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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Substack

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ASubstack is a subscription-based newsletter publishing platform.N/A

    Vellum Publishing App

    Score6 out of 10
    N/AVellum is a publishing tool by 180g, that enables users to create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, etc. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy the writer's next book in their favorite store. Vellum is currently available for Mac.

    $199.99

    one-time fee

    Pricing
    SubstackVellum Publishing App
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Vellum eBooks
    $199.99
    one-time fee
    Vellum Press
    $249.99
    one-time fee
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SubstackVellum Publishing App
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SubstackVellum Publishing App
    Considered Both Products
    Substack Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    180g
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    83%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    SubstackVellum Publishing App
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    Quora Blogs / Spaces (discontinued)
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    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Blogger
    Score10 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Quora Blogs / Spaces (discontinued)
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SubstackVellum Publishing App
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (6 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SubstackVellum Publishing App
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Substack Inc.
    I think Substack is better for people who want to set up a personal-facing branded website vs people who just want to post random musings every so often. Monetization is better there than any other collective publishing platform as well as organic reach via email. Substack also allows you to build direct relationships with your readers via emails and own them 100% which is great long-term if you use it to pivot to another site or another form of writing/content creation. Substack would be less helpful for someone wanting to write as a part of a group, not individually, or someone who's unwilling to put their personal brand behind their content. It's less optimized for SEO (which other platforms allow you to do) and can be harder to curate content based on your interests (you really have to go in knowing what you want vs finding it on the fly).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    Vellum is perfect for novels, novellas, short fiction anthologies, and any lightly illustrated fiction. It’s excellent for most non-fiction. It’s great for e-Books and Paperbacks. I haven’t tried using the file for hardcover but it is likely good for that as well. Vellum wouldn’t be the right tool for coffee-table art books, picture books or children’s illustrated books.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Substack Inc.
    • Because it has a very high Domain Authority ranking relevant backlinks in a published article will help make my store more searchable.
    • Substack is very easy to work in. The toolset they provide may not be as extensive as other platforms but it is certainly enough to create a meaningful, interesting post.
    • Substack is very focused on creating a community of writers that support each other. They run an ongoing email campaign that reinforces their focus on building a community of writers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    • Professional, Tasteful Formatting
    • Table of Contents management
    • File Management
    • Ease of switching elements (i.e. Chapter, Acknowledgement, About the Author etc.)
    • Beautiful Style Sheets
    • Generating uploadable files quickly and painlessly
    • Previewing for a variety of formats and devices
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Substack Inc.
    • editor is on the primitive side - it's wysiwyg, but missing some embed options
    • integrate with google analytics
    • percentage cut that Substack takes can become a burden as your revenue grows. Problems scaling.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    • Could improve ability to change the look of a design element like Ornamental Break.
    • Doesn’t currently output in Smashwords .doc format (but does EPUB).
    • Spell Check is rudimentary but accurate - still, it’s much better to use Word or Grammarly.
    • If style uses initial drop cap, it doesn’t handle one-letter words well (I, A, O) - repeats letter in sentence. This may be standard practice, not sure.
    • There are a couple dozen styles. I would gladly pay for a “Style Pack” to add on additional styles.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Substack Inc.
    Medium is not so good for running newsletter. I find the mail that a user gets is very easily readable. Also as a creator it's very easy for me to track the analytics and monetise my blogs unlike Medium. Blogger is a very old technology. The kind of integrations and the support for Markdown / different media is very great in Substack.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    Up until purchasing Vellum, I’ve used Smashwords Meat Grinder template and Kindle’s PC-Only software. I had to buy a PC just to publish to Kindle - very expensive investment with modest return. Vellum is only for Mac. In fact, it would have been cool if it worked with a PC. But Mac is my ecosystem for writing, and the PC is a pain. I ultimately chose Vellum because it works with my MacBook.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Substack Inc.
    • I haven’t made any money from it
    • Can be disheartening when you realise you’re putting in maximum effort for minimum audience
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    • Less time publishing means more time writing
    • Beautiful books sell better than Times New Roman dreck
    • I’ve stayed away from Google Books but will move into that market now
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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