my autograph and personalized thank you  using a graphics tablet. I insert the resulting image onto the blank page, thus autographing the ebook, live, in front of the person wanting it. (Note: I do not save the file. Once I email or transfer the autographed ebook to the fan, I delete it. That person has the only existing copy. I usually advise them to make a backup for just in case.) (Second note: I do not plug someone's USB key into my own computer—it could be a "rubber ducky" which is a USB key designed to load malware into one's computer. I'll use email or Apple's Airdrop utility (for iPhones) to send them the file.)


----------



## LulaBaxter

Is anyone else getting this wonky issue I'm having with Vellum lately?

Randomly it will pause, usually after saving, then, instead of the cursor remaining where I left off, it will go to the top of the chapter instead, forcing me to search out where I was typing. As I said, it usually happens after saving but often it will just randomly happen as well. 

I thought the issue would go away with the most recent update but it's still happening.


----------



## Brad Andalman

LulaBaxter said:


> Is anyone else getting this wonky issue I'm having with Vellum lately?
> 
> Randomly it will pause, usually after saving, then, instead of the cursor remaining where I left off, it will go to the top of the chapter instead, forcing me to search out where I was typing. As I said, it usually happens after saving but often it will just randomly happen as well.
> 
> I thought the issue would go away with the most recent update but it's still happening.


Hi Lula,

We've just heard about this issue today. We spent some trying to reproduce this bug, but couldn't do it with a single Vellum file open on one computer.

However, we were able to reproduce something similar if we had a Vellum file open that was 1) saved in iCloud and 2) open on two different computers. Could this be the situation you are in? If so, we'd recommend making sure that you quit Vellum on one computer before opening it on another one.

If that doesn't help, please get in touch with us directly and we'll try to get to the bottom of it.


----------



## LulaBaxter

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Lula,
> 
> We've just heard about this issue today. We spent some trying to reproduce this bug, but couldn't do it with a single Vellum file open on one computer.
> 
> However, we were able to reproduce something similar if we had a Vellum file open that was 1) saved in iCloud and 2) open on two different computers. Could this be the situation you are in? If so, we'd recommend making sure that you quit Vellum on one computer before opening it on another one.
> 
> If that doesn't help, please get in touch with us directly and we'll try to get to the bottom of it.


Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me. Since I only have it installed on my laptop computer it can't be that. Maybe it's just an icloud thing?


----------



## Cutts11

Hi Guys

New to this thread. So helpful to have it here! Also new to Vellum (loving it).

My question is around store links. At first I checked the store links and they took me to the Canadian Amazon (my home and native land), and I could see they were working. But now when I preview them they take me to the US site. Which has me worried that this is happening to all of my readers, everywhere. I bought one of my own books on the Canadian site to check this, and the back-matter links took me to the US site, where of course I wasn't given the option to buy. Am I doing something wrong?

How do I check that the links are actually site specific? I'd love to be able to check that they are working in the UK, for instance, where half of my readers are.

Thanks for any light you can shed...

***update - Brad at Vellum support just sorted this issue. It's fixed*.


----------



## DenShewman

Hello, Brad and Kboards folks. New guy here, with a question about dos-a-dos. Mainly, can Vellum do it? 
(Couldn't find anything via Search.)

Basically, this is where the book is split into two halves, and the second part is attached upside-down to the first and the "back cover" is really the front cover to the second part. I first came across it in the old Ace doubles paperbacks, where two novellas were published back to back.

Reference:
https://www.abebooks.com/books/rarebooks/covers-tete-beche-binding-bound/dos-a-dos.shtml 
https://www.abebooks.com/books/publisher-science-fiction-doubles/ace-books.shtml

As my book has two different sections (kids and adult), this would be perfect for the paperback edition. Is this something that Vellum can do? (Either via an automatic option, or stitching two separate sections together and making one upside-down and reversed (page-wise)).

Much thanks for all your great work for writers and newbies everywhere!

d


----------



## Brad West

DenShewman said:


> Hello, Brad and Kboards folks. New guy here, with a question about dos-a-dos. Mainly, can Vellum do it?
> (Couldn't find anything via Search.)
> 
> Basically, this is where the book is split into two halves, and the second part is attached upside-down to the first and the "back cover" is really the front cover to the second part. I first came across it in the old Ace doubles paperbacks, where two novellas were published back to back.
> 
> Reference:
> https://www.abebooks.com/books/rarebooks/covers-tete-beche-binding-bound/dos-a-dos.shtml
> https://www.abebooks.com/books/publisher-science-fiction-doubles/ace-books.shtml
> 
> As my book has two different sections (kids and adult), this would be perfect for the paperback edition. Is this something that Vellum can do? (Either via an automatic option, or stitching two separate sections together and making one upside-down and reversed (page-wise)).
> 
> Much thanks for all your great work for writers and newbies everywhere!
> 
> d


Hi Den,

Vellum doesn't have any built-in support for producing books like this. We imagine that, as long as you keep the same settings for trim size, etc., you could stitch together two PDFs manually using PDF software like Acrobat or Preview. You'd probably have to add and rotate each page of the reversed book individually, though, so it may be some work. We're also not entirely sure whether this sort of printing would be allowed by KDP, or whether it would be flagged as a layout error. We might recommend asking in other forums whether any one has submitted a book like this, or contacting KDP to see whether this sort of book is supported.

Sorry we can't give you a clearer answer on that, but hope that's a useful starting point.


----------



## WDR

DenShewman said:


> Hello, Brad and Kboards folks. New guy here, with a question about dos-a-dos. Mainly, can Vellum do it?
> (Couldn't find anything via Search.)
> 
> Basically, this is where the book is split into two halves, and the second part is attached upside-down to the first and the "back cover" is really the front cover to the second part. I first came across it in the old Ace doubles paperbacks, where two novellas were published back to back.
> 
> Reference:
> https://www.abebooks.com/books/rarebooks/covers-tete-beche-binding-bound/dos-a-dos.shtml
> https://www.abebooks.com/books/publisher-science-fiction-doubles/ace-books.shtml
> 
> As my book has two different sections (kids and adult), this would be perfect for the paperback edition. Is this something that Vellum can do? (Either via an automatic option, or stitching two separate sections together and making one upside-down and reversed (page-wise)).
> 
> Much thanks for all your great work for writers and newbies everywhere!
> 
> d


There is a reason why these are rare and they were old copies: it turns out consumers really hated them!

It was a marketing gimmick that went wrong and they immediately stopped making them.

It is best to simply gather your novellas together in a standard format and make each novella its own section, just like an anthology.


----------



## kswalker

I finally tried Vellum and WOW. I was afraid it was going to be complicated but it's actually quite easy and I came out with a beautiful book in a much faster amount of time than I'm used to. I used to do a lot of this work by hand and found it very frustrating, but I thought it was the best way to get exactly what I wanted.

I'm kicking myself for not getting it sooner!


----------



## 45thronin

$249 is a lot of money for software.  Plus, I've been hearing/reading that there is an issue with exporting to Kindle Mobi.  What guarantee can you give me that I'll have no issues with exporting to .mobi?  I'm not shelling out $249 only to not have issues with Kindlegen exporting correctly?  Can I get my money back if it won't export to .mobi?


----------



## Brad Andalman

45thronin said:


> $249 is a lot of money for software. Plus, I've been hearing/reading that there is an issue with exporting to Kindle Mobi. What guarantee can you give me that I'll have no issues with exporting to .mobi? I'm not shelling out $249 only to not have issues with Kindlegen exporting correctly? Can I get my money back if it won't export to .mobi?


Vellum uses kindlegen, which is the only Amazon-approved way of creating mobi files. We don't know of any issues that would prevent you from generating a mobi using Vellum, and we're always happy to help if you do hit an error (which happens very rarely).

And, yes, if you are unhappy after you purchase Vellum, we offer a full refund.


----------



## WDR

45thronin said:


> $249 is a lot of money for software. Plus, I've been hearing/reading that there is an issue with exporting to Kindle Mobi. What guarantee can you give me that I'll have no issues with exporting to .mobi? I'm not shelling out $249 only to not have issues with Kindlegen exporting correctly? Can I get my money back if it won't export to .mobi?


Fear not! _Vellum_ *will* produce flawless MOBI files.

Honestly, I had similar reservations when _Vellum_ first came out. I didn't want to spend the money until I was certain it was working correctly. It seemed just a little too good to be true. Happily, I got over my reservations and bought it.

To sum it up in the easiest manner: where it took me nearly four weeks of careful coding and tweaking to create ebook files for each of the platforms (iOS, Kindle, Kobo, and Nook), _Vellum_ could complete the task in just about 17 seconds. I was able to load each generated file into each of my ebook reading devices and they were able to render the ebooks in a very consistent manner. And they looked great. I could even add drop-caps at the opening of a chapter, without having to code it in by hand.

Trust me, that is _well_ worth $249 for such an increase in productivity!


----------



## Laurie45

Just got Vellum and loving it so far.

But problem:

My Vellum-generated MOBI has a Look Inside stripped of all KF8 formatting. I have also tried uploading the generic ePUB to the same effect. 

I've read elsewhere in a post dated 2016 that it takes Amazon several days to several weeks to update the Look Inside from MOBI7 to KF8, but is this still the case in 2019? Many other authors seem to have KF8 formatting for books published only two days ago. The first few days of a new book are crucial. I'd hate to contact Amazon tech support every time I upload a Vellum file just fix the Look Inside. 

Is there any way to have the Look Inside immediately display KF8?


----------



## kswalker

Yes, Amazon's system frequently delays updating the Look Inside. I don't know if there's anything you can do.


----------



## Laurie45

kswalker said:


> Yes, Amazon's system frequently delays updating the Look Inside. I don't know if there's anything you can do.


Actually I seem to have found the problem. I uploaded a test book (a new title), and the KF 8 formatting showed up immediately. It seems the formatting problem only exists if you're updating an existing book that did not use Vellum.

Anything KDP can do about existing books?


----------



## Kingdavid757

I have a question.  Im working on an upcoming book, testing out the formatting in Vellum. I cant find out how to make small letters on the title page (if that is even possible)

Say the title of my book is  "Master of the Universe"  Vellum will make it  "MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE"  is there a way to make it "MASTER of the UNIVERSE" ?

Thanks!


----------



## Brad Andalman

Kingdavid757 said:


> I have a question. Im working on an upcoming book, testing out the formatting in Vellum. I cant find out how to make small letters on the title page (if that is even possible)
> 
> Say the title of my book is "Master of the Universe" Vellum will make it "MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE" is there a way to make it "MASTER of the UNIVERSE" ?
> 
> Thanks!


Vellum will set the title of your book in all capitals on your title page. Currently, there is no way to change this.

If you'd like something different, however, you might consider using a Full Page Image element instead of the Title Page element that Vellum creates for you. This will allow you to use an image of your own creation as your title page, and you can set your title however you like.

Hope that helps!


----------



## mcahogarth

So I've got a book that imported with parts and I want to remove the parts (but keep the chapters). How do I do that? I'm looking at the documentation and not finding anything...


----------



## Brad Andalman

mcahogarth said:


> So I've got a book that imported with parts and I want to remove the parts (but keep the chapters). How do I do that? I'm looking at the documentation and not finding anything...


To preserve your chapters, you'll want to drag them out of their containing Parts. It's kind of like the exact _opposite_ of this movie. Once there are no more chapters grouped underneath a Part, you can select it and use *Edit > Delete* to remove it.

Tip: to select multiple chapters at once, click on the first, then hold down *Shift* and click on the last.

Hope that helps.


----------



## JM Hendrikx

Hi Vellum
Is it possible to create a large print interior or dyslexia friendly interior through your app? 
Is there a setting for either of these? 
Thanks


----------



## Brad Andalman

JM Hendrikx said:


> Hi Vellum
> Is it possible to create a large print interior or dyslexia friendly interior through your app?
> Is there a setting for either of these?
> Thanks


Back in February, we added the ability to create Large Print books using Vellum. You can read more about how to enable this feature on the Creating a Large Print Edition help page.

Hope that helps!


----------



## Miranda Honfleur

Will the number of pages under Styles > Body ever return? When I make edits to back matter, I want to make sure it doesn't change the page count on the paperbacks (so I don't have to get my cover designers to adjust the spine again... and again... and again). It used to be very convenient with the page count right there in Vellum, but now having to take longer to check is frustrating.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Miranda Honfleur said:


> Will the number of pages under Styles > Body ever return? When I make edits to back matter, I want to make sure it doesn't change the page count on the paperbacks (so I don't have to get my cover designers to adjust the spine again... and again... and again). It used to be very convenient with the page count right there in Vellum, but now having to take longer to check is frustrating.


In Vellum 2.5, we consolidated many of the print-only features in the Print Settings dialog. As part of that, we eliminated the extra page count readout in the Body Style editor and kept it at the bottom of Print Settings:
https://help.vellum.pub/print/settings/#page-count

Since all of the settings that significantly affect page count are now in the Print Settings dialog, we felt this made sense. It can also be a bit faster to get to Print Settings, compared to getting to the Body style editor: instead of having to go to the Styles Pane and click on Body, you can always bring up the Print Settings dialog by using the hotkey: *Shift-⌘-P*.


----------



## Curt Bianchi

I have written a non-fiction book and I am considering ways to format it. My book has a pretty extensive bibliography. Although there is variation from book to book, typically biographies and similar back matter sections are formatted in a reduced size font—smaller than the book's body text, but larger than or the same as the footnotes or index. I don't think there is a way to do this in Vellum (correct me if I'm wrong!), so I guess this is a feature request for a Back Matter element formatted in reduced size font. More flexible might be a reduced font text feature or a reduced font character style (e.g., in the same menu as small caps).


----------



## GirlWriter

> I have written a non-fiction book and I am considering ways to format it. My book has a pretty extensive bibliography. Although there is variation from book to book, typically biographies and similar back matter sections are formatted in a reduced size font�smaller than the book's body text, but larger than or the same as the footnotes or index. I don't think there is a way to do this in Vellum (correct me if I'm wrong!), so I guess this is a feature request for a Back Matter element formatted in reduced size font. More flexible might be a reduced font text feature or a reduced font character style (e.g., in the same menu as small caps).


You could use the copyright page for your bibliography. It has smaller font. Then just make sure to rename in the TOC.


----------



## Curt Bianchi

GirlWriter said:


> You could use the copyright page for your bibliography. It has smaller font. Then just make sure to rename in the TOC.


That's a good suggestion. I found that if I add a Copyright element and enable "Show Heading In Book" then it doesn't place the text at the bottom of the page and also includes the title ("Bibliography" in this case) at the top. However, the section doesn't appear in the table of contents and its pages don't include headings/footers/page numbers. So close, but not quite. :-(


----------



## Brad Andalman

Curt Bianchi said:


> That's a good suggestion. I found that if I add a Copyright element and enable "Show Heading In Book" then it doesn't place the text at the bottom of the page and also includes the title ("Bibliography" in this case) at the top. However, the section doesn't appear in the table of contents and its pages don't include headings/footers/page numbers. So close, but not quite. :-(


Hi Curt,

There isn't currently a way to create an element that is appropriate for a bibliography that also has a reduced font size. For now, we recommend using an Uncategorized element with your citations set in a flush-left Alignment Block. The Uncategorized element won't use a smaller font, but it will appear in your TOC and show headers/footers in print.

We do have a suggestion in our database for adding a dedicated Bibliography element, which I've added your name to. This helps us prioritize our future work, though we don't have a time frame for when we might get to it.

Sorry we don't have a better answer for you, but hope that helps.


----------



## Curt Bianchi

No worries, Brad. You have developed a nice application. Kudos for that.

Since I'm on the subject of feature requests, I might as well request this one, too: An Index element, which would appropriately format an index constructed in external software. Index entries are almost always formatted with a hanging indent, in which all but the first line of each entry are indented. Furthermore, indexes are almost always formatted in reduced font. An additional option would be the choice of one or two columns. I've even seen some indexes with three columns. With such an element, you could construct the index separately, then paste it into the Index element's body text.

This would work well for print book indexes, but would not incorporate hyperlinking in eBooks. The non-fiction eBooks that I have seem to handle this in various ways, sometimes omitting the index completely since users can just search using their e-reader. But the most modern way seems to be that the index includes for-print page numbers which link to the text at the start of that for-print page. I know this complicates the task substantially, but perhaps there could be a "Hyperlink Index" command that would convert page numbers in the index to hyperlinks by using the print settings to calculate page numbers. One complication would be false positives when numbers that are not page numbers are included in index entries, so there might need to be a way to disable individual index hyperlinks or something similar.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Getting error: "kindlegen” is not optimized for your Mac and needs to be updated. Will not save anymore. How do I fix this?
"Encountered an error running KindleGen"


----------



## WDR

Marseille said:


> Getting error: "kindlegen" is not optimized for your Mac and needs to be updated. Will not save anymore. How do I fix this?
> "Encountered an error running KindleGen"


Don't panic.

This is the operating system complaining that Amazon's _KindleGen_ program is not updated to work with Mac OS's 64-bit environment. It is up to Amazon to get it up to date.

Currently, _KindleGen_ is the only way a party outside of Amazon can generate a MOBI file for an ebook designated for the Kindle. _Vellum_ leverages _KindleGen_ as the last step to generate the MOBI files.

It should work without issue until Apple issues their new operating system in the autumn. Then, things might get sticky. I think it is a safe bet that Amazon will have updated _KindleGen_ before that point.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Not panicking; just not good having issues generating files. I ended up closing the program, then re-opening. Was able to generate after that. Also looked at latest kengen file download available, and it is still the old one I have. Hopefully closing and reopening will continue to work.



WDR said:


> Don't panic.
> 
> This is the operating system complaining that Amazon's _KindleGen_ program is not updated to work with Mac OS's 64-bit environment. It is up to Amazon to get it up to date.
> 
> Currently, _KindleGen_ is the only way a party outside of Amazon can generate a MOBI file for an ebook designated for the Kindle. _Vellum_ leverages _KindleGen_ as the last step to generate the MOBI files.
> 
> It should work without issue until Apple issues their new operating system in the autumn. Then, things might get sticky. I think it is a safe bet that Amazon will have updated _KindleGen_ before that point.


----------



## johannesrexx

Marseille said:


> Getting error: "kindlegen" is not optimized for your Mac and needs to be updated. Will not save anymore. How do I fix this?
> "Encountered an error running KindleGen"


This sounds like you're running Mojave, which can still run 32-bit applications. Apple won't let 32-bit applications run in macOS Catalina, so Mojave is letting you know now.

Poor Vellum now has problems launching kindelgen when Mojave interferes. The good news is that it won't bother warning you again on the short term at least. The bad news is that if you're looking forward to upgrading to Catalina, don't do it until you get your 32-bit applications upgraded to 64-bit versions.

Without kindlegen you can convert ebooks to MOBI format with Calibre, a 64-bit application. Hopefully the Vellum folks will address this matter before Catalina becomes publically available this fall.


----------



## Marseille France or Bust

Yes, I am running Mojave 10.14.3. Good idea about not upgrading until...



johannesrexx said:


> This sounds like you're running Mojave, which can still run 32-bit applications. Apple won't let 32-bit applications run in macOS Catalina, so Mojave is letting you know now.
> 
> Poor Vellum now has problems launching kindelgen when Mojave interferes. The good news is that it won't bother warning you again on the short term at least. The bad news is that if you're looking forward to upgrading to Catalina, don't do it until you get your 32-bit applications upgraded to 64-bit versions.
> 
> Without kindlegen you can convert ebooks to MOBI format with Calibre, a 64-bit application. Hopefully the Vellum folks will address this matter before Catalina becomes publically available this fall.


----------



## GUTMAN

Being to lazy to read through 61 pages, -) does Vellum allow for the formatting of poetry, maintaining line breaks with Kindle books even as fonts are resized?

Thank you all. (And now I'll get up from THIS comfortable chair and move over to THAT comfortable chair...)


----------



## WDR

The line breaks will be maintained throughout an ebook. But the user choosing to resize the fonts will still mess with your intended typesetting.


----------



## H.C.

Quick question guys.  = )

I am about to purchase vellum as soon as I have the book formatted. I'm looking at the preview for Kindle:fire do I have to add page numbers or will that be shown on the kindle automatically? If I need to add them myself for the ebook how do I go about it?

Thanks so much!


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Herefortheride said:


> Quick question guys. = )
> 
> I am about to purchase vellum as soon as I have the book formatted. I'm looking at the preview for Kindle:fire do I have to add page numbers or will that be shown on the kindle automatically? If I need to add them myself for the ebook how do I go about it?
> 
> Thanks so much!


Page numbers are added automatically based on the print edition. There is no adding page numbers. If you decide to make a print edition of your book, it will paginate those automatically.


----------



## H.C.

Hey guys, I just used Vellum to publish onto Smashwords but I'm getting the "Please review your epub. You will see that the NCX is missing functional navigation." Correction notification.

I'm not so familiar with this. Aren't the Vellum files to ibooks supposed to flow pretty smoothly? What did I do wrong?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Herefortheride said:


> Hey guys, I just used Vellum to publish onto Smashwords but I'm getting the "Please review your epub. You will see that the NCX is missing functional navigation." Correction notification.
> 
> I'm not so familiar with this. Aren't the Vellum files to ibooks supposed to flow pretty smoothly? What did I do wrong?


For an aggregator like Smashwords, you'll want to use Vellum's Generic EPUB output. This version is designed for compatibility and uses the older EPUB 2 format that contains an NCX.

More about this option can be found on our Uploading to Aggregators help page.


----------



## Jane Killick

Hi Brad and fellow writing peeps!

A friend of mine sent over a vellum file of hers for me to copy the style for my book. In her file, the chapter heading is as follows:

CHAPTER 1
{header Image}​
I can add a header image, no problem, but I cannot centre them in this format. The only centred option is:

1
____
{header image}​
It got weird when I looked at the style options for header. In my newly created file, I have three options. But in her file, she has five header style options, one of which is what I want to use.

I've checked for updates with Vellum and I am up to date.

I know she has the version that can output for print (I don't). I'm on Mac and it's just occurred that maybe she is on Windows? But I can take her file and do what I want with it, including compile to eBook with that header style. I just can't replicate in my own file.

Woz goin' on?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Jane Killick said:


> It got weird when I looked at the style options for header. In my newly created file, I have three options. But in her file, she has five header style options, one of which is what I want to use.


Hi Jane,

Each *Book Style* has its own set of *Heading Styles*, so it sounds like your book is using one Book Style, while your friend's book is using another. To see the same set of heading options, you'll want to choose the same Book Style.

If that doesn't help, feel free to contact us directly. If you do that, please do send us some screenshots that illustrate the problem!


----------



## Jane Killick

Thanks Brad - that works!

It was so easy! How did I miss that?

*shuffles off embarrassed*...


----------



## ninose

For a World War II Vellum book I'm writing, I decided to include some maps made in Illustrator. But after exporting my vellum book as a pdf file, when I zoom in, my maps become totally pixelated, as though they were jpeg files. With vector images in a pdf file, you should be able to zoom in without losing any quality. This is the case when you export a pdf out of Apple's writing program "Pages". In Pages, you can export your file as a pdf and zoom into the pdf as much as you want and never lose quality. Why isn't this the case with a Vellum book exported as a pdf or as an eBook? Why is it that SVG images made in Adobe Illustrator drastically lose quality when you zoom into them in an ebook or in a pdf exported out of Vellum? Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions.  

- Nick


----------



## Brad West

ninose said:


> For a World War II Vellum book I'm writing, I decided to include some maps made in Illustrator. But after exporting my vellum book as a pdf file, when I zoom in, my maps become totally pixelated, as though they were jpeg files. With vector images in a pdf file, you should be able to zoom in without losing any quality. This is the case when you export a pdf out of Apple's writing program "Pages". In Pages, you can export your file as a pdf and zoom into the pdf as much as you want and never lose quality. Why isn't this the case with a Vellum book exported as a pdf or as an eBook? Why is it that SVG images made in Adobe Illustrator drastically lose quality when you zoom into them in an ebook or in a pdf exported out of Vellum? Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions.


Hi Nick,

For compatibility across book and ebook formats, Vellum rasterizes any vector artwork you import into Vellum. If you added your image as a PDF, Vellum should have rasterized it at 300ppi, the recommended resolution for print.

Vellum can't Import illustrator files or SVG files directly, so you may want to double-check the format that you converted to before importing into Vellum. If you converted to a bitmap format (like PNG) before importing, then you may want to check the size/resolution of this converted image.

We'd be happy to provide more specific information based on your file. If you'd like us to take a look, or if you have more detailed questions, please contact us.


----------



## KaiW

Hi, anyone else having this problem? When I try to open older vellum files to edit or update them, I get an error message telling me I don't have permission to access and to change file settings etc. But I do have permission and settings are open access. What can I do to change this as it's seriously frustrating.... Yes, I've updated the software and have all the latest versions. 
Thanks


----------



## Brad Andalman

KaiW said:


> Hi, anyone else having this problem? When I try to open older vellum files to edit or update them, I get an error message telling me I don't have permission to access and to change file settings etc. But I do have permission and settings are open access. What can I do to change this as it's seriously frustrating.... Yes, I've updated the software and have all the latest versions.
> Thanks


From your description, it sounds like Vellum isn't able to get permission from macOS to access your files. This can typically be remedied by quitting and restarting Vellum. If that doesn't change things, a full reboot should resolve the issue.

If neither of those things helps, please contact us.


----------



## Sailor Stone

Hi,
I am having trouble opening my Vellum files in Vellum. I had them stored in iCloud and I need to make some changes to them but when I try to download the file(s) into Vellum my Mac says that Vellum cannot open this type of file. I have researched it based on it being a iCloud issue but I could not fix it from that angle. Is there, perhaps, something I am doing wrong in the Vellum app or could it be something else?


----------



## Brad Andalman

Sailor Stone said:


> Hi,
> I am having trouble opening my Vellum files in Vellum. I had them stored in iCloud and I need to make some changes to them but when I try to download the file(s) into Vellum my Mac says that Vellum cannot open this type of file. I have researched it based on it being a iCloud issue but I could not fix it from that angle. Is there, perhaps, something I am doing wrong in the Vellum app or could it be something else?


You'll want to make sure that iCloud has completely downloaded your Vellum file before trying to open it. If you see a cloud icon (or a cloud icon with an arrow) next to the file, then it means that iCloud is still downloading your file. Once that goes away, you should be able to open that Vellum file successfully - assuming that everything was uploaded correctly!

If you are sure that your file has been completely downloaded, and you are still unable to open your file, please contact us. If/when you do, please attach your Vellum file, and let us know the exact error message you are receiving.


----------



## blubarry

What's the Vellum plan for MacOS Catalina? Is there a 64bit kindlegen to use for compiling mobi files?


----------



## WDR

blubarry said:


> What's the Vellum plan for MacOS Catalina? Is there a 64bit kindlegen to use for compiling mobi files?


Kindlegen is Amazon's program, as the MOBI and other Kindle ebook file formats are proprietary. So, it is up to Amazon to update that program.

Kindlegen is actually a Java program, so I doubt a 64-bit update will be necessary.

I suspect that if an update is actually necessary, it happen either just before or just after Apple releases Catalina. If Amazon doesn't release an update to that program, I suspect they are going to start losing out on a lot of new releases as most publishers use Macs as their workhorse computers. In light of that, I suspect Amazon will get it out in as timely a manner as possible.

(Just in case, it probably wouldn't hurt to send an email to Amazon's tech support concerning the matter.)


----------



## Urcelia

Hello there,

After having written five books using Vellum as my writing software, I’m now faced with possibly being forced to use Scrivener (or Word!)
Since Vellum cannot export to a Word doc, which is what my editor insists on using, I’ve hit a crossroads.  Apart from copying and pasting each chapter into a word doc, and often losing the formatting, I don’t know how to overcome this.  I love writing in Vellum and can’t see myself using anything else.  Is there anyone who might have found a way to overcome this with Vellum?


----------



## Gessert Books

Perhaps you can export an ePub, then convert that to DOCX using Calibre.


----------



## Brad Andalman

Urcelia said:


> Hello there,
> 
> After having written five books using Vellum as my writing software, I'm now faced with possibly being forced to use Scrivener (or Word!)
> Since Vellum cannot export to a Word doc, which is what my editor insists on using, I've hit a crossroads. Apart from copying and pasting each chapter into a word doc, and often losing the formatting, I don't know how to overcome this. I love writing in Vellum and can't see myself using anything else. Is there anyone who might have found a way to overcome this with Vellum?


Hi Urcelia,

You can use *Export to RTF*, found in Vellum's *File* menu, to export a file that can be opened in Word or any other word processing program. Note that this file will only include the content, and not any formatting that is specific to your ebook and print edition.

Hope that helps!


----------



## ShayneRutherford

Urcelia said:


> Hello there,
> 
> After having written five books using Vellum as my writing software, I'm now faced with possibly being forced to use Scrivener (or Word!)
> Since Vellum cannot export to a Word doc, which is what my editor insists on using, I've hit a crossroads. Apart from copying and pasting each chapter into a word doc, and often losing the formatting, I don't know how to overcome this. I love writing in Vellum and can't see myself using anything else. Is there anyone who might have found a way to overcome this with Vellum?


Just export to an RTF file.


----------



## Urcelia

Gessert Books said:


> Perhaps you can export an ePub, then convert that to DOCX using Calibre.


Thanks, tried that already. The formatting is out. I've converted a pdf to word also, and the same thing happens. :-(


----------



## Urcelia

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi Urcelia,
> 
> You can use *Export to RTF*, found in Vellum's *File* menu, to export a file that can be opened in Word or any other word processing program. Note that this file will only include the content, and not any formatting that is specific to your ebook and print edition.
> 
> Hope that helps!


Hi Brad,

Thanks for answering. I've just tested that again and it seems to indent all the speech text once opened in Word. My editor will re-format that in her editing, which means I'm left with having to manually change it in Vellum from her track changes doc. If this is the only way, I'll do this in future and suck it up


----------



## Brad West

blubarry said:


> What's the Vellum plan for MacOS Catalina? Is there a 64bit kindlegen to use for compiling mobi files?


As WDR points out, KindleGen is indeed maintained and distributed by Amazon, so it will be up to them to release a 64-bit version of this app.

If we're honest, though, we're not very confident that Amazon will do so in time for Catalina, or ever. The last time Amazon released an update to KindleGen was in 2013, back before Vellum was even released. Its associated web page hasn't been updated since then either. (The most recent version of Windows mentioned is Windows 7.) It really shows all signs of being abandoned by Amazon.

With that in mind, our current plan is to move away from using KindleGen entirely. Instead, Vellum will produce a Kindle-specific EPUB file.

As you may know, KDP will accept an EPUB file, so when you're ready to publish, you'll be able to upload this file without any conversion. You can also open this file in Kindle Previewer if you want to proof beforehand. In situations where you do need a mobi file (like an ARC), you can make use of the Export command, found right in Kindle Previewer.

By avoiding KindleGen, you are going to find that generation is _much_ faster. And of course, you won't see any warnings about 64-bit compatibility.

If you're curious and want to try this workflow now, you can do so by following the steps outlined in this help page. _(this page is no longer available)_

We currently plan to release this change in early September, well before the release of Catalina. We'll have more details at that time, but we're happy to answer questions (here or via support.)

P.S. In case you want to share this with some one, we've also posted this information on the Vellum Blog.)

_Edit Sep 9, 2019: Struck through mention of preview option, as this page is no longer available._


----------



## geoffhyde

Leanne King said:


> Yeah, please add me to that list as well. Not being able to link internally is my biggest gripe with Vellum.


Another one for that list!


----------



## Maura

Brad West said:


> With that in mind, our current plan is to move away from using KindleGen entirely. Instead, Vellum will produce a Kindle-specific EPUB file.


So if I want to continue generating a mobi file, am still running High Sierra and have no intentions of updating the OS just because, can I just refuse to update Vellum too?


----------



## WDR

For those who are concerned about using an EPUB as the upload into Amazon, this was how I originally loaded my first book into Amazon. Amazon's internal system automatically converts EPUBs to the necessary file-types for the various Kindle devices.

What the next version of Vellum is doing is pretty much exactly what I did back then: created an EPUB that was specially formatted so the Amazon-conversion would get it the way I wanted it. Fear not, it will work. Obviously, Amazon has a vested interest in making sure the ebook files work flawlessly for their customers. 

One of the things I've liked about Vellum is that I could create the MOBI files in house and test them on my own Kindles before releasing them for sale. Pushing the EPUB up to Amazon to be converted feels a little too much like throwing it to the wind and hoping for the best. If there are errors introduced before I can review the result... 

Again, I'll have to put my faith in Amazon to ensure that the resulting product is up to proper quality.


----------



## Maura

WDR said:


> Exactly. I put my final mobi file on several Kindles, do one of my several last proofing reads there and check to see how the file looks on older devices as well as my Oasis. I'd rather not trust Amazon when they obviously screw things up regularly.


----------



## Brad West

WDR said:


> One of the things I've liked about Vellum is that I could create the MOBI files in house and test them on my own Kindles before releasing them for sale. Pushing the EPUB up to Amazon to be converted feels a little too much like throwing it to the wind and hoping for the best. If there are errors introduced before I can review the result...





Maura said:


> Exactly. I put my final mobi file on several Kindles, do one of my several last proofing reads there and check to see how the file looks on older devices as well as my Oasis. I'd rather not trust Amazon when they obviously screw things up regularly.


We wholeheartedly agree with testing (or "proofing") your book before publishing. But here's the thing: sideloading a mobi file isn't as great of a test as it used to be.

That's because, with the advent of Enhanced Typesetting, your readers are no longer receiving mobi files: instead they're receiving files in Amazon's "KFX" format, the format behind Enhanced Typesetting.

Since that change, the only way to accurately preview your book -- that is, to preview it with Enhanced Typesetting applied -- is with Kindle Previewer. If you've contacted us or read our troubleshooting pages, you may have noticed us recommending you use Kindle Previewer. This is why, and it's why Kindle Previewer is now our only recommended method for proofing your Kindle ebook.

Sideloading a mobi file still has other uses, of course, like checking for typos or for sending out an ARC. So after you check things in Kindle Previewer, you can Export a mobi file for sideloading. As Kindle Previewer will warn you, though, the mobi file won't display with Enhanced Typesetting.

Just like KDP, Kindle Previewer will accept either an EPUB file or a mobi file. As long as you use Vellum's Kindle-specific output, you won't see any difference.

As we mentioned earlier, there is a way to try out this workflow now, before we release these changes to Vellum. But if you're on the other side of things, and would rather wait until others can share their experiences, you can certainly wait to update.


----------



## alhawke

I'll start by saying that I love the program. I'm brand new to Vellum and it's beautiful and simple to use. Thank you!

Here's my question. The new update yesterday stopped mobi files from being created (I have a bad habit of just downloading uploads without reading past posts or really looking into anything). The problem with this is that I wanted to distribute a mobi file through an ARC service.  . They haven't modernized like you guys yet.

So now I have to use a different program to convert the epub back to mobi. Right? Or is there a way to still take my file form vellum and create a mobi file. Re-download the older version of Vellum? Use Sigil/Calibre and just convert the file? Any thoughts you guys?

Anyway, small snag and price to pay for a great program.


----------



## Lydniz

I'm not keen on the lack of a mobi option, because I convert files for someone else, and send them to him for checking on his Kindle. Following the update he's having to convert them before he can check them, which adds another fiddly step to the process. Is it possible to revert to the previous version? I have an old Mac and don't really need the operating system upgrade.


----------



## Brad Andalman

alhawke said:


> So now I have to use a different program to convert the epub back to mobi. Right?





Lydniz said:


> I'm not keen on the lack of a mobi option, because I convert files for someone else, and send them to him for checking on his Kindle.


Hi guys,

If you need to convert from Vellum's new Kindle-specific EPUB, you can use Amazon's standalone Kindle Previewer application.

Since Kindle Previewer is the _only_ way to view a Kindle ebook with Enhanced Typesetting, we consider it a crucial step in the publishing process. Once you've proofed your book in Kindle Previewer, exporting a mobi file is pretty much instantaneous.

Keep in mind that when uploading to Amazon, this conversion step is unnecessary, as KDP accepts Kindle.epub files.


----------



## alhawke

That was too easy! And kindle previewer is free software, for those who don't know. 

Thanks!

I'm also trying to add back matter. Do you have any recommendations for files that are already mobi or epub where I want to tag on a couple pages at the end? Vellum only imports Word and I had an outside company format the book for me. In another thread, another kboarder recommended Sigil to add pages. Can anything like this be done using Vellum software (reverse generating a book?)?


----------



## D. Zollicoffer

I'm about to buy another Mac and start using this again. Easily the best publishing software I've used. I lost access to the email that I used to buy my license so I may have to purchase it again. Which is fine, I need that print version


----------



## Brad Andalman

alhawke said:


> I'm also trying to add back matter. Do you have any recommendations for files that are already mobi or epub where I want to tag on a couple pages at the end? Vellum only imports Word and I had an outside company format the book for me. In another thread, another kboarder recommended Sigil to add pages. Can anything like this be done using Vellum software (reverse generating a book?)?


Vellum allows you to edit your content, as well as add new elements. If you already have your new revision in Vellum, and you only have a few pages to add to your book, you may find it easy to copy the content from your older ebook and then paste it into new elements in Vellum. You can learn how to add new elements, as well as find a catalog of Vellum's different element types, on our Elements of Your Book help page.

If, however, you are asking how to get an existing ebook into Vellum, then you'll need to have that in docx format. We know some authors have used a free program called Calibre to open their ebook and export it as a Word document. Then, that new docx file can be imported into Vellum. Of course, that means that your book's formatting will change. If you don't want that - and merely want to add existing pages to an existing, non-Vellum book - you'll have to use another program (like Sigil).


----------



## Lydniz

Brad Andalman said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> If you need to convert from Vellum's new Kindle-specific EPUB, you can use Amazon's standalone Kindle Previewer application.
> 
> Since Kindle Previewer is the _only_ way to view a Kindle ebook with Enhanced Typesetting, we consider it a crucial step in the publishing process. Once you've proofed your book in Kindle Previewer, exporting a mobi file is pretty much instantaneous.
> 
> Keep in mind that when uploading to Amazon, this conversion step is unnecessary, as KDP accepts Kindle.epub files.


Thanks! Will try that out.


----------



## JM Hendrikx

Hi there,
I am looking to publish a print version of my book through Ingramspark. I’ve used the standard (preset) page set up when producing the PDF copy but when I’ve uploaded it to the IS site, the proof has come back with large ‘inside’ margins which seems to imply that the standard settings don’t comply with their requirements. Can you help me identify how best to do this in the Vellum set up so that I can convert the Print Only (PDF) version to their margin measurements?

Separately, I’m hoping you have had this issue before and you may have a help sheet to show what the standard settings for different publishers might be. Is there anywhere on your website / help pages can I find the settings guidance? 

Many thanks

JM


----------



## Brad West

JM Hendrikx said:


> Hi there,
> I am looking to publish a print version of my book through Ingramspark. I've used the standard (preset) page set up when producing the PDF copy but when I've uploaded it to the IS site, the proof has come back with large 'inside' margins which seems to imply that the standard settings don't comply with their requirements. Can you help me identify how best to do this in the Vellum set up so that I can convert the Print Only (PDF) version to their margin measurements?
> 
> Separately, I'm hoping you have had this issue before and you may have a help sheet to show what the standard settings for different publishers might be. Is there anywhere on your website / help pages can I find the settings guidance?
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> JM


Hi JM,

We sent a reply to your question via email, but because we've had issues reaching you via email and because others might be interested in the answer, I'm copying our response here as well:

Vellum does default to an inside margin that is larger than the outside margin. That's to allow for the fact that the binding of your book at the spine will result in some amount of the page not being visible. A larger inside margin will keep your text out of the "gutter" formed by this binding.

Vellum defaults to an inside margin of 0.875 inches, which allows for enough space for most books. If your book is on the shorter side, or you'd just prefer a smaller inside margin, you can change this value in Print Settings:
https://help.vellum.pub/print/settings/

IngramSpark does not offer a set of recommended inside margins for their service. You can, however, start with KDP's minimum values found on this page:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202145400

We should note that these are _minimum_ values. For a bit of breathing room, we generally recommend going above the values listed here. That also allows for punctuation like hanging quotes to not cross the minimum margin value.

Lastly, we highly recommend ordering a physical proof of your book so you can evaluate the size of the margin you've selected and check that the text closest to the spine remains easily readable throughout your book.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Vinjii

Hey guys,

With the new update you're offering .mobi generation again, which is super helpful for ARC  readers that rely on one, so thank you.

However, I'd like to ask do you recommend to use the kindle.epub file to upload to Amazon as the final file? Or does it not matter which of the two I upload?


----------



## ShayneRutherford

I just wanted to ask if there's a way to get the first line of a chapter, or the first line after a break, to indent rather than be flush left? Thank you in advance.


----------



## Brad West

Vinjii said:


> With the new update you're offering .mobi generation again, which is super helpful for ARC readers that rely on one, so thank you.
> 
> However, I'd like to ask do you recommend to use the kindle.epub file to upload to Amazon as the final file? Or does it not matter which of the two I upload?


Hi Vinjii. You can upload either one: it won't make a difference. If you're already generating a mobi file for ARCs, then it's probably easiest to upload that file to KDP, as you might have done before.



ShayneRutherford said:


> I just wanted to ask if there's a way to get the first line of a chapter, or the first line after a break, to indent rather than be flush left? Thank you in advance.


Hi Shayne. There is not a way to do that. Vellum follows the guideline that indentation should only be used if necessary to indicate a new paragraph, and that isn't necessary for the first paragraph of a section.

We have had some French authors that have shared that this guideline is less common in France, and so we do have a suggestion for allowing the first paragraph to be indented in that case. We don't have a timeframe for when that might be available, however.

Hope that helps!


----------



## MattGodbey

"I'm pretty sure the Brads have said they'd rather focus on making the Mac version the best it can be, rather than splitting their focus on a PC version."

Vellum is shooting themselves in the foot by not developing a pc platform. There's no arguing about that.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

Brad West said:


> Hi Shayne. There is not a way to do that. Vellum follows the guideline that indentation should only be used if necessary to indicate a new paragraph, and that isn't necessary for the first paragraph of a section.
> 
> We have had some French authors that have shared that this guideline is less common in France, and so we do have a suggestion for allowing the first paragraph to be indented in that case. We don't have a timeframe for when that might be available, however.
> 
> Hope that helps!


Thank you! It certainly saved me lots of time looking for something that isn't there. =D


----------



## AlexaGrave

I'm currently trying to replace all front/back matter with heading images, but I've run into a problem.

For chapters, I can deselect Numbered, which then shows the image I inserted, but not the title text.

However, for any other Element I can find no way to do the same. Hiding the heading obviously hides both the title text and the image.

Is there some way I'm missing where I can only have my heading image display and not text for elements other than chapters? I'm guessing I can't customize this how I want to, but I figured I'd see if I'm just missing something. Thanks!

Note: I am trying to customize/stylize my paperback version only.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

MattGodbey said:


> "I'm pretty sure the Brads have said they'd rather focus on making the Mac version the best it can be, rather than splitting their focus on a PC version."
> 
> Vellum is shooting themselves in the foot by not developing a pc platform. There's no arguing about that.


I'll definitely argue about that. When Scrivener made a PC version, after being Mac-only for years, it split their focus away from the far superior Mac version, and left them with a sub-par PC version that people like to bitch and complain about because, at least as far as the last time I checked, the PC version still hasn't reached parity with the Mac version. So, why on earth would the Brads want to let themselves in for all that hassle when they have a great product that serves its users needs extremely well?


----------



## Brad West

AlexaGrave said:


> I'm currently trying to replace all front/back matter with heading images, but I've run into a problem.
> 
> For chapters, I can deselect Numbered, which then shows the image I inserted, but not the title text.
> 
> However, for any other Element I can find no way to do the same. Hiding the heading obviously hides both the title text and the image.
> 
> Is there some way I'm missing where I can only have my heading image display and not text for elements other than chapters? I'm guessing I can't customize this how I want to, but I figured I'd see if I'm just missing something. Thanks!
> 
> Note: I am trying to customize/stylize my paperback version only.


Hi Alexa,

As you've found, the Hide Heading option includes all of the heading, including the heading image. To have your chapter start with just an image, you'll want to add that as the first thing in your text. You can do that using the Image Text Feature:
https://help.vellum.pub/text-features/inline-image/

The Numbered switch is used to control whether your chapter is numbered in the heading and in the Table of Contents. We'd recommend leaving this option on for the chapters of your book unless your book truly does not have chapter numbers.

Hope that helps!


----------



## AlexaGrave

Brad West said:


> Hi Alexa,
> 
> As you've found, the Hide Heading option includes all of the heading, including the heading image. To have your chapter start with just an image, you'll want to add that as the first thing in your text. You can do that using the Image Text Feature:
> https://help.vellum.pub/text-features/inline-image/
> 
> The Numbered switch is used to control whether your chapter is numbered in the heading and in the Table of Contents. We'd recommend leaving this option on for the chapters of your book unless your book truly does not have chapter numbers.
> 
> Hope that helps!


Thanks, Brad!

Since I'm doing so many customizations compared to the ebook, I created a separate file for the paperback, and I don't need a ToC for it. For the chapters at least, I prefer the text lower on the page when there's the heading, hence why I'm just deselecting Numbered so only the image shows (it's too high on the page if I hide heading and do an inline image).

The inline image works nicely for the front/back matter, though, and that was my current issue. Thanks!

I'd like to make a suggestion for a future feature, though. Having a toggle on and off for show/hide heading text (so being able to display just the heading image) would be an awesome option!


----------



## JulieScipioni

Hi! I am formatting a non-fiction book for a client who wants to include sub-headings in his TOC. I don't see a way to do that automatically. Is there one? If not, is there a way to do it manually?

Thanks!
Julie


----------



## JulieScipioni

I am creating a non-fiction book for a client and he wants his subheadings in the TOC. I don't see that there is an option to include subheading in the auto-TOC in Vellum. Is there a way? If not, is there a way to do it outside of Vellum?

I could offer the client that it is a best practice not to have lot of levels of TOC, but it seems to me that two levels are reasonable. 

Thanks for any help!
Julie


----------



## scott.marmorstein

JulieScipioni said:


> I am creating a non-fiction book for a client and he wants his subheadings in the TOC. I don't see that there is an option to include subheading in the auto-TOC in Vellum. Is there a way? If not, is there a way to do it outside of Vellum?
> 
> I could offer the client that it is a best practice not to have lot of levels of TOC, but it seems to me that two levels are reasonable.
> 
> Thanks for any help!
> Julie


I've never found this option anywhere in Vellum. You could create your own TOC based on Vellum's output I suppose, but it sounds like a lot of extra work.


----------



## C.A. Huggins

Any Black Friday deals available on an upgrade from E-books to the Paperback add on?


----------



## alhawke

Hi! Any of you have a favorite font choice for paperbacks on Vellum? Particularly Sci Fi, Fantasy?


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Is there a way to indent the first sentence of a new chapter/section in Vellum? Sometimes for non-fiction pieces, this is necessary to keep consistency. I have seen no good way to do it, other than to put a period or asterisks on the first sentence above it and push the actual sentence down to a new paragraph. But it looks awkward and unprofessional.


----------



## GirlWriter

> Is there a way to indent the first sentence of a new chapter/section in Vellum? Sometimes for non-fiction pieces, this is necessary to keep consistency. I have seen no good way to do it, other than to put a period or asterisks on the first sentence above it and push the actual sentence down to a new paragraph. But it looks awkward and unprofessional.


For non-fiction, I use *spacing* instead of *indents.* I find that this works much better.


----------



## scott.marmorstein

GirlWriter said:


> For non-fiction, I use *spacing* instead of *indents.* I find that this works much better.


I'll give that a shot, thank you.


----------



## m123xyz

I was wondering if anyone knows how to make text look "redacted" in vellum. In word I used a black text background on text to create the effect but it was stripped out. any ideas? thanks


----------



## scott.marmorstein

m123xyz said:


> I was wondering if anyone knows how to make text look "redacted" in vellum. In word I used a black text background on text to create the effect but it was stripped out. any ideas? thanks


Like my wish to indent on first sentence of new chapter, redacted text is not a thing Vellum offers. Please correct me if I'm wrong on both counts anyone at all.


----------



## Gessert Books

Perhaps a row of unicode squares would do?

■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Not perfect, but at least carries the added benefit of working in light/dark mode.


----------



## m123xyz

Gessert Books said:


> Perhaps a row of unicode squares would do?
> 
> ■■■■■■■■■■■■■
> 
> Not perfect, but at least carries the added benefit of working in light/dark mode.


thanks ya. they're support told me to go to emoji/symbols and use blocks to do it. it's a kludge I had to make long blocks then cut/paste to make it look like sentences. took a while to go thru entire work but looks close enough. thanks


----------



## ETC

Hi, Everyone,

My first time here. I've been test-driving Vellum for a while now, and Brad and Brad have been very good about answering my questions and giving me pointers. I have just scanned this forum thread, and I can better understand where Vellum came from (fiction market) and why some things I need for print (non-fiction, scholarly) are not available yet.

So, at this point I'm just saying "Hi" and I'll probably keep reading your posts to get myself up to speed.

By the way, is this the only Vellum forum? I would have thought there would be one at vellum.pub, but maybe this is just an easier place to have it, and it is undoubtedly less work for the developers of Vellum to have it here. I just expected to find different threads for different topics related to Vellum, but I guess everything is just thrown into one thread.

Kind Regards,
ETC


----------



## NanSweet

Just wanted to drop on to say, "I had no idea".  I mean, people said how easy Vellum was to use, but when there is no Windows competitor coming close, it was hard to believe.  I'm a believer. Thanks Vellum!


----------



## malkpa

So I am fairly new to Vellum, I know the newest update made full bleed possible but was it only for full page images? I have someone who wants full bleed chapter headings and I am trying to figure it out, anyone have any pointers or wisdom to send my way?


----------



## Brad West

malkpa said:


> So I am fairly new to Vellum, I know the newest update made full bleed possible but was it only for full page images? I have someone who wants full bleed chapter headings and I am trying to figure it out, anyone have any pointers or wisdom to send my way?


Hi Malkpa. At this time, Vellum only supports full bleed for the Full Page Image element. We do have requests for expanding this to chapter heading backgrounds. That'll be a bit more involved on our end, so we don't have a timeframe for when it would be available, but we are keeping it in mind.

From what we understand, some designers have been adding these backgrounds manually by taking Vellum's output and adding the backgrounds in a PDF-editing tool like Acrobat.


----------



## malkpa

Brad West said:


> Hi Malkpa. At this time, Vellum only supports full bleed for the Full Page Image element. We do have requests for expanding this to chapter heading backgrounds. That'll be a bit more involved on our end, so we don't have a timeframe for when it would be available, but we are keeping it in mind.
> 
> From what we understand, some designers have been adding these backgrounds manually by taking Vellum's output and adding the backgrounds in a PDF-editing tool like Acrobat.


Thank you for your reply, I will look into this and thank you for Vellum. It is so nice and was very easy to learn.


----------



## GirlWriter

> Hi Malkpa. At this time, Vellum only supports full bleed for the Full Page Image element. We do have requests for expanding this to chapter heading backgrounds. That'll be a bit more involved on our end, so we don't have a timeframe for when it would be available, but we are keeping it in mind.
> 
> From what we understand, some designers have been adding these backgrounds manually by taking Vellum's output and adding the backgrounds in a PDF-editing tool like Acrobat.


Dear Brad and Brad:

Editing the PDF in Acrobat Pro is what I do. But to pig back on this request. Is it possible to have the option to choose between having a blank page after a full image or not?

Because I can edit the image and add text to it in Photoshop and make it look like a full image page with text, but then the blank page behind does't transition into the next page. I can remove the blank page in Acrobat, but Acrobat doesn't automatically renumbers the pages. See what I'm getting at?

I created this test image in Photoshop, added some random text, and it looks beautiful in the PDF. Removing the blank page is easy. Manually renumbering a 300+ page book, not so much.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/979F8J










Thanks for all you guys do. I love Vellum and can't recommend it enough.


----------



## cake

When I used to have subtitles with my chapter headings (formatted through Microsoft Word styles), Vellum would automatically pick up on it and add it to the imported file. This doesn't happen anymore. What's the problem?


----------



## H.C.

I can't find the vellum file for a book I published a few months ago but it has to be on my computer. I have all of the epubs etc. but where can I find the vellum file so that I can update and edit that file?


----------



## WDR

Herefortheride said:


> I can't find the vellum file for a book I published a few months ago but it has to be on my computer. I have all of the epubs etc. but where can I find the vellum file so that I can update and edit that file?


In the Finder, press cmd-SPACE and that will bring up the general search engine in MacOS.

Type "Vellum" and you will see the option to search for a Vellum File will be presented. Select that, and the Finder will show you all Vellum Files. If your original file was not deleted, it should show up in that list.


----------



## H.C.

thanks


----------



## Kingdavid757

I have a question, dont think anyone has asked this yet (or i may have missed it)  is there a way to import a word doc without loosing the formatting?  Example, say you have a screenplay and you wanted to put it in ebook format for someone to read, is there a way to import your screenplay formatted word doc and keep the same formatting?

Thanks!


----------



## Gessert Books

Kingdavid757 said:


> I have a question, dont think anyone has asked this yet (or i may have missed it) is there a way to import a word doc without loosing the formatting? Example, say you have a screenplay and you wanted to put it in ebook format for someone to read, is there a way to import your screenplay formatted word doc and keep the same formatting?
> 
> Thanks!


That one's unlikely no matter the software, unfortunately, because all those screenplay layout particulars will get pretty mangled on reflow. If that's a personal use type scenario, I'd just go PDF.


----------



## ........

Vellum has suddenly starting acting wonky when making box sets. Wonder if anyone knows a solution?

Normally I make a new blank file. Then I drag and drop the vellum files for books 1, 2, 3, etc into that file. It imports it well, book title, the chapters underneath and so on... except now the text for a chapter or element (like copyright) is extremely narrow. Like two words across. When exported to epub it is full width, but in the window it's narrow, which makes it incredibly difficult to work on.

It's as soon as a volume is created, the problem happens.

It's not a matter of dragging the window across larger either - the text is locked into some kind of narrow box that doesn't fill full-width.

Makes it super hard to create a "Books by" page when it comes out like:

bo
ok #1

bo
ok #2

bo
ok #3

Or instead of "It was the best of times...etc" you get

[It w
as the
best o
f times]

The original vellum files where imported from a word document are completely fine. When I click on it I can even see the box around the text but can't expand it. All the pieces are listed as chapters and I've checked every option I can find.

If I import chapters that are fine, full width and then convert to volume, they immediately go narrow. Cannot find any option to not have this happen.

Does anyone have suggestions? It still produces a working ePub file - but just makes creating boxsets a lot harder, especially when it comes to updating "books by" or copyright pages.


----------



## Brad Andalman

........ said:


> [...]
> 
> If I import chapters that are fine, full width and then convert to volume, they immediately go narrow. Cannot find any option to not have this happen.
> 
> Does anyone have suggestions? It still produces a working ePub file - but just makes creating boxsets a lot harder, especially when it comes to updating "books by" or copyright pages.


We have, very rarely, heard of the Text Editor coming in at the wrong size. Unfortunately, we've been unable to reproduce this issue.

However, you should be able to snap things back to normal by resizing the Text Editor *pane* (as opposed to the entire Vellum window), or by saving, closing, and reopening your document. If you follow those steps and still see an issue, please contact us directly. If you include your Vellum file - or the Vellum files that you were trying to include in your box set - we'll see if we can reproduce the problem.


----------



## ETC

Yesterday, 16 June 2020, the makers of Vellum.app released version 2.7 (see https://blog.vellum.pub/2020/06/vellum-2-7/).

Includes:
Internal links 
Use Word's built-in styles to indicate chapters and text features
Add social media profiles for LinkedIn and Patreon
Credit a co-author or an author of a Foreword in Title Information
New language options for Catalan, Hindi, and Korean
Improved automatic layout for Subheads
Fix for generation errors in books saved using Dropbox Smart Sync

I am very grateful to Brad and Brad for all their work on Vellum. I haven't started using it yet, but I plan to, and I'm following the development closely.


----------



## mjgrice

EDIT: Nvm. I updated to the newest version and the end notes came in OK. I had to go through the exported rtf file and add the end notes back in, which was a pain, to keep the other edits... note to me, don't edit in Vellum, there's no path back out... But, I have what I wanted now.

Thx...

Original text
========================================================

Hi, I'm new to Vellum. Everything seems fine so far -- except footnotes and end notes. 

The footnotes and end notes in my manuscript (Microsoft Word format, created with LibreOffice Write) were dropped on the import.

I am using Vellum Version 2.2.3 (22300) -- if that matters?

BTW, I made some changes to the document in Vellum... I know there is an "Import from Word" option. Is there an "Export back to Word" option as well? I would hate to lose the edits I just made...

Thanks!


----------



## Liz Carleton

Hi, chiming in here a few years late. I am new to Vellum and am excited to use it. I would love to have an 8x10 option for print!


----------



## Brad West

Liz Carleton said:


> Hi, chiming in here a few years late. I am new to Vellum and am excited to use it. I would love to have an 8x10 option for print!


Thank you for the suggestion, Liz. We don't have any immediate plans to add an 8x10 option, but we've logged your request and we will keep it mind for the future.


----------



## BD

How do you go about creating in Vellum books from a series? Should I use the subtitle field for something like "Dragon Riders Book 1" or is that going to interfere with the data I later enter on KDP? On KDP there are different forms for series and subtitle. I'm afraid to do that wrong and have Vellum lock the data when I use the credit.


----------



## LaBelleOtero

Twizzlers said:


> There needs to be a Windows version. A lot of people use Windows and hate Mac's with a fiery passion.


Mac is 10% of all computer owners. That's up from 6%.
I would buy Vellum in an instant if it was PC compatible; I'm not buying a Mac just so I can use Vellum.


----------



## Brad West

BD said:


> Should I use the subtitle field for something like "Dragon Riders Book 1" or is that going to interfere with the data I later enter on KDP? On KDP there are different forms for series and subtitle. I'm afraid to do that wrong and have Vellum lock the data when I use the credit.


The subtitle you use in Vellum won't at all affect the data you provide when you upload your title to KDP. So you can go ahead and place the series information in the subtitle (many other authors do the same). Hope that helps.


----------



## BD

Brad West said:


> The subtitle you use in Vellum won't at all affect the data you provide when you upload your title to KDP. So you can go ahead and place the series information in the subtitle (many other authors do the same). Hope that helps.


It does, totally! Thank you.


----------



## alhawke

Question: Is there any planned update for a spacer feature? It would be nice to have the ability to space a book, like a "block" space on Wordpress. The current software only allows a symbol to separate sections in chapters. What I'm suggesting is an empty space as an alternative for a chapter break. Currently the only way I know of to achieve spacing is importing a blank image, which can be faulty. 

Is this something you guys might consider implementing with a future update?


----------



## Indiecognito

Question: Does Vellum have any mechanism in place for "locking" the contents? 

I once accidentally moved a chapter in a book by grabbing it with my cursor, and a kind reader let me know I'd published the book out of order  

I'm super-paranoid now and double- and triple-check every upload. But it would be amazing if we could lock the chapters in order within Vellum itself.


----------



## Javelin

What about printing of information on the edge binding of picture books without a lot of pages?


----------



## Brad West

Indiecognito said:


> Question: Does Vellum have any mechanism in place for "locking" the contents?
> 
> I once accidentally moved a chapter in a book by grabbing it with my cursor, and a kind reader let me know I'd published the book out of order
> 
> I'm super-paranoid now and double- and triple-check every upload. But it would be amazing if we could lock the chapters in order within Vellum itself.


There is not a way to lock the chapters, but we have heard from a small number of users who've made similar accidental moves, especially when using Vellum through Macincloud. For a future update, we're looking into adding a confirmation for when a move seems like it may have been unintentional, especially if the change would be hard to spot (as can be the case for untitled chapters, which are automatically renumbered).



Javelin said:


> What about printing of information on the edge binding of picture books without a lot of pages?


It sounds like you may be asking about the cover, which for short books will have a very thin spine. In cases like these, KDP won't allow information to be printed on the spine, and so it's better to have this information on the front and/or back cover. We should note, though, that for your print edition, Vellum only creates the interior file for your book, and does not create the cover.


----------



## Triceratops

Hi Brad. Any chance you or one of the Vellum folks could stop by another thread? We're wondering about the new Amazon emphasis on epub, and how the two Vellum versions of epub, the Generic epub and the Kindle.epub, are different?

Thread:
Amazon now "prefers" epub files to mobi files
https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,326357.0.html


----------



## SmidgenPress

Hi there, Brad/Brad!  

Two questions . . . 
1) There is SO much conflicting information now about justified/non-justified text in ebooks. (I just found a big-name self-publisher blog saying to center-align an entire ebook and let the device figure it out. Ugh. While I see their point... Um, no thanks.) 

Do you have an official opinion, from the coding side, or do you have device knowledge we should consider? Sometimes left-aligning a Vellum file seems to lock a book to where it can't be justified on a device, but even that doesn't seem to be consistent. 

And 2), have you guys seen that Ingram is no longer allowing users to override the PDF/X-1a:2001 error message before publishing? They are requiring that the issue be resolved before continuing. (And some people are getting an "embedded fonts" error message as well, which is odd.) 

Thanks much!


----------



## Brad Andalman

SmidgenPress said:


> 1) There is SO much conflicting information now about justified/non-justified text in ebooks. (I just found a big-name self-publisher blog saying to center-align an entire ebook and let the device figure it out. Ugh. While I see their point... Um, no thanks.)
> 
> Do you have an official opinion, from the coding side, or do you have device knowledge we should consider? Sometimes left-aligning a Vellum file seems to lock a book to where it can't be justified on a device, but even that doesn't seem to be consistent.


Hi Smidgen!

Justification controls are tricky and behave differently on different platforms. For instance, in Apple Books, a reader's justification setting will only be used when the reader chooses a font other than "Original." Otherwise, Apple Books will use the justification specified in the EPUB. And, in both Apple Books and Kindle, justification may not take effect if the font size is too large (as it would, presumably, result in gaps between words that would be too large).

That said, we haven't heard of a case where left-aligning a Vellum file would "lock" a book so that it can't be justified by the reader (given, of course, that the platform allows it). If you encounter that, please contact us and let us know.

Our recommendation, then, is simply for authors to choose the justification setting in Vellum that they prefer.



SmidgenPress said:


> And 2), have you guys seen that Ingram is no longer allowing users to override the PDF/X-1a:2001 error message before publishing? They are requiring that the issue be resolved before continuing. (And some people are getting an "embedded fonts" error message as well, which is odd.)


We just checked at IngramSpark, and their website currently allows users to bypass the PDF/X-1a:2001 warning. You do have to click a checkbox and press *Continue*, however.

If the PDF has more errors than that, though, then you won't be able to press Continue. If, for instance, you have managed to insert a non-standard character into the text, then you might receive a warning that "fonts contain missing glyphs or are not fully embedded." These missing glyphs can sometimes occur from errant typos, and may look like a "box" in the generated PDF. If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can find them easily by verifying compliance with PDF/X-3.


----------



## Melwen

Hi Brad,

first, let me say how much I appreciate the hard work put into Vellum and the great customer service!

There are a few things I think would make this awesome software even better though:
1. An option for links in the pdf file. When you give free stories away e.g. via book funnel, it's always a nice touch to give readers the option to read the story as a pdf for example on their pc. It is really annoying that in these cases I have to use "Affinity Publisher" to ensure there are clickable links in the document. But especially with free stories implementing links is so essential.
2. I would love to have an option to center the TOC or more general to adjust the alignment.
3. When you format anthologies a nice touch would be to assign different scene breaks to the stories. In these cases, I have to use Jutoh but let's face it if you can use Vellum for something, why use any other program. ;-)

I understand that the more options are added the more complicated it might get for some users but why not add a bunch of possible additions in an advance option tab or even charge something for a bunch of extra options which then are only for the people who want and or need them?

Once again, you guys are doing such an amazing job and it's very much appreciated!


----------



## Karen Monroe

I have read a lot of KU books with Velllum. I am thinking of saving my profits to invest in an a Mac Pro Laptops  and lifetime Vellum. 

My question is it worth it?


----------



## scott.marmorstein

Karen Monroe said:


> I have read a lot of KU books with Velllum. I am thinking of saving my profits to invest in an a Mac Pro Laptops and lifetime Vellum.
> 
> My question is it worth it?


Karen, you don't need a MacBook Pro, but it will last you longer. I bought a 2015 Mac Book Air and Vellum works flawlessly along with Scrivener and a host of other apps I use daily. The new stuff is just up to you and your budget. Bottom line: Vellum is worth it even if you only did MacInCloud.com when you go to publish your new books. But I'm a Mac person through and through.


----------



## Karen Monroe

scott.marmorstein said:


> Karen, you don't need a MacBook Pro, but it will last you longer. I bought a 2015 Mac Book Air and Vellum works flawlessly along with Scrivener and a host of other apps I use daily. The new stuff is just up to you and your budget. Bottom line: Vellum is worth it even if you only did MacInCloud.com when you go to publish your new books. But I'm a Mac person through and through.


I am PC.....transitioning to any Apple device outside of the phone...I just think they are overpriced, but you can't seem to get Vellum on the PC.

Bastards!


----------



## CassieL

I know I should probably report this through the Vellum website, but, well. I've been annoyed by it for over a year and I'm here now, so.

There is an intermittent problem with the print PDFs that Vellum generates where a chapter will have no footer. So for me, no page numbers. If I go back and regenerate the file it either moves to a different chapter or fixes itself. For the book I just published yesterday the first time I was missing page numbering on at least one chapter. The second time it was actually missing the header on two chapters. That's the first time I've seen the header missing.

Eventually if I generate the file enough times it fixes itself and it never seems to be consistent which chapter it will happen to, but it would be nice to not have to go through that each time I want to generate a print book. I work in Word 2013 if that helps.

(Overall I'm very pleased with Vellum but I'm assuming since it hasn't been fixed in all this time it's something you guys aren't aware of. Also, I'd love it if you fixed the tab issue when adding book links. Two updates ago or so it changed so that if I put in a book link for one store and tab to go to the next store to add that link it goes back to the top instead.)


----------



## Brad Andalman

CassieL said:


> There is an intermittent problem with the print PDFs that Vellum generates where a chapter will have no footer. So for me, no page numbers. If I go back and regenerate the file it either moves to a different chapter or fixes itself. For the book I just published yesterday the first time I was missing page numbering on at least one chapter. The second time it was actually missing the header on two chapters. That's the first time I've seen the header missing.
> 
> Eventually if I generate the file enough times it fixes itself and it never seems to be consistent which chapter it will happen to, but it would be nice to not have to go through that each time I want to generate a print book. I work in Word 2013 if that helps.


Hi Cassie,

We're really sorry you hit this. We've received - very rarely - a few reports of a bug like this. Unfortunately, we've been unable to reproduce it ourselves. If you're willing, we'd love to take a look at your Vellum file to see if we can get to the bottom of it. The best way to do that is to use the *Help > Contact Vellum Support* menu item in Vellum's main menu. Then, you can use the *Attach a File* link at the bottom to upload your Vellum file.



CassieL said:


> (Overall I'm very pleased with Vellum but I'm assuming since it hasn't been fixed in all this time it's something you guys aren't aware of. Also, I'd love it if you fixed the tab issue when adding book links. Two updates ago or so it changed so that if I put in a book link for one store and tab to go to the next store to add that link it goes back to the top instead.)


Oh! That's a good one. Thanks for reporting it. I've added it to our bug database so we can look into addressing this in the future.


----------



## Indiecognito

Brad West said:


> There is not a way to lock the chapters, but we have heard from a small number of users who've made similar accidental moves, especially when using Vellum through Macincloud. For a future update, we're looking into adding a confirmation for when a move seems like it may have been unintentional, especially if the change would be hard to spot (as can be the case for untitled chapters, which are automatically renumbered).


This change in the new update is a MASSIVE life-saver, time-saver, and game changer. Thank you and the team so much for it. I absolutely love it.

I literally name my chapters now out of fear of re-ordering, and this will save me so much stress.


----------



## psnew

Karen Monroe said:


> I have read a lot of KU books with Velllum. I am thinking of saving my profits to invest in an a Mac Pro Laptops and lifetime Vellum.
> 
> My question is it worth it?


Buying a refurbished Mac just for Vellum was worth every penny for me. Trying to format a beautiful book any other way was very time consuming, and time is money. But if just don't have the funds right now, and are willing to risk a stranger having access to your work before you even publish, there are people who will format your manuscript, using Vellum, on Fiverr for cheap prices.


----------



## ShayneRutherford

Karen Monroe said:


> I am PC.....transitioning to any Apple device outside of the phone...I just think they are overpriced, but you can't seem to get Vellum on the PC.
> 
> [illegitimate persons]!


You can't.

Maybe don't call the Brads bad names in their own thread.


----------



## Jude Thaddeus

If you choose the "full" size for displaying images and you do not meet a certain pixel width by height ratio, Vellum warns you that "Image is too small for selected size."

What does this mean? Will Amazon do something? Is it just a preference? Will Vellum default you down to a smaller image display on the page?

I'm adding old grainy black and white photos from 1909 that I've remastered, and they do not look worse at 1,000 pixels wide vs the 1,200 px wide Vellum suggests. 

I feel like Amazon is being a bit ridiculous by both demanding high image standards and penalizing you if you meet those standards, which always increasing your file size and therefore your delivery fee. 

My book is nonfiction and has 240 images. I'm getting penalized heavily, and I'm trying to minimize this by finding the sweet spot between looking good and using the smallest amount of kb possible. 

Any suggestions?


----------



## Jude Thaddeus

I'd like to put a solid line below my chapter titles, as you often see in books. I've tried using the subtitle field in Vellum to do this. I put in a solid line but it appears as a broken line. You can see this here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bes77F9BK0ceE1CR6SL5erWT2PZF_osh/view?usp=sharing

Not quite the effect I'm looking for. Any way to add a solid line?


----------



## Brad West

Jude Thaddeus said:


> If you choose the "full" size for displaying images and you do not meet a certain pixel width by height ratio, Vellum warns you that "Image is too small for selected size."
> 
> What does this mean? Will Amazon do something? Is it just a preference? Will Vellum default you down to a smaller image display on the page?
> 
> I'm adding old grainy black and white photos from 1909 that I've remastered, and they do not look worse at 1,000 pixels wide vs the 1,200 px wide Vellum suggests.
> 
> I feel like Amazon is being a bit ridiculous by both demanding high image standards and penalizing you if you meet those standards, which always increasing your file size and therefore your delivery fee.
> 
> My book is nonfiction and has 240 images. I'm getting penalized heavily, and I'm trying to minimize this by finding the sweet spot between looking good and using the smallest amount of kb possible.
> 
> Any suggestions?


For ebooks, size recommendations in Vellum are based on a combination of specs for common devices and quality standards from Amazon. In their image guidelines, KDP recommends images that are full width be at least 1200 pixels wide.

You're right that Amazon doesn't make it easy to meet these guidelines when they also charge for delivery, but keep in mind that those delivery costs will be based on lower-resolution versions of your images created when KDP converts your file. As we discuss on our guide to File Size, that means the only way to find out delivery costs is to upload your book to KDP.

That said, it's going to be very hard to get past delivery fees with 240 images, even with aggressive resizing and compression. For a book with that many images, you may want to consider KDP's 30% royalty option, where delivery costs don't apply.

There's also a chance your book may be invited into Amazon's Great on Kindle program, which pays a 50% royalty and does not have any delivery costs. To meet the criteria for this program, though, your ebook will need to meet Amazon's image resolution guidelines.



Jude Thaddeus said:


> I'd like to put a solid line below my chapter titles, as you often see in books. I've tried using the subtitle field in Vellum to do this. I put in a solid line but it appears as a broken line. You can see this here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bes77F9BK0ceE1CR6SL5erWT2PZF_osh/view?usp=sharing
> 
> Not quite the effect I'm looking for. Any way to add a solid line?


The best way to include a line (or a "rule") in your heading is to choose a Book Style that includes one. You'll find options like these in Meridian, Trace, Kindred, and Parcel, but not in the Oxford Book Style. Rules are typically used between the chapter number and chapter title, however, and not always under the title.

Hope that helps!


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## Jude Thaddeus

Brad West said:


> For ebooks, size recommendations in Vellum are based on a combination of specs for common devices and quality standards from Amazon. In their image guidelines, KDP recommends images that are full width be at least 1200 pixels wide.
> 
> There's also a chance your book may be invited into Amazon's Great on Kindle program, which pays a 50% royalty and does not have any delivery costs. To meet the criteria for this program, though, your ebook will need to meet Amazon's image resolution guidelines.


Thank you for your help.

I've got a related question. Following your link to the Amazon guidelines, I see it suggests a minimum of 1200 px wide OR 1800 px tall. There is also a requirement of 300 PPI.

However, when I take my images and export them at 1200 px wide, my PPI is only 72 pixels/inch. Even when I set the "quality" all the way up to 100% and do a do 1350 px wide, I still only get 72 pixels/inch for DPI.

Any idea what's going on here and what the significance of that is in how Amazon will judge your image meeting the requirements for their "Great on Kindle" program?


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## Gessert Books

Jude Thaddeus said:


> Thank you for your help.
> 
> I've got a related question. Following your link to the Amazon guidelines, I see it suggests a minimum of 1200 px wide OR 1800 px tall. There is also a requirement of 300 PPI.
> 
> However, when I take my images and export them at 1200 px wide, my PPI is only 72 pixels/inch. Even when I set the "quality" all the way up to 100% and do a do 1350 px wide, I still only get 72 pixels/inch for DPI.
> 
> Any idea what's going on here and what the significance of that is in how Amazon will judge your image meeting the requirements for their "Great on Kindle" program?


Amazon is kind of confusing in how they sprinkle guidelines for print + ebook on the same page. That part relates to print. Also, the dpi reported in e.g. Photoshop when you check image size is practically irrelevant, it's your pixel dimensions that matter. Your 1200 px example is 300dpi at 4" wide, regardless of what dpi is reported in file metadata. Your 1350px image is 300dpi at 4.5" wide.


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## Jude Thaddeus

Thanks. That's super helpful. Just to clarify, some of their requirements read "1200 px wide or 1800 px high". Others read, "1200 px wide and 1800 px tall." Am I safe if I stick to 1200 wide for landscapes and 1800 tall for portraits without paying attention to the other axis?



Gessert Books said:


> Amazon is kind of confusing in how they sprinkle guidelines for print + ebook on the same page. That part relates to print. Also, the dpi reported in e.g. Photoshop when you check image size is practically irrelevant, it's your pixel dimensions that matter. Your 1200 px example is 300dpi at 4" wide, regardless of what dpi is reported in file metadata. Your 1350px image is 300dpi at 4.5" wide.


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## Gessert Books

Jude Thaddeus said:


> Thanks. That's super helpful. Just to clarify, some of their requirements read "1200 px wide or 1800 px high". Others read, "1200 px wide and 1800 px tall." Am I safe if I stick to 1200 wide for landscapes and 1800 tall for portraits without paying attention to the other axis?


I believe those are both minimums for full-width images. So a super tall image would be 1200x1800(+), a super wide one would be 1200(+++) x 1800.


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## Marseille France or Bust

Hi, I am using the paperback print feature. I have URL's in the ebook that I also want in the paperback. But when printed, Vellum "full justifies" the links and breaks them up. Example: https://int. nyt. com/data/documenthelper/6916- george-barnhill-letter-to-glyn/b52fa09cdc974b970b7/full. pdf

How do I fix this? Not good.


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## Lisa5

I only have android devices and was paying someone with Vellum to format my book but why does the letter I (when it's capitalised) and other letters come out kind of bold in the print versions when they are not bold in my word document?


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## Brad West

Marseille said:


> Hi, I am using the paperback print feature. I have URL's in the ebook that I also want in the paperback. But when printed, Vellum "full justifies" the links and breaks them up. Example: https://int. nyt. com/data/documenthelper/6916- george-barnhill-letter-to-glyn/b52fa09cdc974b970b7/full. pdf
> 
> How do I fix this? Not good.


We were able to work this out via email, but for any one else who finds this, you'll want to make sure that you don't have any spaces within a URL. Making sure a URL is marked as a Web Link will also ensure it has proper rules for hyphenation and breaking across lines.



Lisa5 said:


> I only have android devices and was paying someone with Vellum to format my book but why does the letter I (when it's capitalised) and other letters come out kind of bold in the print versions when they are not bold in my word document?


It's hard to know without looking at an example, but that may be how the font that was selected by the formatter appears in print. We'd recommend getting in touch with the person you hired to format the book; they should be able to tell you the font they've selected, and whether using a different font affects how that's rendered.


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## Marseille France or Bust

I got an error report from Amazon which stated that I had "words and sentences overlapping" in my ebook.  Have you heard of this? Do you have a quick fix?  I looked again at the book within Vellum and did not see this issue. But apparently it was enough for them to put a warning on my sales page the day of my launch, which has killed my sales.


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## D. Zollicoffer

Is there a way to use custom fonts with Vellum Print? I want more of a diary-style font, but the built-in ones are very proper and for adult books. Might be a feature worth adding to make it better suited for Middle Grade and Chapter Books


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## RonX

Hello,
While I do not have an answer for your question, I have question my own that you may be able to answer. 
I am a new _Vellum Press_ user, and I have assigned drop caps to the first paragraph of each of a novel's chapters. However, the drop caps are also appearing following a section break, and I would like to avoid same, but have not been able to determine how to accomplish that task, or if it is even possible?
Thank you in advance,
Ron


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## Brad Andalman

D. Zollicoffer said:


> Is there a way to use custom fonts with Vellum Print? I want more of a diary-style font, but the built-in ones are very proper and for adult books. Might be a feature worth adding to make it better suited for Middle Grade and Chapter Books


Hi D.,

Embedding commercial fonts into ebooks can present some technical and legal challenges. In addition, in your print edition, Vellum requires special knowledge of the font, so allowing arbitrary, custom fonts isn't supported.

We do have suggestions for this on file, and we're keeping it in mind for the future. We don't have a timeframe for when this might be available in Vellum, however.

We've answered the other two questions above via email.

Since kboards seems a little quiet lately, if you are looking for answers from a larger community, you might want to check out the Vellum Users group on Facebook. We are unaffiliated with that group, and are not members, but we hear great things.

As always, the best way to get in touch with us directly is via our contact page.


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## JumpingShip

If Brad or anyone knows a solution...I'm trying to upload the Nook epub to B&N but it keeps saying it's not a valid epub? So then I tried the generic one, and that one has the same message. I'm stumped.


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## Brad Andalman

JumpingShip said:


> If Brad or anyone knows a solution...I'm trying to upload the Nook epub to B&N but it keeps saying it's not a valid epub? So then I tried the generic one, and that one has the same message. I'm stumped.


Hi JumpingShip,

We occasionally hear reports of the Barnes & Noble website refusing to accept epubs, only to have them accept them later. So, we'd recommend trying again today.

If that doesn't help, we'd be happy to take a look at your epub files to see whether we can learn anything. The best way to send them to us is via our contact page. If you do that, please include the error message that you are receiving from B&N, as that might helps us too.


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## alhawke

I'm putting a map in my next book and I'm looking for any advice regarding formatting. Is this a simple copy and paste thing or should I do anything special to ensure it satisfies Smashwords, Apple etc. I vaguely remember having difficulty with Apple publishing my ebook due to adding an image, so I got rid of it. This time I have to put the image in.

So, either from other Kboarders or Vellum, what do you guys advise? And what's the best way to keep it awesome but maintain a low memory load on the total file? This plus the cover adds up cost & data.


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## alhawke

The sound of silence ...  
(maybe not many of you do maps, though?)


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## Gessert Books

alhawke said:


> I'm putting a map in my next book and I'm looking for any advice regarding formatting. Is this a simple copy and paste thing or should I do anything special to ensure it satisfies Smashwords, Apple etc. I vaguely remember having difficulty with Apple publishing my ebook due to adding an image, so I got rid of it. This time I have to put the image in.
> 
> So, either from other Kboarders or Vellum, what do you guys advise? And what's the best way to keep it awesome but maintain a low memory load on the total file? This plus the cover adds up cost & data.





alhawke said:


> The sound of silence ...
> (maybe not many of you do maps, though?)


The following is only half helpful because it hasn’t got much to do with vellum, but you might like to know that a) covers don’t factor into delivery cost AFAIK, and b) Apple mainly takes issue with images that contain over 4,000,000 pixels. Which sounds like a lot but it is quite easy to hit that for high-res lineart.


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## alhawke

Gessert Books said:


> Apple mainly takes issue with images that contain over 4,000,000 pixels. Which sounds like a lot but it is quite easy to hit that for high-res lineart.


Thank you for that limit. That could be why the past image failed. That's helpful to watch out for. 

For cover size, I was thinking total memory. There is a cap for total size of the efile (the cover within the book costs space). Again, I can fidget with the cover inside with the manuscript & inside imaging when I put all this together.

Really appreciate your help!


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## Gessert Books

alhawke said:


> Thank you for that limit. That could be why the past image failed. That's helpful to watch out for.
> 
> For cover size, I was thinking total memory. There is a cap for total size of the efile (the cover within the book costs space). Again, I can fidget with the cover inside with the manuscript & inside imaging when I put all this together.
> 
> Really appreciate your help!


My pleasure! I still would not worry too much about the cover. Amazon strips that out and replaces it with one you upload separately (likely reprocessed), and the memory limits I’m familiar with are not per-ebook, but are rather per-html file within the ebook. So re: cover + map, you don’t really have to consider one when handling the other, because the reader will never be viewing both at the same time.


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## Humble Quill

alhawke said:


> I'm putting a map in my next book and I'm looking for any advice regarding formatting. Is this a simple copy and paste thing or should I do anything special to ensure it satisfies Smashwords, Apple etc. I vaguely remember having difficulty with Apple publishing my ebook due to adding an image, so I got rid of it. This time I have to put the image in.
> 
> So, either from other Kboarders or Vellum, what do you guys advise? And what's the best way to keep it awesome but maintain a low memory load on the total file? This plus the cover adds up cost & data.


I definitely don't consider myself an expert, but I can tell you what I did.

As far as I can tell, it worked. It looks right when I view it (paperback, hardcover, Nook, and Kindle). I've heard no complaints about the map after several thousand purchases and free downloads.

I inserted the map near the beginning of the book as a Full Page Image. On the image page, I just selected the image, which has these specs:


JPG
2713 x 3040 px
1.15MB
title and map are centered in the image

On the Full Page Image in Vellum, "print span" is a single page, and "print extent" is the left-most option -- though I don't think those options were available back when I created the book.

And...unless I'm forgetting something, that's it. In case it's helpful, I've uploaded the image I used here:

Map of The World That Is


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## Brad West

Humble Quill said:


> I inserted the map near the beginning of the book as a Full Page Image.


Full Page Image is indeed our recommended way to insert a map. Thanks for the tip, Humble Quill.

In print, you have the option to make a Full Page Image span both pages of a spread (useful for a map). You can also change the extent to go beyond margins: the Safe Zone option can be handy for a map. More info about using the Full Page Image element can be found here:





Full Page Image | Vellum Help


Add a map or custom title page using a image filling the entire page



help.vellum.pub





As you configure these options, Vellum will give you recommended dimensions for print. For ebooks, Vellum will automatically resize your image down to meet the guidelines for each platform (including ensuring the image is under the 4M pixel limit at Apple that Gessert Books mentions above).


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## LDHogan

So here's a question: I have an "uncategorized" page that refuses to carry the header. My header automatically switches to the chapter title once it reaches this page break. The rest of the book is the same. Everything before this page is formatted the same and correctly carries the header. HELP PLEASE!


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## alhawke

Simple question (hopefully). I'm setting up a trilogy collection and the header for my first book is the series title. After, each book shows Book II, then Book III. What am I doing wrong here? Is there a way to program a collection for the header to show the first book following the cover of the initial book (like book II & III)? If not, not. The book looks amazing with your software either way.


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## Brad Andalman

LDHogan said:


> So here's a question: I have an "uncategorized" page that refuses to carry the header. My header automatically switches to the chapter title once it reaches this page break. The rest of the book is the same. Everything before this page is formatted the same and correctly carries the header. HELP PLEASE!


Hi LDHogan,

An Uncategorized element at the end of your book will be treated as back matter. As a result, Vellum will follow common formatting guidelines and change the running head to display the title of the element on both the left and right hand pages. If your Uncategorized element isn't back matter, then we recommend converting it to a different element type. For instance, if you convert to a Chapter (or an Epilogue), then it will use the same headers as your other chapters. If you don't already know how, you can learn to convert element types on our Elements help page.



alhawke said:


> Simple question (hopefully). I'm setting up a trilogy collection and the header for my first book is the series title. After, each book shows Book II, then Book III. What am I doing wrong here? Is there a way to program a collection for the header to show the first book following the cover of the initial book (like book II & III)? If not, not. The book looks amazing with your software either way.


Hi alhawke,

If you've specified a title for your Volumes (e.g. "Book II" or "Book III"), then Vellum will use that in your running heads as the "title." So, it sounds like you haven't created a Volume element for your "Book I", or the Volume you've created wasn't given an explicit title.

If you haven't already, we'd recommend creating a Volume to hold the chapters in your first book. Then, you should remove the explicit titles from each Volume (using the gear menu's *Clear Title* menu item). If you'd rather Vellum use "Book" than "Volume," you can change that in Vellum's Terminology dialog, accessible via *Chapter > Terminology* from the main menu.

Hope this helps each of you. If not, please feel free to contact us directly via our contact page


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## SasgoraBooks

Feature Request. It would be great if we had the ability to specify two different simultaneous trim sizes for print books. I'm working on a hardcover edition which requires a larger trim size than my paperback, it would be nice if I could save the new trim size as a separate edition without overwriting the old trim size in the files folder when I generate.


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## Brad West

SasgoraBooks said:


> Feature Request. It would be great if we had the ability to specify two different simultaneous trim sizes for print books. I'm working on a hardcover edition which requires a larger trim size than my paperback, it would be nice if I could save the new trim size as a separate edition without overwriting the old trim size in the files folder when I generate.


Hi SasgoraBooks. Thanks for the suggestion. We can see how this would be useful, and we do have a feature request logged for multiple print outputs. We don't have a timeframe for when this might be an option in Vellum, but we'll continue to keep it in mind. Thanks!


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## MelBooks

e-book formatting question:
I like the header design "Trace" but don't seem to be able to use it for custom chapter titles. When I remove the "Numbered" element of a chapter, the line disappears with it. Same when I format chapters to something uncategorized. 
Example below of what it looks like right now, keeping the "numbered" checked off. I thought of imitating this look with an Ornamental Break, but I'll be adding a Heading Image which would sit in between.

Is it possible to remove the numbering element while keeping the Trace-design?


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## barbicoxauthor

Hi. I have done this many times but this time is so different. I tried something new. I made the chapters say Mark-Toasted Marshmallows or something like that. I put the same heading #1 that I always use but at one point I had the Toasted Marshmallows on heading #2. After I uploaded the doc and found that Vellum did not like the new thing I tried I then made the chapters heading #1 then uploaded again but this time it added untitled chapters so I tried to delete the book. I tried deleting it every way you can with the delete key by not saving it by removing all the chapters. I tried everything and wasn't able to get rid of it because it would appear gone but then I would make a change to my doc then upload it to Vellum and now it is adding more untitled chapters. I went through trying to delete it so many times then starting over but it never stars over it just opens up the book I deleted and it adds even more untitled chapters. Then it started to add blank pages and now its a page with Chapter 1 Mark clearly spelled out but its uncategorized Untitled and it is splitting my chapters into several parts with these pages that might have one sentence on them. I went back to my doc and tried to delete any weird spaces or tried to find double spaces that weren't meant to be there. You can usually fix those very quickly on Vellum but this is something else. Any idea what is going on with this and how to fix it?


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## SasgoraBooks

I just ran into a problem I haven't seen before and I couldn't find anyone who has experienced it through searching. I am running Vellum on two separate Macs, a Mac mini desktop and a MacBook. Both machines are updated to the latest version of Vellum. I use OneDrive to keep my files synced between the computers. On my MacBook everything is working perfectly, however on my Mac mini I can't open any of my Vellum files. I get the following popup message "If you are using cloud-based file storage, make sure your file is downloaded to your computer and try opening it again." I made sure all my files are actually downloaded to my SSD and I even moved a file out of the DropBox folder and onto my Desktop and still the same error message pops up. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling Vellum, still same error trying to open files. I'm out of ideas to try at this point.


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## twadebarcelona

I'm trying to work out something. To example this I added a preface page to the sample on Vellum's website. Basically, I want to have the first paragraph have the same indentation as other paragraphs on a prefzce page. Is this possible?


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## Brad West

SasgoraBooks said:


> I just ran into a problem I haven't seen before and I couldn't find anyone who has experienced it through searching. I am running Vellum on two separate Macs, a Mac mini desktop and a MacBook. Both machines are updated to the latest version of Vellum.
> ...
> I get the following popup message "If you are using cloud-based file storage, make sure your file is downloaded to your computer and try opening it again."


You'll see this message when Vellum encounters _placeholder_ content in your Vellum file. Placeholders are used by services like OneDrive and Dropbox when they move your files to an online state. Typically placeholder files are automatically replaced by the syncing service when you open your file. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen, especially with recent changes to macOS.

You mentioned both OneDrive and Dropbox, but Dropbox in particular can have issues on macOS 12.3 and newer. More about this issue can be found here: Dropbox support for macOS 12.3

To open your file, you'll need to make sure your file is _completely_ downloaded ("Local") before opening it. To do that for a file in Dropbox:

Locate the file in Dropbox you wish to open in the Mac Finder
Hold down the Control key and click on the file to access a menu of commands for the file
This menu will include Dropbox commands. From the *Smart Sync* section of the menu, choose *Local *
After your file is Local to your computer, you should see its Dropbox indicator change to from a hollow circle to a *solid green circle* with a check in it.

After the file is local, you should be able to open the file by double-clicking. If you're still having trouble, it may be because your file has some other unexpected content. If that's the case, please reach out to us via our Contact Page and we can look at your file.



twadebarcelona said:


> I'm trying to work out something. To example this I added a preface page to the sample on Vellum's website. Basically, I want to have the first paragraph have the same indentation as other paragraphs on a prefzce page. Is this possible?


Vellum follows the book design guideline that indentation is only necessary when it's necessary to indicate a new paragraph. So subsequent paragraphs are indented, but the first is not. Hope that clarifies things!


For others coming here: please note that, with the site overhaul, we no longer receive notifications about this thread, and with the site not as active as it once was, we no longer check this thread regularly. 

For a faster response, the best way to reach us is directly through our Contact Page.


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## mdunbroch

Are you able to insert different fonts from your computer into Vellum? Like for handwriting fonts?


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## alhawke

Just updated Vellum and the new update is creating an error when transferring word documents. Some of the prose is being transferred as "Centered". I have to remove the center formatting throughout the entire book. Can you please fix on next update?


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## MJR Media Productions

Reaper said:


> One of my beta readers is also the graphic designer I hired to make a small graphic of my publishing logo -- when she was reading through my current WIP and saw the logo, she mentioned it looked a touch blurry/pixelated (this was for the print-ready PDF generated by Vellum). According to Vellum, the image met the size requirements, but I wonder if one type of image works better than the other? Should I ask her to resize the image to a higher dpi and upload a bigger image then resize it in Vellum? I don't know much about image files -- she sent me a PDF file of the image, though Vellum does state using JPEG, TIFF and PNG files, so perhaps that's where the issue lies.
> 
> Has anyone else encountered this, where Vellum gives an image a green tick but it still looks pixelated?
> 
> (Just to clarify -- it looks fine to my eye, but I'm defaulting to my graphic designer's expertise!)
> 
> Apologies if this has been answered upthread already, I couldn't find an answer.


I have a friend having the same issue. She says no matter what she resizes the file to, it still looks blurry. Any ideas??


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