#Formatting software: #Atticus vs #Vellum: A Side-by-Side Comparison by Kindlepreneur

There is an excellent article by Dave Cheeson at Kindlepreneur discussing two different software programs authors use to format their books for publication. He uses a side-by-side table to highlight each software's capabilities.

I'm a fan of Atticus, and I'm glad to see they are expanding the software's capabilities. For any author who does their own formatting and can't decide which software to go with, this article should help you make up your mind.

You can find the full article here: https://kindlepreneur.com/atticus-vs-vellum/

In the article, he makes a side-by-side comparison of each software's capabilities and the cost of each program. One important factor is also the platform they can be used on. Vellum is for the MAC only, while Atticus can be used on any platform.

Vellum is priced at $199.99 for the ebook-only package, and $249.99 if you want to do paperback formatting as well. As a prior user of Vellum, I can tell you that you definitely want the paperback package to make it worth your while. 

Atticus is priced at a universal price of $147, and it includes paperback capabilities, meaning you get the same package for more than $100 less.

#NEW: VICTORY WRITING SHOP - Gifts and Tools for Book Nerds & Authors

 

Here's a special treat for both authors looking for practical advice on writing and editing as well as great ideas for author swag gifts. 

Website: https://victorywriting.com

I've reviewed Ms. Victory's book, "How to Polish Your Manuscript in Ten Days" and found it immensely helpful.

Anne Victory bio:

You've probably already guessed that I adore books. Hell, I edit books for a living. 🙂 I also teach classes about writing, give presentations at conferences and to local writers' groups, and run a group that distributes ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) for authors. If it involves books, I'm here for it.

But the story of how this shop came to be and the things I sell is a bit of a winding road. 

First—I've always wanted to do something creative that would also bring a smile to anyone who enjoys pretty things. That led me to designing illustrated journals. Books that let me express myself when creating them but would also let you enjoy an experience as you write, not just jot things down on some plain lined paper. 

The next thing on my list–I use flip-top notebooks for jotting down notes, figures, pretty much anything on my mind. But all the ones I found were… ugly. There, I said it. So I started making little notepads that would bring me a touch of joy as I work. And I wanted to share them with you. 

 

Well, all that's well and good, you might be thinking. But what about the rest of it?

I'm a firm believer in "going wide." This is basically when a self-published, indie author decides to not just use Amazon as their platform but to also utilize other book retailers and maybe even sell books directly from their website or at conferences. And okay—confession time.

I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon.

On the one hand, they indirectly put food on my table by helping my clients make money, which is how they pay for editing. My animals gotta eat. 😆 I also love the convenience of shopping on Amazon.

But on the other hand, I hate how big corporations drive out the mom-and-pop shops, and I'm not a fan of the soul-sucking way they treat their workers either. So I made the decision to go it on my own.

And it occurred to me that if I wasn't depending on Amazon to sell my books, then I could sell other things too. Makes sense, right? And I thought of how happy I'd be to walk into a shop that was dedicated to all things writing, reading, and freelancing. I'm only sorry my shop doesn't have some comfy chairs for you. 🙂 

And, finally, I love to serve and teach. That's why I started my Academy, that's why I have a NetGalley co-op, and that's why I present at conferences. So don't be surprised if you find resources on the craft of writing and planners to help with productivity and organization. 

If you love books as much as I do, you've definitely come to the right place. Bring your own comfy chair and browse as long as you'd like. 

GRAMMAR GIRL: Top 10 Language Myths

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence. Wrong! They can actually be quite short. In a run-on sentence, independent clauses are squished together without the help of punctuation or a conjunction. If you write “I am short he is tall,” as one sentence without a semicolon, colon, or dash between the two independent clauses, it's a run-on sentence even though it has only six words.

9. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word “however.” Wrong! It's fine to start a sentence with “however” so long as you use a comma after it when it means "nevertheless."

8. “Irregardless” is not a word. Wrong! “Irregardless” is a bad word and a word you shouldn't use, but it is a word. “Floogetyflop” isn't a word—I just made it up and you have no idea what it means.  “Irregardless,” on the other hand, is in almost every dictionary labeled as nonstandard. You shouldn't use it if you want to be taken seriously, but it has gained wide enough use to qualify as a word.

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in S. Wrong! It's a style choice. For example, in the phrase “Kansas's statute,” you can put just an apostrophe at the end of “Kansas” (that's AP style) or you can put an apostrophe S at the end of “Kansas” (that's Chicago style). Both ways are acceptable.

6. Passive voice is always wrong. Wrong! In passive voice, the subject of the sentence isn’t the person or the thing taking the action. In fact, in a passive voice sentence, the actor is often completely left out of the sentence. An example is "Mistakes were made," because it doesn't say who made the mistakes. Your writing is often stronger if you make your passive sentences active, but if you don't know who is responsible for an action, passive voice can be the best choice.

5. “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing. Wrong! “E.g.” means "for example," and “i.e.” means roughly "in other words." You use “e.g.” to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use “i.e.” to provide a complete clarifying list or statement.

4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you'd write that someone has "an MBA" instead of "a MBA," because even though “MBA” starts with M, which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel E--MBA.

3. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good." Wrong! You probably learned that verbs need to be modified by adverbs (such as “well”), but “good” isn’t modifying “am” in the sentence “I am good.” Instead, “good” is acting as the subject complement and modifying the pronoun “I.” It's also fine to answer "I'm well," but some grammarians believe "I'm well" should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition.

2. You shouldn't split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it's OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a verb form that is usually made up of the word “to” followed by a verb. An example is "to tell." In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. "To boldly tell" is a split infinitive because “boldly” separates “to” from “tell.”

1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means "Where are you at?" is wrong (or at least annoying) because "Where are you?" means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: “I'm going to throw up,” “Let's kiss and make up,” and “What are you waiting for” are just a few examples. 

FOR MORE TIPS, CHECK OUT GRAMMAR GIRL ON FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/GrammarGirl/ 

AUDIO BOOK AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON:

https://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Girls-Quick-Better-Writing/dp/B001CMONXK