My Personal Debate II
Revisiting my Scrivener, Atticus, Vellum Post
Back in January, I did a post of these three writing apps. This is a followup to that article. The good news is, I have a winner. So, without further ado, let’s dive right into it.
Scrivener (Literature And Latte):
I’ve used this app for about 15 years and still love it. I understand its intended use is as a first draft editor and I’ve stopped wasting time working on novels past that phase. Most likely I would have continued using it beyond the first draft, but I needed to move the manuscript into an editor more capable of page formatting. It was time to move on, and I just needed a kick in the butt to do so.
Scrivener’s clunky compile process provided that kick because, honestly, if the app has one flaw, it is formatting a manuscript for publication. Everything about that process, after years of complaints, is still unchanged and mind-numbingly complicated. And I’ve spent way more time over the years stumbling my way through learning how to use it effectively. Want to do page layout? Forget it. It does the job, but it ain’t intuitive and just one more thing that’s still unnecessarily complicated.
Using it on multiple computers can also be headache-inducing. Forgetting to mirror the configuration settings, especially the backup folder on each computer, can cause frustration. And why in the year 2024 they are still relying on Dropbox for synchronization is just baffling. But hey, it works well as long as Dropbox behaves. Don’t forget to mirror those sync settings on your other devices as well.
Now don’t get me wrong, I still love the app, but I use it now strictly for blog articles, short stories, newsletter updates, book blurbs, synopses, research notes, and website section updates. Basically, I use it as a repository. And it works great in that regard.
Don’t let my negativity turn you off because once configured and things are working properly, aside from that whole compile process, Scrivener is an absolute beast of a program as far as features. Storyboarding, Corkboard, outlining, binder, and so much more are included. And the price is right. At only $59.99 for a lifetime, multi-device license, it is the best deal out there. Aside from my gripes about the compile process and page layout, it is an excellent choice for writing software and requires none of that subscription nonsense. In fact, none of the titles I mention here are on a subscription basis. Kudos to them all.
Atticus (Kindlepreneur):
I had high hopes for this to be my Scrivener replacement. Unfortunately, it wasn’t and I’ve stopped using it altogether. I got caught up in that wonky backup/restore process, which in my case was a total bust and left me extremely annoyed. I decided I’d only use the app for page formatting. And even that proved to be too much of a headache for my continued use. There was simply too much cleanup required after importing my documents. When reading reviews of this app, it would be wise to focus on ones from users who have used it for a while, like beyond the 30-day grace period. My gripes with the app aren’t many, but they are vitally important to me.
FIRST, the backup/restore process. If you make a mistake and need to restore, there are literally no options for you to do so on your own. They require you to send a JSON file to the support team and wait for them to gin up a rebuild on their server end. “Wait, what?” I know, and my problem was totally on me because I read about this process, thought, “Ah, I’ll never need to restore,” and then purchased the app, anyway.
SECOND, and this may seem petty, but I absolutely have to have a dark mode option. I write in the wee hours of the morning and staring at a bright white screen is simply unacceptable. In checking their published roadmap, dark mode integration isn’t even in progress and worse, at the bottom of the list for the next round of updates. Again, this one is one me because I just assumed that in 2024, a writing app would have a dark mode option.
THIRD, importing. I write using chapter scenes. Always have. I saw Atticus supported scenes. Turned out it does, but there were bugs. I use scene names in Scrivener, and when I uploaded my doc; Atticus renamed them using numbers. Not happy, I called support, was told the app did support names, so I went about manually renaming all the scenes back to the original names, a time-consuming endeavor. Everything looked fine, but when I logged out and came back in, it had renamed most of the scenes with numbers again. On the surface, using numbers vs names doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when you come back to your work after a few weeks to do another proofread, finding your place based on scene names come in mighty handy as opposed to generic numbers.
But all is not doom and gloom. Atticus has some neat features, the most prominent being page formatting. It has Scrivener beat hands down. And, at-the-end-of-the-day, that’s what it’s all about. You’ve put in the time writing a great story. Now it’s time to turn the pages into visually appealing works of art your readers will love.
Bottom line, Atticus is capable, but be forewarned, it is definitely a work in progress. While I did not have a great experience using it, yours may very well be different. My advice again, read what seasoned users have reported and approach with caution. Fortunately, the purchase comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Vellum (180g):
This app is awesome. I debated purchasing this one for a while, as it is the most expensive option of the three I talk about here. Is it worth it? Yes. And there are a ton of writers out there who agree. The most consistent gripe I’ve found is that it only works on Macs. I use a Mac, so it wasn’t an issue for me. There are workarounds for Windows users. See the “Using Vellum on Windows” help page for more.
While it’s not promoted as a writing app, it does the job with large documents much better than Atticus and Scrivener (I’ll probably get pummeled by the Scrivener community for saying that.)
THE GOOD, like Scrivener, it’s a desktop app. It is visually polished, has a professional feel, and it just works. There are no clunky lagging buttons or flickering screens or finicky web interfaces. With an integrated preview window, I see, in real time, right beside my editing window, what my formatted text will look like in print, on a phone, tablet, or ebook reader as I type. It is simply a wonderful environment to work in. And for someone who spends hours each day writing, it has served me well. Atticus also has the preview ability, but it is not as intuitive as Vellum.
You can download the program and use it for as long as you want. The only restriction is that in order to produce a print-ready or ebook-ready file, you’ll need to purchase it. I used it for months, and when it was time to purchase, I did it with confidence and have no regrets. It produces ebook files for all the major tablets and ebook readers: Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, and Nook.
THE NOT SO GOOD, it is expensive. At $249.99 for the option of producing print and ebook files, it is by far the most expensive of the three platforms I talk about here. If you want to produce just ebooks, it is 199.99. Upgrades are free. I know the price seems steep, but when compared to apps using perpetual subscription models, it’s a steal. There is an upgrade path from the ebook only to the print and ebook version, but it is time-sensitive, which is explained in the help forum on their website. I purchased the full version because I am still writing novels for publication in print and ebook formats. It will pay for itself.
CONCLUSION:
Scrivener is an excellent piece of software and I still use it daily, but only as a repository for reference files, research files, links to various articles, and brief texts like this blog post. Though I’m astonished that it still relies on Dropbox for synchronization, I’d still recommend it to anyone who is looking for a serious writing environment as opposed to Google Docs or Word.
I really wanted to like Atticus, but I simply can’t get over the bugs. It is a constant reminder that it is a work in progress. The lack of a dark mode is inexcusable in this day and age. Why I can’t have backups of my work synchronized to a local folder on my Mac or cloud drive is baffling. That I have to send a file to their support team and wait for them to rebuild my lost/damaged file on their end is something I just can’t get comfortable with. If I screw something up on a Saturday at 2:00 AM, I need the ability to restore and continue working at about 2:02 AM, not hours or days later.
Vellum is my new go to app for novel writing. It allows me to work on the manuscript and seamlessly prepare the formatted production file to send to the printer or upload to my web store for immediate ebook distribution. I’ve zero issues writing full novels in it. The editor has been responsive even on my largest novel of over 400 pages, and it is easy to use. The price is steep, but, in my opinion, and the opinions of many other authors, it is well worth it.
I hope this article was informative. Use the contact form to shoot me a line if you have questions or would like to discuss further.
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