Pinery vs. Vellum
Vellum is where finished manuscripts go to get formatted. Pinery is where the manuscript gets written — with an AI co-author beside it, live paginated design, and store-ready export in the same app.
chapter-03.md — Prose proofread · 2 of 14 changes
The harbor was still at dawn, and Eliza counted the masts
− like she use to when her father's boat was among them.
+ like she used to when her father's boat was among them.
Gulls stitched the gray sky above the breakwater.
AcceptRejectAccept all grammar fixes
Every change is a labeled before/after diff that you accept or reject. No copy-paste round-trips.
Side by side
| Pinery + Prose | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| A writing environment | Yes.Full Markdown editor, chapters, assets | Partially.Editing is possible; built for import-then-format |
| AI co-author | Yes.Draft, rewrite, proofread as reviewable diffs | No. |
| Book design & typography | Yes.Stylesheet system, paginated preview, Kindle simulator | Yes.Excellent — curated book styles |
| eBook export | Yes.ePub 3 for KDP, Apple Books, Kobo | Yes.ePub for all major stores |
| Print-ready paperback PDF | No.Digital-reading PDF today | Yes.Trim sizes and print layout (paid tier) |
| Open files you own | Yes.Plain Markdown in an open bundle | No.Proprietary .vellum project |
| Price | Yes.Free download; Pro subscription for AI | No.$199.99 ebooks / $249.99 with print, one-time |
What Vellum does better
Print. Vellum's paperback PDFs — trim sizes, bleed, ornamental flourishes — are the industry reference, and its one-time price appeals if you never want a subscription. If your workflow ends at a printed proof, Vellum earns its seat; many authors write and revise in Pinery, then run print output through a dedicated formatter.