Start With the Book, Not the Tool
Authors often pick a formatting tool because a friend recommended it, then discover it cannot handle their book. A novel, a cookbook and a children's picture book need very different things, and no single tool is best for all of them.
Two questions settle most decisions. First, is your book read from start to finish, or used page by page? Second, will you sell only on Amazon, or in other stores and print through other printers as well? The answers point you toward the right category of tool before you compare features.
The Main Tools in One Table
| Tool | Price | Type | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindle Create | Free | Book formatter | Simple books sold only on Amazon |
| Reedsy Studio | Free | Browser formatter | Clean ebook and print files from simple templates |
| Atticus | $147 one-time | Writing and formatting app | Cross-platform, customizable themes |
| Vellum | $199.99 to $249.99 one-time | Book formatter (Mac only) | Polished styles with little effort |
| Microsoft Word | Often already owned | Word processor | Familiar, fine for simple print interiors |
| Canva | Free, plus paid Pro | Design tool | Visual pages, journals and planners |
| Adobe InDesign | Subscription | Page layout software | Complete control for complex books |
Browser-based apps sold by time are another option for authors who only need a formatter around a release. LiberScript, for example, combines writing, a whole-manuscript critique and formatting, with passes from a single day to lifetime access.
Text-Led Books
Novels and Short Story Collections
Novels are the easiest books to format, and every dedicated formatter on this list handles them well. Choose based on your computer and where you will sell. Kindle Create is free but only produces files for Amazon. Atticus works on any computer and exports files for every store. Vellum gives the most polished result with the least effort if you use a Mac.
Series
A series benefits from a tool that lets you save and reuse a design, so every book matches. Atticus's custom themes and Vellum's styles both support this. Keep one master template and apply it to each new book.
Business, Self-Help and General Nonfiction
Most nonfiction is text with occasional headings, lists, quotes and the odd chart. A dedicated formatter handles it well. If you have many diagrams, make them in a design tool, export them as high-resolution images and insert them into the formatter.
Memoir With Photos
A handful of photos is fine in Atticus or Vellum. If photos appear on many pages, with captions and careful placement, page layout software gives better control, especially for the print edition.
Books With Special Text
Poetry
Poetry is harder than it looks. Line breaks, indentation and stanza spacing are part of the meaning, and a reflowable ebook can break long lines on small screens. Choose a formatter that preserves line breaks and test the ebook on a phone. For print, check that no stanza is split awkwardly across pages.
Academic Books and Heavy Footnotes
Footnotes, endnotes, citations and indexes need careful handling. Many dedicated formatters support notes, but complex academic books with tables and figures are often better built in page layout software or by a specialist formatter. Decide early whether notes will appear at the foot of the page or at the end of chapters.
Designed and Visual Books
Workbooks, Journals and Planners
These books are used, not just read, so each page is designed with writing space, boxes and prompts. Canva works for simpler designs; page layout software is better for long or complex workbooks. Text formatters generally struggle with worksheet-style pages.
Cookbooks
Cookbooks combine photos, ingredient lists, steps and notes on designed spreads. Page layout software is the usual choice. For the ebook edition, many publishers use a fixed-layout format that keeps the page design intact on tablets.
Children's Picture Books
Every spread in a picture book is designed around the illustrations, with text placed carefully on the art. Page layout software or a design tool is needed, and the ebook is usually fixed-layout. Text formatters are not built for this kind of book.
Chapter Books and Middle-Grade Fiction
Chapter books for younger readers are mostly text with occasional illustrations, such as a small drawing at the start of each chapter. Dedicated formatters handle these well, as long as you supply the illustrations as high-resolution images and check how they sit on the page in print. Larger type and generous spacing help young readers, so choose a theme that allows both.
Translated and Non-English Books
Books in other languages, or with words in several scripts, need fonts that include every character you use. Accented letters, non-Latin alphabets and right-to-left text such as Arabic or Hebrew can display incorrectly if the font or tool does not support them. Test a sample chapter with your hardest characters before formatting the whole book, and check both the ebook and the printed proof.
I format every kind of book, from novels to workbooks and cookbooks, using the right tool for each one.
Special Editions
Large Print
A large-print edition uses a bigger font, more generous spacing and usually a larger trim size, which increases the page count. Treat it as a separate edition with its own file and ISBN. Formatters with adjustable themes make this easier, since you can duplicate the project and change the type settings.
Box Sets
A box set combines several books into one ebook. Vellum has a built-in box set feature. In other tools, you combine the manuscripts into one project, with a clear table of contents that lets readers jump to each book.
Short Ebooks and Lead Magnets
A short guide given away to grow your email list needs to look professional but rarely needs advanced tools. A free formatter, or a well-designed PDF from a design tool, is usually enough. Offer it as both a PDF and an EPUB so readers can open it on any device they prefer.
Quick Reference
| Book type | Good choices |
|---|---|
| Novel, Amazon only | Kindle Create, Atticus, Vellum |
| Novel, all stores | Atticus, Vellum, Reedsy Studio |
| Series | Atticus, Vellum |
| General nonfiction | Atticus, Vellum |
| Memoir with many photos | Page layout software |
| Poetry | A formatter that preserves line breaks, tested on a phone |
| Academic, heavy notes | Page layout software or a specialist |
| Workbook, journal, planner | Canva or page layout software |
| Cookbook, picture book | Page layout software |
| Box set | Vellum, or any formatter with a combined project |
If you are deciding between the three most popular formatters, our comparison of Kindle Create, Atticus and Vellum goes into price, design and output in more detail.
Before You Commit to a Tool
- Format a sample chapter first. Most tools offer a free trial, a free plan or a refund period.
- Export both an ebook and a print file from the sample, and check them properly.
- Check where the files will work. Make sure the output suits every store and printer you plan to use.
- Think about updates. Can you easily change the back matter, price links or a typo next year?
- Keep a clean master manuscript so you can switch tools later if your needs change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Atticus, Vellum and Kindle Create all handle novels well. Atticus works on any computer and exports for every store, Vellum is the most polished on a Mac, and Kindle Create is free but produces files for Amazon only.
Page layout software is the usual choice, because cookbooks combine photos, ingredient lists and steps on designed pages. Many cookbook ebooks use a fixed-layout format.
They are not designed for it. Picture books need page-by-page layout around illustrations, so page layout software or a design tool is the better fit.
Use a formatter that preserves line breaks and indentation, and test the ebook on a small phone screen, since long lines can wrap. Check print pages for stanzas split across pages.
Word can produce a simple print interior, especially with a good template, but it is weaker for ebooks and complex layouts. Dedicated formatters save time for most authors.
Yes, and many publishers do for complex books. A cookbook might be laid out in page layout software for print and turned into a fixed-layout or simplified ebook separately. For text-led books, one formatter that produces both files keeps the editions in sync more easily.
Not necessarily. A formatter with adjustable themes can create a large-print edition from the same manuscript, as a separate edition with its own file and ISBN.