Beautiful books,
made simple.
Write or import your manuscript, pick a style, and Asterisk makes ebooks for every store, a print-ready paperback and the cover to go with it. On Mac and Windows.
Covers
Your cover, designed right in the app.
Pick a design and it’s made for your book. Change anything: photos, colours, fonts, icons and effects. Asterisk sizes the ebook cover and the whole paperback wrap, spine and barcode space included.
Sample books, made in Asterisk.
Styles
Looks typeset. Takes a click.
Choose a style and every chapter changes at once: headings, ornaments, drop capitals and spacing. Fine-tune any of it, and the page beside you shows exactly what will print.
Everything that’s included
Everything you need
From manuscript to published.
The tools independent authors, pastors and small publishers reach for, in one app.
Every store, one click
Separate ebooks for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Nook and Google Play, each linking your other books to the right store.
Print-ready paperbacks
Ten trim sizes, margins set for your page count, running heads, page numbers and large print.
Opens Vellum and Word
Bring in your .vellum books and .docx manuscripts and keep working on any computer.
Every Google Font
Nearly 2,000 fonts in every menu, for your text, headings and cover. Add fonts you own too.
Workbooks and puzzles
Writing lines, questions, fill-in-the-blanks and Word Find pages, with an answers page.
Footnotes and endnotes
At the foot of the page or the back of the book, linked both ways in your ebooks.
Pull quotes
Lift a line into the margin. Asterisk keeps it whole across page breaks.
ISBN barcode
Leave space for KDP’s free barcode, or print your own with the price.
Never lose your work
Asterisk keeps a safe copy as you go and offers it back after a crash.
✦ Asterisk AI
An editor inside the app.
Ask it to proofread or edit a chapter, or ask it about your book. Every change comes with a reason, and nothing changes until you accept it.
Proofread
Spelling, typos, repeated words and punctuation. Your sentences are left alone.
Edit
Fixes mistakes and tightens clumsy sentences with the smallest change that works.
Careful edit
Reads the whole chapter for flow and consistency, with a reason for every change.
Cover ideas
Three finished covers for your book, each with a stock photo chosen for it.
Back-cover copy
A headline and blurb written from your own book, in your voice.
Ask about your book
Summaries, subtitles and discussion questions from a chapter or the whole book.
Every copy comes with 10 free credits. After that, plans start at $7.99 a month, or 20 credits for $5. Asterisk AI is optional and powered by Claude. Your writing isn’t used to train it.
Compare
Asterisk and Vellum.
Vellum is excellent software, and it’s Mac only. Here’s an honest look.
| Asterisk | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129 onceEbooks and print | $249.99$199.99 for ebooks only |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | — |
| Ebooks for every store | ✓ | ✓ |
| Print-ready paperback PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Opens Vellum books | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cover maker with paperback wrap | ✓ | — |
| Workbook pages and Word Finds | ✓ | — |
| Any Google Font, or your own | ✓ | — |
| AI editing built inOptional | ✓ | — |
| Works with Claude and ChatGPT | ✓Mac and Windows | ✓Mac only |
| Trim sizes | 10 | 24 |
| Hardcover files and PDF/X-1a | — | ✓ |
Vellum details from vellum.pub, November 2026. Vellum is a trademark of its owner; Asterisk isn’t affiliated with it.
Get Asterisk
One price. Yours to keep.
$129 USD, once
- Mac and Windows in one purchase
- Ebooks for every store and print-ready paperbacks
- The cover maker, ebook and paperback
- Opens your Vellum books and Word files
- 10 free Asterisk AI credits
- Free updates, shown right in the app
Questions.
Is Asterisk a Vellum alternative for Windows?
Yes. Vellum only runs on a Mac. Asterisk runs on Mac and Windows, opens your Vellum book files, and costs $129 USD once.
Can I import a Word document?
Yes. Asterisk splits a .docx into chapters at your headings and keeps italics, bold, block quotes and images. Plain text and Markdown work too.
How much does it cost? Is there a subscription?
$129 USD, once. No subscription. One purchase includes the Mac and Windows versions and every update.
How do I unlock it?
Your serial number is in your purchase email and your Asterisk account. Enter it the first time Asterisk opens, or sign in with your email instead. You do it once on each computer.
How do updates work?
Asterisk tells you when a new version is ready and shows what’s new. Download it from your account at no charge.
Does Asterisk AI cost extra?
Every copy comes with 10 free credits, about ten chapters at the Edit level, and Asterisk shows the price before anything runs. After that, plans start at $7.99 a month, or 20 credits for $5. It’s optional.
Is my writing private with Asterisk AI?
Your text goes to Anthropic, who make Claude, only when you ask Asterisk AI to do something. It isn’t used to train their models, and Asterisk doesn’t keep it.
What do I need to run it?
A Mac with macOS 12 or later (Apple chip or Intel), or a PC with 64-bit Windows 10 or 11.
Already have Asterisk?
Download it again, find your serial number or buy AI credits. We’ll email you a code; there’s no password.