Windows -> Mac -> Vellum

Scrivener Scrivener for Windows
1

Hi -

I write on a Windows PC but do my final formatting on a Mac laptop in order to use Vellum. I’ve never used Scrivener before; I’ve always used Word on PC. However Scrivener looks like a great option for a complicated sci-fi and I’d like to give it a try.

I’m about to start writing a fairly long novel and want to make sure the final transition to Vellum will be as seamless as possible. I understand Scrivener has the option to compile for Vellum, but it looks like that option only exists in the Mac version of Scrivener. Over the years I’ve developed the habit of writing in Word using the Vellum styles (Word version of “presets”). Vellum looks for these styles when I import Word docs and uses them to automatically apply 99% of the formatting I need.

However, Scrivener doesn’t use styles. It does have presets, but they don’t seem to be exactly the same. I can’t figure out how to check a piece of text to see which preset, if any, has been applied to it, nor does there seem to be a list of presets that I can browse and apply freely like there is in Word. This makes it harder for me to make sure the right Style/Preset is being applied so I can be sure Vellum will read the final product correctly.

Am I overthinking this? What is the best way to approach this? Should I put Scrivener on my Mac so I can use its Compile for Vellum functionality? If I do that, how can I be sure it will be format correctly given that it may not be using the correct presets anyway? If anyone’s gone on this particular journey before I would appreciate some insight. Thanks!

2

I use Vellum, but do it by Scrivener to Word then go through that document to make sure it conforms to what works best for a Vellum import. Since I never actually use Word for anything if I can help it, I’ve never worried about styles at all - just make sure I have chapter headings centered and bold, page break between chapters, and centered *** between scenes. Works for me. Admittedly I load any final ebook to my Kindle and give it a last proofing there before publishing.

Why not go ahead, compile your book from Scriv to docx and and import into Vellum and see what it looks like? Try it again with the compile for Vellum option. It’s not like you can’t delete anything that’s not what you wanted from Vellum and try a different approach.

3

Scrivener 3 supports true “styles,” while earlier versions do not. Which means either Mac Scrivener 3 or the Windows Scrivener 3 beta.

Compiling for Vellum specifically is just a matter of assigning the style names that Vellum expects to see. Once you’ve got the underlying style functionality, you could do the rest yourself if necessary. See Appendix D.2.11 and the sections linked from there in the Mac Scrivener 3 manual.

Katherine

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Thank you both! Clearly it’s doable, so I’ll stop putting the cart before the horse and start working on the ms.

Really looking forward to trying Scrivener!