BEST BOOK WRITING

SOFTWARE
106 Comments |Book WritingFree Ebook Tool

Nearly every author wonders at some point if they are

really using the best book writing software in order to
not only organize their novel, but also help them write
more effectively and efficiently.

After all, writing a book is a monumental challenge.

You don't need to make it any harder by using weak
or cumbersome programs.

Thankfully, the right tools can make writing a book

easier, save you time and frustration, and can even
make writing a long novel or complicated nonfiction
book enjoyable.
But what is the best software for writers?

This article reviews key features and limitations to

consider as you choose which software you'll use to
write your next book.

In this article, you will learn our top picks

for:
1. The Best Software for Writing a Book
2. The Best Free Writing Software
3. The Best Novel Writing Software
4. The Best Book Editing Software
5. The Best Marketing and Productivity Tools
for Writers

LIST OF BOOK WRITING

SOFTWARE AVAILABLE
The table below shows a snapshot of the best word
processors for writers. The key features displayed in
the chart include:

 Software name
 Price
 Special discounts and trial periods
 Operating system (Mac or PC)
 Capability to sync between multiple devices
 Ebook formatting for ePub and MOBI
COMPARE WRITING
SOFTWARE FEATURES
List Of Best Writing Software

Special Operating
Program Price Syncin
Discounts System

Scrivener for
$45 20% off code Mac Yes
Mac

Scrivener for
$45 20% off code PC Yes
PC

1 Month Free
Word $69.99/year Mac and PC Yes
Trial

14 Day Free
Ulysses $39.99/year Mac Yes
Trial

Google Docs Free None Mac and PC Yes

PC (Mac in
yWriter Free None No
Beta)
The above table includes word processors, the tools
we use to “write” the book.

However, all authors know there is more to writing a

book than just “writing,” so we’ve added book writing
software that's helpful for writing novels, outlining,
editing, keeping focused, and formatting below as
well.
BEST SOFTWARE FOR
WRITING A BOOK
Below we've listed some of the best writing software
for creating a book.  They are extensive and will
surely help you.

SCRIVENER REVIEW

Scrivener is an incredibly advanced word processor,

project manager, and formatting tool all-in-one. It’s
many authors' favorite set of book writing software
because of its rich features. Both Mac and PC users
can use it. Read my complete Scrivener review and
watch my Scrivener vs Word video for a detailed,
visual comparison.  Plus, it offers a discount, which
you can find one specific to Kindlepreneur below, or
you can access a list of scrivener coupon codes
here.

Price: $40 for PC / $45 for Mac*Save 20% if you use

this coupon code: KINDLEPRENEUR

Pros/Cons:

+Helpful templates for both fiction and non-fiction

+Format for print and eBooks, including .mobi, .epub,
.pdf, and .docx
+Incredibly simple drag and drop capabilities for
rearranging
+Corkboard with index cards, split screen, and
outliner working views make it ideal for longer or more
complicated works
+Store and access research files and notes within
your project “binder”
+More affordable than its closest competitors
-Takes time to learn how to use Scrivener's features

Resources:

–Check out this tutorial on how to format a print

book in Scrivener.
–Using Scrivener can actually be easy if you take this
step-by-step course.

Check Out Scrivener Here

ULYSSES REVIEW

Ulysses is a simple yet powerful and customizable

app for writing. Ulysses works on Apple products only,
and your work syncs automatically between your
devices or you can choose to store work locally.

Price: $39.99/year
Pros/Cons:
+ Export to .pdf, .docx, or .epub easily
+ Clean interface without a lot of distractions
– Price is yearly or monthly subscription model
– Learning curve if you are not familiar with markdown
– Not for PC users

Resources:

–Check out this tutorial for using Ulysses to export

your books.
–Ulysses can be used to hold yourself accountable
by using writing goals as shown in this tutorial.

Check Out Ulysses Here

MICROSOFT WORD REVIEW

Microsoft Word is the word processor many of us
are familiar with, and both PC and Mac users can use
it on their devices. The biggest problem for Word it
was designed for writing anything–not for writing
books. It was not created by authors nor for authors.
Hence, Word can be tolerable for short writing jobs,
however, if you're really looking for the best book
writing software, and Word does not measure up to its
competitors. I can show you exactly why I don't
recommend Word in this video, which compares
Word vs Scrivener.

Price: $149.99 or $69.99/year for one computer

(the price is even more for multiple computers)
Pros/Cons:

+ What you see is what you get formatting

+ Many book editors prefer Word documents
– Difficult to use if you don’t work in a linear fashion
– Cumbersome for writing lengthy novels and other
books
– Must use a separate tool, such as Calibre, for ebook
formatting

Resources:

–Check out this tutorial for formatting a print book

with Word.
–You can also see in this video how to use Word to
format ebooks.

Check Out Word Here

THE BEST SOFTWARE FOR AUTHORS,
ARE YOU USING IT? #SELFPUB
#SCRIVENERNOTWORD CLICK TO TWEET
FREE WRITING
SOFTWARE
For the economical writers out there looking to step
up their game beyond Word, we list the top book
writing software that are free here.

GOOGLE DOCS REVIEW

Google Docs is a web-based application where
documents and spreadsheets can be created, edited,
and stored online. Our team uses Google Docs for
writing our blog posts because it’s the easiest way
we’ve found to all work on one document at the same
time, add comments, see revisions, and even chat.
(Google spreadsheets can also be a useful tool,
especially for outlining)

Price: Free
Pros/Cons:

+Access files from anywhere you have the internet

+Files save automatically
+Collaborating with others is a breeze
+Export to .epub, .pdf, or .docx
-Simple editor works fine for short writing, but not for
long writing

Resources:

–Check out this video to learn the basics of Google

docs.
–Here's a guide to collaborating like a pro with
Google docs.

Check Out Google Docs Here

YWRITER REVIEW
yWriter is a free standalone app designed by an
author who was striving to create the best fiction
writing software. The yWriter software has been for
PCs only, however, an Android version was recently
released and there is a beta version for iOS.

Price: Free
Pros/Cons:

+Breaks down novels into chapters and scenes

+Stores snapshot backups of your work automatically
-Does not work on Mac computers yet
-Does not come with templates
-Must use a separate tool, such as Calibre, to create
ebooks

Resources:

–Here's the Quickstart Guide to getting started with

yWriter.
–Check out this video to see yWriter in action.

Check Out yWriter Here

A few other free writing software used by authors are
Pages, the standard word processor for Apple
products, LibreOffice, an open source office suite
that works on both PCs and Macs, and WriteMonkey,
a Windows word processor that writers enjoy for
distraction-free writing as most of its features are well-
hidden.
BEST NOVEL WRITING
SOFTWARE
Novel writing has its own unique joys and challenges,
as I learned from top authors like James Patterson
and Margaret Atwood, from outlining to character
development. The book writing software below were
specifically designed to help fiction authors create
their next masterpiece.

OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL

WORKBOOK SOFTWARE
REVIEW
Outlining Your Novel Workbook Software is
referred to as the “pre-Scrivener program” because it
guides you to think in new ways about your
characters and key story beats before you write your
first draft in Scrivener. I can almost guarantee your
storyline will be better by using this program for in-
depth outlining before you start writing. It
complements the Outlining Your Novel Workbook
by K.M. Weiland and works on both PC and Macs.

Price: $40
Pros/Cons:

+Export your Scene List to use in Word or Scrivener.

+Create a playlist for your novel
+Easily rearrange the scene order
+Create epic characters by uploading pictures or
sketches
+Visualize all your scenes chronologically listed on a
calendar

Resources: 

–Take a tour of the Outlining Your Novel

Workbook Software here.
–Check out these videos on how to use the Scene
List and how to export it to use with other word
processors.

Check Out Outlining Your Novel Here

SCRIVENER AGAIN
Scrivener hits #1 on my list of the best novel writing
software because you can organize long or
complicated content in just about any way imaginable.
The ability to have folders right there at your fingertips
for characters, places, research notes, front matter,
each chapter, and scene can save tons of hours in
your novel writing process. I love it so much, that I
wrote full scrivener review.
Price: $40 or $45  *Use this discount code to get 20%
off: KINDLEPRENEUR
Pros/Cons:

+Helpful templates for both fiction and non-fiction

+Format for print and eBooks, including .mobi,
.epub, .docx, and .pdf
+Incredibly simple drag and drop capabilities for
rearranging
+Corkboard with index cards, split screen, and
outliner working views make it ideal for longer or more
complicated works
+Store and access research files and notes within
your project “binder”
+More affordable than its closest competitors
+Use professionally designed Scrivener templates
-Takes time to learn how to use Scrivener's features

Resources:

–See my favorite features and watch a video

comparing Scrivener vs Word.
–Check out this tutorial on how to format a print
book in Scrivener.
–Using Scrivener can actually be easy if you take this
step-by-step course.”
–In case the scrivener coupon code doesn't work,
then use these

Check Out Scrivener Here

YWRITER AGAIN
yWriter may be the best free novel writing software
because it was created by an author and breaks your
novel into scenes so it isn’t a huge disorganized
mess. There is not yet a version for Macs though,
which is a deal-breaker for me…a former Apple
employee.

Price: Free
Pros/Cons:

+Breaks down novels into chapters and scenes

+Stores snapshot backups of your work automatically
-Does not work on Mac computers yet
-Does not come with templates
-Must use a separate tool, such as Calibre, to create
ebooks

Resources:

–Here's the Quickstart Guide to getting started with

yWriter.
–Check out this video to see yWriter in action.

Check Out yWriter Here

WRITING EVEN 30K WORDS IN WORD
IS BRUTAL. SEE WHICH BOOK
WRITING SOFTWARE IS BEST.
#WRITINGTIPCLICK TO TWEET
BOOK EDITING
SOFTWARE
No one knows better than me the importance of good
editing. While editing software can never replace a
real book editor, it can noticeably improve your
writing. Editing software can fix typos, make sure you
use correct grammar and improve your readability by
making it clear and concise. This allows your readers
to focus on your message, not your writing blunders.

That’s why, in addition to the built-in spell checkers

most word processors include, you should use book
editing software too. Here are two of the best free
editing tools:

GRAMMARLY REVIEW
Grammarly is an editing tool that finds spelling,
punctuation, and grammar mistakes. It can be used
as an online browser extension, a website, or an app
to download on your computer.

Price: Free or $139.95 per year for Premium

Pros/Cons:
+Underlines errors, gives explanation, and suggested
correction
+Free version seems sufficient
+Your files are stored in the cloud
+browser extension checks your online writing, (but
does not yet work with Google Drive apps)
-file upload has a size limit of 4 MB, 60 pages, and
100,000 characters

Resources:

–Read my full Grammarly review here, including

when it's worth it to pay for the Premium version.
–See Grammarly in action in this video.

Check Out Grammarly Here

HEMINGWAY EDITOR REVIEW

Hemingway Editor is an editing tool that improves
the clarity of your writing. It can be used as a website
or desktop app.

Price: Free
Pros/Cons:
+Highlights passive voice, adverbs, complex words,
and sentences that are difficult to read.
+You can copy and paste or type directly into the
Hemingway Editor
+Errors are highlighted and color-coded (e.g., green
are passive voice)
+Grades your readability by reading level, such as
Grade 6
-Doesn’t give suggestions for how to improve writing

Resources:

–Here's my complete review of the Hemmingway

editor.
–Check out how this author edits a book with
Hemingway and Scrivener.

Check Out Hemingway Here

PROWRITINGAID REVIEW
ProWritingAid is another online editing tool that
checks grammar, spelling, overused words,
readability and cliches.

Price: Free or Premium is $40 per year or $140 for

lifetime access
Pros/Cons:

+Gives lots of reports and data that's easy to use to

quickly improve your writing
+Identifies “sticky sentences,” which often include
unnecessary filler words
+Makes suggested changes you can accept or
decline
+The premium version can work with Scrivener,
Google Docs, and Microsoft Word
-The free version only edits up to 500 words at a time

Resources:

–Here's my full ProWritingAid review including how

it stacks up against Grammarly and get a 20% off
coupon
–Watch this video to see how to use ProWritingAid
with Microsoft Word.

Check Out Pro Writing Aid Here

OTHER MARKETING &
PRODUCTIVITY
SOFTWARE FOR
WRITERS
Writing your book is only half the battle and if you'd
like to learn more about the art of writing, be sure to
check out the masters at MasterClass.  These
courses are lead by prolific writers like James
Patterson, Margaret Atwood, Malcolm Gladwell and
more.  Also, we've got to market and sell the book as
well as write it.  Here are a couple of tools to help with
that two very important parts to not only writing…but
being a successful author.

Publisher Rocket
Use Publisher Rocket for your book marketing
research, including hot keywords and AMS
advertising.

Freedom
Use Freedom productivity app to stay focused by
blocking distracting websites and apps for scheduled
writing sessions.

 
Ommwriter
Use Ommwriter for a calm writing environment and
meditative tracks to listen to while you write.

Book Review Targeter

Use Book Review Targeter to get more targeted
reviews for your book.
 

CONCLUSION
For my personal “butt in chair” time, I use Google
docs to write my articles because it allows me to
better coordinate with my team and my editor. For
blog posts, easy collaboration is key.

However, that doesn’t cut it when I have a 30k or

even 100k book to write. When writing a book, I need
the best book writing software out there.

Basically, I need book writing software that will easily

help me to research, outline, reorganize, write,
collaborate, and edit. And since I love to publish to
CreateSpace, and Draft2Digital, I need to export my
books in both ePub and MOBI formats before hitting
publish and getting to the fun part of marketing my
books. Reedsy offers an in-depth guide to ebook
distribution and formats if you need any pointers.

And that's why Scrivener is the only writing

program I use for writing my books.

Furthermore, the price is a bargain for what the

program can do, and an added bonus is there's no
 monthly or annual fee. It's a one-time purchase and
the best tool for writers can be yours. Plus, you can
use my code to save 20% and it's even more of a
deal.

It's a no-brainer for me. I think Scrivener is the best

writing software for authors.

If you’re ready to see how Scrivener can work for you,

grab your copy of Scrivener for Mac (or for PC)
here and use my special Kindlepreneur code
KINDLEPRENEUR for 20% off.

Cheers,

106 Comments

1.  Ellington Reinless on July 3, 2020 at

8:48 pm
 Thanks, Dave. Your articles are usually useful. This
one is VERY useful. I’m switching right now to a new
software. Thanks again!

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on July 4, 2020 at

10:45 am
Oh cool, and best of luck!

Reply

2.  Andrea Susan Glass on June 21, 2020

at 12:57 am

I thought this was a brand new article since I got your

email today about it; however you mention
CreateSpace which has not been around for a while
so I’m confused. Hmmm….

Reply
3.  Anthony W. Eichenlaub on June 4, 2020
at 4:40 pm

Thanks, Dave. I just switched from Mac to PC and

realized that I need to buy a new Scrivener license.
Looking at the versions out there, it seems like PC
version is backleveled, but it’s still my favorite novel-
writing software. What I’m saying is your discount
code dropped into my life at exactly the right time.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on June 4, 2020 at

6:10 pm
Haha…I know what you mean. Yeah, I’m not
sure when PC will go from 2.0 – 3.0. I think they
gave up since it’s been two years since they said
they would. Glad you found the coupon code.
Every little bit helps!

Reply
4.  Notimetoulouse on June 3, 2020 at
11:43 am

Hi Dave, PublisherRocket owner here, just a heads

up about Storyshop.
I went to download StoryShop and find it has now
morphed into ‘Plotfactory’, and this is the exact thing I
dread about online apps (even though I’m a
NovelFactory subscriber and love it) – I buy into it,
learn to use it, throw my work inside it only for it to
become morphware or abandonware somewhere
along the line.
I’ve just gone to PF and had a look and you now need
to sign up with your card details in order to start a 14
day trial. After the trial ends it’s $14pcm or $140 a
year.
Which for me, is a lot of money and a lot of worry
about what could happen to my work in the future.
Sshop raised $80k from Kickstarter investors and it
lasted less than 5 years. That’s a kicker, even if the
original investors were given full access to Plotfactory.
I’m happy to support small works in progress like
Novelfactory and Dabble ($9pcm) or the new kid on
the block, Wavemaker (free at the moment but you
can aid development by becoming a patron for either
$3/$5 pcm or by making a one off Paypal donation.
Both Apps are minimalist compared to Scrivener, but
they are totally intuitive and easy to pick up.
(Wavemaker even integrates Randy Ingermansons
Snowflake Method as part of the planning setup – well
worth a look).
Long time user of Publisher Rocket Dave, it has
kickstarted my Amazon presence more than I could
ever have expected. If anyone reading this is
publishing on KDP and doesn’t have PRocket, you
are leaving money on the table. Honestly.
Thanks Dave, hope this helped.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on June 4, 2020 at

12:20 pm
Yeah, I just got word on the merger. I tried
reaching out to the owners, who I know but they
haven’t responded to me yet. I’l be updating this
to reflect new information. The article coming out
this week on Kindlepreneur is a side by side test
of 4 Story Outline softwares specifically. As for
Rocket, that’s awesome and totally made my
morning to read 

Reply
5.  Rick Grant on February 5, 2020 at 6:27
pm

I use a wide variety of writing tools for my consulting

and fiction work. I have many types because I work in
a highly mobile environment (think war zones and
humanitarian disaster areas) and depending on my
circumstances I may find myself writing from one day
to the next on a phone with a bluetooth keyboard, on
a borrowed and 20 year old computer with some
primitive version of Word, or on a Chromebook or iOS
machine.I find it easy to switch tools all through the
drafting and editing phases but not for the final
formatting which is mostly done in Word or Vellum.I
came by this flexibility decades ago when just starting
out as a journalist. I early on complained to the editor
(cigar + Scotch bottle + volcanic temper– stereotype)
that someone else was using my typewriter and I did
not like the feel of another. Short lesson learned
quickly, “I do not give a f* what you use. Just get it to
me before deadline — It is called that for a reason. A
true journalist can write on clay tablets or in Nordic
runes if that is what it takes to reach deadline.”And he
was right.On a weekly basis for fiction I mainly use
Scrivener, but I also like the free SmartEdit Pro from
Bad Wolf Software which resembles Scrivener but
was not copied from. It does not compile thoughWhen
using an Android phone, or an iOS one for that
 matter, I will use Google Docs. I also use an iPad Mini
with Scrivener sync’d through Dropbox.For pure
blasting out draft writing I very much like the
AlphaSmart Neo which runs for a year on two
batteries, is cheap as hell used, and cannot be
connected to the internet.Since I travel to a lot of
sketchy places I tend to take a Chromebook and write
in GDocs. Chromebooks are cheap to replace if lost
or stolen. Can have its data and settings restored on
line in a few minutes, and runs all day and then some
on a chargeBut, for sheer pleasure in rough drafting I
will fire up my iron age KayPro II running Perfect
Writer in CP/M and just enjoy high speed writing with
probably the best keyboard made this side of heaven
apart from the IBM Selectric. It is just such a great
pleasure to rattle along, saving to floppy disk every
couple of minutes, and watch the green fluorescent
screen fill with words.

Reply

6.  Kevin W Porter on December 21, 2019

at 3:38 pm

Started originally with Pressbooks from a

recommendation by The RV Entrepreneur. Switched
to Apple Pages and found that It is just about all
encompassing. The only issue I’m having is when
 importing to Kindle Ebook (as an ePub), images will
not remain in place despite locking them before
exporting. That, and header footer (titles and page
numbers) are removed. Curious if Scrivener`s better
in that regard.

Reply

7.  Torsten Dittmann on December 9, 2019

at 3:33 pm

I want to introduce OmniaWrite. I am working on it for

a long time now. OmniaWrite is a next-generation
plain text editor engineered for creative writing. It is
perfect for writing novels, lyrics, poems, essays, drafts
and screenplays.Also you can use it on all devices
and operating systems and sync your work between
them.https://www.omniawrite.com

Reply

8.  Harald Johnson on December 6, 2019

at 8:04 pm

Interesting that you do not write long pieces with

Google Docs, Dave. I wrote a 160,000-word novel on
 with it recently without issues. But then, I also have
related Doc tabs running, too: scene summary,
characters, etc. Basically, I use Google Docs for
almost everything. Except for ebook creation, and for
that I use: HTML > Sigil > .epub.BTW, anybody old
enough here to have used XyWrite for writing? I’m
going back to DOS days! That was right after using
chisels on stone tablets ;-)))

Reply

9.  Andrea Feccomandi on October 7, 2019

at 7:48 am

Hello! I’m Andrea Feccomandi the author

of bibisco and I think you should give a try!What
differentiates bibisco from other software is the focus
on the characters. We think that your novel works if
its characters are believable, that is when you
understand human nature`s complexity. With bibisco
you can KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR
CHARACTERS, in an unusual and funny way: an
INTERVIEW!What is exactly bibisco?* bibisco is a
desktop application available for Linux, MacOS and
Windows in 12 languages: czech, french, german,
english, italian, polish, portuguese (Brazil),
portuguese (Portugal), russian, serbian, spanish,
turkish.* With bibisco you can organize chapters and
 scenes, manage revisions, export novel in pdf or
docx. And, of course, write with a fully featured text
editor, also in DISTRACTION FREE mode.* With
bibisco you can create a novel structure, define
premise, fabula, narrative strands and settings:
geographic, temporal and social context.* With
bibisco you can see how characters, locations and
narrative strands are distributed chronologically and
across chapters. You can keep track of the number of
words and characters you’ve written and you can see
your story represented on a TIMELINE.Let me know!

Reply

10.  Joan on October 1, 2019 at 9:12 pm

Am I the only one who doesn’t like Hemingway? I do

not write so that my language use can be stripped of
all nuance and color, which seems to be what
Hemingway does. (Possibly needless to say, I do not
actually like most of Hemingway`s oevre.)I’d use
Scrivener exclusively, but I cannot get the actual
writing environment to look the way I need it to; I
strongly prefer the way Word has the writing page
‘floating’ in the middle of blank space and I cannot
make Scrivener do that. I wish I could, because I use
it for everything else in the process. (Except making
covers. That is in Photoshop.)
 Reply

o  Dave Chesson on October 2, 2019

at 11:31 am
I have a full Hemingway review and in the end, I
do not recommend it over some of the others…
so, no. You are not alone.

Reply

11.  Jesse Wood on June 7, 2019 at 9:09

am

Novellus is also worth a try! It is a lot simpler to use

than Scrivener for organizing and even contains
proofreading tools. (disclaimer: I am the developer)

Reply

o  Jennifer Felton on June 24, 2019

at 12:25 am
 I wish this was available for Windows! I’d give it a
try.

Reply

12.  Amanda on June 4, 2019 at 6:26 pm

What about Fictionary? I recently saw a promo for it

and was super tempted. But I am also super broke.
LOL

Reply

o  Jennifer Felton on June 24, 2019

at 12:27 am
I got the PWA and Fictionary bundle. It is an
AMAZING software. If you want to try it, there is
a free trial I suggest you take advantage of
using. They’re going to be updating in July
sometime to allow up to three MS to edit (right
now It is only one).

Reply
13.  logic11 on May 14, 2019 at 4:34 pm

I’m a linux user, so a whole lot of those options do not

work for me. On the other hand, I
use https://apollopad.com for my own stuff. It is
been in Beta for a long time but It is under active
development right now and is a really good tool. I
believe it will be around $5 a month once the beta is
over.

Reply

o  Jennifer Felton on June 24, 2019

at 12:28 am
I had tried ApolloPad, and while I thought it was
alright, I’m excited to see what they come up
with. Right now, I definitely prefer Scrivener or
StoryShop, which has gone a major overhaul
and looks totally different than the picture shown.

Reply
   Owen Ross on June 3, 2020
at 10:06 am
One year later, I’m sat here reading these
comments on one screen, whilst checking
out the recommendations in another.
Apollopad (which is still free to use and in
Beta) looks like it’s a very intuitive app and
seems to be software that I can work with.
It’s export facilities are actually better than
Scrivener – Markdown, LaTex, HTML,
OpenDoc, Docx, RTF, Pdf, ePub and Mobi!
I only hope it stays up in development,
unlike Storyshop (see my comment above).

Reply

14.  Cliff Farris on May 12, 2019 at 12:37

am

Agree with Hemingway and Grammarly. My copy of

yWriter6 exports to HTML, Text, RTF, LaTex, and E-
book. I use Calibre to export my drafts to MOBI to
read on my Kindle with no problem.Word is a hostile
beast. It should have been put out of its misery at
least ten years ago. LibreOffice Writer is far better, as
is WordPerfect 8. However, yWriter is superior to all
of them. I have not used Scrivener but hear good
things about it. I much enjoy the personal interaction
with Simon Haynes. He is a real author and
person.Since I like to swim upstream, I will say I hate
using my wife`s Apple with a passion. It is like using a
computer with blinders and thick gloves on. I like the
flexibility and openness of my Dell as well as the
ability to use a vast range of software of my
choice.Bottom line is that everything is better than
Word, and the better novel writing software is far
better. Do yourself a real favor and get Dragon 15
Professional for dictation to text. I do all my drafting
through it. The algorithms to filter out background
noise are effective. I record on the treadmill in my
gym, restaurants, hikes, and occasionally in my office
at home. The transcribed text comes out about ninety-
eight to nine-nine percent correct. My thoughts flow
well with no attention the the logistics of typing. It
works superbly with yWriter too.Thanks for the review.

Reply

o  Jennifer Felton on June 24, 2019

at 12:30 am
I would love to be able to afford Dragon, as I
tend to spew conversations out loud as I try to
figure out dialogue. The problem is then that I do
 not always remember exactly how it went after
LOL.

Reply

15.  Verona Grace on April 16, 2019 at 5:46

am

I recently purchased Scrivener and could not get it to

work on my PC. Virtually got no response to my
inquiries for assistance, so I got a refund.

Reply

16.  elizabeth macleod on April 5, 2019 at

8:01 pm

Are there any streamlined writing apps for multi user?

I am in a collab writing project and HATE both google
docs and word online.

Reply
 o  Dave Chesson on April 6, 2019 at
6:13 am
Streamlined, no. But Scrivener does have a
collab feature that works for me in terms of
version control….but not as streamlined as
Google Docs.

Reply

  Jennifer Felton on June 24,

2019 at 12:37 am
If you have Windows and using the beta
version for S3, there are some issues I’ve
seen about using Revision mode. So unless
you use a Mac it might be better to wait for
multi-users until S3 is actually available.

Reply

17.  J.p. Van Gordon on March 22, 2019 at

11:07 pm
did not even mention WordPerfect, which beats Word
to pieces… Been using it for decades and would not
HAVE any other!

Reply

o  Clifford Farris on August 21, 2020

at 12:16 pm
I have moved to fully preparing my manuscript in
WordPerfect X8. I export from yWriter which I do
all my serious writing in. I hate all the hidden junk
in Word, use LibreOffice Writer but am still
mystified by some of the behavior, and have tried
FreeOffice. I will never use anything from Google
again because they have dropped several
programs that I spent a lot of time on –
specifically their facial recognition in photos.

The reveal codes is the most useful feature and

must be why the legal profession uses WP so
extensively. Their grammar and style checker,
Gramatik is the best of all by a wide margin.

Reply
18.  Don Edwards on March 15, 2019 at
3:16 am

Add to the list: oStorybook and Manuskript. IMHO

both are extremely comparable to Scrivener, although
definitely not identical. Also, both are available for
Windows, OSX, and Linux, and free.The oStorybook
user interface is a bit clunky, but It is the best of these
programs that I’ve seen in regard to handling
chronology. And it happens to be clunky in a way that
I, a retired programmer, am quite comfortable with.
PLUS, I got it running on my Android tablet, with the
help of some other free software (UserLAnd).

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on March 15, 2019

at 12:37 pm
I’ll check that out. Thanks!

Reply
 o  Jennifer Felton on June 24, 2019
at 12:51 am
I just downloaded oStorybook, I knew I had it
downloaded before but it did not make it to the
new computer, and I was not sure why. So, I
figured I’d check it out again, and it doesn’t even
open. When I click on the icon, Windows asks
what program I want to use to open the .jar file…
*shrug* I’ve tried Manuskript, but it seems to be
pretty much exactly the same as an old version
of Shaxpir.

Reply

19.  elellilrah on February 21, 2019 at 2:19

am

I use editminion.com and Hemingway consistently.

Prowriting aid is good but does require more effort to
use.
Scrivener BLOWS AWAY other writing software.
Cut/chop your book into chapters and sections. I’ve
used it for my non-fiction books. It is a life-saver.

Reply
20.  Kate Breuer on January 11, 2019 at
6:51 am

My favorite is not even on the list. I love writing in

Novlr. It is browser based, so I can access it from any
computer. Triple backups to their servers, dropbox,
and google drive. Distraction free writing. And STATS.
I love statistics  https://app.novlr.org/signu…

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on January 11,

2019 at 6:27 pm
Thanks Kate! I’m actually testing it as we speak
and will be writing about it once I have
conclusive thoughts on it.

Reply

  Kate Breuer on January 11,

2019 at 11:57 pm
 I’m a big fan. It will be interesting to see
what you think 

Reply

21.  Brooks Agnew on January 2, 2019 at

3:52 pm

I have written and published ten books, all using

Word. (7 Amazon top 10 best-sellers) I paid
thousands to editors who botched every single book,
resulting in half a dozen editions, because I never
knew these tools existed. I cannot thank
Kindlepreneur enough for his help. I would not have
known he existed, except for a randomly placed
Facebook ad that showed up after 8 years in that
“community.”

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on January 2, 2019

at 6:27 pm
Seriously glad to help!

Reply
 o  TheCapnVideo on August 10,
2019 at 8:54 am
If you are not on GREAT terms with your editor
you will not publish the book you wanted to write.
I have heard your story so many times! I’ve even
heard of publishers deleting complete chapters
for no apparent reason!But a detached editor is
necessary.

Reply

22.  Heye Ewe on December 22, 2018 at

5:27 pm

How can you and other reviewers forget that

WordPerfect still exists and stays current with
features and built in writing tools? Yous say
“Basically, I need book writing software that will easily
help me to research, outline, reorganize, write,
collaborate, and edit. … I need to export my books in
both ePub and MOBI formats before hitting publish
and getting to the fun part of marketing my
books”WordPerfect x6 thru current x9 (19) does all
that. I still use x4, 2008, to write my stories and it
does all that except for epub output.it has built in
support for writing novels: multi chapter/master line;
outline tool with drag & drop; great grammar check;
metrics to review and grade your writing; output to
PDF and ebook forms besides WORD, WPD, RTF
and 60 other formats; total backwards compatibility;
TOC, footnotes, index and xrefs. When you PROOF
your doc, you can choose from a few writing styles or
make your own. It will even diagram sentences and
will read WORD, PDF, etc files. There is more when
you need it. It still is the office standard in legal offices
and has a variety of trade dictionaries as needed. If
you used 5.x way beck when (and you had no
WYSIWYG) even THAT is supported and lets you see
the char codes – that has come in handy many many
times. If you’ve used WORD, you already know 95%
of WP. It has come a long way from ver 5x – It is now
on ver 19.It has a tool for the AUTHOR
COLLABORATION with multiple reviewers. Each can
mark it up, highlight, change and add comments
without screwing up the original. The author can then
look at each review merged into the original and act
on them or not. There is a prompt box that shows
alternatives for misspelled words, but also lists
related/synonyms for any word. THAT has been very
helpful.If price is an issue, look for the penultimate or
older versions on Amazon or Ebay. The entire suite
(spreadsheet, presentations, DB, note taking tools,
clipart ++) is available for as little as $10.It deserves a
mention, if not your spotlight.

Reply
 o  Clifford Farris on August 21, 2020
at 12:19 pm
Thank you. I agree with all of your comments. I
have written three novels in Wordperfect, two of
which are out on Amazon and other sellers right
now.

Reply

23.  lili on November 28, 2018 at 5:40 pm

I use Sigil and sometimes Calibre for the metadata.

but some PDF editors do the trick too, and convert
PDF into epub. I looked for a long time for a Kindle
editor, but nothing, only epub editors do exist.

Reply

24.  Gary Townsend on November 11, 2018

at 3:02 am

Hemingway is nice, *BUT(!)* one problem I have

noticed with it is that if you separate the helper ‘to be’
 verb from the past participle found in the passive
voice, Hemingway will *NOT(!)* flag that sentence as
using the passive voice.This just goes to show,
though, that it still pays to know grammar yourself and
not rely entirely on software. Software can help, but it
has its problems.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on November 11,

2018 at 5:56 am
So true!

Reply

25.  John Maluth Abiel on November 3, 2018

at 7:39 am

How about OpenOffice? Does anyone use it?I think

CreateSpace is moving to KDP, links to the site may
not work in the future.

Reply
 o  TheCapnVideo on August 10,
2019 at 8:52 am
Open Office is now LibreOffice and it works very
well, I like the ability to communicate with my
authors via the comments which they can
respond to directly in context. It is nearly
seamless with WORD but the editing tools are
more intuitive. File size is manageable and their
original manuscripts can dump directly into the
template for book by size.

Reply

  Ernesto on October 3, 2019

at 2:29 pm
LibreOffice is not the same as Open Office,
LO is an off shoot of the OO project.I’ve
used LO to publish several books.

Reply

26.  elkurczako on August 8, 2018 at 9:54

am
 If you want to spare some bucks on Scrivener there is
free windows only alternative – Quoll Writer. Works
similar, looks better. All the essential features in one
place and even possibility to share your texts with
editor. Exports .docx and .epub for further formatting.

Reply

27.  Nick Wright on June 23, 2018 at 6:04

pm

Try StyleWriter for a comprehensive editing tool.

http://www.editorsoftware.com

Reply

28.  Ria O'Donnell on March 13, 2018 at

2:12 am

If you want to manage your entire novel all in one

place, Novel Suite is the best tool 
http://www.novelsuite.com

Reply
29.  Katja L Kaine on January 30, 2018 at
2:20 pm

You forgot the Novel Factory! (http://www.novel-

factory.com/) Please check it out as we’re getting
fantastic reviews from people saying its helped them
become far more productive and better writers. We’d
be happy to offer a discount to your readers : )

Reply

30.  Katja L Kaine on January 30, 2018 at

2:20 pm

You forgot the Novel Factory! (http://www.novel-

factory.com/) Please check it out as we’re getting
fantastic reviews from people saying its helped them
become far more productive and better writers. We’d
be happy to offer a discount to your readers : )

Reply
31.  Annie Lynn on January 17, 2018 at
12:28 pm

Thank you for the article. Please consider the

following. 1) Scrivener for Windows does not have an
American dictionary – all words are spell checked with
the UK dictionary. This includes their version of the
ellipsis, UK spelling (e.g.: using ‘s’ in organise instead
of organize), or contractions
(e.g.: can’t), slang and formatting. The updated
Windows version isn’t out yet but I hope they include
an American version since they sell a lot of copies
here. 2) ProWritingAid Pro can only do 30-50 pages
at a time – which isn’t helpful if your trying to use it for
your novel – rendering the program useless. Twice
I’ve used the program for clients and it took a very
long time to get their novels through the program
piece by piece. ProWritingAid is also increasing their
rates this year, both yearly and lifetime rates.

Reply

32.  Harry haran on December 14, 2017 at

6:24 am
 Good knowledge shared but there are some other
useful tool available in market

Reply

33.  Susan Tilghman Hawthorne on

December 3, 2017 at 1:08 am

I tried Scrivener a few years ago and didn’t like it at

all. It created all kind of different files then I could
never find them again, lol. Now it was quite some time
ago and I’m sure its improved since then, but I love
Word. I was in it from the beginning so understand it
well. It works great for my novels, I have no trouble.
Love the Styles feature.
I also love ProWritingAid.
And when you buy that program it has an add on for
Word so it works right inside that program.
I do use Google Drive so save my word docs there so
if, God forbid, my computer went belly up I don’t lose
my books! ?
I also save to a flash drive.

Reply
 o  Dave Chesson on December 3,
2017 at 2:22 am
With Scrivener, you can have it export different
file types – which can be great for publishing on
different platforms. But I totally know what you
mean. One thing I don’t like about Grammarly is
that it doesn’t work inside of word. But PWA
does, like you said.

I also totally agree on hte multiple places of

saving it. It only takes one book to go “poof”
before we all start doing that…haha.

Reply

34.  Barbara Plum on December 1, 2017 at

6:47 pm

Great list; now I only have to decide how many new

tools I want to learn to use. Tx, Dave.

Reply
 o  Dave Chesson on December 3,
2017 at 2:23 am
Haha..I know what you mean. Software doesn’t
become a tool till we know how to effectively and
efficiently use it.

Reply

35.  Exclusively Niemann on December 1,

2017 at 8:10 am

One of the best tools is not even mentioned here,

namely Vellum. My wife and I are writers and without
Vellum, we would be ultimately lost. Yes, it is
ridiculously expensive and it works only on a mac, but
it’s the best by far.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on December 3,

2017 at 2:23 am
 Vellum is pretty good and I’ll be reviewing it more
in an upcoming article on best ways to format.

Reply

  Exclusively Niemann on
December 4, 2017 at 8:01 pm
Fantastic, please let us know when the
article is available…

Reply

  Dave Chesson on
December 4, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Will do.

Reply

36.  John on December 1, 2017 at 7:30 am

Another good one and very useful is Aeon Timeline.

Geared towards writers, it allows you to build multiple
time lines of where characters are, what they’re doing
etc. You can have character arcs, main story arc, any
 number of arcs running parallel to each other and get
a really good sense of the big picture of your novel.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on December 3,

2017 at 2:23 am
I’ll check that out. Thanks for the heads up.

Reply

37.  Lisa Nicholas on December 1, 2017 at

3:41 am

Here are a couple you’ve missed: Bibisco

(http://http://bibisco.com/) and Dabble — both are
designed for writing novels. Bibisco is free, very nice
looking, and available on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Dabble is available by subscription (free 14-day trial)
and can be used in your browser or a free desktop
app (Windows and Mac). I tried Dabble for
Nanowrimo (they were one of the sponsors) and fell in
love with it. As a Nano winner, I’ll be able to lock in a
50% discount for life. Yay!
 Reply

o  Dave Chesson on December 3,

2017 at 2:24 am
Thanks. I’ll check those out!

Reply

o  Bree on February 6, 2018 at 5:48

am
I downloaded the bibisco one, will try it soon, but
seems interesting. Dabble I’m using now.. I really
like it. Can’t wait for the planned features from
the roadmap. ;D

Also the Novel Factory, omg, loving that one so

much! Like a guided way to write a novel and the
interface and way it is layed out organizationally
is amazing. Probably going to buy it and stick
with this once but I’m trying them out. I would
choose Scrivener, as I liked it a lot on my Mac
OSX that I use to have.. but I use Windows PC
now, and so I’m waiting for the 3.0 version to
release for PC first as I want to to be able to try
those cool new features. 
 Reply

38.  avoura on December 1, 2017 at 1:01

am

I can’t believe you missed out LibreOffice. It’s free

and a valid alternative to MS Word. I use it for all my
writing.
And for book layouts, I use Adobe InDesign, and
Photoshop for covers.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on December 3,

2017 at 2:25 am
I tried it a while ago and wasn’t a fan but it’s
good to know there are others that prefer it. If
there are, I’ll give it another go.

Reply

o  Harry haran on December 14,

2017 at 6:23 am
 yes me too tried libreOffice it was good to use
and its free

Reply

39.  Ritter Ames on November 30, 2017 at

11:25 pm

Hemingway is only showing up as a $19.99 product.

No free product is showing up as you mention in your
article. I looked further to see if there was a free trial
to try, to see if I liked it, but nothing other than the
$19.99 version shows up at the link and processed
through GumRoad

Reply

o  CHris on December 1, 2017 at

5:03 am
Follow the link given… It’s that page… You paste
over the colored writing

Reply
   Ritter Ames on December 1,
2017 at 4:43 pm
Thank you! Going to try it now to see if I
want to buy.

Reply

40.  Anita Evensen on November 30, 2017

at 5:10 pm

I would like to make another suggestion for novel

writing software: Novelize (www.getnovelize.com).
This online writing app is great for writing a series,
because all the details are kept in a notebook, which
can be used for several books. It’s also very easy to
use and doesn’t come with too many features to
sidetrack you from actually writing. Full disclosure: my
hubby built it, and I might be jaded. 

Reply
 o  Dave Chesson on December 3,
2017 at 2:25 am
I’ll check that out! Thanks and no worries on the
jadedness…haha.

Reply

41.  Joe Green on November 30, 2017 at

4:43 pm

Dave what is the file format that SCRIVENER uses.

Can I open and use my previously created .docx files
with this program?

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on November 30,

2017 at 4:52 pm
You can import your .docx with them. But as
you’ll see, you’ll want to break up the information
so as to organize it better – one of the features I
love best about Scrivener.
 Reply

  Joe Green on November 30,

2017 at 5:08 pm
Thanks much. Keep up the good work. You
have been a great help to me.

Reply

42.  Dr. Pam Young on November 30, 2017

at 3:06 pm

LOL! I was in the middle of writing a four-book series.

Now on Book 3. Superstition does not allow me to
switch tools until it’s finished. (Old tennis player.) But I
did go through their introduction…

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on November 30,

2017 at 3:07 pm

haha…fair enough. I know how that goes 

 Reply

43.  Dr. Pam Young on November 30, 2017

at 2:25 pm

You are so appreciated! Thank you. I bought

Scrivener when I read this article the first time.;>)

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on November 30,

2017 at 2:39 pm
Awesome. And how’s it going?

Reply

44.  Ton Bil on November 30, 2017 at

12:34 pm

Hemingway I find very useful. I am that kind of writer

who thinks and writes long sentences. At least I have
the tendency. Now that I write this comment, I’m
aware of this, and I try to write short and crisp
 sentences.
As for free: I think I paid a few dollars for it, back in
2015, and have a lifelong pro version. I don’t use it at
the time, since I don’t write in English, like I did back
then.

Reply

o  Dave Chesson on November 30,

2017 at 1:41 pm
Yeah, I’ve really been digging into Hemingway.
Although, I’m also learning that my grammar is
worse than I thought…haha.

Reply

45.  James King on November 30, 2017 at

10:04 am

There’s a lot of info here but one thing I’ve noticed

you say about Prowritingaid ‘-The free version only
edits up to 500 words at a time.,
I am using it and although I’m not sure of the
maximum words the most I’ve entered so far is 1664
and it works.
 Reply

o  Dave Chesson on November 30,

2017 at 1:42 pm
Hmm…I’ve got the pro version (immediately
bought it after testing it) so I can’t check that. But
anyone else experience that?

Reply

  Exclusively Niemann on
December 4, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Only consider buying it. We have to make a
decision between Hemingway and
Prowritingaid. Any advice?

Reply

  Dave Chesson on
December 4, 2017 at 8:17 pm
ProwritingAid gets my vote then. I liked
it much better…but that could easily be
a preference of mine.
 Reply

  Exclusively
Niemann on December 5, 2017 at
6:47 pm
Thank you Dave. I trust experience,
and that is what you have…

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