# Vellum equivalent for Windows?



## Cat Esq. (Dec 11, 2015)

So I've heard most excellent things about Vellum, but alas, I am Mac-less. 

What options do us poor PC users have for ebook creation?


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## DarkScribe (Aug 30, 2012)

Cat said:


> So I've heard most excellent things about Vellum, but alas, I am Mac-less.
> 
> What options do us poor PC users have for ebook creation?


No simple options. You could Google "Hackintosh" if really keen.


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## Desert Rose (Jun 2, 2015)

I married a Mac user, but I recognize that isn't feasible for everyone.

You might look into Jutoh: http://www.jutoh.com/


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I figured that since I'm treating this writing gig as a business, a Mac is a business expense and tax-deductible.


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## NoBlackHats (Oct 17, 2012)

Dragovian said:


> I married a Mac user, but I recognize that isn't feasible for everyone.
> 
> You might look into Jutoh: http://www.jutoh.com/


I've been writing in Word, but after seeing the end results for a manuscript that was formatted in Vellum (and had lovely, small line drawings at the beginning of each chapter) I am wondering if Vellum/Mac is the way to go. Would it be worth hiring someone to convert a file to Vellum, or would Jutoh be a good substitute that would give similar results?


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

There is an online service where you can format your book on site. It's called Pressbooks.


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## Chrissy (Mar 31, 2014)

Another alternative is to buy Vellum and run it from  macincloud.com on your PC.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Scrivener does good ebooks, and with some finagling can be pretty too. I don't have hands-on experience with Vellum. Yet.


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## 91831 (Jul 18, 2016)

Chrissy said:


> Another alternative is to buy Vellum and run it from macincloud.com on your PC.


Does this genuinely work? Reason I ask is I had a bit of trouble with Scriv's compile last time and I keep hearing lovely things about Vellum.


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## Anarchist (Apr 22, 2015)

Patty Jansen said:


> I figured that since I'm treating this writing gig as a business, a Mac is a business expense and tax-deductible.


This.

Plus, once you go Mac, you'll never go back.


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## J.A. Sutherland (Apr 1, 2014)

evdarcy said:


> Does this genuinely work? Reason I ask is I had a bit of trouble with Scriv's compile last time and I keep hearing lovely things about Vellum.


Yes, macincloud is the method I use.


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## kathrynoh (Oct 17, 2012)

NoBlackHats said:


> I've been writing in Word, but after seeing the end results for a manuscript that was formatted in Vellum (and had lovely, small line drawings at the beginning of each chapter) I am wondering if Vellum/Mac is the way to go. Would it be worth hiring someone to convert a file to Vellum, or would Jutoh be a good substitute that would give similar results?


I get my sister to format my files for me because she has a Mac. It is possible to get someone else to do it *if* you have an absolutely final version. You don't want to have to keep getting them to make changes to the files esp if you're paying for it. If you know html, you can go and edit the Vellum-created epub after it's done. I did that to fix some stuff in my files. If you're not comfortable with html though, you're pretty much at the formatter's mercy.


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## MMacLeod (Sep 21, 2015)

J.A. Sutherland said:


> Yes, macincloud is the method I use.


What did you have to do to get this rolling? Do you start by purchasing Vellum? Did you do the pay as you go or the $20 a month option for macincloud? How do you get the program loaded? Any hiccups?

I've really wanted to try this out, but I lack the tech skills to feel comfortable just jumping in. Any chance you could outline the process?


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## Gone Girl (Mar 7, 2015)

We miss you, Harvey Chute.


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## Peter Spenser (Jan 26, 2012)

NoBlackHats said:


> Would it be worth hiring someone to convert a file to Vellum, or would Jutoh be a good substitute that would give similar results?


_*Nothing*_ gives similar results with the ease of Vellum. That being said, if you hire a Vellum person to do your book for you, and you give them a truly finished file, they should not charge you much to format it, because Vellum is that easy. You should be able to get numerous books done by someone with Vellum for what it would cost you to buy even a used a Mac (or rent Macincloud) plus the purchase of the Vellum app ($200 for an unlimited license).

You being a Word user, you should talk to a Vellum expert ahead of time (I'm one. You can also contact the Vellum people directly at https://180g.co) because there are ways to prepare your Word file ahead of time to make the conversion to a Vellum file even easier.


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## blubarry (Feb 27, 2015)

Vellum is fantastic. I'd highly recommend buying a refurbished mac or find a gently used one only for Vellum if you intend to publish regularly. If you only plan a few releases, paying a formater might be simpler.


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

Also worth mentioning is that Scrivener for Mac is way better than Scrivener for PC. I use a PC for most stuff, but I have a Mac Mini just so I can run Scrivener and Vellum.


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

ShayneRutherford said:


> Also worth mentioning is that Scrivener for Mac is way better than Scrivener for PC. I use a PC for most stuff, but I have a Mac Mini just so I can run Scrivener and Vellum.


Better how? I've only ever used it for PC. I had bought it before my last computer died, and I can't afford to renew it on this computer, so when the free trial runs out in a few days, I'm moving on to something else. It's a shame, I really do love it, but now I wonder what I'm missing out on if the Mac version is better.


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

LucasCWheeler said:


> Better how? I've only ever used it for PC. I had bought it before my last computer died, and I can't afford to renew it on this computer, so when the free trial runs out in a few days, I'm moving on to something else. It's a shame, I really do love it, but now I wonder what I'm missing out on if the Mac version is better.


It has more features. And it's much more polished looking. IMO, the entire experience is better.

You don't need to renew it, as long as you can find the email you received when you bought it in the first place. Scrivener (either version) has very generous license terms. It should let you run several computers with that same license.


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## 91831 (Jul 18, 2016)

LucasCWheeler said:


> Better how? I've only ever used it for PC. I had bought it before my last computer died, and I can't afford to renew it on this computer, so when the free trial runs out in a few days, I'm moving on to something else. It's a shame, I really do love it, but now I wonder what I'm missing out on if the Mac version is better.


You don't need to renew it. Scriv's license allows you to use it on more than one machine... including upgrades! I have it on both my SP4 and my main rig.


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## A.E. Wasp (Jan 24, 2015)

Dragovian said:


> I married a Mac user, but I recognize that isn't feasible for everyone.


::quickly modifies OKCupid Profile to ask about Mac ownership::


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

evdarcy said:


> Does this genuinely work? Reason I ask is I had a bit of trouble with Scriv's compile last time and I keep hearing lovely things about Vellum.


Yes, it really works. I used it for all of my books. I've never used a Mac, so there was a bit of a learning curve for me in that regard, but Vellum was easy and if you need even a little help there is at least one youtube tutorial out there. I save my files in dropbox anyway, so I just downloaded them onto my Macincloud, (and the covers--don't have to have those, but I like to send the files to my Kindle Fire and when I include the cover, they look just like books downloaded from Amazon.) I then open Vellum, new book (or file, project, can't recall what they call it) and find my file in the download folder on the lower right of the macincloud screen, and drag it over to the project. I spend another ten min. or so tweaking things (deleting cover pages that I had created, for example, so I could use the automatic cover page Vellum generates which is ten times better than mine. Same with copyright pages.)

And that's it! So easy!


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2016)

LucasCWheeler said:


> Better how? I've only ever used it for PC. I had bought it before my last computer died, and I can't afford to renew it on this computer, so when the free trial runs out in a few days, I'm moving on to something else. It's a shame, I really do love it, but now I wonder what I'm missing out on if the Mac version is better.


As others noted, you don't need to renew or repay. Even if you lost the original email, Literature and Latte have an awesome system set up to recover license keys. Had to use it myself a few weeks go when I had to wipe my laptop while my desktop was down.


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## smw (Mar 9, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Scrivener does good ebooks, and with some finagling can be pretty too. I don't have hands-on experience with Vellum. Yet.


It does (I own both), but, man, Vellum is in a whole different league when it comes to formatting and ease of use.


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

Anma Natsu said:


> As others noted, you don't need to renew or repay. Even if you lost the original email, Literature and Latte have an awesome system set up to recover license keys. Had to use it myself a few weeks go when I had to wipe my laptop while my desktop was down.





ShayneRutherford said:


> It has more features. And it's much more polished looking. IMO, the entire experience is better.
> 
> You don't need to renew it, as long as you can find the email you received when you bought it in the first place. Scrivener (either version) has very generous license terms. It should let you run several computers with that same license.


I'll try contacting them, thank you! I wish I had asked about this months ago then. xD The original email is long gone because that was years ago now, but I'll see what they can do.


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## 91831 (Jul 18, 2016)

MaryMcDonald said:


> Yes, it really works. I used it for all of my books. I've never used a Mac, so there was a bit of a learning curve for me in that regard, but Vellum was easy and if you need even a little help there is at least one youtube tutorial out there. I save my files in dropbox anyway, so I just downloaded them onto my Macincloud, (and the covers--don't have to have those, but I like to send the files to my Kindle Fire and when I include the cover, they look just like books downloaded from Amazon.) I then open Vellum, new book (or file, project, can't recall what they call it) and find my file in the download folder on the lower right of the macincloud screen, and drag it over to the project. I spend another ten min. or so tweaking things (deleting cover pages that I had created, for example, so I could use the automatic cover page Vellum generates which is ten times better than mine. Same with copyright pages.)
> 
> And that's it! So easy!


I'm definitely going to give it ago for my next book! If it's as easy as I'm hoping then I'll cut back and do book 1 too


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

For those wondering: Yes, Vellum works and works very well. Not only doesn't just generate generic ebooks, it generates the EPUB and MOBI file specific for each model of ebook reader. The iPad, Nook, and Kobo all use different rendering engines for presenting an ebook, and therefore each one renders the EPUB file slightly differently from the others. When trying to get a consistent look across the platforms, you have to tweak the CSS in the EPUB files to customize for each ebook reader to get consistency. It's maddening at times. Vellum circumvents all this be creating optimized EPUBs for each platform.

It does the same for the Kindle: it creates a container file that holds all the variants (MOBI, AZW, AZ8, etc.) for each of the Kindle models. This container file is loaded up to Amazon, and Amazon simply selects the appropriate file to deliver depending on the type of Kindle the user has at the time of ordering. This also helps increase the amount of money an author makes per ebook sold on Amazon, as Amazon does not charge you a download fee when there are multiple versions available for the different Kindles.

The only "limitation" is that you must save your manuscript into the DOCX format for it to be loaded into Vellum.

For those of you who are toying with the idea of switching to the Mac platform:

Word is available for the Mac and works excellently. Save to DOCX, drag-and-drop your file into Vellum, and—BOOM!—you're done.

The reality is, the keyboard shortcuts on a Mac are different from on Windows. And there's more of them. For power users of Windows, this will drive you absolutely insane for the first two months until you get used to the difference. During this period, you will absolutely, utterly, despise the Mac because you will keep making mistakes. However, once you get used to it, you will find that things are working better and smoother than ever before. Macs automatically save your work as you type, so short of completely immolating your hard drive, if you have some kind of computer disaster your work is safe.

In non-writing related stuff, Windows specific media files won't work directly on the Mac. You will need to download a program called VLC to take care of those the Mac can't directly run out of the box. For some sound files, while the Mac will play them on the desktop, iTunes will not load them onto the iPhone. You will have to convert those sound files to MP4 or AAC files. Where I run into this the most is for sound snippets I use for ringtones and alert sounds.

If there is a Windows program you absolutely must have and be able to run, you can still run Windows on a Mac. There are enough instructions on how to set this up online that I won't go into details here. An alternative way is the way I prefer to do it: I run Windows on a "Virtual Machine" via a program called Parallels. A plus is if my Windows OS ever gets compromised, all I have to do is reload the "machine image" from a backup file and I'm good to go in a minute or two. I also run Ubuntu Linux in the same manner, as well as a few other things.

One important point I would make to anyone is forget economizing when you buy a Mac. Whatever Mac you want to buy, get it with absolutely the maximum amount of RAM memory available for that given model. Some programs are real memory hogs and can max-out your computer's capacity causing it to bog down. Most Macs start off with 4 GB of RAM, I recommend no less that 8 GB and would prefer 16 GB or more. My disclaimer here is that I do use several high-end programs in graphics and modeling, and these programs tend to bring any machine to its knees. And often I am running them at the same time.

While Macs are more expensive than Windows PCs, they're useful life is between 6--8 years as opposed to the 2-year cycle of most Windows PCs. (Well, assuming you don't trip and send your Mac flying across the room...  )

Macs and PCs are fairly similar in how things get done, but the differences are what are going to drive you nuts. Just take a deep breath and give yourself time to learn and get used to those differences.


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2016)

I don't care if Vellum washes the dishes and walks the dog, I'm not buying an Apple product.


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## Used To Be BH (Sep 29, 2016)

Out_there said:


> I don't care if Vellum washes the dishes and walks the dog, I'm not buying an Apple product.


I've had my issues with Apple too, though if Vellum were hands-down the best way to go, I might be open to it.

That said, I've been very happy with Scrivener. I have tested my books on different platforms and screens sizes, and they seem to work well even without Vellum's ability to generate different files.

Perhaps it makes a difference that I don't use illustrations, and I confess to not being all that excited about features like drop caps in an ebook. Is there really much point in worrying about Vellum if my current formatting is pretty plain vanilla and seems to work well as is?


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

I bought a Macbook Air simply to take advantage of Vellum. I was thinking of the Mini, but it would be a hassle to connect and disconnect all the time. And I'm not about to spend a few hundred extra on flip switches for video feeds.


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Out_there said:


> I don't care if Vellum washes the dishes and walks the dog, I'm not buying an Apple product.


This type of post always brings out comments like that on either side. I will never understand how anyone has the time or energy to harbor such strong feelings for or against some faceless company. 
It's like: Screw Coke, they can pry this Pepsi out of my cold, dead hands. 
If I'm running a business, and one product works better for said business, then that's the one I'm going to choose. 
In this case, Macs give indies the ability to go direct with iBooks, and to use Vellum, as well as the better version of Scrivener. 
As far as I know, there is no Windows-exclusive software that anyone is really raving about for authors/publishers. 
It looks like a Mac is a good investment for an indie. 
If you don't have any interest in those programs, that makes it less appealing.

And before anyone gets mentions the price difference, there really isn't one. 
To build a PC to the same standards as a comparable Mac usually cost about the same. Sometimes more.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/buy-new-mac-pro-build-answer-might-surprise/
Can you get a PC much cheaper than a Mac? Sure. But you can also get a Kia much cheaper than a Mercedes.

Both systems are good. Both get the job done. Just like most cars will get you from point A to point B. You just need to choose a make and model to suit your needs and budget.

In conclusion, use whatever makes you happy. And let others use what makes them happy.


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## Word Fan (Apr 15, 2015)

Steve Voelker said:


> ...let others use what makes them happy...


...without the repeated and thoughtlessly prejudiced Apple bashing.


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## Elizabeth Barone (May 6, 2013)

*singing* "Nothing compares 2 U, Vellum..." but I've found Instascribe works well in a pinch (and it's free while in beta). It's a similar copy/paste approach with multiple layouts and TOC options. They're a small company but wicked helpful when you run into trouble or the occasional glitch. It's at http://instascribe.com


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2016)

I have an iPad and I enjoy it, but I don't have and have no desire to have an actual Mac computer. Macs are hideously more expensive, most of what I actually use is not available on a Mac (and I REALLY have no desire to rebuy all my software which after 2+ decades of computers is a considerable amount), and I just do not like the MacOS interface (and the iOS one frustrates me regularly). Its far beyond just the keyboard shortcuts being different, it is an entirely different UI, a different way of thinking about things and an entirely different mechanism of design. For me personally, I just don't find it intuitive or as usable, particularly being a power user of my systems.

(and iTunes sucks so so hard - even Mac folks I know hate that thing).



Word Fan said:


> ...without the repeated and thoughtlessly prejudiced Apple bashing.


While I do agree that thoughtless Apple bashing is pointless, I also find it absolutely ridiculous that so many people seem to act like "well just dump your perfectly functioning Windows machine for a Mac to get a SINGLE program" is also a great option or even a reasonable answer to the question of what works similar to Vellum but in my existing computing ecosystem. You don't sell your otherwise perfectly operating car just to get a backup camera or an MP3 player...well unless you have so much money that spending that of money is chump change (or you're in debt up your eyeballs and don't care about throwing a car loan into the mix). Then hey, its your money and time.

Yes, Vellum sounds nice, its eBooks do seem very pretty, but its also an expensive program and for most people, completely upheaving their entire computing universe just to get that one program is not a sound business practice nor a practical approach. Nor is buying a second or third computer just to have it sitting unused except to to run a single program.

And stating buying a Mac just for Vellum is a "tax write off" completely ignores the fact that a tax write off does not automagically make the money appear to buy the Mac! I means reducing your tax bill come tax time and maybe upping your refund if you get one. That's it. And if your writing business is already operating well in the negative, its fairly meaningless.



WDR said:


> While Macs are more expensive than Windows PCs, they're useful life is between 6--8 years as opposed to the 2-year cycle of most Windows PCs. (Well, assuming you don't trip and send your Mac flying across the room... )


I've never had a Windows PC only run for 2 years, ever. If I had one with only a 2 year life cycle, I'd so negative review that company and system everywhere as being complete trash. Even my first real computer, a Packard Bell in the 1990s, ran longer than that! Every one of my systems has lasted 8-10 years, if not longer. My current desktop is a refurbished Dell I got used from my sweetie. It's a circa 2007 computer purchased in 2008. Still going strong. My laptop is a Dell also bought in 2008 or so. Also working great. Then again, I also don't jump up OS just because Windows says "look new shiny". I ran Windows 98 for over a decade LOL Still running Windows 7 and will keep running it because it works perfectly fine for all my needs and Windows 10 blows monkey chunks (heck, our IT still doesn't support it - you put it on your work system, you are on your own unless you want help rolling back).

Meanwhile, my best bud, who loves Macs, is a Mac power user, and only uses Macs for his personal computer, replaces all of Mac stuff every 2-3 years because they get "slow" or the OS upgrades won't support the hardware anymore. And most Macs, unlike PCs, cannot have many, if any, after purchase end-user hardware updates. My Windows systems, I can up the RAM down the line (just maxed out both systems this year in fact), change out the video card, the audio card, etc. Something breaks, I can replace it (replaced the desktop's video card last month). Mac parts are very expensive on the whole, and in some cases not replaceable. Some Mac laptops even have the batteries glued in (my friend cussed at length about that one).

The question of the thread was not "tell me I should get a Mac to run Vellum" it was what formatting options similar to Vellum, if any, exist for Windows.


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Anma Natsu said:


> I also find it absolutely ridiculous that so many people seem to act like "well just dump your perfectly functioning Windows machine for a Mac to get a SINGLE program"


I don't think anyone is suggesting that. At least I know I wasn't.

First, you don't have to dump your Windows world if you own a Mac. Unlike a PC, a Mac can run Windows AND MacOS. So you could still use ALL of the programs you know and love, then switch to the Mac side for the programs that won't run in Windows. No need to dump anything. No loss. Only gain.

Second, you don't need to abandon a perfectly good system, but if you are in the market for a new computer (which happens more often for the average PC user), then you might want to consider the one that would allow you access to the tools you want. As I pointed out, the difference is not a SINGLE program. Off the top of my head, I can name Vellum, direct access to iBooks, and the better version of Scrivener. (Scrivener started off on Mac, and that version is still preferable due to stability issues.)

Third, Macs are not "hideously expensive." (No pointless Apple bashing here  ) I actually linked to an article that shows that, because I assumed someone would roll out that old chestnut. Macs usually cost about the same as a COMPARABLE PC. You can pick up a slightly used laptop for a few hundred bucks.

Will it cost money? Sure. But what people are pointing out is that it is a business investment. You need to decide if the cost is worth the gain for your particular business. Will a Mac be worth it? Is going direct to iBooks, Scrivener being more reliable, and having beautifully formatted books from Vellum worth the cost? Only you can answer that. If you are a Windows power user, the answer is probably no.

But remember, the investment is more than money. Personally, Vellum alone has saved me so much time in formatting books, that it could have paid for my last computer on its own. But YMMV.

Sure, the OP's question was not about switching, it was about a Windows alternative to Vellum.

That was answered. There isn't one.

So that is why people started recommending using a Mac.

This forum is full of helpful people, willing to share what works for them. Many of these people are chiming in saying that using a Mac has been a great experience for them. The OP (and others) might find that helpful.


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## Anarchist (Apr 22, 2015)

Steve Voelker said:


> Third, Macs are not "hideously expensive." (No pointless Apple bashing here  ) I actually linked to an article that shows that, because I assumed someone would roll out that old chestnut. Macs usually cost about the same as a COMPARABLE PC. You can pick up a slightly used laptop for a few hundred bucks.


Seriously. And people can do it through Amazon. Hell, here are some used models priced at Chromebook levels (deselect "New" on the left side of the screen).

It's odd that some people are intrinsically opposed to Apple products. But different strokes for different folks.


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## Guest (Oct 12, 2016)

Steve Voelker said:


> I don't think anyone is suggesting that. At least I know I wasn't.


You may not have, or may not have been your intention, but unless someone says they are in the market to replace their PC, answering "just get a Mac" tends to give the implication that they should just replace their existing system even if they hadn't planned on it. At least that's the impression I've gotten over the various threads on the subject.



Steve Voelker said:


> First, you don't have to dump your Windows world if you own a Mac. Unlike a PC, a Mac can run Windows AND MacOS. So you could still use ALL of the programs you know and love, then switch to the Mac side for the programs that won't run in Windows. No need to dump anything. No loss. Only gain.


But how many lay folks will know that or be able to do it, easily?  I'm a power user, so I'm sure I could figure it out if I was inclined to, but if I'm understand right and we're primarily aiming discussing writers who mostly use their computers purely for their writing apps and nothing else, would they be the folks at that user level? Or would be it much easier for those users (and cheaper) for them to use something like MacInCloud to go direct, if that was their desire, and even use Vellum, without having another system to maintain or deal with moving stuff over an all?



Steve Voelker said:


> Third, Macs are not "hideously expensive." (No pointless Apple bashing here  ) I actually linked to an article that shows that, because I assumed someone would roll out that old chestnut. Macs usually cost about the same as a COMPARABLE PC. You can pick up a slightly used laptop for a few hundred bucks.


The article you linked to noted the base model on the MacPro was $3,000. That is HIDEOUSLY expensive in my book. And yes, the comparison from a glance looks like "well a comparable build you own is the same price" except most folks are not going to build their own, they'd be buying a pre-built Windows system, same as they'd buy a pre-made Mac. That said, yes, even a pre-built PC would be in the $2,500 range with similar specs.

But here is the big difference: even with doing my web design, podcasting, and photography, I don't NEED two AMD FirePro 4 GB video cards. I don't need 16 GB of RAM. Do most writers? Do most regular users who aren't gamers or heavy into graphics and video editing? I mean yeah, the Mac Pro's specs are drool worthy, but they are also overkill for most folks 

To me, PCs offer a much wider range of lower cost options. I can spend $3,000 on a Mac, or a very high end PC (heck, when I've been having fun on custom systems, I've easily spec'd out one for $10k, but I also know I could never justify it as I wouldn't even use a 10th of its power). Or, I (and anyone else), I can spend less than $1,000 and have a PC that meets my needs and have $2k left over for editing and covers and marketing. But again, I will concede that if you are a completely out of the box user who never does their own upgrades or anything, a Mac Mini would be comparable to a desktop PC price wise and a good choice to consider if you're debating between going Mac or not.

(As a total side note so I don't quote again LOL, Scrivener on Windows is perfectly reliable. Never had any issue with it in that regard. It's lacking in features, yes, and there are bugs that remain unfixed, though as I've never had the change to try the Mac I don't know if its an issue on both or not, but it has always been really stable running.)



Anarchist said:


> Seriously. And people can do it through Amazon. Hell, here are some used models priced at Chromebook levels (deselect "New" on the left side of the screen).
> 
> It's odd that some people are intrinsically opposed to Apple products. But different strokes for different folks.


Those are both laptops, not desktops, while Steve's article was discussing desktops. Laptops have a different set of issues and considerations for purchase, with both PC and Mac, as you also have to take into account screen size, battery life, etc. And that's looking at used prices, when, my presumption was Steve and I were discussed new. You can buy anything cheap used if you find the right seller and you're willing to risk buying used computer stuff. Personally I'm not, unless its a certified refurbished from the manufacturer or from someone I really know well.

I am also not "intrinsically opposed" to Apple products. I spent $800+ on an iPad Air 2 earlier this year to replace my iPad 2 after it finally died and after spending weeks looking at all range of options as I wasn't really married to it having to be an iOS device. I could have gone Android for much cheaper, but for my needs, the iPad Air 2 was the best choice and value for the money.

I think Apple makes great products, and I think they are a perfectly valid choice for someone interested in them. I also almost always recommend anyone going into graphics, video work, visualization, gaming design, etc get a Mac. So much better for it than all but the very highest end PCs and even then Mac generally wins.

My response primarily was to remind that simply saying "get a Mac" when people are looking for alternatives to Vellum discounts the full discussion of switching ecosystems, that its likely most people don't just use a computer 100% purely for their writing, and that it is not just a "simple" choice or thing to do, especially for long time computer users who may be used to Windows.

If someone came in and said they were looking for a new computer and were open to switching OS, then yes, Vellum's availability would be something to go in the pro column, as would Steve's other point about going direct with iBooks. But just rapid fire and multiple "just get a Mac" responses to someone who made no indication they wanted to switch or buy another computer feels like those auto-response emails from a customer support line that really doesn't answer your actual question.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Anarchist said:


> This.
> 
> Plus, once you go Mac, you'll never go back.


Not necessarily true. I HAD to use a Mac at work before I went full time. I was so glad to get home to a PC. Mac users just always say and think that.

However I may buy a used Mac solely for formatting books since there is no equivalent for PC. That is the solution that I am considering and if the OP doesn't want to switch as I do not, it seems like a workable solution.


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Obviously, people have their preferences. And some people feel more strongly about them than others. 

There is no need to keep defending Windows. We all know it works great. 

There is no need to keep deriding Macs. We all know they work great. 

(Any further debate is really pointless. They both get the job done. The argument is an internet staple. It won't get solved here!)

There is also no need to keep pointing out that the OP didn't ask about switching. 

The OP asked about Windows alternatives to Vellum. 

There isn't one. 

So people starting making other suggestions, like Mac in cloud, buying a cheap used Mac, or considering a Mac next time you need a new computer. All of these are valid and helpful suggestions to someone who has a PC, but wants to use Vellum. 

There are plenty of products that get recommended on her ALL THE TIME. Vellum is one. Scrivener is another. 
These products get people shouting unsolicited endorsements of them at the drop of a hat, because they are awesome, and people are excited to share that awesomeness with a fellow writer. It is a good feeling to find something that you really like, something that has been a huge help to you, and share that with anyone who will listen. People like the feeling that maybe someone will follow their suggestion and get the same level of enjoyment and usefulness from the product. People like to be helpful. 

Maybe the people on this thread are excited to share their experience with their Macs for the same reasons?


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Word Fan said:


> ...without the repeated and thoughtlessly prejudiced Apple bashing.


Or the repeated and thoughtless prejudiced PC and PC USER bashing. Goes both ways.

And you can get a used Mac 10.9 fairly cheaply to run Vellum and continue using PC if you happen, like me, to very much - having used Macs - to prefer a PC (which lasts one heck of a lot longer than 2 years).


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

JRTomlin said:


> Or the repeated and thoughtless prejudiced PD and PC USER bashing. Goes both ways friend.


There really hasn't been any on this thread. If you look, most of the people suggesting Macs are just talking about their own positive experiences. No one saying that nothing would ever make them us a PC, or calling anything about PCs hideous, or that anything about them sucks.

About the only negative thing I can find on here about PCs is that they don't seem to last as long as Macs. That is obviously going to vary based on which model and the type of user. Comparing similar builds and uses will probably be close. But the fact that Apple doesn't make a $200 "disposable" computer most likely puts Apple slightly ahead in overall average.

And even that wasn't posed in way I would typically consider "bashing."


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## Anarchist (Apr 22, 2015)

Anarchist said:


> Plus, once you go Mac, you'll never go back.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


To your point, my comment was made with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.

I get that some folks prefer PCs to Macs. Likewise, I get that some folks prefer Justin Bieber to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

I get it. I just don't get *them*.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

I do consider the 'you'll never go back' and 'PCs only last two years' bashing. It is a bash to suggest you should trash a perfect good PC because they are inherently inferior. But this isn't worth arguing any more than the PC vs Mac debate is worth arguing.

A simple and not TOO costly solution, buy a used Mac solely for Vellum for those of us who strongly prefer a PC.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

I'm really confused. What's wrong with formatting in word? I read a ton of books on my kindle and the formatting all looks pretty much the same. 

Chapter heading, space, paragraphs with first line indents, page break, Chapter heading.

What's so different with Vellum or anything else?

Is that how you get Kindle in Motion into your books or something? Because I really can't see how formatting is difficult or even time consuming, I just do it as I type. For $200 I would expect a formatting package to do something pretty special


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> I'm really confused. What's wrong with formatting in word? I read a ton of books on my kindle and the formatting all looks pretty much the same.
> 
> Chapter heading, space, paragraphs with first line indents, page break, Chapter heading.
> 
> ...


Vellum is pretty special. It's super easy, and super fast, and puts out gorgeous looking ebooks. I believe it also can differentiate by vendor (Amazon links in Mobis, Kobo links in Kobo epubs, etc.)


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

ShayneRutherford said:


> Vellum is pretty special. It's super easy, and super fast, and puts out gorgeous looking ebooks. I believe it also can differentiate by vendor (Amazon links in Mobis, Kobo links in Kobo epubs, etc.)


Can you point me to a look inside on Amazon that's done by Vellum so I can see why it is so gorgeous looking?


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> Can you point me to a look inside on Amazon that's done by Vellum so I can see why it is so gorgeous looking?


I'm pretty sure Red Winter by Annette Marie was done in Vellum.


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## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

ShayneRutherford said:


> I'm pretty sure Red Winter by Annette Marie was done in Vellum.


But it's a pre-order, it doesn't have a Look Inside


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

Evenstar said:


> But it's a pre-order, it doesn't have a Look Inside


Just went and asked, and all of Annette Marie's books are Vellum-formatted.


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

Also Levels by DH Richards.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

This was done in Vellum. I know that because I saw the author post that info, and I think is a good example of what Vellum can do:

The Witching Elm (The Memento Mori Witch Trilogy Book 1)

They do stand out from the typical ebook. It is why I intend to switch to Vellum even if using a Mac... isn't my favorite thing.


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## MMacLeod (Sep 21, 2015)

The three in my signature are formatted in Vellum.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I sympathize with those who have trouble scraping up funds for indie extras. However, I spent less than a thousand on a new 13" MacBook that was one of those machines not sold in its time and outdated by newer releases. My unlimited Velum was $150 on sale. I had and have no intention of abandoning my Windows laptop or desktop, and if the Windows laptop fails, I'll get another rather than switch to the Mac, which I didn't have an instant rapport with. I did think I'd use Scrivener on the Mac too, and it hasn't happened - so far I've not needed/wanted any of the extra features available there and keep right on using the Windows laptop.

It's all a matter of what each of us wants and values. I have no problem with Apple products but h3ll will freeze over before I use Word voluntarily - an individual prejudice. Horses for courses; one man's trash another's treasure. Etc.


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## BellaJames (Sep 8, 2016)

elizabethbarone said:


> *singing* "Nothing compares 2 U, Vellum..." but I've found Instascribe works well in a pinch (and it's free while in beta). It's a similar copy/paste approach withhttp://scanurl.net/ multiple layouts and TOC options. They're a small company but wicked helpful when you run into trouble or the occasional glitch. It's at http://instascribe.com


Thank you for mentioning an alternative (I've never seen this mentioned). I have just purchased a new laptop and I did not have the funds to buy a mac.

I like the look of reedsy's writing tool too but I don't see hardly anyone singing it's praises https://reedsy.com/write-a-book


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## Nic (Nov 17, 2013)

As a reader I couldn't care less about the frills Vellum provides. 

This week I read an ebook clearly formatted with Vellum, drop caps, PNG graphics, multiple fonts, the lot. However, the prose and the story were quite abysmal and it got a 1* rating and a corresponding review 30% in, the point at which I wasn't willing to squander my time anymore. The next book I picked up featured no frills to speak of, just a publisher logo, something easy enough to add even with the most basic software, but it was a great story, written brilliantly, and this one ended up with a strong 5* review.

Seriously, as long as there are no obvious problems with an ebook, like characters not showing up, a hardcoded font taking my reader options from me or being doublespaced entirely or between paragraphs, everything else will not influence whether or not I buy that book, how I rate it, or whether I'll keep buying books from that author. I quite simply do not care and I doubt many readers do either.


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

NoBlackHats said:


> Would it be worth hiring someone to convert a file to Vellum...


Is this something that Windows peeps would be interested in? I already make book covers, and I've been wondering lately if people who don't have access to a Mac would be interested in a service like this.


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## jchance (Oct 15, 2016)

BellaJames said:


> Thank you for mentioning an alternative (I've never seen this mentioned). I have just purchased a new laptop and I did not have the funds to buy a mac.
> 
> I like the look of reedsy's writing tool too but I don't see hardly anyone singing it's praises https://reedsy.com/write-a-book


Instascribe looks pretty similar to Vellum. Certainly worth playing with, especially since it's free.

I have less than zero desire to use a Mac. I bought my daughter a Macbook Pro for college, because her college stressed that it was a Mac Campus, and that reinforced my opinion that I'm just a PC girl. I'm comfortable altering my sysconfig file, and doing crap behind the curtain. I know how to find anything, and never feel lost. I'm sure I could achieve the same familiarity with a Mac over time, but I've no desire to. I tried the macincloud thing with a download of Vellum, so if I decide to invest in Vellum at some point, that's how I'd use it. Next time there's a sale, maybe.

Vellum makes nice ebooks, but as another person who really only cares about the words and who has managed 5+ years formatting on my own, it's not a necessary expense for me.


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## WPipp (Dec 9, 2014)

Vellum seems like a good product that produces a good-looking book, and if someone can show it makes the difference between getting a sale and not getting one then it might be worth paying for. If you've already have experience formatting a book (not hard to do), it doesn't take much time format the next book. One caveat to increasing complexity to the formatting process is that it can be more easily broken with changes in newer reader technologies. Now maybe Vellum's approach mitigates the chance of that happening, but if not, I'd hate to wait around for a fix if it doesn't.


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## BellaJames (Sep 8, 2016)

Anma Natsu said:


> The question of the thread was not "tell me I should get a Mac to run Vellum" it was what formatting options similar to Vellum, if any, exist for Windows.


This

I thought this thread was supposed to be about alternatives to vellum, not several endorsements for vellum.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

WPipp said:


> Vellum seems like a good product that produces a good-looking book, and if someone can show it makes the difference between getting a sale and not getting one then it might be worth paying for. If you've already have experience formatting a book (not hard to do), it doesn't take much time format the next book. One caveat to increasing complexity to the formatting process is that it can be more easily broken with changes in newer reader technologies. Now maybe Vellum's approach mitigates the chance of that happening, but if not, I'd hate to wait around for a fix if it doesn't.


Someone asked me about this via PM a while ago, and my answer is that I don't believe prettier formatting increases sales. I certainly have abandoned books over bad formatting - a sans serif forced font, no paragraphs, all centered, etc. - but I'm not going to choose my reading based on plain or pretty formatting, and I don't believe others will either.

However, the method of formatting I used for my books since starting in 2010 is now dated and not supported by Amazon. It still works to produce a nice-looking book on my Kindles, but I don't know how long that will be true. It doesn't meet the newer standards. So for me the question became what program to use that would produce an ebook that meets those newer standards. I was going to use Scrivener until I saw posts about the Look Inside problem. I've used Sigil a little and took one look at Jutoh. In the end I decided to go with something that would make formatting a pretty ebook easy, and if I'm right that Vellum is going to worry about meeting changing requirements and I won't have to, it's more than worth the price.


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## WPipp (Dec 9, 2014)

ellenoc said:


> Someone asked me about this via PM a while ago, and my answer is that I don't believe prettier formatting increases sales. I certainly have abandoned books over bad formatting - a sans serif forced font, no paragraphs, all centered, etc. - but I'm not going to choose my reading based on plain or pretty formatting, and I don't believe others will either.


Same with me. There were a few books that I passed on that were centered formatted and one had a space between paragraphs.



ellenoc said:


> However, the method of formatting I used for my books since starting in 2010 is now dated and not supported by Amazon.


That's interesting. I convert the Word doc to HTML(I don't use Word's conversion) and send it to Calibre to convert to an ebook. Do you do it differently, and if not what part of that is not supported?



ellenoc said:


> I've used Sigil a little and took one look at Jutoh. In the end I decided to go with something that would make formatting a pretty ebook easy, and if I'm right that Vellum is going to worry about meeting changing requirements and I won't have to, it's more than worth the price.


The point I'd make with Vellum or any similar product is that you're most likely adding graphical images which would be more likely to have issues with in changing technologies, less so with plain vanilla HTML. If there is a problem with HTML(and the associated CSS tags) it's easy for me to fix. Obviously, if the problem is with Calibre then not so much.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

WPipp said:


> That's interesting. I convert the Word doc to HTML(I don't use Word's conversion) and send it to Calibre to convert to an ebook. Do you do it differently, and if not what part of that is not supported?


I don't write in Word and won't deal with it unless I'm forced to. It's a personal prejudice, and I'm not going to change. I exported my WordPerfect document to html, tweaked that, and then used MobiCreator to produce a mobi file for upload to KDP. My older books that were done that way are still up on Amazon without complaint. Even once I switched to Scrivener for writing, I'd put the book into WordPerfect at the end because I use it to format the Create Space version and was never able to resist a little tweaking of a sentence here and there as I went. So once everything was set, I'd strip out the CS formatting and go to html for the ebook from there.

Doing that produced a very nice ebook, but the format was simple mobi and didn't have KF8 and KFX. My guess is that's why Amazon says it no longer supports that way of producing an ebook, but ever since I found that out, I've worried the day would come KDP would refuse one of my uploads. I knew I needed to find a new way. As I said, I don't use Word. To get a docx file for Vellum, I did a Save As doc from WordPerfect, brought that up in Pages and then saved as a docx. Worked fine. I'm going to redo the older books - any day.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

Anma Natsu said:


> The question of the thread was not "tell me I should get a Mac to run Vellum" it was what formatting options similar to Vellum, if any, exist for Windows.


There aren't any. Vellum is incredibly unique in what it does and that it does it well: it generates _stable_ ebook files that open _properly_ on all platforms.

The closest any program comes to what Vellum does is Calibre. I praise Calibre for what it does and the fact that it was really THE pioneering program for fixing ebooks. But it falls significantly short of what Vellum does. I would use Calibre for my personal library, when I need to fix faulty ebooks purchased from other publishers. But I would never use Calibre to generate a production ebook, because it doesn't (or at least, hasn't) stayed very close to the specifications of the ebook formats. It results in inconsistent rendering across platforms.

My first book, I created the ebook files by hand---mostly. I generated the initial EPUB file from Apple's _Pages 4_, and then I opened the EPUB file to fix the formatting to my specifications by editing the CSS file. Then I further modified the CSS and the body text to allow for drop-caps, alternate fonts, etc. Once that was done, I had to generate alternate EPUB files for both the Nook and the Kobo, because they use different rendering engines in their ebook browsers from what Apple uses. This results in inconsistencies in how the narrative text gets displayed on any given ebook device. I found Apple's rendering engine to be the most robust and consistent in presenting an ebook, with the Nook being a decent second. Kobo continues to be an annoyingly distant third in this case.

Once I had solid EPUBs that displayed consistently across all platforms, I would take the EPUB version that displayed properly on the Nook and use that to generate the Amazon MOBI file.

Overall, the whole process of making these ebook versions took me roughly 3--4 weeks to work out. That was a lot of work. Vellum does it in roughly 30 seconds and the results are much more consistent across platforms.

(Now, when I find myself with a purchased ebook that was badly formatted, I rip out the text, format it in Pages, then drop it into Vellum to generate a properly formatted ebook.)


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## Jerry S. (Mar 31, 2014)

I'm looking to use Vellum and am a Mac novice. What do you recommend as a good Mac laptop that I can run Vellum to compile my Scrivener books I write on PC?


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

BellaJames said:


> This
> 
> I thought this thread was supposed to be about alternatives to vellum, not several endorsements for vellum.


Yep. The OP asked about programs equivalent to Vellum. The enthusiastic outpouring of Vellum support is basically saying that there aren't any. 
And I have to agree. There is nothing I've found on any platform that can hold a candle to Vellum. And with the impending addition of print formatting right around the corner, I would put Vellum squarely at the top of any list of "must have" apps for indie publishers.

Of course none of them are really necessary. You can write your novels with a quill and parchment. It's all preference. But a whole bunch of us prefer Vellum.


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Jerry S. said:


> I'm looking to use Vellum and am a Mac novice. What do you recommend as a good Mac laptop that I can run Vellum to compile my Scrivener books I write on PC?


Almost any Mac in the last 8-10 years will run Vellum. As long as it can run OS 10.9 (Mavericks), you will be okay. 
Here is a list from Apple:

Supported Models
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)

Obviously, the newer ones will be more useful, and more expensive. 

Also, keep in mind that in addition to Vellum, a Mac will get you access to direct publishing with iBooks, and the "better" version of Scrivener. 
I know more than one author who bought a Mac for Vellum or iBooks, and it ended up being their main writing computer before too long.


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## ♨ (Jan 9, 2012)

Jerry S. said:


> I'm looking to use Vellum and am a Mac novice. What do you recommend as a good Mac laptop that I can run Vellum to compile my Scrivener books I write on PC?


Does it need to be a laptop? As Steve Voelker said, just about any Mac laptop made in the last 8-10 years will be able to run Vellum. However, with older models, parts may not be easily available anymore. Some parts are no longer made and the only way to replace in the event of an accident or failure is to track down a good, used replacement.

Stuff like hard drives will be easy as compatible hard drives are still made. But items like replacement screens or keyboards are not as easy.

If you'll only be using the Mac for Vellum and will be using it in a home office where you don't need portability, you might want to consider something like an older Mac Mini. It uses standard monitors, USB keyboards and mice. So, if a monitor breaks down or a keyboard stops working or whatever, it's easy to replace. The hard drive is easy to replace.

If keeping costs down is important and portability isn't, consider a used Mac Mini. If portability is an issue, then I'd stick with newer Mac laptops with parts that are more readily available.


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## Patrick Urban (Oct 22, 2016)

Dan C. Rinnert said:


> Does it need to be a laptop? As Steve Voelker said, just about any Mac laptop made in the last 8-10 years will be able to run Vellum. However, with older models, parts may not be easily available anymore. Some parts are no longer made and the only way to replace in the event of an accident or failure is to track down a good, used replacement.
> 
> Stuff like hard drives will be easy as compatible hard drives are still made. But items like replacement screens or keyboards are not as easy.
> 
> ...


and


WDR said:


> There aren't any. Vellum is incredibly unique in what it does and that it does it well: it generates _stable_ ebook files that open _properly_ on all platforms.


Dan makes a good point about a, relatively, inexpensive option. Even new, a Mac Mini (the 4gbram,500gb drive v.) is just $399 -- a far cry from mac laptop costs. It is more than adequate to run Vellum and is usable with your existing keyboard and monitor (it's just a little cpu box).


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## mikeclark797 (May 8, 2017)

Vellum is cool, but if your mac-less I suggest either a Hackintosh (if you're inclined the do a virtual box.) which allows you to run a mac on your PC. Or macincloud.com, which lets you rent one online, you remote into a mac and use it like any mac. it can be done monthly or on an hourly basis (recommended) worth doing to access this software. Also macincloud you can access from a number of PC's and you don't have to worry about the hardware horsepower too much. 

The other plus is you could put scrivener up there as well if you don't already own it. I bought both versions and the iPad version (all tied together with dropbox) it's a pretty comprehensive platform to write and format books. 

so the reason to use vellum bar none (What convinced me, as I have been using scrivener) KDP page count. Vellum used properly is a very clean, and KDP knows exactly what's book and what's front matter etc. the KDP page count is more exact (AKA higher) and there for more pages in a read. Otherwise, KDP guesses based on % and that's inevitably lower pages.


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Dan C. Rinnert said:


> Does it need to be a laptop? As Steve Voelker said, just about any Mac laptop made in the last 8-10 years will be able to run Vellum. However, with older models, parts may not be easily available anymore. Some parts are no longer made and the only way to replace in the event of an accident or failure is to track down a good, used replacement.
> 
> Stuff like hard drives will be easy as compatible hard drives are still made. But items like replacement screens or keyboards are not as easy.
> 
> ...


This is a good point.

Personally, I rarely use Vellum on my laptop. I like to to anything that has to do with formatting on my Mac Mini with the much larger monitor. It allows me to have multiple windows open side-by-side much more comfortably. I really only use the laptop when I need portability.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Anything you can do with Vellum or any other epub generator, you can do with a simple text editor on any platform. The differences are found in how much you have to know and how much of your time it will take.

I have yet to see a software-generated epub from any converter that couldn't be improved with some low-level tweaking. That said, I write and edit my books in OpenOffice Writer, control the formatting with styles in a custom template, export them to epub with Alkinea, and validate and tweak them with Sigil.


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## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Al Stevens said:


> Anything you can do with Vellum or any other epub generator, you can do with a simple text editor on any platform. The differences are found in how much you have to know and how much of your time it will take.


That is 100% the selling point of programs like Vellum. Of course you can do it other ways. It's not magic. It just makes it a whole lot easier to turn out a professional looking product without spending much time.

This is true with most aspects of indie publishing. Nothing is free. You have to be willing to spend. Your choice usually comes down to whether you're willing to spend time or money.

Personally, I believe that the only part of the process that no one else can do is the actual writing. So I am a fan of anything that lets me spend more time on that.


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## TBD (Mar 14, 2014)

Here is a step by step tutorial on running Vellum on a PC.

https://paulteague.com/how-to-use-vellum-on-a-pc/


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## Viv Phoenix (Dec 19, 2015)

Dragovian said:


> I married a Mac user, but I recognize that isn't feasible for everyone.
> 
> You might look into Jutoh: http://www.jutoh.com/


 So funny. This hadn't occurred to me. I've heard of using Mac in the Cloud, though.

Seeking marriage of convenience. Must have current model Mac.

Seriously, I want to go direct on ibooks and I don't have a Mac. I'll cruise through this thread.

Pressbooks, Instascribe and Reedsy Book Editor look worth a look.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Steve Voelker said:


> This is true with most aspects of indie publishing. Nothing is free. You have to be willing to spend. Your choice usually comes down to whether you're willing to spend time or money.
> 
> Personally, I believe that the only part of the process that no one else can do is the actual writing. So I am a fan of anything that lets me spend more time on that.


The way I do it doesn't take any more time then it would with Vellum. In both cases, you have to invest the time to learn and organize your tools. After that, they're pretty much the same. I go from my manuscript to a publishable epub in about five seconds. If I want to minimize its size, which is done only when I'm ready to publish, it takes about 20 more seconds. So I spend no more time and less money than those who chose to buy something to achieve the same result.


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## Word Fan (Apr 15, 2015)

Al Stevens said:


> The way I do it doesn't take any more time then it would with Vellum. In both cases, you have to invest the time to learn and organize your tools. After that, they're pretty much the same. So I spend no more time and less money than those who chose to buy something to achieve the same result.


I've been reading all of your posts and you seem absolutely _determined_ to paint Vellum as completely unnecessary and overpriced and to convince us that we shouldn't buy it. Well, there are plenty of us here who have used Word, and Pages, and Scrivener, and Jutoh, and Sigil, and even written a complete book from the ground up in HTML, and we are perfectly happy with what we get from Vellum at the price that we paid for it.

And, your outrageous time-saving claims to the contrary, _*nothing*_ else on the market today does all that Vellum does as well and as fast.


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## DGS (Sep 25, 2013)

I just played GTA V in 1280x720 on my 2013 Macbook air via windows I have installed on it as well. Then I switch to Mac and use Scrivener. And it's like 3lbs.. you can take it to the bathroom!  Just sayin'.


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## CABarrett (Feb 23, 2017)

Abalone said:


> There is an online service where you can format your book on site. It's called Pressbooks.


My local library provides free access to Pressbooks. I realize that the thread has gone far afield, but I thought it was worth mentioning in case other authors are looking for formatting software, because it was a happy surprise and I suspect other library systems might offer something similar.


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## Abalone (Jan 31, 2014)

BellaJames said:


> Thank you for mentioning an alternative (I've never seen this mentioned). I have just purchased a new laptop and I did not have the funds to buy a mac.
> 
> I like the look of reedsy's writing tool too but I don't see hardly anyone singing it's praises https://reedsy.com/write-a-book


Probably because for almost a year half its features have had a "coming soon" designation.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Word Fan said:


> I've been reading all of your posts and you seem absolutely _determined_ to paint Vellum as completely unnecessary and overpriced and to convince us that we shouldn't buy it. Well, there are plenty of us here who have used Word, and Pages, and Scrivener, and Jutoh, and Sigil, and even written a complete book from the ground up in HTML, and we are perfectly happy with what we get from Vellum at the price that we paid for it.
> 
> And, your outrageous time-saving claims to the contrary, _*nothing*_ else on the market today does all that Vellum does as well and as fast.


The OP asked for Windows equivalents to Vellum not endorsements. My accounts outrage you? They have pills for that.


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## SA_Soule (Sep 8, 2011)

I use this online software to convert/format my eBooks and print PDFs: https://www.bookow.com/ I wish it had more formatting features, but it gets the job done.


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## Word Fan (Apr 15, 2015)

Al Stevens said:


> The O.P. asked for Windows equivalents to Vellum not endorsements.


Yes, and the O.P. and everyone else was told several times that there ain't any. Simple as that.

Then a bunch of people jumped in with: "Yeah, but I use..."

That's fine. I'm glad you have something that works for you. But is it "equivalent" to Vellum. No.

Is it cheaper? Certainly, if you don't factor in how much your own time and effort spent doing some other method is worth.

Is is easier to use? Not to get exactly the same results.

So, is it just as good? No.

Can people who don't use Vellum, either Mac or P.C. users, create really nice e-books, good enough to sell? Absolutely. It happens every day.

But you won't get Vellum equivalence in your files and you won't get Vellum's ease of use. You each have to decide if you're o.k. with that.


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## BGArcher (Jun 14, 2014)

A few thoughts as a pro computer user. People talk about the expensive of owning a mac, but the thing is, as long as you aren't downloading a bunch of questionable s$$t on torrents, they do in general, just work. People talk about them running a long time, this has 100% percent been my experience as well. I have a MacBook pro from 2009 that still runs great. I had to replace the hard drive at one point with an SSD, but other than that it's still a very modern feeling computer. My main workhorse now is an iMac 5k, because I want to work on the best computer for this business, and this has the best screen for this job.

As for getting one cheaper, refurbished is the way to go, and if you're willing to go without insurance, there are plenty of MacBook pro's with retina screens on eBay in the thousand dollar range that work great. If you're willing to go low res screen, MacBook air's are killer writing machines as well.

It's not to say that Window is terrible. Window's 10 is fine. It's not great, (aside from playing games) but I'm not hating. But if I want a machine that's basically built to be the best for indie publishing, it's a mac every time.


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Word Fan said:


> Yes, and the O.P. and everyone else was told several times that there ain't any. Simple as that


I agree, they were told that.


Word Fan said:


> That's fine. I'm glad you have something that works for you. But is it "equivalent" to Vellum. No.


Yes.


Word Fan said:


> Is it cheaper? Certainly, if you don't factor in how much your own time and effort spent doing some other method is worth.


The extra time is once only. You need upfront time for Vellum too. And remember, the OP is looking for a Windows solution. So factor in the cost of a Mac or the expense and complexity of running a virtual Mac OS. Have you tried that? Ugh.


Word Fan said:


> Is is easier to use? Not to get exactly the same results.


It's as easy. To get the same results. 


Word Fan said:


> So, is it just as good? No.


yes.


Word Fan said:


> But you won't get Vellum equivalence in your files and you won't get Vellum's ease of use. You each have to decide if you're o.k. with that.


Actually I get both. And I can improve on Vellum's files.


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