You're sitting around a campfire with some of your family and friends, tired from the day's work. You begin to tell a story. It's one you've told before, told a hundred times. You can see faces around the fire, the children with their eyes wide, the men and women who have heard the story before but still enjoy it because it brings meaning to their lives. Storytellers—writers—have existed since the beginning of humanity. They didn't have the printing press or the internet. They didn't always even have the alphabet to write their stories down.

Book writing software can make the process a little faster or easier, but the truth is great stories will always exist, no matter what kind of software we have. Do you want to write your book? If you do, then do it. Write it. Nothing is stopping you except you. So go get writing. What pieces of book writing software do you use? Let us know in the comments. The world is full of powerful software to help you write your book. In the end, though, all these tools are just that—tools. The stories you imagine and your discipline to put the words on the page are far more important. So for this practice, set aside all the fancy software. Eliminate all the bells and whistles and open up your computer's native text editor TextEdit for Mac or Notepad for Windows.

Take fifteen minutes to write without any distractions. Continue your work in progress, or start a new story based on this prompt:. When you're done, share your writing practice in practice box below. And if you share, be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers in the comments! Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a 1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram jhbunting. Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here. Have a book idea? Learn how to make it better and finish it! Find a time and sign up now!

Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. Following a comprehensive beat sheet created in a screenwriting format , I dictate into MS Word. Grammarly sits to the side. Very effective. Good one! I just purchased ProWriting Aid. Its editor, grammar, sentence structure and readability scales. Learning Scrivener is overwhelming to me. Merk did have family. Do that. As he passed the bar, he grabbed the waiting pitcher of ale. Outside, he found Carter leaning against the tavern wall, staring up at the moon. Without looking over, Carter spoke. Adam snorted and passed him the pitcher.

Not for killing that filth. You know why his bounty was so high so quickly, right? He built it entirely here. He pulled a small pouch and rolled a cigarette. Carter looked over at his friend. They only took him on as a favor to his previous guild. He offered the cigarette to Carter who declined with a raised hand. Putting it between his lips, he patted his pockets. Carter leaned forward and snapped his fingers, producing a flame for the cigarette. Adam drew in a bit of smoke and nodded at his friend. My personal favorite is Microsoft Word. Julia finally slammed into the ground at the bottom of the steps. Swallowing back a sob, she pushed up on her hands and knees and cringed at the shooting pain in her shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the fall. A gasp shuddered into her lungs and she leapt to her feet and broke into a sprint up the sidewalk.

She looked over her shoulder. He was still behind her. He shoved people out of his way and kicked over a baby stroller as he charged toward her. Julia clamped a hand over her mouth as the baby in the stroller wailed. Julia kept pumping her legs, but nausea swished in her stomach and a sharp ache started in her chest. How could Sean treat people like that? Cutting down an alleyway, Julia darted through puddles from the recent rain and chugged quick breaths. Breathing hard, she yanked herself to a stop by the rung of a ladder and lunged onto it, taking the rungs two at a time.

She was shaking. Sean had tried to hurt her once. Not without fighting back this time. The ladder quivered and she stopped climbing to stare down between her shoes. Sean ascended, his hands quick on the rungs, his cold blue eyes swallowing her. A gulp of air rolled down her throat and she pulled herself up faster. She kept her eyes focused high, fixing them on the handles at the top of the ladder. Memories slid their tentacles into her mind. Images of Sean looming over her, holding her down. Her own voice pleading. She just had to focus on going up. To the roof. Once she reached it, she could either go into the building through a roof entrance or she could jump to the next building.

She had to. Julia curled her tired, chafed fingers around the vertical handles at the top of the ladder and hauled herself up onto the roof. I personally use a combination of my notebook, Google docs, Grammarly, Hemmingway editor, and thoughts and critiques from my writing friends. So true! I find that I can write faster on a computer, but I love the focus you get from writing on paper. It does make it more of a pain to edit, though it does make it harder to permanently delete whole sections of writing and start over from scratch. I use Scrivener to write and format my books and recommend it though the learning curve is steep if you want to take full advantage of all its features.

But I would recommend the following items. Pro Writing Aid does so much more than Grammarly. there is a free version but the paid version which syncs with Scrivener is a less expensive subscription than Grammarly. Excel is so limited. It is far more flexible and I use it for everything from characters, to accounting, to research, tracking promotions, reviews and more. There are templates for authors. It is intuitive and will do just about anything you want. Support is excellent. Airtable is has a free version which is all I need , sharable and collaborative. Then there is Aeon Timeline for plotting and planning. It helps keep your story in order. It is flexible, customizable, and syncs with both Scrivener and Ulysses. It is not expensive and not a subscription, pay once and it is yours.

Rescue time has a free version that helps you track your time spent on various tasks and websites and is useful to prove to the IRS that you are indeed a full time author. I would recommend using FocusWriter to block out any notifications and other programs which are running. Thanks for the great article. I use Google Docs right now and will check into some of the resources you recommended. I am an Astrologer and am writing my first basic Astrology book. Have you had a look at The Novel Factory? Your email address will not be published. Submit Comment. Book Writing Software : Top 10 Pieces of Software for Writers. by Joe Bunting. Click the links below to get our review on the best writing software.

Once you've found the right software, you still need to write the book! This worksheet will help you get started in just a few minutes. Click here to download the free book idea worksheet. Best Writing Software: Contents Scrivener Google Docs Google Sheets OR Microsoft Excel Atticus Vellum ProWritingAid Publisher Rocket Evernote OR Ulysses Freedom Microsoft Word Bonus: Google Drive OR Dropbox. Find the writing software that works for you—but remember, no tool will write your book for you. Get started with Scrivener here ». Get started with Google Docs here ». Get started with Google Sheets here ». Get started with Microsoft Excel here ». Get started with Atticus here ». Get started with Vellum here ». Get started with ProWritingAid here ».

Get started with Publisher Rocket here ». Get started with Evernote here ». Get started with Ulysses here Mac only ». Get started with Bear here Mac only ». Get started with Freedom here ». Get started with Microsoft Word here ». Sign up for Google Drive here » Sign up for Dropbox here ». The only thing you need to write is a desire to tell your story. Will you tell us yours? No large-document organization features No productivity features Offline mode withstanding, usually requires an internet connection Free Get it » 3 Google Sheets Spreadsheet Real time collaboration with editor, beta readers, or other writers Fast Free!

Somewhat arbitrary advice Hemingway himself would fail Free Read the review » Get it » 11 Google Drive Backup Universal cloud backup Automatically syncs Free or innexpensive Setup is a bit tricky the first time Maybe you WANT to lose your writing when your computer crashes? PRACTICE The world is full of powerful software to help you write your book. Continue your work in progress, or start a new story based on this prompt: A student discovers one of their teachers is not what they appear to be. Enter your practice here:. Enter your practice here. View Practice 2 practices.

About the author Related Posts. Joe Bunting. Maybe vs. May Be: The Simple Trick to Always Keep Them Straight. Write a Great Memoir: How to Start and Actually Finish Your First Draft. The Creative Writer's Toolkit: 7 Tools You Can't Write Without. Join Me Live! Sign Up Here. Glenn Lindsey on July 21, at pm. Joe Bunting on July 22, at am. AliceFleury on July 21, at pm. Robert Foster, AbC, EfG on July 22, at am. This was cool and pulled me right into the story. Good work! Robert Foster, AbC, EfG on July 24, at am. Thank you.

They were missing not only the educational component but the community and online onboarding experience that can enrich products. They have a desktop and online version for you to write your books. The program packs a ton of features to help you improve your writing and many writers are familiar with the product. The downside is similar to Scrivener — they wanted to be everything to everyone. I like the simplicity and that it already integrates with my workspace. I have to create a new document for each chapter, then have one main doc linking all the individual chapters to keep them organized. With that said, it still makes for a good book writing software. In addition, there are many benefits to Google Docs, including easy collaboration with live chat and sharing your document with an editor.

It also has a quick learning curve. Hemingway is a simple yet effective readability scanner. However, it does provide a detailed overview of your content and help you make your text more understandable. The app comes in two versions, an online free version and a paid desktop app for Windows and Mac operating systems. The online version scans your writing for complex phrases, hard-to-read sentences, passive voices in text, irrelevant use of adverbs, etc. These issues are highlighted in your text in different colors, along with suggestions to improve them. For example, if your content has complex vocabulary, long sentences, and hard-to-read sentences, it will give you a 10th or 11th-grade score. On the other hand, it will rate it as 5th or 6th-grade content if it is simple and easy-to-read.

Typically, content scored for lower grades because of easiness and simplicity has a higher reach and engagement. Therefore, editing your content on the Hemingway app may help you achieve a huge reader base. in addition to the above features, the paid version of this book writing software has much more to offer. Above everything else, both the online and desktop versions of the app have a user-friendly and easy-to-follow interface. You can access the free online version on your web browsers and enjoy all the basic features without paying a single dime. Download version 3. Every piece of content requires proofreading for spelling mistakes, grammatical issues, out-of-context sentences, etc.

An experienced writer can pretty much improve their drafts themselves. Fortunately, there are some software that help content creators compose and edit content. Among the top book writing software, we have Grammarly. Grammarly comes in two versions, a free version, and a premium version. The free version offers various features, including grammar and spell check, integration with web browsers to assess social media posts, emails, etc. The free version may be ideal for some writers. However, if you want to become an efficient writer and improve your accuracy, you need the premium version.

On top of it all, Grammarly helps you become a better writer by enabling advanced grammar checks and laying out your performance stats via email. The pricing works on a subscription basis, and making an upfront payment at once breaks it down to a reasonable monthly price. You can use the free version of this software to optimize your content efficiently. However, it has some limitations to it. For example, the free version only scans words of your text at a time. Nonetheless, despite its limitation, it is a go-to tool for many writers. To use its advanced features, you need to subscribe to the paid version of this app, which unlocks the following features. Other than that, the most appealing feature is easy payment plans.

As opposed to other software, it has flexible yearly subscription plans. You can purchase the premium version of this software in affordable price packages listed below:. As you can see, the prices are quite reasonable. Furthermore, if you like the tool and want to use it for the long-term, you can buy their lifetime plan. FastPencil is another useful book writing software in our list with an easily navigable dashboard, collaborative editing feature, and many more. However, it offers some useful features that make up for this inconvenience. Furthermore, you can also track the channels that bring you the most sales and royalties and maximize your focus there.

They offer a vast array of services to the authors, including managing writing projects, book design, marketing, and publishing. The pricing for each service is mentioned below. Visit the website to learn about the detailed pricing plan for different services. Sometimes, writers need a push to keep working and stay away from distractions. If the writer stops typing, the application starts making a loud noise and turning the screen red. Furthermore, it lets the users punish themselves if they lag behind their set goals — which is an extreme step but often a necessity to fight procrastination. However, this feature makes this app playful and motivates the writer to achieve their goal in a fun way. Here are a few features of Write or Die that make it unique and useful for the writer.

All the features listed above are free to use. As compared to Write or Die, IA Writer is a milder distraction-free book writing software. Its minimalist interface adds to its grace and cuts out the noise that generally distracts a writer. In addition to the above features, this app also allows a fluid integration with Microsoft Word. IA writer app is available for the aforementioned operating systems. The pricing for each version is listed below. You can get price reductions and discounts for this app as well. Visit their website to learn more about that. I noticed there was a HUGE market need for a more seamless and personalized onboarding personalization and education with a book writing software.

Moreover, an online book writing software that catered to minimalist design demands of those who want to become authors and experienced authors. The best part: by personalizing the experience, we could provide a minimalist experience while giving book writers exactly what they wanted while helping them succeed every step of the way with our educational component. The world of creating software has seen a lot of changes over the last couple of years. Not long ago, most book writing software such as Scrivener or Ulysses was built on desktop. These founders had little choice as the internet was yet to be explored. As the internet matured, online creators were enabled.

They adopted easy-to-use coding languages and tools for building online software. This led to the realization that they could build companies online without a huge investment. The online software world exploded for thousands of industries, yet many industries still found difficulty with placing a foothold in it. One such industry included the professional writing industry. The majority of professional writers are over the age of thirty. Most over forty. I have no desire to learn more software. For example, the number one book writing software outside of Microsoft Word is Scrivener.

And the number one complaint about Scrivener is that the learning curve is too high. This Amazon review comparing Scrivener to Adobe is particularly interesting. The reason is Canva, a design tool now valued at over a billion dollars, aimed to be the easier version of Adobe for designers. It accomplished this through the effective use of personalization with onboarding and templates. Personalization keeps users engaged, delighted, increases word-of-mouth referrals and much more. The stats around what makes a SaaS company successful say personalization is at the forefront. It creates a deeper relationship with your customers and increases activation and retention rates which directly lead to more revenue.

Based on how the writing software personalizes this journey, you may receive a drip campaign that incorporates relevant articles, tutorials, webinars, and case studies. This will help onboard new trial users deep into understanding your software and community. But does it have everything that an average writer needs to make the process easier? Not necessarily. A modern software should be able to at least provide you with flexible personalization, outlining, and productivity tools — packaged in a highly intuitive user-interface. The best free software for writing a book is Google Docs. You can write a book in Microsoft Word if you are writing a book that is less than 80 pages. Published in Writing Software. Search for:. Case Studies. Hiring Developers. Hiring Marketers.

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Written by Charity Jerop. Published on September 10, On the hunt for the best book writing software for you? Software specifically designed to write a book can make your writing process more organized, efficient, and focused, ultimately allowing you to write your book faster. Book writing software is a program designed to streamline the book writing process using technology on a computer or other device. It is mainly a word processor with added benefits specifically for authors and novelists, such as book organization tools, story development features, and more. Related: Novel Writing Software. There are many options for free book writing software, as well as paid writing software for all budgets and price points. Depending on your own needs as an author and writer, there are many book writing software to choose from.

No matter what type of writer you are, there is software designed to streamline your writing process. In fact, humans have been expressing their creativity and ideas through writing using the most basic tools available for centuries. But every writer needs a medium, which is the tool that you use to write on or with. Think about how easy a typewriter or keyboard makes it to type a 50, word novel; now, imagine having to write that many words by carving it on stone. See how the medium can affect your productivity as a writer? But is writing software necessary? I posed this exact question to a group of writers to see if they really use software.

Every writer has their preferred book writing software, and some use multiple writing software programs. Of course you can write using whatever tools are available to you, but there are some important reasons to consider using special software for writing a book. Writing is already hard — why make it even more difficult by not utilizing the tools that were designed to make the process easier? Related: Book Templates. Your book files are organized in one place. No need to have each book chapter file saved in various places throughout your desktop. Keep it clean and organized with book writing software.

With most tools, you can even access files from anywhere, making it easy to pick up where you left off no matter where you are, or what time of day it is. Special built-in features designed to make your writing life easier. The best writing software programs have built-in features that can prevent a ton of issues. For example, you can check for spelling and grammar mistakes on-the-go, which cuts down your editing time. Or use features like a plagiarism checker , which automatically highlights sections in your text that need citation. The auto save feature will automatically save your work as you type. Losing your unsaved work due to unavoidable circumstances like your power going out is a thing of the past! Auto-save is a lifesaver when it comes to ensuring your book progress is continuously updated.

Prevent distractions so you can focus on writing. Some book writing tools have features to block you from unnecessary distractions. This ultimately helps you get done with your book in the shortest time possible, and helps you create a productive writing space. Create a productive writing process. As we go through the list, it is important for you to consider certain factors when choosing which writing tool is best for you. What works for one author, might not work for another author. We always recommend taking advantage of some of the free tools out there, so that you can get a feel for what you want to invest in. There are plenty of free book writing software for beginners to choose from, so try a few or all!

These free book writing tools have the basic essentials to provide you with the features you need, so that you can have more time for writing. Writer by Zoho , also known as Zoho Writer, is an online word processor that comes with special features to help you write from anywhere and at any time you want to. It is a cloud software, which means you can access it on all of your devices, no matter where you are. Even better, Zoho has different templates for you to choose from, depending on what it is you need to write. You do not need to sign up or log in to be able to use it. And to add, Zoho Writer is user-friendly and if you are part of a team of writers, you can work together and share the documents with each other using the share button at the top right corner.

You can also use this book writing software across all the devices be it your phone, Tablet, or a PC. No need to worry about accessing your manuscript from the wrong device. Developed by the Document Foundation, LibreOffice is open source software that prides itself on being a free office suite. While it boasts other programs for spreadsheets and charts, Write is the name of its free word processor. At its core, it can be used as a powerful book writing software for authors. The autocorrect and spell checker tools allows you to catch grammar and spelling mistakes in the fly. It also supports other languages no need to worry if you want to write your book in your native language. LibreOffice includes readily available templates to choose from, that are properly formatted to meet your needs.

All you need to do is add your text! Whether you want to write your resume, brochures, letters or your book, these templates can save you time and come in handy for clean, crisp formatting. Google Docs is a word processing tool that comes with your Google account. If you have a Gmail account then you already have access to Google Docs. Each time you key a letter, your Google Doc will save your progress. You can also view revision history, in case you accidentally delete or change something that you want to restore. Additional features streamline the collaboration process, such as sharing your work with others. Be it your co-author , editor, you are a click away. You can also use the track changes feature for the editing process, so you can see exactly what your editor has changed.

Note: A major downside to using Google Docs as your book writing software is that it does not support heavy formatting and outlining. Therefore, writing an entire book on this platform can be a bit challenging, but you can still use it for short stories , articles and note-keeping. Like its name suggests, FocusWriter helps you zero in on your project by eliminating anything that could produce a distraction within the program with its hide-away interface. This is for my writers who love to write in sprints. Evernote has both a free, and paid version. You can use the free version as a word processor and note-taking software, or pay for the premium version if you want extra perks.

This makes it a useful book writing software because the same note-taking organization principles can be integrated into the process of writing a book. The ability to create notebooks, tags, and sort information, as well as robust AI-suggested content means that this book writing software is a power-house for personalization. With enough tweaks and adaptability, Evernote is a super versatile program that you can adjust to fit your needs best. Anyone who is in the process of writing a book knows how often a random surge of inspiration, or piece of research , hits us as we write. Evernote is perfect for housing all of our inspirational quotes or research, without derailing our book writing efforts altogether.

Related: Inspirational Writing Quotes. Also, consider the costs of your initial investment — will it pay for itself when you start earning book profits? NovelPad is a novel-writing software developed for the way writers write. Unlike other book writing software on the market that requires you to download a program to your computer, NovelPad can be accessed on any device with web access. If you want to try it out before committing, take advantage of the day free trial no credit card required. NovelPad is browser-based, so you can open your projects on any device. The layout is simplistic and minimal, with limited distractions. The NovelPad team has stated that they only include features when and where writers require them, which leads to an incredibly intuitive, easy-to-use system.

This is a big time save for longer projects! Trying to hit a specific writing goal? NovelPad has you covered. Instead of tracking your word count goal externally through a spreadsheet or other means, NovelPad allows you to set goals and tracks them for you. Get a streamlined drafting software and stellar grammar check with one subscription. Ulysses is also another full-fledged book writing software specifically designed for Mac users. Whether you are a Sci-Fi writer or learning how to publish an eBook writer, Ulysses is an all in one software that allows you to focus on your main business — writing.

Getting distracted while writing can hurt the flow of your creative juices pretty bad. Ulysses comes with a minimalistic interface to help you stay focused and productive. You can choose to switch to typewriter mode. You can attach additional information from images, pdf, keywords, notes, and anything in between. Instead of having to copy and paste all of your text from your writing software into a website, you can simply publish directly to the site. This is especially helpful for authors that blog. No more complicated conversion processes to be done outside of the book writing software! Note : Ulysses is only available on Apple products at the time of writing.

Have you heard of Hemingway App yet? If you have, then chances are you know either love it or hate it. As the name suggests, Hemingway is a word processing app that is simple and easy to use, but is very visual.

You can also use the track changes feature for the editing process, so you can see exactly what your editor has changed. Not without fighting back this time. For example, you can use headers to create chapters or sections of your book. This is for my writers who love to write in sprints. Prevent distractions so you can focus on writing. There's a simple solution, though: save a copy of ALL your writing to the cloud using Google Drive, Dropbox, or BOTH. If you struggle with grammar mistakes, sentence structure, spelling, or even writing style, ProWritingAid can help.

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