Familiar

For authors

Atticus alternativeBook formatting with custom trim sizes and your own fonts

Atticus is a one-time purchase for writing and formatting. Familiar is a formatter inside a publishing platform: bring a Word manuscript, choose from 35 trim sizes or set your own, and upload the fonts you have licensed.

Get startedSee book formatting
  • Custom trim sizes
  • Upload .otf and .ttf fonts
  • From $15 a month

Familiar and Atticus at a glance

Atticus does two jobs: you can write your book in it and format it in the same app, on Windows, Mac, Linux or a Chromebook, and it works offline. Familiar only does the second job. It starts from a finished manuscript and puts more of the print design in your hands.

We make Familiar, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to be fair about where Atticus is the better pick.

Runs on
Familiar: A web browser on Windows, Mac, Linux or a Chromebook
Atticus: Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook, installed from the browser
Works offline
Familiar: No
Atticus: Yes
Price
Familiar: Author plan, $15 a month or $150 a year. Publisher plans from $39 a month
Atticus: $147 once, including future updates, with a 30-day money-back guarantee
Writing
Familiar: Bring a manuscript from Word (.docx), RTF or Markdown
Atticus: Write and edit the book in Atticus
Designs
Familiar: 21 templates, plus your own saved house templates
Atticus: 17 templates
Trim sizes
Familiar: 35 presets, or a custom size
Atticus: Preset sizes; custom trim sizes are not supported yet
Fonts
Familiar: 31 bundled, or upload your own .otf or .ttf files
Atticus: Built-in fonts; importing your own is not supported yet
Exports
Familiar: PDF/X-1a print PDF, EPUB 3, proof PDF with line numbers, galley DOCX
Atticus: EPUB, PDF and DOCX
Print checks
Familiar: Preflight for page count, margins, gutter, fonts and PDF/X
Atticus: Not listed on Atticus’s site
Collaborators
Familiar: Unlimited logins on every plan
Atticus: Co-writers, editors and beta readers can comment and track changes, but each needs their own Atticus account

Last checked October 2026, against Atticus’s own website and help pages (listed under Sources below). Prices are in US dollars and exclude tax. Plans and features change, so confirm anything that matters to you on Atticus’s site.

Where Atticus is the better choice

Some writers are better served by it, and we would rather say so here than have you find out later.

  • You pay once

    Atticus is $147 once, with future updates included. That is about ten months of Familiar’s Author plan billed monthly. If formatting is all you need, Atticus costs less from the first year.

  • Write and format in one place

    Atticus has its own writing editor, so you can draft the book, revise it and format it without leaving the app. Familiar formats a finished manuscript that you write elsewhere.

  • Works offline

    Atticus keeps working on a plane or a train. Familiar is a web app and needs an internet connection.

  • Comments and tracked changes in the manuscript

    Atticus collaborators can leave comments and tracked changes inside the book, with roles for co-writers, editors and beta readers. Familiar has no editing or commenting inside the manuscript.

Where Familiar is different

  • Any trim size

    Choose from 35 trim sizes, each marked with the printers that offer it, or enter a custom width and height. Atticus’s help center says custom trim sizes are not supported yet.

  • Your own fonts

    Choose from 31 bundled fonts, or upload OpenType or TrueType files you have licensed for your house style. Atticus’s help center says it does not support importing your own fonts yet.

  • Print checks before you upload

    The print PDF is PDF/X-1a, with bleed if you need it. A preflight checks page count, margins, gutter, embedded fonts and PDF/X before you download, and the gutter grows with your page count the way KDP asks.

  • Proofs and revisions

    Send your proofreader a PDF with numbered lines, so corrections come back as “page 112, line 9”. Each edition is pinned to a manuscript version, and shows when a newer manuscript is waiting.

  • Editors don’t need to buy a copy

    Every plan includes unlimited logins, so your editor, co-author or assistant gets an account in your workspace at no extra cost.

  • More than formatting

    The Author plan also includes an author page with links to every store, private ARC campaigns and monthly AI credits for manuscript evaluation.

Which one should you use?

Choose Atticus if

You want to write and format in the same app, you often work offline, or you would rather pay once. Atticus is a sensible choice for an author whose books fit its trim sizes and fonts.

Choose Familiar if

You need a trim size or a font that Atticus doesn’t offer, you want print checks before you upload, or you would use the author page, ARC campaigns and editorial tools that come in the same plan.

Moving a book from Atticus to Familiar

  1. Export from Atticus

    Export your book from Atticus as a Word (.docx) file.

  2. Upload to Familiar

    Add the Word file to a book. Familiar finds the chapters, scene breaks and front matter.

  3. Pick a template and trim

    Start from one of 21 templates, choose your trim size and adjust the design in the live preview.

  4. Check and export

    Run the print preflight, then download the print PDF and the EPUB.

Atticus’s theme doesn’t come across with the Word file, so you choose the design again in Familiar.

Familiar vs Atticus FAQ

More comparisons

Or see everything Familiar’s formatting does on the book formatting page.

Sources

What this page says about Atticus comes from these pages, last checked October 2026.

Format your next book in the browser

Bring a Word manuscript and export a print PDF and an EPUB from the same design. Plans start at $15 a month, with formatting unlimited on every plan.

Get startedSee pricing