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Generating Books

To create files that you can upload to online vendors, you will generate books: To do so, find the Generate button in Vellum’s toolbar:

Toolbar icons featuring the Generate button

Note: Generating books requires a purchase. If you haven’t yet purchased a package for generating books, this button will read Purchase instead. If you’ve already purchased a Vellum license, you may need to restore it.

Press the Generate button to begin the process:

Initial Setup

The first time you press Generate, you’ll be asked to select the platforms where you’ll make your book available. You’ll then select the folder on your computer where Vellum will place your generated books.

By default, Vellum will generate files for individual ebook platforms (such as Kindle, Apple, and Kobo). If you choose to upload to an aggregator (such as Draft2Digital or Smashwords), you will want to add Generic EPUB to the list of platforms.

Generating

Once you’ve performed the initial setup, you’re ready to generate. Press the Generate button in the sheet and Vellum will create files for each selected platform.

Changing Generate Options

If you wish to change platforms or destination folder, press the button to the right of each setting:

Changing generation options detail

Locating your Books

Once you’ve successfully generated your books, the generate sheet will display a Show Files button.

The Generate sheet

Press this button to open a Finder window with the platform-specific folders that Vellum has created:

A Finder window displaying the platform-specific folders that Vellum has created

Each folder contains files ready for you to upload to online stores. Before you do that, though, we recommend that you proof your books to ensure everything looks as you expect.

Troubleshooting