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Best Book Writing Software: Top 15 Programs for Writers

Hannah Yang

If you’d been born a few centuries ago, you might have written books using little more than a quill, an inkwell, and a scroll of parchment.

You can still write your book with a quill if you want to—but these days you have a lot more options at your fingertips. There are digital apps you can use that will help you organize your writing projects, catch grammar mistakes, collaborate with others, and so much more.

With so many different options to choose from, it can be hard to figure out which software is right for you.

So, what’s the best writing software to help you write your book?

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the best book writing software options that every writer should know about.

1. ProWritingAid (Best Writing Software for Books)

2. scrivener, 3. google docs, 4. novelpad, 5. reedsy book editor, 6. squibler, 7. microsoft word, 8. grammarly, 9. hemingway, 10. the novel factory, 11. ulysses, 12. atticus, 14. publisher rocket, 15. fictionary, benefits of book writing software, why prowritingaid is loved by book writers, conclusion on the best book writing software.

ProWritingAid is the best book writing software currently available to writers.

It’s a popular writing aid that helps you transform your work in progress into publication-ready prose.

At the most basic level, the software acts as a second set of eyes to catch mistakes you might not spot on your own, such as typos and grammar errors.

On a more advanced level, it also makes style suggestions to help you improve weaknesses like passive voice, the overuse of adverbs, and repetitive sentence starts.

What makes ProWritingAid stand out from the crowd is the depth and quality of analysis it offers. There are over 20 different writing reports that show you the strengths and weaknesses of your book.

Here are just a few examples of the reports you get with ProWritingAid:

• The Clichés and Redundancies Report highlights overused phrases in your prose, so you can choose more unique ways to express ideas
• The Pacing Check monitors the balance between fast-paced sections, such as dialogue and character action, versus slow-paced sections, such as introspection and backstory
• The Dialogue Tags Check analyzes your dialogue tags, such as “She said” and “He whispered,” to make sure they’re necessary and effective

ProWritingAid also includes a built-in plagiarism checker that will tell you if any passages in your book overlap with existing written work.

The free version lets you try out all the basic features, but you’ll need the Premium version to unlock the advanced analysis reports. If you’re working on a full-length book, it’s worth the investment.

Cost: Free, or around $70/year for the Premium version

• Analyzes your book in more detail than any other grammar checker on the market
• Integrates with web browsers (such as Chrome and Firefox) and desktop apps (such as Microsoft Word and Scrivener)
• Lets you scan up to 100,000 words at a time
• Requires a subscription to scan more than 500 words (the free trial limit)

Scrivener is a book writing software specifically designed for writing long-form projects, such as novels, textbooks, and screenplays.

It’s great for organizing large writing projects because it lets you arrange your manuscript in a “binder,” where you can easily rearrange scenes or chapters by dragging and dropping them.

You can see a bird’s-eye view of your book using the corkboard mode, which looks like a physical corkboard full of index cards. You can also toggle to the outline mode, which formats your chapter summaries as an outline.

You can then set targets for your project, such as the word counts you want to hit by certain deadlines. This feature makes it easy to track your progress.

And you can turn on focus mode, which displays only the text you’re currently working on, so you can write without distraction.

There’s a steep learning curve to use all of Scrivener’s advanced features, but many writers love this app, and there are plenty of tutorials online for how to make Scrivener work for you.

Cost: $49/lifetime

• Lets you organize a large project with ease
• Gives you a bird’s-eye view of your book
• Helps you track your progress with targets and deadlines
• Has a steep learning curve for new users
• Lacks real-time collaboration options
• Requires a one-time payment

Writing can be a solitary task, but the process of writing an entire book requires a lot of collaboration. Authors might need to collect feedback from beta readers, view suggestions from editors, and more.

Google Docs is the best free writing software for collaboration. It allows others to leave comments, suggestions, and even emoji reactions on your book.

Multiple people can edit the same document simultaneously in Google Docs, allowing for real-time collaboration.

Google Docs also automatically uploads your work to the cloud, so you don’t run the risk of losing any of your files. Best of all, it’s free.

One downside is that Google Docs isn’t a perfect book writing software because it is hard to organize a large project using it. We recommend creating a new Doc for each chapter or section of your book, so you don’t have to scroll for minutes on end to get from one section of your book to another.

Another downside is that Google Docs works best when you have an internet connection. It might not be the best tool if you prefer to work offline or on the move.

• Allows real-time collaboration with beta readers, editors, and more
• Automatically saves your work to the cloud
• Free to use
• Lacks organizational options for large writing projects
• Requires an internet connection for full functionality

NovelPad, first launched in 2020, is one of the newest book writing software tools on our list. It’s a novel writing software designed by and for novelists.

Like Scrivener, NovelPad is a word processing tool that lets you rearrange scenes and story beats by dragging and dropping them. In addition to being a word processor, it also comes with many other book writing tools.

One useful feature is character tracking, which lets you jump to all sections where a specific character’s name appears. That way, you can make sure that characters act consistently throughout the book.

Another useful feature is its adaptive progress tracker. NovelPad lets you set different daily word count goals depending on how much time you can spend writing, and it will even readjust your daily goals to account for how much you’ve already written.

You can also color code your scenes, so you can easily see which ones you’re drafting, revising, copyediting, etc.

Best of all, the user interface is extremely intuitive, so this writing program isn’t as hard to learn as Scrivener.

One downside is that there’s no desktop app version of NovelPad, so you can only use it in a web browser. As a result, the offline mode doesn’t always work well.

Cost: $8/month or $60/year

• Easy to use and navigate
• Offers character boards and scene boards specifically designed for novels
• Lacks an app option and can only be used in-browser
• Not tailored for writing nonfiction books
• Requires a subscription

The Reedsy Book Editor is a free book writing software that also handles formatting for publication while you write.

This online editor is one of the few writing programs that lets you see what the published version of your book will look like while you’re still writing it. It has fantastic editing features compared to most other free writing software tools.

Once you’ve finished your final draft, you can export your book as an EPUB or PDF file, in a format that looks beautiful and clean.

It’s a free alternative to expensive writing programs like Atticus, which format your book for a large fee.

Another advantage is that, similar to Google Docs, the Reedsy Book Editor allows multiple people to work on a document at the same time. If you’re working with a co-writer , this free website might be a great option.

• Allows real-time collaboration
• Formats your book for publication
• Lacks the advanced features you can get with more expensive writing software

Squibler is a book writing software that helps you streamline your creative process. It’s designed to make the writing process easier, so you can hit your writing goals.

It lets you set to-do lists to increase productivity, and is specifically tailored to help you with project management.

It’s also a very versatile writing software. You can use Squibler for writing a book, crafting a screenplay, or just for writing practice.

If you’re struggling with writer’s block and don’t know what to work on next, you can use Squibler’s Plot Generator, which will give you writing prompts. These machine-generated prompts are a handy tool to help you get the creative juices going.

Cost: $9.99/month

• Helps with project management
• Lets you set to-do lists and goals
• Gives you fun prompts to spark creativity

Microsoft Word remains the default word processor used by most writers today. It’s a simple word processor, but it’s still a useful book writing software, especially if it’s an option you already have access to.

One benefit of MS Word is that the user interface is very easy to use. Whatever you see on the screen is the same as what your book will look like when you print it out, so you can make formatting adjustments along the way.

Since most people are already familiar with MS Word, it’s still an industry standard in many contexts. For example, if you send your book to a copyeditor, there’s a good chance they’ll send it back as a MS Word document.

The Track Changes feature makes it easy to edit other people’s stories while giving them the choice to accept or reject those changes.

The downside of MS Word is that it’s not designed to handle extremely large projects, like books. It takes time to scroll from Chapter One to Chapter Ten, and it’s even harder to move a scene from one part of the book to another.

Cost: around $100/year for the entire Microsoft Office suite depending on the site you buy from (includes Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

• Creates simple, ubiquitous document formats like .doc and .docx
• Can be slow to load large files

Grammarly is a grammar checker that focuses primarily on catching errors, such as typos, grammatical mistakes, and misused punctuation. It also offers style suggestions related to wordy sentences, repetitive words, incorrect comma usage, and other similar fixes.

Some of Grammarly’s top features include its plagiarism detector, its spell check, and its grammar check. It also offers a readability score, which gives you a score from 1 to 100 based on readability factors like word length and sentence length.

The main downside of Grammarly is that it works better with short-form content than long-form content. If you try to scan more than 10,000 words, it slows down significantly. It also doesn’t integrate with popular book writing apps, such as Scrivener and Final Draft.

The free version can catch grammar and spelling mistakes, but you’ll need to pay for the Premium version in order to use the rest of the tool.

Cost: Free, or $30/month, $60/quarter, or $144/year for the Premium version

• Catches mistakes and typos well
• Quickly scans short emails and blog posts
• Offers fewer reports and less in-depth analysis than ProWritingAid
• Only lets you scan 10,000–20,000 words at a time without a significant reduction in speed
• Requires an expensive subscription

Read our ProWritingAid vs Grammarly comparison article here.

The Hemingway app is a free writing software that focuses on checking readability. It gives your writing a readability score, so you know how well you're communicating.

It highlights sentences that are dense or overly complex, so you can find ways to shorten them. It also highlights passive voice, overused adverbs, and any other weaknesses that might make your work harder to read.

The downside is that not all of Hemingway’s suggestions are useful. They’re all automatically generated based on fairly simple criteria, so it can be a bit hit-or-miss.

Still, since it’s free software, there’s no downside to running your book through the Hemingway app to see if it offers any useful suggestions.

Cost: Free!

• Gives your writing a readability score
• Suggests ways to make your work more digestible for readers
• Sometimes gives arbitrary or unhelpful advice

The Novel Factory is a great book writing software for fiction writers.

In addition to being a word processor, it can also help you with the creative process when you’re coming up with ideas.

It includes several interesting writing tools that you can’t find elsewhere.

For example, it comes with a Plot Manager, which includes plot templates for popular genres.

The Novel Factory also helps you develop your characters, with prompts to flesh out your character’s archetype, motivation, and more.

Overall, the Novel Factory is a great book writing software for creative writers who want some help with the ideation process.

Cost: $75/year for the basic version, $198/year for the standard version, or $600/year for the Premium version

• Offers plot templates and a detailed Plot Manager
• Helps with character development, worldbuilding, and other creative elements

Ulysses is a note taking app that lets you sync between all your devices.

Let’s say you come up with some brilliant ideas for your book while you’re commuting home from work, so you type out your ideas on your phone.

Once you get home, you can’t wait to incorporate those ideas into your project—but first, you have to go through the hassle of switching all your notes from your phone to your laptop.

Syncing all your notes can be a real drag, especially if you like to think about your book while you’re on the go.

Ulysses also has a binder-like sidebar that lets you move documents around easily. It’s no replacement for Scrivener, since it’s not designed specifically for writing books. But if you just need a way to take notes and keep track of ideas with minimal stress, it’s a great option.

Common alternatives to Ulysses include Evernote and Bear.

Cost: $5.99/month or $39.99/year

• Syncs notes between all your devices
• Lets you easily take notes on the go
• Only available for Mac
• Not designed specifically for writing books

Atticus is a book formatting tool that helps you turn your manuscript into a publication-ready file.

It includes easy-to-use templates you can customize to suit your preferences. With these templates, you can export your book in beautiful formats for both print and eBook.

In addition to formatting your books, Atticus also functions as a word processor, so you can start writing directly in the program if you want to. It even lets you track word count goals as you go, just like Scrivener and NovelPad.

If you’re self-publishing and you’re not planning to hire someone to format your manuscript, a book writing software like Atticus is a must-have so you can make sure your manuscript is ready for publication.

Cost: $147/lifetime

• Formats manuscripts for print and eBook
• Works for every platform (Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome)
• Requires an internet connection
• Requires an expensive one-time payment

Vellum helps you create a beautifully formatted eBook. Like Atticus, it’s well-known for having gorgeous aesthetics.

Many of the word processors on our list can format eBooks, including Scrivener and Microsoft Word, but most of them don’t produce such beautiful books. Vellum, in particular, focuses on how your book looks.

With the previewer, you can see exactly how your eBooks will appear on Kindle, iPhone, Nook, and other eReaders.

Cost: $199 for eBook generation, $249 for paperback formatting

• Easy to learn and navigate
• Offers beautiful and unique aesthetics

Publisher Rocket serves a different function from all the other programs in our list.

Instead of helping you write your book, it helps you figure out what kind of book to write—or how to market the book you’re writing, once it’s done.

Essentially, Publisher Rocket is a book marketing research tool that gives you a breakdown of what readers are looking for.

For example, Publisher Rocket can tell you how much money readers are spending on certain niches, such as historical romance. It can also tell you what phrases Amazon buyers are searching for right now, so you can see topics that are trending with readers.

One useful feature is that it can tell you how much money specific books are making per month, so if you know of books that are similar to yours, it can give you a sense of how well your manuscript will perform in the market.

Best of all, it can give you advice for how to market your book to the right audience, which can significantly improve sales.

Cost: $97/lifetime

• Helps you market your book
• Gives you a sense of how well your book can sell
• Has a steep learning curve

Fictionary is for fiction writers looking to improve the plot, characters and setting of their stories.

The AI-powered software makes story editing faster by analyzing your manuscript from start to finish and creating powerful visuals of your plotline, scenes, and POVs.

Their structured approach to story editing takes writers through 38 story elements, including how to write conflict, tension, hooks, backstory, emotional impact, and more.

Cost: $19/month or $169/year

• Packed full of practical, actionable information
• Generates impressive visualizations of your writing
• Makes editing more systematic and less daunting
• Works best with a completed first draft
• Longer learning curve due to so many elements

If you already have the tools you need to write a book, you might be reluctant to learn how to use new ones. So, why bother investing in book writing software? Here are some key benefits:

• Help you stay focused on your project
• Allow you to work more quickly and efficiently
• Give you organizational tools to manage your ideas
• Make it easier to share your material with others
• Correct weaknesses in your prose
• Improve the quality of your overall book

If you find the right book writing software for you, you’ll be able to finish a stronger manuscript in a shorter span of time. It’s well worth the investment!

ProWritingAid offers higher quality analysis than any other software on the market.

It’s particularly well-suited for creative writers because it goes beyond looking for basic mistakes and actually improves writing style. Other grammar checkers can transform bad writing into good writing, but ProWritingAid’s style suggestions can transform good writing into great writing.

The more you use ProWritingAid, the more you’ll be able to spot the patterns in your writing. It’s a book writing software that can help you actually improve your writing skills over time.

It’s also extremely easy to integrate ProWritingAid into your current writing process, whether you prefer to write in Scrivener, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or any other popular word processor.

You can check ProWritingAid’s suggestions, make your edits, and save the file directly in your favorite writing app.

If you want writing software that will holistically improve your book, ProWritingAid is one of the best places to start.

There you have it—our top 15 picks for the best writing software options on the market today. You can use these tools to draft your book, edit your prose, format your manuscript, and more.

It’s important to remember that every writer is unique, so a piece of writing software that works well for others might not be the best option for you. Ultimately, the only way to figure out your favorite book writing software is to try some out for yourself.

Most of the book writing software options on our list have free trials you can use to help figure out if that app works for you or not. For example, you can use ProWritingAid right now, no credit card required.

Let us know what your favorite book writing software is. Happy writing!

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Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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Last updated on Feb 07, 2023

The Best Book Writing Software of 2024: Scrivener, yWriter, and More

There isn’t any writing software that can miraculously make you a professional author. However, plenty of digital tools can help you improve your writing, become more productive and publish a book. To help you sort through a sea of apps available on PC, Mac, and mobile, we’ll run through some of the best book writing software available today.

This post will help you find the best app for your particular needs as a writer.

Developing your craft

The best way to become a better writer is simply to write prolifically. But it might also help to have a kindly electronic tutor looking over your shoulder.

Price: Free online, or $19.99 to download the desktop app

The Hemingway app is for authors who want to bring out their inner Ernest by writing prose that’s “bold and clear.”

To help you improve your writing in real-time, the app highlights text with colors that indicate run-on sentences, passive voice, qualifiers, adverbs, and complex phrasing to reduce. Our full Hemingway app review discusses these functions in more detail, but one drawback is that it doesn’t exist as an extension to browsers and word processors. You either have to write your book elsewhere and import it onto Hemingway for an edit, or you write on Hemingway and forfeit other book-related functions like formatting tools and goal-tracking.

If you struggle to write consistently, sign up for our How to Write a Novel course to finish a novel in just 3 months.  

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ProWritingAid

Price: $120/year

ProWritingAid aims to improve your writing by providing language-checking features that spot not only grammar mistakes but also stylistic weaknesses like purple prose or passive voice — though these should be taken with a grain of salt. The app has integrations to most major word processors and browsers, so you can easily apply it to book writing software like Word or the Reedsy Book Editor. For a more in-depth analysis of its functions and uses (plus a discount code!), head to our ProWritingAid review .

Writing productivity

Inspiration is nothing without the discipline to complete your first drafts. The features on these apps are designed to help you become more productive writers.

FocusWriter

Price: Free

Sometimes even word processors like the ones discussed so far feel overwhelming and distracting with all of its formatting tools and features. What if you just want a clean slate with absolutely nothing to distract you from the flow of your words — not even a toolbar with unnecessary functions? FocusWriter can provide you with a virtual sheet of paper (cloaked in the theme of your choice). 

Now, you can access a toolbar with several features like a timer for writing sprints, and a daily goal tracker — but in its default state, this writing software tucks them safely out of view. Recent updates have made it possible to save your work as Word files, which means you can write with FocusWriter and easily share your manuscript with others for feedback.

Reedsy Book Editor

Designed to meet the key needs of authors, our Reedsy Book Editor is a free, all-in-one piece of book writing software . On its unobtrusive interface, you can write your book with the help of a built-in spell-check system (tailored to your preferred language) and a goal-tracking feature that will help you hit your deadlines. Simply enter your target length, tell the RBE which days of the week you intend to write, and the app will automatically set your daily word count goals .

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Set goals, track progress, and establish your writing routine in our free app.

Price: $39.96/year

If you’re struggling to find enough discipline to make the Pomodoro method work, it might be time to call in the distraction-busting big guns. You can install freedom on one or all of your devices, and during your writing sprints, the app will cut off your access to your apps, the entire internet, or a self-selected collection of ‘distracting websites’ (Facebook, Instagram, OK Cupid, etc.).

Planning your story

Many writers love plotting out their books on corkboards and spiral-bound notebooks. But if you’re looking for tidier alternatives (or programs that can prompt you in the right direction), you may want to check these out.

Price : Free

yWriter looks a bit dated, and it’s not yet available to Mac users, but it’s a formidable piece of writing software for anyone writing science fiction or fantasy — or any project with a lot of complex worldbuilding details. By dividing your work into scenes (on which you can tag relevant characters and locations), yWriter helps you track every development in the manuscript as you write. 

Campfire Write

Price: Starting at $1.50 per month 

Another option for science fiction and fantasy writers is Campfire Write. Created with these genres in mind, this web-based book writing software lets you map your story by Elements (characters, locations, maps, species, cultures, philosophies, etc.), which can be purchased individually, as needed. Say you only subscribe to the manuscript writing feature, it’ll cost $1.50 a month. If you want to have several character profiles, a culture outline, and a couple of interactive maps, you can expect to pay $5.25 a month. 

Your work here can also be shared with an editor (who can leave comments on your work) or with the Campfire writing community at large. While it takes some time to familiarize yourself with its many details, Campfire can be a useful and fun tool for writers to build their universes. We've also reviewed Campfire Write in more detail.

For 20% off all lifetime purchases on Campfire, use the promo code REEDSY20 at checkout.

Price: $49 

Scrivener is a favorite among authors in no small part because it is one of the first writing programs created with authors in mind. With its corkboard function that allows you to see your whole project in one view, its split-screen mode for you to reference research as you write, and its clean-cut filing system, Scrivener gives authors a good workspace whether they need to outline their book before writing or figure out the big picture as they write.

Formatting your book

If you’re looking to join the self-publishing revolution and become the next big author on Kindle, you’ll need a way to turn your manuscript into a professional-grade ebook and paperback. Thankfully, there’s an app for that!

Oh look! A second appearance for the Reedsy Book Editor. But hey-ho: our site, our rules. 

With the RBE’s formatting abilities, you can import your manuscript from a .docx file and apply stylistic flourishes in minutes. Simply click ‘Export’ and choose a style — the Reedsy Book Editor will take care of aligning the text, inserting drop caps and chapter titles, and turning your work into an elegant EPUB or PDF file that can immediately be uploaded to ebook distribution platforms or printing services. It’s an effortless process that allows self-publishing authors to spend time and resources on other parts of their publishing projects.

At the end of the day, no app is going to be fully able to outline, write, or edit your book for you — but with these book writing software options in mind, you’ll at least be able to find something that makes the process easier, streamlined, and more enjoyable. Now get out there and start creating!

Continue reading

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Home » 12 Best Book Writing Software 2024 | Reviews and Pricing

12 Best Book Writing Software 2024 | Reviews and Pricing

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Table of contents.

We all have amazing stories to tell, but not everyone can pen down their thoughts in a captivating way. To become a successful author, there are many prerequisites – with determination being most important. And while creativity can’t be manufactured, it can help to have a book writing software.

Let’s face it: Writing isn’t exactly easy. So far, I’ve published over a 1,000 blog posts and 5 books, and I still find myself struggling to come up with words and get those creative juices flowing.

If you’re currently in the same boat, keep reading. In this article, I’ll review 12 of the best book writing software ruling the market in 2024 (along with their pricing details).

Let’s dive right in.

The 12 Best Book Writing Software Online and Offline

Before delving into the list, I’d like to make one thing clear:

A book writing software won’t write a book for you (there are a few AI text generators out there, but we’re not talking about them).

These book writing programs can help you in other ways, by:

• Providing you with special templates
• Assisting you with the publishing format
• Providing other tools needed to make you a productive writer

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the best book writing software to try right now:

1. Squibler

Squibler  is the book writing software that I created –  designed specifically for writers who struggle with consistency.

It enables you to write faster with more organization for your thoughts. It has everything from assigning notes to chapters and scenes, cork-board layout to see all your notes at once, and hundreds of templates for different writing styles.

Squibler presents a new type of book writing software that makes writing feel easy. 

Here are the key features of Squibler that make it so great:

• Organizing – you can easily organize your chapters, notes, ideas/thoughts with the simple drag-and-drop feature.
• 30+ Outline Template – with Squibler, you don’t have to start your draft from scratch. Simply select an outline for a template that’s closest to what you have in mind and get started right away.
• Native Grammar Checker – this built-in feature removes the need for a third-party grammar checking tool, making editing a breeze.
• Corkboard – an essential feature for any book writing software. It lets you organize, plan, and watch your draft come to life.
• Publishing – when the time comes, Squibler will format your book to publish. You can easily export your work via Kindle and PDF and preview to ensure it looks good.

All in all, Squibler can help with:

• Brainstorming
• Character sketching
• Setting and location
• Storyboarding
• Word count goals

It’s easily one of the best software designed for modern-day writers, by modern-day writers.

Squibler Pricing

Squibler is priced at $9.99 per month, billed monthly with 14 days free.

You can visit Squibler’s website here

2. Scrivener

I had used Scrivener before stumbling back on this idea to create a book writing software.

At first, I found the product’s learning curve to be too steep, especially since the UI was a little confusing.

However, I soon learned that this was the main alternative to Microsoft Word for writing books, and for good reason.

Moreover, they’ve had over 800,000 customers.

Here is a quick sneak-peek of the main features it has to offer:

• Collect Your Material – the software provides a single platform to manage your manuscript.
• Corkboard – a virtual board where you can keep track of your changes and plan ahead.
• Outliner – create super-detailed outlines for every chapter and easily reorganize sections.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – in addition to the above, Scrivener also lets you compared documents side-by-side, offers formatting presets, and much more.

Again, the only downside is its difficult interface.

I write technical documentation on software for a living and even I think this writing software is complex.

Moreover, it lacks the fundamental benefits of being an online app. This includes a better onboarding flow, community, personalizing experiences, and the ability to understand your users’ pain point in their customer journey using data.

With that said, it is still one of the best alternatives to a basic drafting program like MS Word.

Scrivener Pricing

Four packages with one-time payments are available:

• Standard License – $49 for macOS and Windows
• Educational License – $49 for macOS and Windows
• iOS – $19.99 for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
• Bundle – $80 for both macOS and Windows

When I first came across Novlr, I realized it was the closest thing to what we were aiming for with Squibler. In fact, I thought “why build our product if this already exists?”

When I tried the product, I came across the same feeling of clunkiness. I got the feeling that it was made by coders for writers rather than writers for writers .

If you ignore the learning curve, it’s one of the leading book writing software at the end of the day.

Here’s a quick overview of its main features:

• Offline Writing – you don’t necessarily need an internet connection to write and save your progress.
• Focus Mode – remove all kinds of distractions and stay focused on writing and editing.
• Sync – the tool can automatically sync with both Google Drive and Dropbox.
• Editing – get smart suggestions, grammar enhancements, and more.
• Stats – track your writing progress and set personal milestones.

Another down-side of Novlr is that there aren’t any blog posts, videos, or community where you can learn more about writing.

The experience won’t feel very streamlined either. Instead, I felt they were saying, “If you think Scrivener is too complicated, well, we’re the best alternative to them.”

Novlr Pricing

Novlr is available in three pricing plans:

• Free – $0 for two weeks, upgradable
• Monthly – $10 per month
• Yearly – $8.33 per month, billed annually

Ulysses is one of my favorite book writing software. It’s almost everything I’d want out of a mobile and desktop app. However, they lack some key functionality by not having an online presence and not making the product specifically for writing books.

With that said, they perfected the minimalist design for writing – even better than how Medium did it.

Let’s see what’s under the hood:

• Markup-Based Editor – by adding a few characters, you can format your text however you want (like add examples) without lifting your fingers from the keyword.
• Themes – you have complete control over the color of your editor. Select from a wide range of color schemes (whatever helps you stay focused and more productive).
• Library/History – this will help you organize everything you write .
• Auto-Save – never lose any progress, as Ulysses automatically saves your work in its library.
• Sharing – not exactly for “book authors,” but Ulysses lets you schedule and publish posts on WordPress and Medium.

There are a ton of other features in addition to those above.

I like Ulysses for taking notes, but I didn’t feel like it offered everything a book writer would need today in order to be successful.

They were missing not only the educational component but the community and online onboarding experience that can enrich products.

Ulysses Pricing

The following pricing plans are available:

• Ulysses – $5.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly
• Ulysses For Students – $10.99 for six months

5. Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is the “OG” of the space. 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. Moreover, there’s no personalized experience.

As a result, if you’re looking to write a book with the product, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. There’s also little education and community around their product for writers interested in connecting with each other.

Here are the main features:

• Custom Styles – you can customize the different levels of headings and the body text however you like.
• Cross-Referencing – easily refer to any piece of text to support whatever you’re writing.
• Custom Layouts – you can also customize the layout of your pages however you want.
• Table of Contents – easily create a table of contents to your liking.
• Mailing – need to shoot your draft to an editor? With Word, you can mail your document to multiple recipients right there in the program.
• Track Changes – easily track, accept, and reject the changes/additions you or someone else makes to your draft.

That’s just a glimpse of what the software has to offer.

Word has almost every feature you’d need to write books, but they remind me of why people choose Canva over Adobe Photoshop – it’s the shorter learning curve and simplicity that your users value more than a large selection of features.

Microsoft Word Pricing

It’s available in three versions of Microsoft 365 with separate pricing plans.

Microsoft 356 for Home

Here are the details:

• Microsoft 365 Family – free for one month; $9.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly
• Microsoft 365 Personal – $6.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly
• Office Home & Student 2019 – $149.99 one-time purchase for Mac and PC

Microsoft 356 for Business

Pricing is mentioned below:

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic – $5 per user monthly, billed annually
• Standard – free for one month; $12.50 per user per month, billed annually
• Mic Premium – free for one month; $20 per user per month, billed annually
• Microsoft 365 Apps – an app-only package for $8.25 per user per month, billed annually

Microsoft 365 for Enterprise

Pricing is listed below:

• Microsoft 365 E3 – $32 per user per month, billed annually
• E5 – $57 per user per month, billed annually
• F3 – $10 per user per month, billed annually

Enterprises can get a quote by contacting the sales team through the Microsoft 365 website.

6. Google Docs

I’ve written my last four books in Google Docs. I like the simplicity and that it already integrates with my workspace. But it’s not easy to use. I have to create a new document for each chapter, then have one main doc linking all the individual chapters to keep them organized. The reason I can’t just write the book out in one long Google Doc like in the example below is because I need a place for my synopsis and notes. With that said, it still makes for a good book writing software.

Here are some of the many features it has to offer:

• Ability to Add Fonts – a great thing about Google Docs is that it lets you add fonts right there on the app (no need to download and install them separately).
• Voice Typing – don’t feel like typing? No problem. Simply turn on the voice typing feature and start recording your draft.
• Styles – like Microsoft Word, Google Docs lets you conveniently use different styles throughout your text.
• Research Tool – need to do some quick research for your book? Google Docs has a native feature that can get you images, quotes, meanings, and much more about any topic.
• Suggesting – this is essentially the same thing as the “Track Changes” feature of Microsoft Word.

It’s hard to point out the flaws in Google Docs when it is a free product. 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.

Google Docs Pricing

It comes in two versions:

• Google Docs – this is absolutely free.

7. Hemingway App

Hemingway  is a simple yet effective readability scanner. It doesn’t offer a list of complex features and tools. 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. Furthermore, Hemingway also scores your content’s readability according to the academic standards. 

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. Let’s take a look.

• Offline usability  – you can download the desktop version on your Windows or Mac computer and use the Hemingway app offline. Even in the offline mode, the app reviews your content and gives all the required suggestions.
• Text formatting  – with the Hemingway desktop app, you can format your text for webpages or any other blogging platforms.
• Export feature  – you can export your content as HTML, Microsoft Word, other text editors, and share with your colleagues.
• Direct publish  – it lets you publish your content directly to blogging platforms like WordPress and Medium. 

Above everything else, both the online and desktop versions of the app have a user-friendly and easy-to-follow interface.

Hemingway App Pricing

You can access the free online version on your web browsers and enjoy all the basic features without paying a single dime. 

Download version 3.0 of the desktop app for a one-time payment of $19.99. 

8. Grammarly

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. However, it’s a lot more challenging for a beginner to detect complex grammatical errors or point out their vocabulary issues.

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., and integration with Google Docs (currently in beta testing stage).

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. 

Aside from the basic features offered by the free version, Grammarly’s premium version offers the following key features:

• Genre-specific writing style  – after pasting your content in Grammarly, it prompts a questionnaire form with a series of questions about your writing style, intent, audience, etc. Once you choose the desired options, Grammarly gives tailored writing suggestions based on your set goals and audience.
• Plagiarism detector  – with this feature, you can cross-check your content against (approximately) 16 billion web pages. 
• Vocabulary enhancer  – Grammarly suggests synonyms, gives definitions, lets you add words to your dictionary, and gives you an explanation of grammar rules. Not only will this enrich your vocabulary, but also boost your creative juices.

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.

Grammarly Pricing

As mentioned earlier, the free version doesn’t require a single penny from the user. However, to unlock the premium version’s advanced features, you have to choose from the following plans.

• Monthly  – $29.95/ month
• Quarterly  – $19.98/ month (billed as a single payment of $59.95)
• Yearly  – $11.66/ month (billed as a single payment of $139.95)

The pricing works on a subscription basis, and making an upfront payment at once breaks it down to a reasonable monthly price. 

9. ProWritingAid

Among the other top book writing software,  ProWritingAid  is a widely used tool, popular in the writers’ community.  

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 500 words of your text at a time. Other than that, the free version doesn’t integrate with other programs and can only be accessed online. 

Nonetheless, despite its limitation, it is a go-to tool for many writers. Here’s why:

• Extensive reports  – unlike any other software, ProWriting Aid offers 20 reports highlighting elements like redundancy, vague wording, sentence length variation, over-dependence on adverbs, and more.
• Writing mentor  – with this software, you can compare your work with an accomplished writer’s work in your genre.

To use its advanced features, you need to subscribe to the paid version of this app, which unlocks the following features.

• Additional reports  – the paid version offers 25 reports unveiling deep insights about your content . 
• Ease of use  – with the paid version, you can evaluate any length of content in the desktop app.

Other than that, the most appealing feature is easy payment plans. As opposed to other software, it has flexible yearly subscription plans. 

ProWritingAid Pricing

You can purchase the premium version of this software in affordable price packages listed below:

• One year  – $60
• Two years  – $90
• Three years  – $120
• Lifetime  – $210

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.

10. FastPencil

FastPencil  is another useful book writing software in our list with an easily navigable dashboard, collaborative editing feature, and many more. 

Just like Google Docs, it’s entirely a web-based platform that can’t be accessed without the internet. However, it offers some useful features that make up for this inconvenience.

• Collaborative editing  – with Fast Pencil, you can invite collaborators, assign them tasks, track each other’s tasks, and upload mutually accessible assets.
• Different layout templates  – once you’re done with your book, you can preview it in different layouts like  business, fiction, memoir , etc. This will allow you to have an idea of how your published book will look like.
• Sell your books  – distribute your e-books to Amazon, Apple, Ingram, Kobo, etc., and track your sales.

Furthermore, you can also track the channels that bring you the most sales and royalties and maximize your focus there.

FastPencil Pricing

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.

• Editorial services – for basic and advanced project setup, they charge $299 and $499, respectively. Get a quote from the team for additional services like transcription, content editing, manuscript evaluation, etc.
• Design services – purchase design services starting from $50.
• Marketing services – get premium marketing packages starting from $75.
• Publishing services – purchase different publishing services for a price range between $9 to $599.

Visit the website to learn about the detailed pricing plan for different services.

11. Write or Die

Sometimes, writers need a push to keep working and stay away from distractions. What if I tell you that there’s a tool that starts producing a mayday signal the moment you stop typing? 

Yes, you read it right.

There’s a tool that goes by the name  Write or Die .

Write or Die is an online web application that fights writer’s block and compels the writers to keep working on their project.

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.

• Preference settings  – before starting any piece, the writer can set word goals, timer, grace period before the alarm goes off, and runtime calculation of words written in a minute. 
• Kamikaze mode – when this mode is on, your words will get deleted one by one from the app if you take too long of a pause from writing. This will nudge the writer to keep writing and achieve their daily goals.

Once you’re done, you can save your work in a text file and begin another writing session if you’re feeling motivated.

Write or Die Pricing

All the features listed above are free to use. However, if you want to log your statistics, gain experience, project metrics, and more, buy the pro plan for $20.

12. IA Writer

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. 

What makes it unique is this software’s availability on Mac OS, Windows, Android, and iOS, making it the most accessible tool in our list.

Here are the key features IA Writer has to offer:

• Focus mode  – this mode lets the writer focus on the sentence they’re writing by blurring out everything else in the document. 
• Flexible content blocks – this feature lets you build flexible blocks of text, swap them around, add media files, and more to your content. Once you’re done, you can combine separate content pieces into one master file.
• Parallel PDF preview  – as you’re writing/editing your content, this app lets you see your content in the paginated PDF view. This feature lets you rectify the format changes when your content is translated from a text file to a PDF file. 

In addition to the above features, this app also allows a fluid integration with Microsoft Word.

IA Writer Pricing

IA writer app is available for the aforementioned operating systems. The pricing for each version is listed below.

• macOS  – you can purchase the IA Writer app for your Mac systems for $29.99. This version comes with a 14-day free trial.
• iOS and iPadOS  – buy this version for your iOS devices at the same price of $29.99. However, it doesn’t offer a free trial.
• Android  – you can purchase a yearly subscription of $4.99 for your android devices or make an upfront payment of $29.99 at once. You get a 30-day in-app trial for this version, which upon satisfaction, you can turn into a yearly or lifetime subscription.
• Windows  – buy IA Writer for your Windows systems for $29.99 with a 14-day free trial.

You can get price reductions and discounts for this app as well. Visit their website to learn more about that. 

What is the Best Book Writing Software?

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. That’s why I founded  Squibler , a book writing software that finally cracks the code.

Why a Book Writing Software Hasn’t Found its Foothold

As I’ve interviewed writers and authors, the answer was clear. The majority of professional writers are over the age of thirty. Most over forty. They expressed their hesitancy to try new writing software as they aren’t technology enthusiasts.

One ghostwriter noted,  “I live in Microsoft Word. And I’m old. I have no desire to learn more software.”

Even though she was only forty-three years old, she couldn’t bear learning another software program especially with her three kids running around.

The problem isn’t that she didn’t want to learn another writing software, but the book writing software alternatives to Microsoft Word weren’t easy to learn. 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.

Improving activation—which takes place when users first experience the value you promised—by only 25% can result in a  34.30% lift in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) .

For users who aren’t technology-savvy, this increase in activation through personalization has a much more valuable outcome. If you’re already scared to try a new writing software, then there’s only one way to get you to adopt it. It’s an onboarding experience that provides a feeling that every step is personalized to your exact needs and gets you your first win fast.

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.

Final Thoughts

When picking the right book writing software, it’s important to first ask yourself what you need.

Anyone can start preparing a draft on Google Docs, which is free.

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.

And all things considered, Squibler is the only option that ticks all of those boxes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some other common questions about book writing software:

What is the best free software for writing a book?

The best free software for writing a book is Google Docs. It’s a great option if you don’t need to organize your writing in sections, and it also allows changes without saving them first – which could be helpful for people who are always making adjustments and updates as they go along with their book-writing process.

Can you write a book in Microsoft Word?

You can write a book in Microsoft Word if you are writing a book that is less than 80 pages. If you’re looking for something with more robust features, Squibler may be a better option – but keep in mind it only allows changes without saving them first, so this could pose some problems if you like to make adjustments as you go along the way.

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Home / Book Writing / Best Book Writing Software 2024 [Writing, Editing & Focus]

Best Book Writing Software 2024 [Writing, Editing & Focus]

What is the best software for writing a book ? Well, that depends. There are many things an author needs to consider , as well as their personal preference. But as you'll see, not all writing apps and software are created equal.

There are various novel writing tools available that cater to different authors. For example:

• Atticus is the ultimate all-in-one writing and formatting software
• Scrivener is a powerful word processor that many authors use.
• Google Docs would be great for a shorter work with multiple co-authors.
• Bibisco may satisfy your need to develop the heck out of your characters.
• yWriter is for all those data-hungry authors out there.
• Apple Pages comes free for Mac users. Not all writers have that extra $50 to spare.

Every author asks themselves if they are really using the best book writing software to effectively organize their novel, as well as their book writing process.

Thankfully, the right tools can save you time and frustration and may even make the long process of writing a novel or nonfiction book more enjoyable.

Bottom Line: I personally hate it when articles like this one beat around the bush, so I'm going to get this over with now, and you can keep reading for more of my reasoning. My favorite book writing software is Atticus , because it's not just a great writing program, but it's also good for formatting. For those seeking a free word processor to make your writing process easier, I recommend Google Docs.

• The best free and paid book writing software (plus the cost and pros/cons of each)
• The best book editing software
• Other software every writer should have (to help with everything from focus to book marketing)

Table of contents

• 1. Atticus: Editor's Choice
• 2. Scrivener: Best for Pure Writing
• 3. Microsoft Word
• 4. Google Docs: Best for Collaboration
• 9. LibreOffice
• 10. FocusWriter
• 12. Bibisco
• 13. Squibler
• Best Book Writing Software Comparison Table
• The Best Book Editing Software
• Other Software Every Writer Should Have

Why am I Qualified to write about the Best Book Writing Software?

Let's face it, there are many people out there that write these kind of articles by just doing some research on what others say, and regurgitating it out without actually trying the best writing software themselves (or worse, have AI write it for them). That's not the case here.

As someone who's been publishing books for over 13 years, I've seen many book writing apps come and go. Some seemed promising, while others never quite enhanced the writing process as they promised.

As a matter of fact, while I was working for Apple, I was given one of the first ever copies of Scrivener (a writing software we'll discuss a bit later). Over the years, I've truly tried many writing apps for my own book creation, including some free book writing software options.

However, there's a lot more to the writing process than just dabbling in a writing software. I have certain preferences that other authors don't agree with and vice-versa. What works for me might not work for you.

So, in order to create a top-notch review of the best book writing software programs, I sent out surveys to my readers, and talked to some heavy-hitting authors in the industry – many of which I have been a consultant to as well.

Based on my observations, the results from those surveys, and talking with some of the most well-known authors out there, I feel very strongly that this is a subject I can truly tackle.

So, with that, let's jump into a list of what I think is the best overall writing software in the industry and I'll even try to break them down into best categories based on their strengths.

Atticus is the best all-in-one software for writing and formatting a book , the perfect book writing software, and my personal favorite. It provides full capabilities for both of these, and works on Mac, Windows, Linux and Chromebook. Atticus is the only software that provides both an elegant formatting software and a word processor specifically for authors. If Scrivener, Google Docs, and Vellum had a baby, it's name would be Atticus.

Overall, I find it to have everything that I need in a book writing program, plus a lot more.

Read my more in-depth review of Atticus .

Can I write a book in Atticus? Yes, you absolutely can. In fact, it's even built in with goal tracking and other tools that make writing in Atticus a way to increase your writing momentum.

But not only that, Atticus is also the best formatting tool for creating books that exists on all platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook. It also exports to EPUB, PDFs for print, and DOCX.

How much does Atticus cost? Atticus is a one-time fee of $147 USD. That includes all future updates, which you will receive at no extra cost. Forever. No subscriptions.

I like that you can access Atticus online, or use the progressive web app to install it on your computer for use offline (note: you will need to be online to install it and to export a book).

Pros for using Atticus to write a novel:

• It's available on all platforms
• More affordable than the leading formatting alternatives
• Easy to use
• Combines features of Vellum and Scrivener
• Works as a formatting software and a word processor

Cons for using Atticus to write a novel:

• Not all features are available at launch

Scrivener is an amazing creative writing software developed by Literature & Latte that lets you view multiple documents at once, set writing goals, leave yourself brainstorming comments for later, and even import research files to keep on hand.

What is the most complicated program for writing a book? The most complicated program for writing a book is Scrivener in my experience. It’s inexpensive and its myriad features more than make up the price tag.

Read my more in-depth review of Scrivener version 3.0 .

How much does Scrivener cost?

• Scrivener costs $49 (one-time) for Mac or Windows. 
• It’s $19.99 for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch).
• If you use both Windows and Mac, you can buy the combined bundle for a discounted price of $80. You get a separate license for each platform.
• Reduced pricing of $41.65 is available for “students & academics.”
• Click Here , and then use Kindlepreneur’s unique discount code ( KINDLEPRENEUR ) to get 20% OFF your purchase.

Follow these steps to use my discount coupon.

Before you purchase it, you can try Scrivener’s full trial for 30 working days, for free. 30 working days means that Scrivener only counts the trial days when you actually open the app and work on it.

Within Scrivener, you open projects, not documents. Its developers realized that one project itself can entail endless files and folders and spreadsheets, so they made it incredibly simple to navigate through multiple documents within the same Scrivener project. Also, you can find some excellent Scrivener templates for just about every creative writing form out there.

Unfortunately, when I imported a TXT file into Scrivener, it seemed to undo all italics I had in the file. I had no formatting problems when importing DOCXs or RTFs.

Pros of using Scrivener:

• Organizes entire projects in one file with easy access to countless documents and research
• Corkboard with index cards, split-screen, and outliner working views makes it ideal for longer or more complicated works
• Comments, notes, and synopses are all simple to make for future reference
• Composition Mode erases all distractions and lets you write on a screen of nothing but text
• Customizable toolbar
• More affordable than its competitors
• Can export (or “compile”) projects as EPUB, MOBI, PDF , RTF, RTFD, DOC, DOCX, OTD, HTML, TXT, or even FDX, MD, or FOUNTAIN files

Cons of using Scrivener:

• Can open DOCX files but not DOC files or ODT files
• No real-time collaboration or co-author capabilities
• There’s a learning curve to learn all of Scrivener’s advanced features (check out this crash course tutorial on Scrivener)

One of my favorite aspects of Scrivener is that you can customize the toolbar. 

Some authors will want the Dictionary feature on their toolbar, while others want the Insert feature. When editing, you may add the Comment button to your toolbar, or the Add button when you’re first compiling your project.

Microsoft Word is the industry-standard word processor — for better or worse. When you ask the average person what they think of when you say word processing, a majority will say MS Word.

What software do most writers use? Most writers probably use MS Word because it is the gold standard of word processors, even if it shouldn’t be (yep, I said it).

The famous DOC and DOCX file formats come from Microsoft’s ubiquitous software. Many publishers ask for manuscripts to be submitted in DOC or DOCX files, and nothing else. (It’s easy to convert another file format into DOC or DOCX.)

Can I write a book in Microsoft Word? Yes, you can write a book in MS Word. However, I would not recommend it.

Read my more in-depth instructions to use Microsoft Word to write books .

My biggest problem for Word? It was designed for writing anything — not specifically for writing novels or long nonfiction books. It was not created by authors, nor for authors.

Word is tolerable for shorter works; however, if you're really looking for the best book writing software, Word does not measure up to its competitors.

Interesting fact: Stephen King uses MS Word writing software to draft his book manuscripts. He uses Final Draft to write screenplays.

How much does MS Word cost? Microsoft Word costs $139.99 as a one-time purchase. You can also spend $6.99/month (or more) for a subscription to Microsoft 365, which includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and 1 TB of cloud storage on the OneDrive.

You (and up to 5 other people) can try out Microsoft Office for FREE during a 1-month trial.

Pros for using MS Word to write a novel:

• “What you see is what you get” formatting
• Many book editors prefer Word documents (DOC, DOCX)
• Comes with a bunch of handy templates for books, essays, resumes… you name it!
• It’s industry-standard, so you’ll find this software on public library computers and company computers and everywhere in between

Cons for using MS Word to write a novel:

• 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, to export as ebook (EPUB/MOBI, etc.)
• Updates every few years, which creates a brand new learning curve each time

Google Docs is a useful browser-based writing tool that is free and available to anyone with a Google account. However, Google Docs may not be able to handle a lengthy manuscript.

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.)

What is the best free software for writing a book? The best free software for writing projects is Google Docs, if your book is short. Apple Pages or yWriter may be better for longer books, as far as the free stuff goes.

Read my more in-depth discussion on writing a book in Google Docs .

Many users experience major lag when editing a document with more than 15,000 words — not even half the length of a novel.

I’ve known authors who used Google Docs because it was free and convenient, then had to give it up. Why? Because you have to wait five seconds for every sentence to appear after you type it once you surpass 15k-25k words.

Pros for using Google Docs to write a novel:

• Autosaves every change you make and every version of your manuscript along the way
• Free to use with a Google account
• Accessible on any device
• Built-in Headings and Title functions make navigating your document simple using the table of contents
• Designed with real-time collaboration in mind
• Probably the most convenient word processor on this list, especially for bloggers and coworkers

Cons for using Google Docs to write a novel:

• Cannot handle large documents (15,000 words plus) without huge latency problems
• Cannot export to PDF at a higher word count
• The grammar checker is not as robust as MS Word, let alone Grammarly or ProWritingAid

As you can see by this screenshot, Google Docs offers a whole host of formatting options, constant autosaving (as long as you’re online), and extensive sharing/collaboration capabilities.

Simon Hayes (AKA Spacejock) developed yWriter to be the best free, standalone app for fiction writing.

It encourages writers to write scenes, not chapters — since scenes are smaller and more manageable. Also, you can input data into multiple fields concerning each scene and chapter. This provides authors with a wealth of raw data they can analyze at any time.

You can even set goals for words per day or words per hour.

Read my more in-depth review of yWriter .

How much does yWriter cost?

• Free on Windows/macOS
• $3.99 on Android
• $4.99 on iOS

All in all, yWriter is great for authors who love analyzing how many chapters each character is in, how many scenes are in each chapter, etc. For authors who don’t care about that, this may sound foreign. But I know a lot of writers who pour over the metadata of their novel almost as much as they pour over the actual story.

Pros for using yWriter to write a novel:

• Breaks down novels into chapters and scenes
• Stores snapshot backups of your work automatically
• Great tools for character development
• Offers the data-hungry author a wealth of useful data points

Cons for using yWriter to write a novel:

• Does not come with templates
• Doesn’t export EPUBs or Amazon Kindle’s native file format
• Not for minimalist writers
• Not the most elegant design — looks dated

Ulysses is a simple, clean, yet customizable app for writing longer projects. Your work syncs automatically between your devices, or you can choose to store work locally.

Unfortunately, Ulysses works only on Apple products.

The price has gone up in recent years. Ulysses now costs $5.99/month or $49.99/year. They also offer a free 2-week trial.

Read my more in-depth review of Ulysses , as well as my comparison to Scrivener .

Pros for using Ulysses to write a novel:

• Clean interface for distraction-free writing
• Drag and drop functionality concerning scenes and chapters (called the library)
• Ability to add filters to scenes and chapters
• Export to PDF, DOCX, HTML, or EPUB with ease

Cons for using Ulysses to write a novel:

• Only available on Apple devices (macOS and iOS)
• Price is a yearly or monthly subscription model, instead of one-time
• No collaboration functionality
• No built-in templates (though you can find them online)
• Steep learning curve if you are not familiar with markdown
• Not available for PC users

Vellum is a book formatting tool developed by 180g, a company originally founded by Pixar employees. Their mission is to “create beautiful books”. In the past, it was the go-to best book formatting software with a basic word processor. However, it had its problems: It was expensive, lacked on the writing side of things, and only worked on Macs.

Yet even with all those problems, Vellums easy to use formatting system, made it a must have in the self-publishing community. Then….Atticus happened, and it all changed.

Like we discussed above, Atticus came into the market and basically did what Vellum did for formatting, but fixed all those problems (works on all computers, over $100 cheaper than Vellum, and has an extensive writing capability). Because of this, Vellum has fallen down the list in best book writing tools. You can see their comparison here .

However, since Atticus was added to the market, Vellum has fallen

The problem with Vellum is that it only works on Mac, was not made for writing it, and is the most expensive tool on this list. So, why is it listed?

What does Vellum cost?

• Vellum starts as a free download . You get familiar with the software and see what it's capable of. You still can't generate copies of your book, but testing its functionality before you spend a cent is reassuring.
• Vellum Ebooks costs $199.99. This allows for unlimited ebook generation, but no print editions.
• Vellum Press costs $249.99. This allows for unlimited ebook and printed book generation.

You can get a full refund within 30 days if you're not satisfied with the full-price product.

Pros for using Vellum to write a novel:

• Great for formatting your book before distribution
• Excellent tool for editing front matter, back matter, and metadata
• Can create box sets to give you a marketing edge
• Although the price is steep, you can use its free version until you’re ready to publish, and you get a money-back satisfaction guarantee for 30 days after your purchase

Cons for using Vellum to write a novel:

• It’s probably the most expensive book writing software out there
• Limited customization capabilities
• Available for Macs only , not Windows and not iOS or other mobile platforms

Pages is Apple’s free text editor which lets you write, edit, comment, and collaborate. It is streamlined, yet versatile.

Like most basic word processing programs, Pages can apply text styles and formatting to your words. You can insert images, graphs, and more. And they look great with Pages’ layouts.

Similar to Google Docs, Pages allows real-time collaboration via iCloud. The original author can decide who is allowed to edit or view only.

However, Pages is all about making every page look fantastic — hence the name. It’s not meant to be a strong word processor.

Pages is free for anyone with an Apple account from the Apple Store. Pages comes pre-installed on Apple devices.

Pros for using Pages to write a novel:

• Probably the easiest-to-use word processor on this list
• Absolutely free with every Mac or iOS device (Or use it on a browser )
• Has helpful “Track Changes” and “Smart Annotations” features
• Comment features can be used by an author trying to organize their thoughts or a collaborator editing the work

Cons of using Pages to write a novel:

• Every real-time collaborator in Pages needs an Apple ID
• Lacks a Draft View that displays text without page headers or footers
• Not meant to process words, so much as produce good-looking pages

As you can tell from this apple.com screenshot, Pages works cross-platform and seamlessly collaborates between devices.

LibreOffice Writer is a free, cross-platform writing software meant to rival Microsoft Word. That’s right, LibreOffice is basically MS Word, but for free.

Seriously, though, LibreOffice has been known to run just as well as Word, and with similar features.

And the best part is, it doesn't look nearly as outdated and old as its predecessor, OpenOffice.

LibreOffice is completely free — $0. There is no premium version.

Pros for using LibreOffice to write a novel:

• Shares a lot of beneficial features with MS Word
• Cross-platform capability
• Every year, more applications can import and export LibreOffice files (ODFs)

Cons for using LibreOffice to write a novel:

• User interface (especially menus) can be needlessly complex
• No collaboration — only 1 user can work on a document at a time

FocusWriter is a free book writing software released by Gott Code. Like a few other word processors on this list, FocusWriter is focused on offering a distraction-free writing environment.

The most notable feature is the big, calming (customizable) background image that sits behind your wall of text. And nothing else lives on the screen. Sure, you can move your mouse to make the toolbar or your word count goal appear. But if you’re typing, all you see is what you’re writing.

Depending on what gets you in the right frame of mind, this app lets you turn on typewriter sound effects or mostly invisible timers.

What is the best free writing software? FocusWriter is the best free writing software for short fiction, or flash fiction — or if you enjoy a distraction-free writing zone. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles that come with other word processors, FocusWriter is very simple.

Although FocusWriter is FREE and has no premium version, donations are welcome and encouraged.

Read my more in-depth review of FocusWriter .

Pros for using FocusWriter to write a novel:

• Customizable backgrounds and themes that are soothing, relaxing, and distraction-free
• The toolbar only appears when you hover over it, which makes for an uncluttered screen
• Like IAWriter, FocusWriter can grey out everything but the sentence/paragraph you’re working on, further decreasing potential distractions
• Ability to set daily word count goals or time goals

Cons for using FocusWriter to write a novel:

• Only works in fullscreen
• May look odd on larger displays with lots of wasted space
• Incredibly simple, missing features many authors consider necessary
• Cannot export to EPUB, MOBI, or PDF

Novlr is a simple word processor with just a few added perks.

The Novlr Proof Reader (grammar and spell check) is on par with Grammarly, which is amazing — a lot better than Google Docs or MS Word. And Novlr offers in-app writing courses to help get the most out of its features.

It doesn’t come with story templates like other premium word processors. And its formatting options are surprisingly limited.

A subscription to Novlr costs $10/month or $100/year. They also offer a 2-week trial for free — no credit card required. In my estimation, though, Novlr is not worth the money.

Pros for using Novlr to write a novel:

• Constant autosaving
• Can sync with Google Drive and Dropbox
• Offers Day, Evening, and Night mode to set the mood with color schemes
• Tracks progress with the Analytics tab
• Works both online and offline

Cons for using Novlr to write a novel:

• Limited formatting options, including for front matter and back matter and print-friendly formatting
• The analytics tab is nice but very limited — only gives stats for today, this month, and this year
• No collaborative editing

If you'd like to learn more, I have a full Novlr review you can check out.

The creator of bibisco, Italy’s Andrea Feccomandi, believes that character-driven novels are superior to plot-driven novels. (It’s actually a preference, not so much a fact, but we’ll let it slide.)

So Feccomandi developed bibisco word processing software program to focus on character creation. bibisco helps you create every aspect of every important character in your story — from physical traits to personality and emotional state.

What’s truly unique is the interview-style prompts that bibisco uses to extract information from your protagonist, antagonist, and everyone in between.

It also lets you give character to each setting with the Locations tab, as well as important items with the Objects tab even if Objects is only available in the premium version.

Speaking of, how much does Bibisco cost? Basic Bibisco (called Bibisco Community Edition) is completely free. Premium Bibisco (called Bibisco Supporters Edition) is, at minimum, a $17 purchase. However, the premium version is on a pay-what-you-want basis.

Read my more in-depth review of Bibisco .

Pros for using Bibisco to write a novel:

• Character-focused and dedicated to helping you flesh out your characters
• bibisco is a passion project made out of love, not for profit — some authors would value the opportunity to support that
• Distraction-free mode immerses you in your story
• bibisco is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Cons for using Bibisco to write a novel:

• Not plot-focused, which is important for some authors (about half of them)
• Not very user-friendly or simple to learn
• Limited formatting options
• bibisco doesn’t seem to be available for Android or iOS

Squibler is another tool that many authors use to plot and write their books. It features several appealing features such as a clean organizational system, writing templates, and more.

It is built more as a project management system, meaning it's ideal for authors who work on big interconnected stories together.

You can also use it to write virtually any kind of written material, from technical writing to novels to a screenplay.

But how much does Squibler cost? Well, it's a little pricey at $9.99/month with no lifetime price. That means you're paying $120 every year. This is why we recommend Atticus which has a lifetime price of $147, meaning you'll never have to pay for it ever again, and all future updates come at no extra cost.

Read my more in-depth review of Squibler .

Pros for using Squibler to write a novel:

• Great organizational features
• It has a lot of writing templates for all sorts of writing types and styles
• It exports to any file format that you need

Cons for using Squibler to write a novel:

• It's expensive
• There's no distraction-free mode or dark mode
• The app can lag a bit
• It lacks advanced formatting features

The importance of good editing cannot be understated. While editing software can never replace a real-life editor, these softwares can noticeably improve your writing.

Editing and proofreading software can fix typos, check grammar, and improve your readability. Premium editing software even checks for clichés and passive voice.

Here are the 4 best book editing softwares that any book writer would benefit from:

• ProWritingAid ($40/year or $140/lifetime) checks not only your spelling and grammar, but checks for readability, filler words, and clichés. It works with Scrivener, Google Docs, and MS Word. Check out my full review of ProWritingAid .
• Grammarly ($0 for the free version, $139.95/year for the premium version) is a neat editing tool that finds spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes (as well as handy explanations) that works as a browser extension or an app to download onto your computer. Even the free version is a great tool for any writer. Check out my full review of Grammarly .
• Hemingway Editor is a FREE website and desktop app that highlights and color codes passive voice, adverbs, complex words, and difficult-to-read sentences. However, it does not give you suggestions on how to improve your writing. Check out my full review of Hemingway .
• AutoCrit ($0 for free version, $30/month or $297/year for premium version) is an online book editing software that offers writers unique editing suggestions. AutoCrit shows writers surprisingly insightful problems to change in their book, such as filler words, unintentional repetition, shifts in verb tense, and even slow paced paragraphs. You can compare your work to famous authors’ works, too, with AutoCrit’s Summary Score — which is why AutoCrit is ideal for fiction writers in particular. Check out my full review of AutoCrit .

Plus, if you're looking for a plagiarism checker, here is a free one you can use. Grammarly includes one as well with their paid version, while ProWritingAid using a token system.

Writing your book is only half the battle.

If you'd like to learn more about the art of writing, be sure to check out the masters at MasterClass . These courses are led by prolific writers like James Patterson, Margaret Atwood, Malcolm Gladwell, and more.

Also, we authors have got to market and sell our book as well as write it. 

Below are several tools to help with not only writing but being a successful author:

• Publisher Rocket is a must for your book marketing research, including hot keywords and AMS advertising .
• Evernote allows you to share countless “notes” with beta readers, collaborators, other authors, classmates, family members. It is the coolest app for note-taking and -sharing.
• IAWriter’s minimalist, award-winning design cuts out distractions, like rulers and toolbars, and even blinds everything out except the sentence/paragraph you’re writing. Its Focus Mode might just change your life.
• Ommwriter offers a calm writing environment and meditative tracks to listen to while you write.
• Freedom productivity app helps you stay focused by blocking distracting websites and apps for scheduled writing sessions.
• Write or Die is a somewhat humorous and perhaps helpful tool that gives writers “tangible consequences” if they don’t meet a word count goal or time spent writing goal . Consequences include annoying sounds (such as “Never Gonna Give You Up”) or Kamikaze mode which deletes whatever was just written.
• A Plotting Software such as Plottr, Novel Factory, or Plot Factory. Each of these will help you plot your book, build compelling characters, and build your world .

Verdict: What is the Best Writing Software?

You should use Atticus’ word processing software to write your next book. If you’re looking for a free download, use Google Docs for smaller works, or Apple Pages if you’re a Mac user.

I use Google docs to write my articles because it allows me to coordinate with my team and my editor. For blog posts and intracompany documents, easy collaboration is key.

However, that doesn’t cut it when I have a 30K or even 100K-word book to write. When writing a book, I need the best book writing software out there. Google Docs just can’t handle it.

Atticus is the only writing program I use for writing my books . Download it today.

I need book writing software that will easily help me to research, outline, reorganize, write, collaborate, and edit. Atticus has me covered.

No monthly or annual fee? Atticus is a one-time purchase.

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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121 thoughts on “ Best Book Writing Software 2024 [Writing, Editing & Focus] ”

This is a great breakdown of the option! One thing for Google docs: I just finished a first draft with 76k words and it didn’t lag at all for me. When I first loaded the doc it would take a few seconds, but once it was all showing the writing didn’t have any latency. I could see if you had a custom font installed or maybe add-ons, it could slow down. But so far it’s been smooth and stable for me.

That’s awesome to here.

LibreOffice is a branch of Open Office with a much more active user community for support. Hemingway teaches better writing. Has a free online version for checking your writing and a downloadable app for actually writing on your device. The app can be used as a replacement for FocusWriter. And, of course, Grammarly both free and for a fee is a can’t live without.

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12 of the Best Book Writing Software to Try in 2024 (Free and Paid)

• on Feb 01, 2024
• in Digital Publishing
• Last update: February 1st, 2024

Let’s imagine that you’re finally ready to sit down and write that book you’ve been dreaming about. The first question that you’ll ask yourself is, which writing software should you use? Sometimes consulting other authors might not help much. Some of them will tell you to use Microsoft Word, others will recommend notebooks and a pen. And every once in a while, a fellow author might mention book-writing software you have never heard of before.

Writing a book, like any other craft, requires some form of dedicated tool, but you don’t have to search far and beyond to find the best one for your needs. This article contains a list of the best options out there for authors of any genre, each with its pros and cons.

In this article:

How to choose a book writing software The best 12 book writing software for writers in2024:

• Kotobee Author
• Microsoft Word
• FocusWriter
• Google Docs
• Reedsy Book Editor
• LivingWriter
• The Novel Factory

How to Choose the Best Book Writing Software

If you’re reading this article, then you have probably been hunting for the best tool for writing your book. Each writing program has its strengths and weaknesses, so your choice will depend on your needs and the genre you’re writing your book in.

Generally speaking, most writers expect to find at least two or three of the following features when searching for a book-writing tool:

• Text editing and processing: Any book writing software must include some word processing features, which allow you to write, edit, and format text.
• Spelling and grammar checker: Spelling and grammar checkers are best used for detecting common typos and correcting basic grammar. They come in especially handy during the proofreading process.
• Export options: It’s important to have several manuscript exporting options, like PDF, DOCX, and EPUB. This way, you can upload your book to your preferred publishing platforms as well as open it on any device.
• Document formatting: Document formatting features don’t have to be fancy or complicated. Nevertheless, the program must offer some formatting features, like paragraph spacing, headers and footers, etc.
• Note-taking widgets: Some programs allow you to add notes or comments to your manuscript without modifying the main text. This can be useful in many cases; for example, you can add notes to remind yourself to look up certain information later.
• Multimedia content support: If you want to add images, videos, graphs, or charts to your book, you must choose a program that supports the necessary file formats. For example, the software must support JPG or PNG files if you want to add images.
• Novel planning tools: For fiction authors, book writing software may offer novel planning utilities like mind maps, timeline tools, and character profiles.
• Interactive content: Some programs, like Kotobee Author , allow you to add interactive content in ebooks, like quizzes and games. These features are the key to turning your ebook into a rich, immersive reading experience.

The 12 Best Book Writing Software in 2024

Each author has different writing goals and routines; one author’s secret sauce could be another author’s pet peeve. So, to help you find a good match for your goals, we have a range of programs that contain all the features you could need.

1. Kotobee Author

Kotobee Author is a great option for creating interactive ebooks. From novels and storybooks to textbooks and even instruction manuals, Kotobee Author will help you create an engaging, multi-dimensional experience for your readers to enjoy.

In addition to supporting mini-apps and other interactive features it offers, Kotobee Author allows you to export your manuscript in several formats. You can even turn your ebook into web and mobile ebook apps if you wish.

As a book-writing tool, Kotobee Author offers writers the following features:

• A full suite of word processing tools.
• Over 19 interface languages to choose from.
• Ebook apps , including quizzes , and games to enrich the reading experience.
• Plenty of ebook templates for all genres.
• Easily adjustable HTML/CSS code for further ebook customization .
• More than 12 export options ( standard ebook formats , online ebook hosting, and the ability to create web/mobile ebook apps ).
• AI content creation tools that can generate text , images , and questions .
• The option to preview your ebook on 20 different devices .

Despite all the aforementioned advantages, you should be aware that the following features are not available yet:

• Kotobee Author doesn’t offer writing tips for beginners.
• There aren’t any dedicated worldbuilding or note-taking tools.

You can get started with the free Kotobee license to test the waters. Alternatively, you can buy the basic license at $150/user or the premium license at $300/user . Both licenses come with free program updates for one year. To learn more about how Kotobee Author can help you write your book, you can request a free live demo .

Verdict: Kotobee Author is fantastic for writers of all levels who want as much creative freedom as possible. It’s also the best (and only) option on this list for creating interactive ebooks.

2. Google Docs (Free)

When it comes to cloud-based word processing tools, the most popular option is Google Docs. With a clean, clutter-free interface and the option to collaborate with other users, Google Docs is a good fit for teams and multiple authors.

Google Docs’ powerful word processing suite makes it easy to write your manuscript all the way to the end. Plus, your documents are automatically saved to your Google Drive and synced across devices, so you are unlikely to lose them by accident.

Google Docs offers the features below, all of which can be very useful for writing a book:

• Standard word processing options, such as text editing and word formatting.
• Cloud integration with Google Drive which allows for easy access to your files across different devices .
• Simple document design options and several templates to choose from.
• The option to install add-ons created by the community for various uses.
• Real-time collaboration with other users for writing , editing , or simply commenting on the text.
• Around 100 interface languages to choose from.
• Spelling & grammar checker.

While Google Docs can be great for writing, you should keep these cons in mind:

• There are no dedicated book-writing features; you are limited to simple document formatting and a few templates to choose from.
• Google Docs tends to lag if your document is longer than 100 pages or contains many images.
• There is no default offline mode, but you can install a free Chrome extension if you want to use it offline.

It’s 100% free !

Verdict: Google Docs is best suited for the last few drafts of your manuscript and for live collaboration with your editor. However, you will want to use it for manuscripts that are either text-only or under 100 pages.

3. Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is the tool of choice for most writers when they start writing their books. Ask any writer what software they mostly use in writing their books, and the answer will likely be Microsoft Word.

But why is Word so popular in the writing community? For starters, it has defined the standard of modern word processing. Word also offers a variety of styles, templates, and a lot of features specific to editing and reviewing. Plus, you can use the free online version and save your work to OneDrive or use the paid desktop program and save your files locally as well.

Microsoft Word comes with a range of features, including:

• Standard word processing tools, like text alignment and language-specific formatting .
• The option to save files locally or on the cloud via OneDrive.
• Several templates to choose from.
• Plenty of design options .
• The option to track changes made by anyone with access to the document.
• A built-in spelling & grammar checker .
• Document accessibility checker .

As some writers will tell you, MS Word does come with a few downsides that you should be aware of. For example:

• You cannot purchase MS Word on its own; you must pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription, which can get quite expensive .
• MS Word becomes laggy past the 100-page mark or if the document contains lots of images.

You can use the web version with limited features for free . To access the full version, you have to subscribe to a Microsoft 365 package at $69.99/year for one person (or $99.99/year for up to six users ). If you want to learn more about each plan, you can check out their website .

If you already have MS Word on your computer and use it regularly, then it can be a good fit for the first few drafts of your manuscript. Just keep in mind that MS Word caters better to shorter books and documents that contain lots of images, like pamphlets.

4. Reedsy Book Editor

At an alluring price tag of zero dollars, Reedsy Book Editor aims to give you all the essentials you need to plan and write your book. The app also comes with convenient formatting tools, as well as the ability to collaborate with editors from the Reedsy marketplace.

While the app is geared towards novelists in particular, you can still use Reedsy Book Editor to write in any genre. Its intuitive interface allows you to get started right away.

If you choose to write your book using Reedsy Book Editor, you’ll have access to the following features:

• Ready-made copyright and table of contents forms with prompts and instructions.
• An integrated spell-checker in addition to editing and formatting options .
• Collaboration with editors from the Reedsy marketplace .
• Writing goals and word count tracker .
• Easy-to-use chapter/scene sp litting .
• A planning board that utilizes the Hero’s Journey plot structure , with a ready example to use for inspiration.
• Document adjustments for print when exporting, and numerous export formats to choose from (such as EPUB and MOBI ).

Just remember that there are a couple of downsides to using this software that you need to think about, including the following:

• There is no offline mode , so you need an internet connection to use it .
• The dashboard is cluttered, which makes it difficult to find the text editor.
• The planning board is split into three acts, which may not work for every genre.

Reedsy Book Editor is a solid choice for authors writing plot-heavy books. However, non-fiction writers might not benefit from the planning board because it’s aimed at novel writers.

5. Scrivener

Rarely will you find a writer who hasn’t at least heard of Scrivener or recommended it to others. Given its large user base, Scrivener stands among the most popular book-writing software on the market today.

In addition to its powerful planning tools, Scrivener also has lots of room for customization. This robust program allows you to tweak your chapter arrangement, notes, and more.

Many writers use Scrivener because of these features:

• Support for importing files in a variety of formats such as PDF and DOCX .
• A range of customization options .
• Many planning and organization tools for research , book outlining , and notes .
• An outliner tool to build your outline from the ground up.
• Cross-platform sync using Dropbox.
• Composition mode , which hides other tabs and helps you focus on writing.
• Many export options, including DOCX , RTF , TXT , and FDX .
• Word counter and goal tracker .

While most writers love this tool, they find these flaws quite significant:

• The MacOS version tends to receive updates more often than the Windows and IOS versions.
• The interface isn’t user-friendly; it’s quite difficult to navigate without watching tutorials.
• Integration with other apps like Google Drive isn’t readily available.

For a MacOS or Windows license, you can pay a one-time fee of $59.99 for the personal copy , or $50.99 for the educational license . If you need both versions, you can pay $95.98 for both the Windows and MacOS licenses in one bundle. For more information on the pricing options, you can visit their website .

Scrivener is great for all genres and types of writing, but its complex features may need some time to get used to.

Dabble presents itself as a clean, intuitive writing program without distracting or complicated tools. All you have to do is log in, open your manuscript, and just start writing.

An advantage that Dabble has over many other writing tools is that it is cloud-based. This means you can work from any device as long as you have an internet connection. In other words, you won’t risk losing hours of hard work.

Here are some of the many features that Dabble offers:

• Clean, user-friendly interface .
• Cloud-based storage and autosave function , which means uninterrupted writing across all your devices.
• The ability to rearrange chapters and scenes as well as separate them by acts or parts .
• Notes folders to accompany your chapters.
• A plot planner tool .
• Focus mode , which hides the menu and sidebars as soon as you start writing.
• Flexible writing goal tracker , where you can add deadlines or days off from writing.
• The ability to synchronize your NaNoWriMo project with the app so your word count gets updated as you write.

If you want to try out Dabble, you should be aware of the cons below:

• The app has very limited formatting options .
• Dark mode is not available in the Basic plan.
• The note-taking feature might not be enough for long novels or research-heavy books.

There are three plans to choose from: the Basic plan (priced at $7/month ), the Standard plan ( $15/month ), and the Premium plan ( $23/month ). You can learn more about Dabble’s pricing on their website .

Dabble works great for authors who want intuitive book drafting software without too many complicated features. On that note, keep in mind that it doesn’t have enough formatting options to work well as an editing tool.

Created by Dave Chesson , founder of Kindlepreneur and Publisher Rocket, Atticus is a great formatting and writing tool designed to turn your manuscript into a finished book.

This powerful book-writing tool allows you to design your book the way you want using its many features. Plus, you can work on your manuscript offline and on any operating system, Chromebook included.

Below is a list of some of Atticus’s best features:

• Very intuitive interface .
• The option to import existing manuscript files directly into the program.
• Plenty of text formatting and design options .
• Editable front and back matter sections.
• 17 book templates to choose from and a custom theme builder .
• The ability to preview your ebook on several devices , including iPhone and Kindle .
• Cloud-based backups , an autosave function, and the ability to work offline .
• Standard export options, including large print .

There are some cons to consider before buying this program, though, such as the following:

• There is no free trial ; you have to pay the full price upfront.
• You cannot export your book unless you have an internet connection.

You get lifetime access to Atticus by purchasing the program for $147 . After that, you can download the program on your desktop or on your phone through the website. If you would like to know more about this software, you can find all the details you want on their website .

Atticus works best if your main goal is formatting your book for publication. Since it focuses on polishing the final draft, it may not be the best choice for beginners or writing the first draft of your book.

Designed by published author Simon Haynes , yWriter is one of the classic writing tools that many authors swear by. You can write your book scene by scene and then insert characters, locations, and important items as you please.

As a free program, yWriter offers an incredible wealth of writing tools to help you finish and export your book. Moreover, in addition to the Windows version, there are also mobile apps and a MacOS version in beta.

With yWriter, you get the following perks:

• Worldbuilding tools like character biographies , locations , and items (such as important objects, languages, or magic systems ).
• The ability to write chapters by scene and add notes or descriptions to scenes, chapters, etc.
• Essential word processing and editing tools , with the option to install language dictionaries of your choice.
• The ability to sort scenes or chapters by the characters , locations , or items that appear in them.
• Additional tools to set writing goals , create backup files , and generate reports on your writing habits .
• The ability to edit scenes in the program’s text editor and external word processors like MS Word.
• Multiple export options , including HTML and LaTeX .

Here are a few cons to yWriter to watch out for:

• The interface is not very user-friendly ; most of the features above are difficult to find without experimenting or watching tutorials.
• Files are only stored locally on your computer; to sync across devices, you have to purchase the mobile apps.
• Design-wise, the program looks a bit dated.

The Windows program is available for free , but you can show support for the author of yWriter by registering your copy for a one-time fee. There are two tiers available: Silver for $11.49 and Gold for $24.95 .

Although yWriter is suitable for beginning writers, it is an ideal tool for experienced authors and book outliners who prefer to plot their novels before or during the writing process

9. FocusWriter

Some may consider FocusWriter a hidden gem in the world of book writing software. Simply put, this program is a simple yet powerful text editor for those who struggle to focus during their writing sessions.

If you just want a program that stops you from procrastinating, then it doesn’t get much better than FocusWriter. Its primary purpose is to encourage you to write, write, and keep writing until you reach your goals.

While using FocusWriter for your projects, you can enjoy the following features:

• Accessible offline .
• 20 interface languages available .
• Daily goals and writing statistics to keep you on track.
• Built-in timers and alarms so you don’t have to use any external tools.
• Highly customizable interface that allows you to change anything from the background theme to the typing sound .
• Optional spell-checker .
• The ability to move your manually to a different device via storage devices .

As great as it is, FocusWriter does have a couple of flaws, as you will see below:

• Since there is no cloud storage component, you are limited to using one device unless you use a USB stick to move your files.
• FocusWriter keeps only the newest version of your document, so you cannot restore older versions.
• The program does not natively support MacOS.

FocusWriter is primarily a text typing tool, so it is best suited for writing your drafts without getting distracted by other features.

10. LivingWriter

While this program is newer than others on this list, LivingWriter is no less powerful. It offers a great number of features for authors who find book planning stressful. It also allows you to refer to your notes as you write your manuscript.

In addition to that, LivingWriter has most of the planning tools you need to finish your book. You can make use of those tools whether you are starting your first draft or going through the final version sentence by sentence.

If you get stuck on book planning from time to time, you might find a lot of benefits in LivingWriter’s features, which include: 

• The ability to import existing files and manuscripts.
• Numerous planning boards for different kinds of planning, like worldbuilding , research , etc.
• NaNoWriMo integration so your word count is continually updated as you write.
• Cloud-based storage and autosave so you can pick up where you left off from any device.
• Integration with several apps like Dropbox , Grammarly , Google Drive , and Canva .
• The ability to share not only your manuscript but also the notes you add to chapters.
• Chapters and subchapters are self-contained , so the app runs smoothly no matter the length of your manuscript.
• Many export options with the ability to create files formatted specially for Amazon .

As with other apps, there are a few downsides to using LivingWriter. Here are a few of the points you should be aware of:

• Some users have reported bugs with certain features , like exporting to Microsoft Word.
• LivingWriter doesn’t come with any built-in spell-checking features, so you must rely on manual editing or external tools such as Grammarly.

LivingWriter offers a free trial and two paid plans to pick from: the annual payment plan and the monthly plan ( $144/year and $14.99/month respectively). To choose a plan or activate your free trial, you can visit their website .

LivingWriter is a great planning and writing tool, but it may not work well as a standalone program for some writers as it lacks proofreading features.

11. Bibisco

If you need novel writing software that has world-building tools, then Bibisco can work great for you. After creating a file, you can get started on designing characters or plot events right away. Alternatively, you can just start writing and outline your book as you go. Either way, when it comes to novel planning, Bibisco has a lot to offer.

In addition to its amazing outlining tools, Bibisco also gives you small tutorials on tackling different areas of writing, like conflict . So if you’re new to the world of fiction, you can learn as you practice!

Bibisco offers you lots of rich features, including:

• Worldbuilding tools (characters, locations, timelines, mind maps, etc.).
• Writing tips and tutorials to help you when you are stuck or have writer’s block .
• Outlining tools to write down your ideas and create your plot from the ground up.
• Narrative strands , which connect events to one another in order to develop conflict .
• A detailed analysis report of your writing habits and the distribution of characters , locations , etc.
• Various export options , with the ability to archive your files.

Unfortunately, you might encounter the following flaws while using Bibisco:

• Most of the worldbuilding tools are only available in the paid Supporter’s Edition.
• The scene text editor is very small and hidden among the program’s features.

The Community Edition is free but has limited features. If you want access to all of Bibisco’s tools, you can make a one-time payment of $47 for the Supporter’s Edition . You may be eligible for Parity Purchasing Power , so make sure to visit the website to check for yourself.

Bibisco works phenomenally as a world-building and novel planning tool, especially for beginners. However, if you aren’t writing a work of fiction or don’t need all the features above, you might want to try other word-processing software with better text editors.

12. The Novel Factory

As its name suggests, The Novel Factory allows you to craft your novel from scratch. It has a multitude of world-building and plotting features that will make your writing process that much smoother.

With The Novel Factory, the writing process becomes much easier. Inside the program, you will find tutorials for each of its features as well as a detailed guide on writing novels. When it comes to the sheer quantity of options, no other tool can compare.

Here is just a small portion of the features available in Novel Factory:

• A huge set of worldbuilding tools that cover characters , locations , and everything in between.
• All the plotting/worldbuilding tools are highly detailed , which allows you to plan as much or as little as you want.
• Each tool has examples and prompts to help with inspiration.
• A Plot Planner that comes with several templates for different types of fiction, like screenplays .
• Cross-platform availability as long as you’re connected to the internet.
• Detailed writing statistics to help you achieve your goals.
• Available offline if you use the desktop versions.

Unfortunately, The Novel Factory has a few downsides:

• The program can get quite expensive for the amount of cloud storage it offers.
• Some of the writing tips may be too specific, which can confuse beginners.
• The editing and formatting tools are fairly limited.
• You don’t get much cloud storage space even on the Premium plan, which maxes out at 5GB.

You can choose one of three subscription tiers: Basic ( $7.5/month or $75/year ), Standard ( $20/month or $198/year ), or Premium ( $60/month or $600/year ). If you’re having a tough time choosing a plan, you can try out the app for 30 days, or get more information by visiting their website .

Novel Factory contains everything you will need to write your novel from start to finish. The catch is that many authors might not be able to afford it, especially those with limited budgets.

Final Thoughts

When you write a book, it might help to have a tool that works well not only for writing but also for organizing your thoughts. Picking a tool to commit to might not be simple, so we suggest that you test some of the writing software on this list and see what works for you!

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Typewriter. Ring-binder. Scrapbook. Scrivener combines all the tools you need to craft your first draft, from nascent notion to final full stop.

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Start a new chapter: Scrivener 3 is now available for macOS and Windows.

No matter what you write, Scrivener brings together all of your notes, research and writing so that it's always at hand.

For writing. And writing. And writing.

Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more. Scrivener won't tell you how to write—it simply provides everything you need to start writing and keep writing.

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Grow your manuscript your way.

Tailor-made for long writing projects, Scrivener banishes page fright by allowing you to compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. Got a great idea but don't know where it fits? Write when inspiration strikes and find its place later. Grow your manuscript organically, idea by idea.

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Whether you plan or plunge, Scrivener works your way: hammer out every last detail before typing a word, or carve out a draft and restructure later. Or mix your methods and do a bit of both. In Scrivener, everything you write is integrated into an easy-to-use project outline. So working with an overview of your manuscript is only ever a click away, and turning Chapter Four into Chapter One is as simple as drag and drop.

Research within reach

Need to refer to research? In Scrivener, your background material is always at hand, and you can open it right next to your work. Write a description based on a photograph. Transcribe an interview. Take notes about a PDF file or web page. Or check for consistency by referencing an earlier chapter alongside the one in progress.

Getting it out there

Once you're ready to share your work with the world, compile everything into a single document for printing, self-publishing, or exporting to popular formats such as Word, PDF, Final Draft or plain text. You can even share using different formatting, so that you can write in your favorite font and still satisfy those submission guidelines.

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As a writer's application, Scrivener is damn near perfect; it means outlines, treatments and then first drafts can be put together in the same application. Neil Cross , author and screenwriter.

Scrivener is worth every penny: quite simply, it’s the best writers tool there is. Zoe Margolis , best-selling author.

Scrivener is the biggest leap forward in writing software since the venerable days of WordPerfect, and believe me, I’ve tried them all. Antony Johnston , comics writer and novelist.

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The Best Book Writing Software for New Writers: Microsoft Word

by Jeff Elkins | 48 comments

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It’s easy as a writer to fall into the trap of shiny new toys. There's an endless number of book writing software programs claiming to be the best at one thing or another, from Microsoft Word to Scrivener to Vellum —and the list goes on and on.

They flash their sexy features at you and promise to be the very thing you need to become the writer you want to be. But sadly, these programs will not make you into the writer you want to be. They offer the world, but often only take your time.

That's why I would like to offer a defense for using the industry book writing software standard, Microsoft Word.

The Secret to Choosing the Right Book Writing Software

In chapter seven of his leadership classic, Good to Great , Jim Collins addresses the issue of new technology and how businesses should use them. (Before you say that this doesn't apply to you because you are not running a business, if you are publishing what you write in hopes of someday making money, then you have started a small business, and Collins’s book has loads of wisdom for you.)

When it comes to technology, Collins says that truly great companies understand how and when to embrace shiny new toys. “Good to great organizations,” Collins says, “think differently about technology and technological change than mediocre ones.”

While the average company seeks to use every new technology that arises to solve their problems, great companies use technology as “an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it.”

Pause for a moment and ask yourself, what does it take to become a great writer?

Like mastering any skill, becoming a great writer takes discipline, focus, intentionality, and hours upon hours of practice.

• Scrivener may be a wonderful tool for dividing up book chapters and helping you organize information, but it is not going to put your butt in the chair and help you bang out those words.
• Vellum may be a wonderful tool for formatting, but it is not going to hammer out chapter after chapter until your plot holes are full.
• While Grammarly may spot potential errors for you, it will not wake you up early before work so you can write and keep you up late at night until the manuscript is finished.

This is what Collins means when he says technologies should be used as an accelerant, not a momentum creator. If you aren’t already putting in the hard work to be the kind of writer you want to be, it doesn’t matter what new writing software you invest in. It is not going to help.

In fact, often new technologies can be a distraction. Each writing software program has its quirks. When we switch to something new, we have to invest time in learning how to use it. Not only are we trying to master the craft of writing, we are trying to master new tech as well. And if we are always chasing the new thing hoping it will make us into the writers we want to be, then we will exponentially slow our progress as writers.

So what is a new writer to do? If the fancy programs aren't going to solve your problems, where should you turn?

3 Invaluable Strengths of Microsoft Word

When you are learning the daily discipline of writing, I recommend using Microsoft Word for three simple reasons. ( In a recent article comparing Scrivener to Word, Joe Bunting explained the strengths of Word.  I recommend you go back and look at the reasons he laid out as they make my case for the software. I will do my best not to repeat his arguments.)

1. Word Is the Foundation

Microsoft Word is the standard all the other programs are built on. Word was one of the first writing software programs on the scene, which means it set the tone for the features programs need to have, and it continues to do so. As Microsoft Word goes through evolutions, the other writing software programs follow suit.

Therefore, if you can master Word, you can master any of the others because you understand where they are coming from.

When you are developing the daily discipline of writing, you might as well do it on a program that is going to help you graduate to something else in the future. Once you understand your strengths and weaknesses as a writer, you can then make a decision about what specialized technology you need to master. And if you have learned how to be a writer on Word, you will easily make a jump to something else because its creators had Word in mind when they made it.

2. Word Is Common Among Non-Writers

When I finish a book, the first thing I do is send it to beta-readers. Before I publish it, I need fresh eyes on it. Because I have written it in Word, anyone can read it.

While fancy book writing software programs might be popular among writers, Word is the standard for professionals. It's in every university. It's at almost ever business. Even if a business isn't using Word, they have a way to convert and read Word documents.

Being able to attach your book to an email and send it off to a friend for a second opinion is invaluable. Word allows you to do that simply, without hassle.

Additionally, if you turn on the “Track Changes” feature, Word allows those readers to review your work without making permanent changes to the document. When they return the book to you, you won't have to search it for changes. They will be marked and ready for you to accept or reject.

3. Every Platform Accepts Word

I’ve used Word to write and “publish wide” three novels, two short stories, and four compilations with other authors. This week, in fact, I published a new short story using Amazon KDP, Kobo Writing Life, and Draft to Digital. While each platform wants something a little different, all three distribution platforms will accept a document I can create with Microsoft Word.

When you do finish your work and it is time to distribute, Word has what you need to get the job done.

Microsoft Word is the industry standard word processing software. While limited in its features for writing books, it provides a familiar platform for writers to create, share, and review their work.

• Familiar Interface : Known and used by many, making collaboration easier.
• Extensive Features : Provides a wide range of writing and formatting tools.
• Cost : Requires a subscription to Microsoft 365.
• Lack of Book Writing Features : Despite its extensive feature set, it lacks specialized tools for book writing included with applications like Scrivener or Dabble.
• Lack of Real-Time Collaboration : While it offers some collaboration features, it falls short in real-time collaborative editing compared to some cloud-native applications like Google Docs.

Choose Wisely

While other book writing software programs might have flashy features that promise to make you an incredible writer, until you've built the habits and disciplines you need as a writer, until you know your strengths and weaknesses, don't be lured in by their siren song. Rather, learn to be a writer on the industry standard.

Those other programs will only accelerate what you are currently doing. They won't create new momentum. If you can publish with Microsoft Word, then the other programs will feel familiar when you are ready to try something new.

Get Microsoft Word here.

If you're looking for programs to accelerate your writing, check out our list of the Top 10 Pieces of Software for Writers  (hint: Microsoft Word is #6!).

Do you use Microsoft Word for your writing? What makes it useful for you? Let us know in the comments .

Today, focus on your writing, not the medium you're using to write it. Open up Microsoft Word, or if you want to go back to true old school basics, pull out a pen and paper. Then, take fifteen minutes to write a story about a character who's always excited for the next best thing.

When you're done, share your writing in the comments , and don't forget to leave feedback for your fellow writers!

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Jeff Elkins

Jeff Elkins is a writer who lives Baltimore with his wife and five kids. If you enjoy his writing, he'd be honored if you would subscribe to his free monthly newsletter . All subscribers receive a free copy of Jeff's urban fantasy novella "The Window Washing Boy."

48 Comments

I loved Word Perfect…which never was Perfect, until Corel Killed it. Solschenyzin advised me Russian Write 1.0 – which is white Paper on an empty Wall. That works even without Electricity.It is the only known sure way for a Nobel Prize…Comfort kills Creativity.

Like this! Back to the basics. Add to S’s programme the possibility of execution next week, a willing smuggler leaving for the West on Friday, and you’ve got all you need to get that book written. 🙂

Thank you for allowing me to return to Word. As a novice writer, I originally started working with Word, only to be sucked in after a time by Scrivener and all the bells and whistles that software provides. I found myself becoming easily distracted trying to fit the section I was working on into the correct slot. I was too easily frustrated with losing my train of thought, and I’ve been idle for several months. Your welcome article has given me permission to return to the basics! And, once I’ve got a finished rough draft, I can easily load it into the Scrivener program and apply all the bells and whistles I choose…so Thanks, again.

Glad it did some good.

One should not invest in custom-made golf clubs when learning to play golf. The fundamentals need to be developed first.

Nice analogy!

Toasting to the fundamental program that works. I just needed that one cheer to say MSWord works. One cheer to say MSWord is acceptable. Sticking with what I know until it breaks — or becomes hugely UNmanageable which currently it has not. There will always be shiniER writing platforms to change to. No one program will do it all so best to keep to what works best.

So true, its very easy to get carried away with hopeful potential though.

I have always used Word for writing. I have tried many other programs but always default back to word and I have many reasons for this. I am by no means, a Microsoft fan but Word has been reliable in the fact that I can use it on my computer, my cell phone and my tablet and sync all of my files. By doing this, it has allowed me the freedom to leave the house with just my phone/tablet, keys, keyboard, and imagination so I can write anywhere. I am not a laptop person now when with a phone/tablet and a keyboard, I can accomplish the same things with minimal weight.

I use Dramatica Pro for plotting, but I either type everything up in Word or hand write every chapter before typing it up in Word.

I have used writing apps from Android and I like FocusWriter for free writing but nothing syncs seamlessly for me like Word and a cloud server of my choice.

I started out a few years ago trying to write in word. Of course, the writing itself was mostly fine. But I spent way too much time trying to organize my work, especially if I was working on a few different things. Then, I discovered Scrivener. It has a decent word processor, but mostly it keeps me organized. If I really wanted to – and at some point, this may be the case – I could write in Word, then store the Word docs right in Scrivener. Right now, the built in word processor is fine – in composition mode there is nothing to distract, but the files I might need are handy and I don’t have to hunt for them. (Think research, images, webpages, etc.) I do NOT agree that Word is the best (underscore) software for new writers if they are like me and need help with organization. Word is fine for writing, but not for all of the related tasks. If you just want to write – and don’t mind finding files for chapters, etc. or keeping track of several projects and their files, then Word is (underscore) the best word processor – much better than an Underwood or Royal! (the user name here is pseudonym. 🙂 njhoorn

When I started writing in 2009, I used Word. I kept it basic and didn’t worry about all the frills. However, I would lose work at times because it would crash. When writing a novel I found it more difficult than I wanted to manage the chapters. notes etc and then in the middle of all that, it would crash.

I started using Scrivener in 2011. I kept it basic. I don’t get into all the things the software can do. I wrote chapters and that’s about it. BUT, I haven’t had a crash or lost work.

In 2015, I gave Google Docs a try. Why? I bought a Chromebook to use in addition to my MacBook (which had a dying battery). I found with Docs that I never lost work. It’s always backed up. It’s accessible between all devices. It’s very simple to export to Word and also go in the opposite direction (to share with others). I use Google Docs until the chapter looks good and then at some point I begin transferring chapters to Scrivener.

The more I use Google Docs, the more I like it. I like things simple and streamlined. The more I use it, the more irritated I am at Scrivener because there’s no easy transferability between Google Docs and Scrivener besides cut & paste.

Final opinion: There is no one perfect platform. I use Google Docs nearly 100% and transfer to Scrivener for the final product. I write in Word…well…hardly ever.

I use two tools to write short stories – Word to write my rough drafts, and yWriter to edit and organize. At one point I tried to use notepad but I learned the hard way that when the power goes out notepad does not auto-save your last version. Word is great when I start a story because I’m typing as much as I can as fast as I can; it keeps up with me. The word processor in yWriter (and I would guess in other novel writing software) lags; words don’t show up as I type them. Because I set a timer and write until the alarm sounds, I need to see those words so I can keep moving. So trial and error I came to the same conclusion – to get the words out of my head, I need good ol’ Word.

I was going to do this in Word, but my husband informs me that I don’t have Word, only WordPress #whatever. So I’ll do my little tale on that.

“Look! This laptop is loaded with the latest and the best software programme available,” he proclaimed, holding up his newest acquisition.

“Right. For the next two months.” His wife looked at the clerk, rolled her eyes and sighed. She’d been checking out jigsaw puzzles at the stationery store next door, now she berated herself for not being here in time to officially protest this purchase.

The clerk who’d rung up the sale sensed an approaching atmospheric disturbance and strolled toward the accessories aisle. She’d be within shouting distance if the customer asked for a refund in a minute or so.

“Dearest,” said the wife in a longsuffering tone. “Remember the last time you changed computer programmes and it took me three weeks to figure it out enough to do our women’s club monthly newsletter? Two months ago you got me this new cell phone with all the bells and whistles, and I still haven’t figured out how to reply to incoming messages.”

“It’s not so hard to figure out. Besides, your old phone was a dinosaur.”

“So is my memory. You tell me how and I promptly forget! I’m technologically challenged. You can’t keep throwing new devices and new programmes at me.”

“You have to keep up with the times, dear. You’d still be working with WordPerfect 3.0 if I wouldn’t have upgraded.”

“And Word Perfect 3.0 worked just fine.”

He sighed. She sighed. The marriage counselor standing behind them at the cash register grinned — and pulled his business card out of his shirt pocket.

Nice story. I would be a lot like that customer if I had more money. I enjoy new stuff, and I am learning to be discretionary with my purchases. I write some new gizmo or gadget or software on my calendar to purchase the following month. Quite often, my ardor has cooled, and I decide I can live without it. I did purchase Scrivener after several months of consideration, which I have talked about above.

Not I. It took me awhile to learn how to answer my new cell phone. Oh, for my old flip-top! My daughter’s latest electronic appliances bewilder me. I keep hoping inventors will someday see the light and go back to simple “OFF/ON” switches.

I wrote my book using Microsoft Word. It did what I needed it to do at that stage. It became more difficult with the serious editing phase. Moving chapters around got confusing because I had to scroll through the entire book to find where to insert it. I was scared to delete anything until the editing was completed. Not a good move!. A program that lays out the chapters in the same way a Power Point slideshow does would have been helpful here. Otherwise I like to Word for the initial draft.

I write in Scrivener, no other. But, while I can work as a panster quite easily write in Scrivener and could never complete a book in Word (I refer you back to pantser: seat of the pants writer, not an outliner). I export to Word for final formatting and Grammar/spell check. Scrivener doesn’t detect grammar or spacing errors. I also have Word read the book aloud to catch wording errors, like say instead of says; or words out of order which my reading eye glosses over. The two make great for a great partnership.

I upgraded to 2010 and have fallen for Word, finally.

Does anyone have a fiction MLA template recommendation? I’m not deep enough into the program to spec this sucker out myself.

I use Word and I love it! I have never been enticed by those “other” writing programs. I jest. Apparently, they have great features. I wind up copying and pasting my document into a template (which I bought from another author) to format my book. I hire someone to put all the finishing formatting touches on it. I didn’t know Word would read aloud to you. Now, I love it even more! I can’t wait to try that feature. Thank you for the article and thank you to all that commented. I have learned a lot.

I didn’t know about the reading out loud bit of word either, thanks for that info, I’ll have to check that out..

Does anyone here remember Word Perfect? As a practicing lawyer I recall that in the 1970s and 80s it was the standard in the profession. But then for some reason Word supplanted it. There are still a few lawyers I know who use Word Perfect because they claim it is superior to Word. That was my recollection also but a succession of secretaries that I hired were familiar with Word so that’s why I made the transition.

WordPerfect’s roots were in the early standalone word processors, with character-based formatting. A code in the entry stream would change the formatting for subsequent characters until another code was encountered to turn that formatting off. This approach was very efficient for the slow computers of the day, but became unwieldy as more formatting features were added. The original marketers sold the product heavily into legal firms, and developers added a number of features to meet some unique demands of that market.

Word’s roots were in the early computer typesetting programs, with object-based formatting: “for any paragraph tagged with this code, apply these rules”. This was more complex at first, but as computers evolved, quickly became far more efficient. The full story is much more complex, but basically, Word’s paragraph formatting is managed by pointers to each end-of-paragraph mark (the ¶), and character formatting by pointers to the affected characters within the document. Objects in a Word document (paragraphs, sections, sentences, words, footnotes, bookmarks, etc.) can be treated as collections or accessed & managed individually.

This is why using styles will make Word more efficient: the paragraph formatting table can have just a few formatting definitions (the style names) pointing to all of the ¶s that use each one rather than a huge table of the formatting being applied to each of the ¶s in the document.

I am a new writer and quite comfortable with Word. I am finding new features on a regular basis. I bought Scrivener for Windows, but I have not had time to learn it—it cuts too deeply into my writing time. I think Scrivener will work well as an organizational tool, but Word will remain my go-to for the writing and editing processes. I want to use the two together. Unfortunately, Jeff is right—none of the software programs come equipped with inspiration and motivation. When I am stuck on a project, I am on my own. 🙂

I forgot to mention that I did purchase Grammarly Premium and I use it for all my writing. I struggle with comma usage, and Grammarly helps me learn by pointing out errors in my real writing, not just examples. Sometimes, a Grammarly correction does not make sense to me, and I have to look at the larger context—what comes before and after the intended correction. I am pleased with Grammarly and find it useful.

Me too, I got a shock how bad my grammar was; hopefully it will be better from now on. Good luck with your writing.

Use MS-Word if that’s what makes you productive. Use notepad.exe if that works for you.

If you are going to be anywhere near relying on income for your writing efforts, take the time to learn MS-Word. But as a Writer, you need to find the tool that is comfortable for you. If it’s Scrivener, fantastic. If it’s LibreOffice Writer, fantastic. If it’s edlin.exe, fantastic -wow

Knowning Microsoft World is part of the a writer’s toolset but It Is Only A Tool. As a Writer, use what you need to succeed.

I agree that writing software does not make a writer. However, I can’t imagine ever going back to Word to write a novel after using Scrivener. I use word for editing, but Scrivener for the drafts and the final product.

Well, different strokes for different folks. (Sorry for the pun) I like word, sadly only in a corporate environment so I feel the need to use it. As for my creative writing, I love the structure and ease of Scrivener. I do realize that everyone has their own preferred writing tools. I’m not here to bash on MS. But I guess that old stigma of word constantly crashing and catering predominantly to the corporate environment is hard to hide from. Correct! “The best book writing software won’t help you write your book if you don’t put your butt in the seat and write.” I am not looking for a piece of software that will do that, that sounds like a magical piece of software. No piece of software can! Word has its perks, but I love my Scrivener!

I use word for almost all my writing, from blogging to final revisions whatever I used to create the first novel draft. I.m tackling a novel in Scrivener and there are days when I love its features and other when I hate its temperamental ways – e.g formatting – saving text from other sites etc. I will do the next draft in Word for sure at this rate or at least the one after I’ve moved chapters around – but I can do that more simply in my old WriteItNow software. Still need to be converted to Scrivener from WriteItNow and Word.

I’m pretty new to writing stories but I’ve always used MS word. Since starting this writing competition ( a couple of weeks) – mainly to improve my writing skills; I’ve realised just how terrible my grammar was and that I needed some extra help so I got grammarly that works with Word and that has been helping a lot. I think I need to do a lot more writing before I start thinking to big. Having said that, the more I write the more ideas I have and who know it might be the start of something bigger:)

What could be the option for foreign writers who write books in their own language and need to translate into English?

I totally agree that you can become distracted by the newest writing toys that come along, but I disagree that Word is all you need. I do use Word for layout and the editing process but find Scrivener is a great tool for organizing and actually writing a book. Once I learned Scrivener (thanks to Joseph Michael’s Scrivener course), I found it saved me hours of time and helped me keep track of my ideas, research, random thoughts, and manuscript while I walked through the writing process. I’ve self-published one non-fiction book for church leaders and have a second book coming out in May that’s my own accident recovery story. Both books I used the same process and found it very helpful.

You saved me. I felt so inadequate when everyone started harping on the Scrivener & Co. bandwagon. I am a fiction novice and that in itself is intimidating for me. The thought of embarking on an even more intimidating tech tour almost took the wind out of me. 😛 I’ll stick to MS Word till I get more seasoned as a writer. Thanks for the pep talk.

Why not LibreOffice Writer? Better to choose free software, if available! http://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software

the more you play with technology, the more time you waste learning it properly, what you never will…and the more you enslave in that one dimensional format – the more your inner scenes get blurred and confused. The Type Writer already killed Creativity. Any good stuff is a lightning speed fast manuscript, written in the flow of the scene…The best writers even wonder how little editing is necessary…that is the real stuff..

As a seasoned software developer and writer, My recommendation is: don’t move to Scrivener until you need it. If you’re writing your first book, use what you know. Get the words down. Finish that story.

In my experience, the longer your work is, you’ll spend more time in word formatting, rearranging and messing with everything else but writing. This is the time to look at Scrivener – once you’ve grasped its core complexities, it can cut your non-writing time in half.

I can write chapters in the order they come to me, and it takes seconds to reorganize, remove or replace scenes and chapters. I can produce four formats – Word, epub, mobi and pdf – in about a minute, at any time I need. I don’t have to leave the tool to add notations or plan future work.

If you never feel the pain in Word, there’s no reason to leave it. But most of the novelists I know who prefer it spent oodles of time configuring it to be exactly what they want; and if they ever decide to change that, it’ll be oodles more.

First draft: Notebook and pen. Second draft: TextEdit for Mac (or Notepad for Windows). Third draft: Pages for Mac (or Word for Windows).

Thanks, Jeff Elkins, for this spirited defense of the lowly MS Word. I was beginning to develop a sense of insufficiency even as promises of the latest word-crunching software come through the many newsletters to whom I subscribe. Your points about the adequacy of MS Word called to mind my own gripe that there seem to be more books on how to be a writer these days than actual novels ever written.

Nothing ought to inhibit writing itself, be it a yellow legal pad or the latest software. Nic Pizzolatto once said that he had trained himself to write in any condition: a notebook, Post-It notes, or the keyboard.

Thanks, Joe.

Thank you for the advice! And, these programs can also be very costly.

I use Microsoft Word for writing stories, short or novel length. I find it simple to understand, and love all the apps that come with Word. I’ll carry on using Microsoft Word for as long as it’s available.

I totally agree. I’ve been working with Microsoft Word for about 30 years and, when I saw this post about “tools for writers,” I almost deleted it, then realized it was saying what I felt when reading about other tools. I know this tool well – and I may want to learn something new at some point. Being able to format my own work would be a great tool, so I may look into Vellum at some point. Using Word means I can focus on writing and not worry about how to use the tool.

Nice post. Thanks for sharing this useful information. You should aware of technology. Software seems interesting.Looking for website designing go ahead with web design company .

I have enjoyed your article! literally have been looking and been encouraged to write a book for over 4 years now. LOL! I sat down with the intent to write, since I hadn’t just sat and wrote yet, I decided to go ahead and see if there was a software I should use. I have Microsoft word and enjoy it. But my analytical mind sent me on another look it up moment. Well, this article and just sit your butt in the seat and write, let me know I had exactly what I needed. I did find a manuscript format and a Screen Play format on Microsoft Word. But I am happy to say I have about 3 pages done after setting my first 10 minutes a day writing! Thank you so very much!

I don’t need to be a great writer but only need a program that helps me create sections or chapters and help me jump from one to another with ease with each section having sub sections. which program does that? does word do that? suggestions?

Hello, i am a new writter and my question is: Can I use Word for writing down stories and then Microsfot publisher for formating the book? When it is going to be delivered to Amazon.uk for online sale?

Jeff, your advice is very helpful. Thanks! Matt

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• The Best Book Writing Software for New Writers: Microsoft Word | Creative Writing - […] “ The best book writing software won’t help you write your book if you don’t put your butt in…
• How Free Writing Helps You Find Your True Creative Voice | Creative Writing - […] think. You sit down, either with your pad or journal, or a document on your smart phone, or a…
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• Best Book Writing Software: Word vs. Scrivener - […] this post, we’re going to look closely at two of the best pieces of book writing software: Microsoft Word…
• Book Writing Software: Top 10 Pieces of Software for Writers | Creative Writing - […] Jeff Elkins said in his review of Word, “If you aren’t already putting in the hard work to be…
• How to Write a Book Using Microsoft Word - […] Word is my go-to for writing and not just for short stories. Here’s the rundown of how to write…
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The Best Book Writing Software in 2023 [You Already Have It]

Think about your favorite authors—the ones whose books deeply affected your life. Do you know what all of them had in common?

None of them used special book writing software to write their book.

Yet, this is where many beginning and amateur writers start. They spend so much time searching for the “perfect” book writing software (among other tools) that will magically make their writing better.

Let me spare you time and money: software is not a relevant consideration for writing a great book and being a successful author.

In fact, most writing software adds complexity without any value (Exhibit A: Scrivener ).

That’s not to say writing software will never be relevant. It could happen. But after testing and trying all of them, I have yet to find software that helps write a book.

I’ve been writing professionally for 15 years and wrote four New York Times Best Sellers with basic software. The same is true for almost every other professional writer I know. If you’re stuck on finding the “perfect” software, something else is holding you back.

What’s Really Going On

We all know this person: he decided to start golfing (or CrossFit, or MMA, or yoga or knitting, doesn’t matter), and then spent weeks researching the perfect gear. Then he spent way too much money on it, showed it off to all his friends, took a few cool Instagram pics…and then never actually used the equipment.

People who obsess over tools are usually scared of the work.

For most people who obsess over writing software, it’s a way of hiding from the actual writing. It’s understandable— writing a book can bring up a lot of fears . I say this not as a judgment, but as a person who has done this exact thing many, many times in other areas of my life. After all, it’s fun to shop for equipment and to fantasize about success. And taking pictures is such an easy way to get the attention benefit of hard work without having to suffer through the actual hard work.

But the ONLY way to actually accomplish anything is through doing the hard work…and that is scary.

Again, I say that without judgment. I have been the author afraid to write a book and using a distraction to avoid this fear many times. And I have seen many authors afraid to write a book, for any number of reasons (that usually boils down to the fear it will make them look stupid), so they install a writing assistant but never write a page.

I wrote an in-depth blog post that details the 6 book writing fears and how to beat them . But again, knowing you are afraid, and connecting that fear to your endless search for something to distract you, is not an easy thing to do.

If you are looking for the best book writing software, I would highly recommend you ask yourself this question: is this search necessary, or am I distracting myself from my fear?

Now—all of this being said, there are very valid reasons to want to find and use good tools to help you make the writing process easier. For example, you may want a writing program that better enables you to write chapter by chapter, has file management,  or lets you set daily goals.

To that end, here is my evaluation of some of the more common tools.

The Best Writing Programs for Writers

1. word processors & text editors.

Every word processor is essentially the same. You should use the one you like best.

I like Google Docs because it’s simple to use and makes real-time collaboration very easy. Files are stored in Google Drive and require an internet connection to access if you’re not using Google Drive’s offline storage option and install the Chrome Extension Google Docs Offline .

You might like Microsoft Word or Pages best. That’s totally fine.

Many writers have begun using Obsidian . A free tool available for Mac, Windows, and Linux that stores your writing as markdown files on your local computer (so you can easily access them without an internet connection).

It’s not for everyone though. The real power of Obsidian comes from its key feature to find connections and relationships between ideas (called bidirectional linking), which can be very useful when you’re trying to weave together a coherent narrative between chapters or across a series of books.

It’s not the greatest for editorial collaboration though. You can share your files with an editor or publisher but they can’t leave comments the way they can in Google Docs. Obsidian is better suited for when you’re writing your rough draft of your book before transferring it into Google Docs or Microsoft Word.

It’s a powerful tool with a lot of advanced features that have a pretty steep learning curve, so don’t let yourself get distracted if you use it. Focus on what matters most: getting words down on paper.

I can promise you though, there is no “right” choice here. The key is familiarity and comfort. Writing a book is hard work—you don’t want clunky software slowing you down, so go with what you know and with what feels right to you.

2. Grammarly

Every word processor will check your spelling and grammar for basic mistakes. What spell check won’t help you do is make your writing short, simple, and direct .

If you would like help with that, check out Grammarly , a free writing assistant that integrates with Google Docs and Microsoft Word that’s easy to use with a great user experience. If you have a Mac, you can download the desktop app. It integrates with the most common tools writers use.

There are paid plans available, but the free version is enough for writing a book.

I tried Grammarly for a while and found it clunky, but many excellent writers I know love it. Test it and see if you’d like.

3. Hemingway Editor

An alternative writing assistant is Hemingway Editor/Hemingway App .

You can copy + paste your writing into their online editor (Hemingway Editor) or purchase the premium version ($19.99) as a desktop app (Hemingway App).

Some writers love Hemingway Editor, some don’t. I kinda like it, but don’t use it. It’s helpful for sentence structure and common problem areas: passive voice , excessive adverbs, and poor word choice.

One unique feature of this software is that it assigns a readability grade level as you write.

This doesn’t necessarily reflect your target audience, but the grade level needed to understand your prose. Hemingway’s work, while written for adults, scored as 5th grade. Seems bad? Wrong. That’s great. The more simple and direct your writing, the better it is.

If, like most people, you struggle with overwriting, this might be a tool you like.

4. Distraction-Free Software

Honestly, I think distraction-free programs are pretty dumb.

If you block websites on your computer while you write, you can always pick up your phone and check Instagram. Options like Freedom that sync across your devices have a monthly fee.

That said, if you know you’re prone to distraction and want something that helps you get into focus mode, a program like WasteNoTime or FocalFilter might be worth a try. If it helps you stay focused and write, by all means, use it!

Now Just Go Write

It’s what you need to do, instead of spending time worrying about what is the best writing software to use.

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After using Atticus to publish two books I realized how laborious my previous setup was. Atticus replaced all of the software packages I was using. With Atticus I can now write, format and export from one system.

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I’m a new writer, and I love this program. It’s easy to use, and it’s fun. Not only that, but it’s also professional in appearance. They really have done a fantastic job, with this program. The support team is helpful and friendly.

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Try it for yourself, and if you don’t see the value it gives you in the first 30 days, just let us know and we’ll refund your money in full right on the spot. What do you have to lose?

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Save time on book formatting and get back to writing

We think authors should own their tools, so when you download Atticus, you own it. No forced subscriptions or compatibility concerns. Your work, your files, your app.

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Can I use Atticus on both my PC and my Mac?

Great question! Yes – you can use Atticus anywhere that has a browser or a machine that is capable of downloading software, including not just PCs and Macs, but also your tablets and even smartphones.

You can also login to Atticus from any secure device, any time.

Is it an annual subscription or a one-time cost?

Atticus is a one-time purchase and will include all future updates at no additional cost!

Do I have to be a professional formatter to use Atticus, or even tech savvy?

You definitely don’t need to be a professional formatter or designer to use Atticus. Basic computer skills are all you need to get started, and our tutorials will walk you through the entire process of formatting your book. If you get stuck, you can always get in touch with our great customer success team for more personalized support.

Is there a limit to how many books (or pen names) I can format?

You can format as many books under as many pen names as you can write – there are no limits!

Can I create both eBook and Print books?

Yes, with Atticus you can use the same file to export to both ePub and PDF for your digital and print-ready books, or you can create duplicate versions of your book to make custom adjustments unique to each version.

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The 15 Best Book Writing Software Tools

Book Writing Programs: 18 Tools for Authors

POSTED ON Aug 9, 2022

Written by Angelica Hartgers

Writing a book is one of the most complex projects any writer can pursue.

There are a lot of stages in the process of going from your initial idea to a published book. Keeping track of all the moving pieces, and making sure they are carried out the right way, is no small challenge. 

Thankfully, there are book writing programs available to make your life easier every step of the way. 

To help you decide on the right options for your book, we’ve gathered together some of the best programs. There is a mixture of paid and free tools for Mac, Windows, mobile devices, and the Cloud.

Are you ready to discover the best book writing programs for your next project?

This guide to book writing programs covers:

• Programs for book research
• Programs for planning
• Programs for book writing 
• Programs for editing and style  
• Programs for formatting and exporting
• Book Writing & Publishing Program

Programs for Book Research

Fiction and nonfiction books alike require careful research to give readers everything they are looking for. 

Depending on the complexity of your book, it can be difficult to keep track of all your notes, research material, and snippets of inspiration.

Some authors prefer to keep all their research material in the same program that they write in, while others like to store everything in a separate app. 

If you want to have a dedicated program to keep all of your book’s research material, here are three great options.

Apple Notes

Apple Notes is one of the best book research solutions for authors who use iPhones, iPads, and Macs to create their books. 

It allows you to quickly jot down a moment of inspiration or save an idea or image while you’re browsing online.

Notes integrates well with all of Apple’s other tools, making it easy to transfer material back and forth between different apps. 

If you are looking for a minimalist, intuitive way to research and store material for your book, Apple Notes could be your perfect program.

Google Keep

Google Keep is a simple and easy to use research tool. It’s a great choice if you prefer to work with Google tools like Docs and Drive. 

Keep has dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS making it easy to jot down your ideas and inspiration on the go and then sync seamlessly across devices. 

You never know when your next great idea will strike. Having a simple program like Google Keep makes sure none of your ideas go to waste.

Simplenote lives up to its name. It’s a minimalist, intuitive place to take notes and store ideas for your book projects. 

You can use Simplenote on almost every operating system and platform available, including Linux, so it’s a great choice for authors working outside of the usual Windows and Apple ecosystems. 

Simplenote uses Markdown, so if you’re already familiar with that way of working, you will find it easy to get started creating book research materials in Simplenote. 

Programs for Planning

After you’ve gathered together the ideas and inspiration that will form your book’s content, it’s important to plan and map out the rest of the project and how it will all fit together. 

Some authors like to go old-school and use sticky notes, whiteboards, and handwritten mind maps to plan out everything their book will contain. Others prefer to use digital programs to keep everything under control.

Here are two great book writing programs for better planning.

Trello is one of the most intuitive planning tools out there, but it doesn’t compromise on power. 

You can integrate Trello with other apps like Google Calendar to keep your project precisely scheduled out. 

Trello has an incredibly easy to use drag and drop Kanban-style interface. There are desktop and mobile versions of the program that sync, allowing you to check your book plan or outline across multiple devices.

Creating a mindmap of your book is one of the best ways to organize your ideas. You can always use large pieces of paper or a whiteboard for your mindmap, but there are also apps and programs that offer a lot more functionality.

XMind is a powerful and popular program for creating mindmaps. It supports aesthetically beautiful maps you can customize with different graphics, and it syncs across desktop and mobile. 

Programs for Writing 

The most important program for writers is the tool you use to write your book . Of all the categories in this guide, take the most time to think about your needs here and which app best meets them. 

Some of the factors to weigh up include:

• Will you be working on desktop, mobile, or both?
• Which operating system will you be using?
• What features do you require? 
• Are you looking for a simple writing solution, or a complex program offering research and formatting capabilities?
• Do you want to take the time to learn a powerful program, or do you want something simple and intuitive you can jump straight into?

Keep those five factors in mind as you browse this selection of eight book writing programs. 

FocusWriter

FocusWriter is an ideal choice if you’re looking for the most minimal and intuitive environment for book writing.

Using FocusWriter allows you to focus entirely on your work. It blocks out everything on your screen except for the words you are crafting, keeping your creative flow free from outside distractions. 

You can download FocusWriter for free on Windows or Linux, but it currently doesn’t work on Mac or mobile. 

Google Docs 

If you already use Google’s suite of tools, you should consider Docs for your book writing program. 

Google Docs has the advantage of storing all your work in the Cloud while also allowing you to work offline when needed. It’s easy to collaborate with proofreaders, editors, and other creatives by sharing a link to a Docs file. 

You can also add a lot of functionality to Docs with its add-ons, allowing you to customize its features to your needs. 

Microsoft Word

A lot of writers have experience using Microsoft Word and find it easier to continue with the program rather than adapting to something new. 

Word might lack a lot of the specialist features found in other writing programs, but it has everything you need to finish your book. 

If you're already a regular user of Microsoft's flagship writing tool and don't feel the need for anything more complex, stick with it to start writing your book as soon as possible. 

Novlr manages to blend advanced features for authors with a clear and attractive user interface that is simple to use. 

You can plan out your chapters and scenes using Novlr as well as storing notes and research material. 

Although Novlr isn’t an ideal choice for nonfiction writers , aspiring novelists should check out the free trial on offer to get a feel for what it’s like to work in Novlr compared to other specialist writing programs. 

Scrivener is famous for being one of the most fully-featured writing programs out there.

It’s a powerful solution for every stage of the writing process, from research and planning to formatting and exporting your final book file. 

Although there’s a definite learning curve to Scrivener, it’s great value and comes with one of the best free trials out there. Scrivener is available for Mac, Windows, and iOS. 

Ulysses 

Ulysses is a powerful writing program available exclusively for authors using MacOS or iOS. 

It combines a very focused writing environment with extra features such as the ability to set goals and track your writing stats, attach files and supporting documents to your project, and to publish directly to WordPress and Medium from within the program. 

If you prefer to work using Apple software and hardware, and want a program that allows you to blog as well as write books, Ulysses is worth checking out further. 

yWriter 

yWriter is a free book writing program available for users of Windows and Linux. 

Unlike a lot of other writing apps, yWriter’s creator is both a novelist and a programmer. Because of this background, yWriter is packed with specialist features intended for fiction authors, like the ability to store character and location information directly in the app. 

Nonfiction writers should look elsewhere, but if you’re working on a fiction book in Windows, take the time to check out yWriter. 

Programs for Editing & Style

Although there’s no substitute for working with an experienced human editor, you can make better use of their time by first running your text through a grammar and style checking tool. 

Some tools are well-suited to catching grammar and spelling errors while others are more concerned with tightening your text and improving its readability. 

Here are three programs to help self-edit your book and improve its style. 

Grammarly 

Grammarly is probably the most famous self-editing tool on the market today.

You can use Grammarly to catch errors with your punctuation, fix your grammar slip-ups, and improve the readability of your text. You can check out our full review here .

Grammarly exists as a standalone program, as a Cloud service, and also as an integration for web browsers and other apps. 

Hemingway 

Hemingway is far more focused on improving the style of your writing rather than catching our basic errors.

This program scans your text for complicated word choices, sentences that are too lengthy, and misuses of the passive voice. Our full Hemingway review breaks down exactly what it does. 

You can either use Hemingway in the Cloud or download a standalone app for Mac or Windows. It’s a good idea to use Hemingway in conjunction with Grammarly or ProWritingAid to focus on both errors and style improvements. 

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a comprehensive style and grammar checking program.

As well as highlighting any basic errors, ProWritingAid shows you where you repeat certain words or phrases too often, where your sentence lengths aren’t varied enough, and where you use cliched language. 

Both ProWritingAid and Grammarly are powerful self-editing programs. Book writers should compare the two and choose the one which is the best fit for their needs. You can explore ProWritingAid in more detail here . 

Programs for Formatting & Exporting 

If you're not only writing a book but looking to format and self-publish it as well, you need to either find a program with the right features or invest in hiring someone to carry out the work.

Some of the programs featured earlier in this guide, such as Scrivener, have formatting and exporting capabilities. 

But what if your writing program isn’t suited for formatting? 

Here are three programs you can use to format your book. 

Atticus may be one of the newer programs on the market, but it is quickly becoming the author's favorite when it comes to writing and formatting a book.

It is easy to use, boasts over 21+ templates, has the ability to create custom chapter themes, and more.

On top of that, Atticus is only $147 ($103 cheaper than Vellum), works on all computers, and has more features coming that will be free upgrades for current owners. You can check out our full Atticus review here .

FastPencil 

FastPencil is more than just a formatting tool. It’s a powerful and fully-featured cloud writing environment that lets you write, format, and market your book online.

As FastPencil offers a lot more than just formatting capabilities, you should be comfortable with using it for your entire book writing process. Check out our full review to decide if it’s right for you. 

Jutoh is a dedicated formatting tool intended for book writers looking to self-publish ebooks. 

You can download Jutoh for Windows, Mac, Linux, or even Raspberry Pi. It exports your book files as ePub or Kindle, allowing you to publish on all the biggest book retailers online. 

Jutoh is available for a one-off purchase price, meaning you don’t need to worry about a monthly subscription for a service you only use from time to time. 

Vellum is one of the best-known formatting and export programs available to self-publishers.

You can use Vellum to format both ebook and paperback files as well as exporting them in all of the major file formats. Vellum is available as a one-off purchase, with a slightly more affordable option if you only need to format and export eBook files. Our Vellum review breaks down everything you need to know,

Vellum is only available for Mac at this time.

Complete Book Writing Program

If you're looking for a complete solution to write and publish a book, there are a number of book publishing courses on today's digital marketplace.

However, very few of these courses walk you through the entire process on how to write, publish, and market your book.

For a complete book writing and publishing program, we recommend these book writing programs from our partner site, Self-Publishing School.

You can check out our full Self-Publishing School review here.

You now have all the programs you need to write a successful book, from start to finish. 

So what are your next steps?

Choose the right mix of programs for every stage of your project, but don't take too long to decide. These tools are just a means to an end, allowing you to focus on your book.

After that, it’s time to write! 

There’s nothing more exciting than starting a brand new book project, and the right mix of programs will make it easier every step of the way. 

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Fiction writing for real people.

• Plot (if you’re that kinda writer)
• Write (focused and organized)
• Edit (we've got sticky notes)

‍ Online+off, computer+mobile, autosaved, organized, focused.

Huge features. Tiny learning curve.

(The entire Lord of the Rings series – including The Hobbit – has 576,789 words.)

Writing a book is challenging. Your writing tool shouldn't be.

Act on your inspiration with access anywhere.

Never lose a word with our cloud-based writing tool that lets you access (and save) your story anywhere.

Organize your ideas and plan plot points

Develop your characters, plot your novel, and setting with feature-rich plotting and notation tools.

Become the writer you want to be

You were made to create. Dabble was made to help you.

Do it all with Dabble.

Don't let your word processor drag your process down.

Ironically enough, traditional word processors weren’t designed for writers. Dabble’s book-writing software was developed for writers, by a writer.

Avoid plot twists with online/offline backup.

We love a good horror story, but our software for book writing ensures you don’t experience one. Cloud and local storage work double-duty to make sure you never lose a word.

Rely on your writing tool.

We believe that an app for writing a book should be fully equipped to support you at every stage of the writing process – from plotting storylines and character development to your daily word count.

Everything you need to love the process:

Backup and sync to the cloud, seamlessly.

Drag and drop scenes and characters.

View story notes while you write.

Set word count goals and deadlines.

See dabble in action.

Fiction without the friction.

Dabble is the best app for writing a book. Here’s why writers of all genres rely on Dabble to bring their story to life:

" I wanted to thank you again for providing the interface and functionality I wanted. Scrivener was too complex and syncing was fraught with peril. Novlr lost my stories. " Lorene

" i just want you to know how awesome i think dabble is. this is a really worthwhile app for any writer and while it is geared towards the novel would be useful for any long form writing. this is a fantastic product." jessica, "i just want to let you guys know that i am in love with my experience with dabble. i look forward to writing just to see my stuff laid out in front of me." anna, "dabble remains my new favorite thing. i spent last night trying out every browser-based novel-writing tool in existence. and i'm back here with dabble this morning. :)" doug, "so far it has been wonderful it motivates me to take things one step at a time with creating my first novel" mariah, "i love what you are doing and have already signed up to continue past the free trial. this product gives me so much flexibility and peace of mind. just knowing if my computer goes belly up that my work is safe is an enormous thing. so thank you and i can't wait for the goal tracker" terri, ready to dabble.

Start writing now with a 14-day free trial that comes with access to all Premium features. Lifetime plans and student discounts available.

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The choice of writers on a publishing track. Save 20% with an annual subscription.

Let your story unfold.

Our latest articles:.

Struggling to come up with a fresh idea for a science fiction story? Wake up your imagination with these unique sci-fi writing prompts.

Could you boosts your book's earning power and build a bigger following by publishing in foreign markets? The answer is... complicated. Here's everything you need to know about going global.

A character flaw is a fault, limitation, or weakness that can be internal or external factors that affect your character and their life.

A quick look at Dabble's latest update and the many splendid new features.

The Best Writing App for Authors and Novelists

Start your book, plot your screenplay, write your papers, organize your manuscripts, and export it for publishing - all in one place.

Organize and Plot Your Manuscripts Easily

Leave your word processor in the dust. Spend less time planning and organizing documents. Spend more time growing your ideas into books, novels, and screenplays.

Organize Quickly with Drag and Drop

Order and reorder your sections, outlines, chapters, and elements without the hassle of copying and pasting.

On Screen Sidebar for Notes, Goals , and more

Quickly access notes, elements, goals, comments, and more from the sidebar. Everything on one screen means uninterrupted writing.

The   Boards

No more moving files, text, and post-its to organize your manuscripts. Get a god's-eye view of your writing. Intuitively drag and drop to plot. Manage your manuscript elements . Compile your research . All in one place.

See how the boards work

Find out more about the different Boards

No Credit Card Required

LivingWriter +     (100% Optional)

We believe great writing comes from an authentic human experience. But we do believe AI can assist you in writing and barreling through creative blocks.

Our AI Outline Generator helps you structure your books effortlessly. It offers a range of templates from Hero's Journey to Romancing the Beat, to Screenplays and Academic theses. It provides a guided approach to organizing your narrative, ensuring that your stories and books are well-structured and coherent. You can feed the Outline Generator as little or as much information as you want and it will give you a plot structure and outline specifically tailored to you and your elements, with your chosen template.

Our AI does not and will never store your data, it is deleted on every session. Your data will never be used to train our AI.

Smart Text and Auto-suggest

You won’t find this in any other writing app.

LivingWriter stores all your elements and auto-suggests them in your manuscript.

As you type any character names, location, objects, etc. our editor will auto-suggest your elements.

Clicking on your elements will allow you to quickly access notes and other info for each element.

Plot Quickly with Time-Tested Manuscript Outlines

You can use the same outlines used in world famous stories and movies right inside LivingWriter. We'll lead you through each step with detailed instructions.

With our AI Outline Feature, you can even use these templates to get assistance creating a narrative just from basic ideas you haven’t fleshed out yet!

No other writing app out there will do that for you.

The outlines include, the Three Act Structure, The Hero's Journey, The Story Circle, Romancing the Beat, and many more!

See All Available Outlines

Intuitive Writing Goals and Stats

Writing goals helps you create a vision for your manuscripts. Visually seeing your goals will make a difference in your writing pace. There's no novel writing software that shows you your goals as beautifully as we do. Goals and deadlines don't have to be scary, they can be motivating!

Chapter Goals

Quickly add and update word count goals per section of your manuscript

Easy integration and support for National Novel Writing Month

Manuscript Goals

Beyond word counts, you can add deadlines to your manuscript to keep yourself on track

Session Goals

Track your word counts automatically per writing session

Keep everything in one place. Your plot, research, and elements.

With the Plot Board, you get an intuitive, modern way to organize your plot. Simply drag and drop plot points, elements, and any other plot data you want into the board. Watch your manuscript map come to life in a clear, visual way.

Outlines Board

With the Outline Board, you get an intuitive, modern way to view your manuscript. Simply drag and drop anything inside the board to rearrange your book , change up your plot or just marvel at how much you've written so far.

Research Board

With the Research Board, you can add research sections for each topic in your book. In each section you can add files, images, notes, documents, and more. Simply drag and drop to arrange and rearrange.

Elements Board

With the Element Board, you can see all the elements in your manuscript for quick editing in detailed and simple views. In addition, you have access to freeform element boards to create family trees, branching timelines, and anything else you can imagine!

Tailored To Your Tastes

LivingWriter comes in both light and dark modes. You can easily switch between them with one click. This will come in handy when you're on a writing binge at night and your eyes start to hurt. You can keep using the best writing app in the world straight through to sunrise. In addition, LivingWriter offers various color theme options so you can customize the application to look the way you want it to.

Cloud Based So Your Creativity Doesn't Have to Stop

Many writing apps out there don't link to the cloud, so you're stuck working on just one device. But we know that writing novels online , and on any device is the future. LivingWriter doesn't lock your imagination to one place. With iOS/Android/MacOS and Windows apps completely synced to the web version, write wherever and whenever.

Integrated With

Get it all out there or Share it in pieces

You're midway through your thrilling murder mystery, but you get the feeling it's not suspenseful enough. Don't worry. LivingWriter is the only novel writing software with easy sharing and co-authoring features. Share your manuscript for just viewing or allow editing.

Share Specifically

With one click of a button share your whole book or individual chapters with your friends or an editor.

Share Everything

Your notes for your chapters and elements can be shared as well.

Seamless Exports of Your Manuscripts

We make it easy to export your manuscripts in any format you’d like. Currently we offer PDF, DOCX, direct to Google Drive and Dropbox, as well as Amazon Manuscript (which gives you Amazon Manuscript sizes to send direct to Amazon KDP). Export your entire manuscript, just your elements, notes, or specific chapter, easily and intuitively.

Seamless Imports Of Your Existing Work

Wrote half of your book already? All good. Import your existing manuscripts from other programs with a couple of clicks, and see how much easier it is to finish your second half on LivingWriter. If you're coming from other writing apps like Scrivener, don't worry. You'll be able to pick up on LivingWriter right where you left off.

No Lagging , No Matter The Length

Other writing programs weren't meant to hold your 100,000 word masterpiece. You’d have to split your book up into separate docs to keep it from loading forever. With LivingWriter, each chapter and subchapter is self-contained, meaning a speedy load of your whole manuscript every time.

Never hit save again

Even if your laptop decides to have a meltdown, rest assured that your work is safe.

LivingWriter automatically saves every letter you type. Writing software that's cloud-based is the future!

Your work gets saved constantly, safely, into our Amazon Cloud Infrastructure and then we back it up for you every 10 minutes.

Our Amateur Authors and Published Authors Love

I wish I had known about LivingWriter back when I started writing! The ability to keep all my character names, ages, descriptions, etc. all organized in LivingWriter would have saved me sooooo many hours.

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You’ve Found The Best Writing App!

Your work is safe.

LivingWriter works on an infinitely scalable Amazon AWS structure. No downtime or data loss ever.

Amazing Customer Service

Our staff are dedicated to improving your writing experience. Get in touch with us 24-7 to let us know how we can make your life easier.

Constantly Evolving

We've got a roadmap, but we're also always implementing new features suggested directly by our loyal writers. We're dedicated to your success. Our goal is to be the best writing app for you.

View our Roadmap

Writing Software For Fiction, Non-Fiction And Beyond!

The best writing app for fiction.

Most of our writers are spinning up fantasy, romance and science fiction stories. We've made it easy to get all your creativity and fictional elements into LivingWriter. No writing app does this better than we do.

The best writing app for non-fiction

When it comes to non-fiction we have templates for memoirs, biographies, self-help books and more. We've already had six (that we know about) self-help books published after being written on our platform!

Best writing app for world-builders

No other writing app or novel plotting software gives you the freedom that LivingWriter does. With our smart elements, beautiful board and intuitive organization, you can have your entire world built before putting down your first word.

Best software for screenwriting

You no longer have to use programs like Final Draft to write your screenplays. LivingWriter allows you to use your chapters, subchapters, and scenes with intuitive screenplay formatting. All in one writing software.

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The Best Free Book Writing Software To Write Your New Book

If you want to write a book, you might be looking for free book writing software. But what’s the best software to write a novel?

You have many choices now for book writing programs specifically designed for the long task ahead of you.

Writing software for novelists includes tools and features that will help you organize and manage the individual elements of your manuscript.

For new authors, you can choose from many free novel writing software programs to get you started on your book.

You need the right tools to write a book

Many new writers and authors start out using a word processor such as Microsoft Word, iA Writer, or Google Docs.

But word processors are not the best software to write a book because they are not designed to help you with a long creative writing project.

If you plan to write fiction or nonfiction, you might consider dedicated novel writing software.

Word processing, spreadsheets, email managers, and a desktop publisher are for business and administration.

They are not the best programs for creative thinkers and the book writing process.

These tools are tools primarily designed to write a letter, a business proposal, or a report.

What are the alternatives to using word processing software?

You want to write a book or a novel, and there is plenty of free book writing software for beginners.

You can choose between software programs you can install on your computer or online apps you use in a browser.

A good book writing app will help you manage your writing project.

Dedicated book writing programs will assist you a lot with your research notes, file management, event tracking, character development, and, of course, your writing.

Take a look at the many choices you have for your new book project.

Choose the best book writing software

“I want to write a book.”

Okay, then, let’s get you started with the best writing apps for the job of writing a novel.

When you decide to write a book, you want a writing program designed for the task.

Look in an app store for a distraction-free writing program (yes, no social media!).

You want to be able to stay focused and concentrate all your energy on writing your book.

There are a lot of paid writing software packages available for authors.

But, some, like Ulysses, Vellum, and even Word, can all cost you a lot of money.

Are you a book writer and just starting on your project of writing your book?

Then there are many free writing software alternatives and editing software that you can try.

There is always a short learning curve when you start using new software programs.

It’s better to spend your time and not your money when you learn how to use a new writing program.

But the applications in this article are easy to learn how to use and set up for writing your new book.

What you need in free book writing software and apps

Writing a book is a long-term project.

That’s why a non-fiction or fiction writer needs software specifically designed for the task.

The main feature of a good book writing program is that you can write chapter by chapter. Some offer scene-by-scene and also track your story development.

Writing a novel is a step-by-step process. A good writing program will allow you to write in these stages.

You also want to keep notes about your characters, events, and, if possible, mind maps and record a timeline.

An auto-save function is also advisable. It will keep your manuscript stored and saved securely.

Also, check if you can save your work on a cloud drive. Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud are good options for extra backup security.

Another feature that is important to many writers is to have a distraction-free mode.

Or at least one that reduces the clutter on your screen while you write in a text editor. Sometimes, a plain text editor is all you need.

It takes a long time to write a book

Books are long-form writing. Working on one huge, long lump of text in one document is cumbersome. It is also prone to file and save errors.

It really is an unsafe way to write a book. The chances of something going wrong technically are very high. This is especially true with Word.

Apps for writing books are usually for desktops. But sometimes a phone app is available.

But some offer an iPad iOS app that can be a great option when you are traveling or want to get out of the house.

When you try the book writing software and online apps below and start writing, you will immediately notice the difference.

You will understand why writing a book needs a totally different approach.

Let’s get you started on the right foot but with software at the right price tag. Free.

Here is a selection of nine web-based and open-source free book writing software, programs, apps, and tools.

There are also details later in the article about four free trial writing software programs, especially suited to more experienced authors.

9 Free book writing programs

My list of free apps and software for writing books is provided as a resource guide only .

It is certainly not a recommendation or review of any of the programs on the list. If I have reviewed a program, there is a link to my full review.

As with most free applications, there will be some limitations or drawbacks.

However, in my testing of the apps below, there are some that offer quite useful features for free.

You can investigate the free options below, but you will need to decide which one may work best for you and your writing needs.

1. Novlr (Free)

Novlr is a free novel writing app that helps you get your story out of your head and onto the page.

It’s got all the features you need to stay organized, motivated, and productive without all the clutter.

You can break your novel into chapters, take notes, track your word count, and set goals.

With the free version, you can export to docx or share your chapters or full manuscript.

Novlr also has a distraction-free mode that helps you focus on your writing. You can also choose dark mode if you prefer.

If you’re looking for a simple, effective way to write your novel, then Novlr is definitely worth trying.

The free plan offers all the essential tools to write a book.

2. yWriter (Free)

I have to include yWriter because it was developed by a writer, Simon Haynes.

He explains the reason for going to all the trouble to create this software, and it should resonate with many writers.

“I really struggled with my first novel. I wrote slabs of text into a big word processor file, and I just couldn’t make sense of the whole thing at once. No real overview, no easy jumping from scene to scene, nothing.”

It is a great explanation of why word processors are not designed for writing fiction.

The key feature of yWriter is that it breaks book writing into chapters and scenes. When writing a book, this is a must-have feature.

It also comes with the ability to build characters and locations.

3. Manuskript (Free)

Manuskript is a feature-rich book writing tool.

It has an outliner, word count, and distraction-free mode. It also has a novel assistant to help you. With it, you can develop characters using the snowflake method.

You can also keep track of notes about your characters, the plot, events, and places in your story.

These tools will certainly help improve your writing.

It is well worth a try for a new author.

4. Sigil (Free)

Sigil is open-source, free software that is well-regarded for producing e-books in epub format.

In this respect, it is similar to, if not even better than Calibre .

It has multiple views, including book view, code view, and preview, as well as a WYSIWYG editor.

It also has a Table of Contents generator with multi-level heading support.

There is a metadata editor as well as a spell check with default and user dictionaries.

It also supports the import of EPUB and HTML files, images, and style sheets.

5. Reedsy Book Editor (Free)

The Reedsy book editor is a great free online writing tool for authors.

You can write, format, and export your book to epub for ebooks and pdf for print books.

If you have already started writing your book, you can import a Word docx file.

It’s easy to add images and endnotes, and the program also helps you create your table of contents and copyright pages.

Unlike a word processor, the Reedsy editor organizes your book in sections, so it’s easy to navigate to chapters or other parts of your manuscript.

It is a fully featured online editor that has all the tools you need to write and format your book ready for publishing.

6. Wavemaker (Free)

Wavemaker Novel Writing is a free web app, so you can use it on any device.

You can organize your story using timelines, use planning boards, and it even has a snowflake tool.

Like many other apps, it comes with a dark mode option and distraction-free writing.

Another plus is that even though it is a free app, it doesn’t contain ads.

It has a helpful getting started page, plus plenty of video guides to help you learn how to get the most from the app.

7. Bibisco (Free)

Bibisco is open-source software. It is specifically designed for writing a novel.

It has all the elements you will need. These include character development and tracking.

There are chapter and scene organization as well as note-taking.

Everything you need to write a novel in one free software package. Bibisco is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

8. Focus Writer (Free)

FocusWriter  has one key attribute. It is about total distraction-free writing.

It has many options you need to set things up for your writing your book.

But it has a hide-away user interface that lets you concentrate on the one big thing you want to do. Stay focused and write.

Forget about menus, toolbars, drag and drop or copy and paste with this app.

There is all focus mode with nothing between you and your words.

It is very user-friendly, free, and available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.

9. Shaxpir (Free and Premium)

For a dedicated book or novel writing app, Shaxpir really packs a lot into its free version.

With the Manuscript Builder, you can use drag-and-drop tools to rearrange any part of your manuscript.

You can move and change the order of scenes or chapters, so you can work on structures that work for you.

It’s easy to set up writing goals and track your progress. You can also make specific notes about your characters, places, and events.

There is also the facility to add your margin comments as well as collect any concept art.

It also comes with its own in-built spellchecker.

For free software designed for writing books, Shaxpir offers you a huge range of features.

It is available for PC and Mac users with an option for cloud access.

3 Free trial book writing software programs

1. scrivener (free trial).

Scrivener is well-known as the best book writing software program for screenwriters and authors.

It comes with a corkboard, an outliner, side-by-side viewing, word count targets, and a full-screen editor.

There are also print, export, and publishing tools. It has everything a writer could possibly need.

Scrivener is a top-quality premium book writing program. It has everything you will need from the first to the final draft.

However, there is a 30-day free trial period offered by Scrivener.

But it is counted by the days that you use the software. If you use it every second or third day, your trial period will last for 60 days or more.

Scrivener is available to download for both PC and Mac.

2. The Novel Factory (Free trial)

The big feature of The Novel Factory is the Roadmap.

It puts together tested techniques from leading novelists.

It breaks down writing a novel into small tasks so beginners can learn the craft of writing.

The Locations tab allows you to take down details for your locations.

It includes multiple images to help your inspiration. It helps you to consider all of the senses in your descriptions to build an immersive story world.

In the Characters tab, you can see your characters in an overview. Or you can open each one to see all the details.

These include the introduction, basic information, your questionnaire, viewpoint synopsis, as well as your history and notes.

Once you’ve written your long synopsis, you have the option to automatically generate scenes directly from it.

Adjust where each scene breaks, and all your scenes will be created automatically. Then you can get on with writing your first draft.

Unlike some other book writing tools, the Novel Factory doesn’t need hours of learning. It’s intuitive from the very first time you open it.

The Novel Factory is available in an online version that works with all operating systems.  There is also a desktop version for PC only.

3. Ulysses (Free trial)

Ulysses is a Mac and Apple-only application.

It works with a unified library that holds everything you’ll ever write a book.

The features are designed to manage writing projects of any size or ambition. You can write notes, blog posts, or a whole novel.

It has all the tools you need for writing, with the main focus on getting the words down.

Ulysses can export to PDF and Word files as well as ebooks. All totally formatted and styled. You can also export to HTML for use anywhere on the web.

You can even publish to WordPress and Medium from within the app.

Everything is just a click away, with on-the-fly switching of styles and a live preview built right in.

Ulysses operates and syncs on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It is the ideal writing software for Apple users.

There are lots of choices in the list of free book writing software, programs, and apps above.

I’m sure you’ll find that at least one of these free novel writing software programs and apps will help you write and publish better.

Some will help you overcome writer’s block and be more organized no matter what your writing style is.

You should also use an efficient and reliable online grammar checker.

The Hemingway Editor is a good free choice. It will keep your use of adverbs, passive voice, and repeated words under control.

Then you are going to be writing more and better every day.

Forget about office applications that are designed for administrative tasks.

Learn how to write a book with tools specifically designed for creative writing and maximizing your writing time.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are many fine premium apps that come highly recommended.

But they are often more suited to professional writers, content writers, and writing blog posts.

You don’t need to make a big investment in book writing software for novels.

If you are just getting started moving away from Word and Google Docs, there are many free choices.

Try a few of these free writing apps and see which one works best for you. They can all help you write a better book or novel.

It might not turn you into a bestselling author overnight. But you never know, do you?

Related reading: 10 Free Book Publishing Software And Tools For Self-Publishing

About The Author

Derek Haines

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23 thoughts on “the best free book writing software to write your new book”.

Manuskript works well for me! installs on linux and on windows. bit fiddly to install but works well. very helpful and guiding. haven’t found a backup utility yet so exporting text for now. Tried quoll earlier but not so impressed. Quoll was too buggy.

Plot factory has been taken down, but was perfect for my needs. Currently I’m searching for a writing app with similar functionalities including the benefits of audio, useful for teasing out complex sentences. Does this app use audio to preview written work?

Thanks in advance

As someone just starting out trying their hand at writing, I will say I have found a lot of useful information on this site and wish I had found it before I started putting “pen to paper.”

Probably like most people trying to write for the first time, I’ve started with the tools at hand: MS Office. One app in MS Office that seems to get overlooked is OneNote.

The best way I can explain OneNote is it is a “jack-of-all-trades” scratch pad. I am currently using it to make various notes about plot, synopsis, character details, and other things of the short stories I’m writing.

Like Word, its not the best tool for the job. However, it seems to be functional for a writing assistant while I look at some of the other tools and find one that best suits me.

What are your thoughts on the Writer’s Café software?

as a novice in book writing{ just getting my thoughts together on how to start} I must appreciate the input f all here. The advice on the writing software is critical, so is the feedback from those like me, who need an easier way forward. I particularly was concerned of how to track my words, page them, and hold together my creativity long enough to put it down to words! Good luck to all writers

I’d also put in a plug for Write it Now. The trial version doesn’t let you save, but it’s a great way to kick the tires and see how it works. I’ve used both it and Scrivener, and WiN has one thing Scrivener doesn’t: Timelines. It also manages characters and locations better than Scrivener. Scrivener is great for large, fluid projects (I’ve got one in a single file that contains multiple novel-length pieces and another section with over 10 short stories), and has more flexibility if you want to really interlink stuff and go all-out.

I want to start writing my book Pain of the hart m first boo I need to no how to get started .

You can read this article to help you get started. https://justpublishingadvice.com/how-to-write-a-book-and-enjoy-writing-it/

But you should start by tidying up your writing, even in online comments. I think you mean that your first book will be called Pain of the Heart.

The worldcradle link is incorrect; its a dot org site instead.

Thanks for letting me know. I have corrected the link. But it is strange that Wordcradle changed from a .com to .org address without a redirect.

Has anybody tried OnlyOffice? It looks very good.

I write poems . Looking for a booklike with flying pages where to download one by one each poem. My language is spanish. Thank you! Lewis

I downloaded Shaxpir yesterday and got a few hundred words in. My computer restarted itself for an update and I lost everything. As far as I can tell, you can’t manually save with Shaxpir (at least not at the moment) and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how it saves otherwise. Just a heads-up to anyone thinking about that one.

I’ve given up on Microsoft since they stopped me from using their latest Version of MS Office by closing my account after I tried unsuccesfully to register the damned thing for use… So now I use Open Office and LibreOffice. I’m editing one book on Open while writing the squal to my latest sci-fi novella The Magisters: Book One on Libre…

There is one all-round Book production program out there for decades called OPEN OFFICE , a more than equal package vs. Microsoft Office. They both have a Word component, and the Open Office version Word program is amazing. Of course, all serious would be Novelists need to be using Dragon Naturally Speaking by Nuance and it works in Version 5.3. beautifully, onIy doesn’t work in other versions, or Libre Office Word.

I’ve downloaded Grammarly and ProWritingAid of the free writing apps, but how, with the free apps, do I go about checking a complete manuscript? Nor do I see page numbers to keep check on which page I am. Reception here is practically non-existent – none of the writing apps can be used offline. Any advice please? Lastly, if I want to improve or enlarge Word Thesaurus that can be used offline and incorporated into the Word Thesaurus, any ideas please.

Hi Kasha. Free versions always have certain limitations. That’s why they are free. Yet they still offer a lot of functionality. But you can’t expect to have unlimited access to all the pro tools for free for a long complex manuscript.

Thanks for the information, I am very motivated to get started on my book project!.

Just getting started. Thank you for writing this article.

This was an excellent post, as it’s always good to see the new products on the market and get some evaluation of them. And as always, it confirms to me that writing in ordinary wordprocessing with judicious use of styles, page breaks, and grammar checker set to casual, works just fine for me. Thank goodness we are all different!

Surely, the same risk applies, whichever programme you use? Do any of these programmes save your work independently, or would we have to do it?

Have fun choosing, Vivienne!

Brilliant. I had no idea there was free software for creative writing. now I just have to choose between them. I like the idea of Wordcradle with the index cards. That would be most useful, I think. I also like the idea of Manuskript. Thank you for this insight.

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Privacy Overview

Best free writing app of 2024

Bring your words to life with the best free writing apps

Best overall

Best for markup, best word alternative, best word processor, best for mac, best online.

• How we test

The best free writing apps serve up more than just text tools - they also offer betters ways to manage and organize all your ideas, outlines, and projects. 

1. Best overall 2. Best for markup 3. Best Word alternative 4. Best word processor 5. Best for Mac 6. Best online 7. FAQs 8. How we test

Like the best free word processors , writing apps help you get your thoughts on the page without breaking the bank (or your train of thought). But we’ve also made sure they’ll make it easier to save, share, and sync all your documents and keep them safe, whether you need a desktop writing app for work, school, or play. 

If you struggle to stay focused, we’ve tested some of the best free writing apps come with distraction-free layouts or gamification challenges to keep you in the zone. We’ve also reviewed those built for professional document creation, with advanced business features such as speech-to-text transcription and online collaboration tools. 

Our picks cover the best apps for writing on the web, Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS - so you’re always ready whenever and wherever creativity strikes. 

Scrivener: best writing software for authors Scrivener is packed with all the features a novelist needs, helping you track plot threads, store notes on characters and locations, structure your work and (most importantly) get some serious work done. It's not a free writing app like the tools below, but it's well worth the investment if your budget will allow it.

The best free writing app of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

1. FocusWriter

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

FocusWriter helps writers combat one of their biggest challenges: distractions. One of the best free writing software tools out there, it's specifically designed to let you just concentrate on your writing. 

The stripped-back interface is deliciously sparse - ideal for when you just need to get your head down and write - and not dissimilar to a moderately powerful version of Notepad, featuring support for TXT, basic, RTF, and ODT files. 

Even the toolbar is hidden until you actually need it. Just swoop your cursor to the top on the screen to reveal a barren menu, from basic formatting to themes and timers.

Features are light within the software, but FocusWriter isn’t made for heavy editing sessions. It’s designed to make the act of writing flow seamlessly onto the page. 

Elsewhere, the writing app boasts the ability to add themes and your own background images, which can help you stay motivated. 

The Daily Progress tool is a sweet extra, adding Duolingo-style gamification that lets you track your daily writing streak. For when it’s oh-so-easy to slip onto social media when you can’t find the perfect word, it’s a nice way to keep you within the app. 

Available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, the writing software also comes as a portable download, no installation required. So, you can pop it on a USB stick and plug it into any computer you’re working on. 

Read our full FocusWriter review .

• ^ Back to the top

2. WriteMonkey

WriteMonkey is another piece of free writing software that cuts down on the clutter to deliver uninterrupted writing sessions. 

The free word processor, cleverly described as zenware, is unbelievably pared back compared to more traditional writing apps. 

There’s very little in the way of distracting ‘screen furniture’, which means you’re better positioned to concentrate on the writing process. And absolutely nothing else. 

But don’t let that stripped-back approach fool you. As one of the best free writing apps, WriteMonkey is still rich with the sort of core features that matter to writers. 

However, most options are hidden in a context menu (so you’ll need to right-click to view it). It also only supports TXT files, which may limit those looking to read, write, or edit across multiple formats. It is, at least, a portable download, letting you take it wherever you need.

If you’ve enjoyed Markdown, the simplified text-editing language that lets you format, annotate, classify, and link as you type, then great. WriteMonkey’s inner workings will instantly chime. 

First-timers should spend a little time with this free writing software, to uncover that intuitive simplicity. 

Read our full WriteMonkey review .

3. LibreOffice Writer

Writer, the open-source, free writing software, serves almost all general writing needs.

LibreOffice is a near-perfect example of free office software - a familiar, feature-rich take on the office suite. What the veteran software package lacks in Microsoft polish (its interface is undeniably old-fashioned, for starters), it makes up for in its price-point: free. For that, you get access to six tools: Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, Math, and Writer. 

Earning it a slot on our list of best free writing apps is the fact that LibreOffice Writer packs the full editing toolbox. 

This isn’t just a note-taking app for staving off distractions when you’re deep in the zone; it’s for when you’re in pure writer-mode. 

If you’re at all proficient with Microsoft Word, you won’t have any problems using the Writer software. Layouts and functions are almost identical, and there’s support for DOC and DOCX file types, making it efficient to switch out of the Microsoft garden.

This free writing app is ideal if you’re hunting for a tool that almost perfectly replicates the Word experience without the cost. 

Read our full LibreOffice review .

4. Microsoft Word

When it comes to word processors, Microsoft Word is probably the baseline against which all others are compared. It’s the one most of us use at school, home, and work. It’s familiar, comfortable - and it’s available free on the web and mobile devices. 

That may not be the best way to write your masterpiece (unless you’ve hooked up a Bluetooth keyboard). But it’s a great way to jot down ideas on-the-go. When we tested the browser-based version we found it could be a bit slow at first, and we were typing faster than the words appeared on screen. This settles down (mostly) after a minute or so. 

Microsoft’s free writing apps on Android and iPhone had no such issues. Using these was velvety smooth. We especially appreciated the option to switch between mobile view and desktop view, so we could gauge how the document would appear in full-screen. 

As with Google Docs, you’ll need to sign up with a Microsoft account. And, like Google, that also lets you use free versions of PowerPoint, Excel, and the like. While Word offers one of the best free writing app experiences, there’s no denying that the paid-for upgrade is superior, offering more tools, and a true desktop app. 

Read our full Microsoft Word review .

Author promises to make it easier to ‘think, write, and cite’. It’s a promise capably delivered, with a clean interface and bags of writing features designed to make it easy to go from first draft to final copy. 

If you're an Apple user in search of the best free writing apps on macOS, this one demands your attention. 

Concept Maps is one of the best features. It’s a great mind-mapping tool to visualize and lay down all your thoughts while they’re fresh in your head without constraint. You can worry about whipping them into shape later. 

Students and report writers will appreciate Author’s ‘fast citing’ tools - speeding up assignment-writing by correctly adding and formatting citations, references, and contents. 

A paid-for upgrade of the writing software that offers exporting options is available. However, unless you need automatic formatting on export, you can stick with the free version. 

6. Google Docs

Google Docs is a great free writing platform for any writer. It’s an extremely clean, quick word processor available in the browser, on desktop, and phone and tablet apps. So, you can take notes wherever inspiration strikes. 

Docs is more or less Google’s spin on Microsoft Word. The interface is a bit more simple than the professional office software - although it’s no less powerful. 

You’ll find heaps of writing tools, including a pretty accurate speech-to-text transcription tool (just enunciate and don’t talk too fast). Keyboard shortcuts are very well-supported. 

For best results, you’ll need an internet connection, though documents can be used offline. They’ll be synced, and in our experience, that happens swiftly behind the scenes. 

To take advantage of the free writing app, you’ll need a Google account, which may be a deal-breaker for some - but that also opens up the rest of the Google-stuff in the Google-sphere, such as Sheets, Slides, and . With a free account, you get 15GB of storage, which should be more than enough for word documents. A Google One subscription upgrades your storage space, amongst other things. 

Additionally, Google Docs is great if you want to collaborate with one or more other writers. Just be warned to stay in Google Docs for that, because exporting the data into Word or other writing applications can result formatting errors.

Read our full Google Docs review .

Best free writing app: FAQs

What's the difference between a writing app and an ai writer.

AI writers vs writing apps - what's the real difference?

Artificial intelligence is growing in a big way - and when it comes to writing, it's ChatGPT that's been snatching all the headlines of late, with its ability to generate short- and long-form content based on user prompts.

Generally, an AI writer will write your content for you, based on its current learning (although often without 'understanding' the context). A writing app simply lets you write your way, in your own voice. 

Some platforms, such as Canva , have even integrated AI into its Canva Docs and Canva PDF Editor services. However. its Magic Write tool acts as a writing assistant, serving up suggestions and ideas, leaving real writers to work their magic on the content. Though usually hiding in the back-end, you can also find AI integrated in other ways across other the best PDF editor apps (and even the best free PDF editor apps, too).

As always with AI-generated content, whether it's the written word or an artwork masterpiece, human involvement is usually necessary and always desirable. Even if you're using the best AI writers out there, editing and proofreading is essential to give the content accuracy and emotional resonance.

How to choose the best free writing app for you

When deciding which free writing app is best, start by figuring out what sort of writing you want to do. 

Do you need a handy tool for quick scribbles and jotting down ideas here and there, or are you using the writing software to write and edit an epic novel? Tools like FocusWriter and Write Monkey are great for getting thoughts on the page without friction.

It’s also worth considering if you need a writing app with a distraction-free design, so you can concentrate on what really matters to you. Again, FocusWriter performs admirably here, but as a result, you lose core typography and editing functions. Unlike LibreOffice, this isn’t the best Microsoft Office alternative if you need those tools. In that scenario, it may be worth considering looking at some of the best free office software , which includes MS Word-style apps, alongside other tools similar to Excel, PowerPoint, and so on. 

Access is an important factor when using your writing software. A tool like Scribus needs to be downloaded to your machine. Lightweight apps like FocusWriter, however, offer a portable download that can be downloaded to a USB and carried with you. 

Check what file formats your chosen writing app supports, too. While some let you create and edit the common DOC and DOCX files, others only allow TXT or RTF documents.

But most of all, it’s important to choose the best free writing app for your unique creative flow. 

How we test the best free writing apps

Testing the best free writing apps and software, we assess how easy it is to get your words down on the page with the least amount of friction. Portable writing apps rank high, because they let you use the program on whatever computer or laptop you’re using. 

We also look at performance for its intended audience. For distraction-free writing apps, do they really foster focus? For word processor-style software, does it offer good formatting and editing options? 

Most importantly, we expect to see free writing apps that are genuinely cost-free - no-one wants to stumble across hidden fees and charges in the contracts. 

We've listed the best laptops for writers .

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Steve is TechRadar Pro’s B2B Editor for Creative & Hardware. He explores the apps and devices for individuals and organizations that thrive on design and innovation. A former journalist at Web User magazine, he's covered software and hardware news, reviews, features, and guides. He's previously worked on content for Microsoft, Sony, and countless SaaS & product design firms. Once upon a time, he wrote commercials and movie trailers. Relentless champion of the Oxford comma.

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Edit all kinds of documents

Writer has all the features you need from a modern, full-featured word processing and desktop publishing tool. It's simple enough for a quick memo, but powerful enough to create complete books with contents, diagrams, indexes, and more. You're free to concentrate on your message, while Writer makes it look great.

Impeccable documents in just a few clicks

Your documents look better than ever when they're made with LibreOffice. You can choose and apply fonts that are on your computer, and set and customize styles for virtually every part of your document. With the AutoCorrect dictionary you can trap typos and spelling mistakes on the fly. The AutoCorrect dictionary checks your spelling as you type (it's easy to deactivate if you want to). If you need to use different languages in your document, Writer can handle that too.

LibreOffice helps you all the way through your document

Wizards takes all the hassle out of producing standard documents such as letters, faxes, agendas and minutes, and make short work of more complex tasks such as mail merges. Type more efficiently with AutoComplete, which can suggest commonly-used words and phrases to complete what you started typing, using the built-in dictionary and by scanning the documents you open. Document templates are shipped by default – there's no need to create complex documents, because we've built them in for you!

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