If you have a Mac, you can download the desktop app, and it will integrate to most everything you use to write. 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. The Best Book Writing Apps Every Writer Needs on iPhone, iPad & Mac By Conner Carey on Mon, I’ve got recommendations for apps that will help you write your story in every part.
Writing a book is no cakewalk. I ought to know—I’ve done it nearly 200 times.
But plenty of quality tools help make this challenge easier.
The right book writing software can help you:
Software writing programs you may want to check out:
(Full disclosure: If you buy any of these, I get a small commission at no cost to you. But these tools have helped enough writers to where I would recommend them even if I didn’t get a dime!)
15 Book Writing Software Programs That Can Make Your Life Easier
Scrivener is the ultimate book-organization tool.
It allows you to view your notes, research, outline, and writing all in one place, and you can print your whole manuscript with the click of your mouse.
There’s a bit of a learning curve, but Scrivener comes with tutorials, and many other such aids are easily found online.
It may look overwhelming at first (I’m still learning it myself), but it’s worth the time and effort.
Just give yourself time to get familiar with the basics.
Pros:
Cons:
*I benefited from great teaching programs likeLearn Scrivener Fast, plus Scrivener itself comes with a built-in tutorial.
Price: $49 for Mac and $40 for PC
Click here to buy Scrivener.2. Google Docs
Google Docs is a great collaborative tool. My team and I are literally a thousand miles from each other, and we use this program virtually every day.
It’s a free, standard word processor that allows multiple people to work on the same document simultaneously. I’m working on this document in Google Docs right now.
Just as with Track Changes in Word, an agent or editor or accountability partner can help fine-tune your work-in-progress in Suggestion Mode. You accept or reject the suggestions, and you can both comment in the margin.
Other advantages:
Cons:
Price: Free
Click here to start using Google Docs.
Freedom allows you to temporarily block apps, websites, and social media across all your devices so you can focus on writing (don’t worry, people can still reach you in an emergency).
You can even schedule the app to work automatically when you need it most — when you’re writing.
If you’re like me, you’ll be glad for the freedom from online distractions where “just a few seconds” turns into hours of unproductive net surfing. Freedom can help you focus and increase your productivity.
And it works on all devices.
Cost: $6.99 per month, $29 per year, or a $129 lifetime fee.
Want to block distractions while you write?
Click here to get Freedom.
ProWritingAid offers grammar, style, and writing suggestions as you write—for you to accept — or reject — at the click of a button.
It integrates with the apps and programs you use most, like:
Other pros:
Con:
Price: $50 for 1 year, $75 for 2 years, $100 for 3 years, or $175 for life
I recommend trying the free version first.
Click here to get more info on ProWritingAid.5. Grammarly
Similar to ProWritingAid, Grammarly can help fine-tune your writing.
It automatically checks spelling and grammar, whether you’re writing a book or an email.
The premium version also:
Other pros:
Cons:
Cost: $29.95 per month, $59.95 per quarter, or $139.95 per year.
Try the free version first.
Click here to get Grammarly.6. Novel Factory
A creative writing software that guides you through the novel writing process.
Novel Factory prompts you to:
It offers:
Novel Factory is designed for Windows and is currently unavailable for Mac.
Cost: $39.99
Click here to start using Novel Factory.7. Hemingway Editor
Focuses less on grammar and spelling and more on writing style.
It highlights:
Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free if used on the Hemingway Editor website (you can then copy/paste into your document), $19.99 to purchase your own version.
Click here to start using Hemingway Editor.8. Evernote![]()
A note taking app that allows you to:
Cost: Basic Evernote free, Premium $7.99/month, Business $14.99/month
Click here to start using Evernote.9. yWriter
Designed by a writer for writers, yWriter is a word processor that helps organize your novel into scenes and chapters.
The program:
YWriter currently runs only within Windows.
Cost: Free
Click here to start using yWriter.10. Ulysses
A simple word processing software for Mac users.
Pros:
Con: does not assist in developing characters or plot.
Cost: App download free, subscription $4.99/month or $39.99/year
Click here to start using Ulysses.11. Vellum
Allows your to professionally format books for publication.
Available for Mac users only, the software is free, but you must purchase a package before exporting a file for publication.
Pros:
Cons:
Cost: $199.99 for publishing unlimited e-books, $249.99 for publishing unlimited e-books and paperbacks
Click here to start using Vellum.12. Focus Writer
A bare-bones word processor.
In full-screen mode, toolbars disappear until you scroll over them.
Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free
Click here to start using FocusWriter.![]() 13. Milanote
Hailed as “Evernote for creatives,” a visual story-telling tool for Mac users.
It enables you to:
Other Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Basic version free, premium version $9.99/month
Click here to start using Milanote.14. FastPencil
Offers tools for self-publishing.
Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free, with additional paid publishing packages
Click here to start using FastPencil.
…an all in one project management tool for your novel.
It acts as a word processor, organizer, and a creativity guide all at the same time.
For Outliners, bibisco allows creativity in your organization. You can interview your characters, create a timeline of events, and track your chapters in one place.
It works for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Pros:
Cons:
bibisco has a free version and a premium version that starts at 15 euro for a one-time purchase.
Click here to start using bibisco.
We’ve all have amazing stories to tell, but not everyone can pen down their thoughts in a captivating way. To make it big and 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 sometimes find myself struggling to come up with words or get those creative juices flowing.
If you’re currently in the same boat, keep reading. In this article, I’ll review 6 of the best book writing software ruling the market in 2020 (along with their pricing details).
Let’s dive right in.
The 6 Best Book Writing Software Online and Offline
Before delving into the list, I’d like to clear one thing.
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:
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the best 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:
All in all, Squibler can help with:
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, a Desktop Writing Software
I had used Scrivener before stumbling back on this idea to create a 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:
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:
3. Novlr, an Online Writing Software
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:
Another down-side of Novlr is that there aren’t any blog posts, videos, or community where you can learn more about writing.
Apple Books App For Mac
The experience won’t feel very 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:
4. Ulysses, a Mobile Writing Software
Ulysses is one of my favorite 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:
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:
5. Microsoft Word, a Desktop App
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:
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 356 for Business
Pricing is mentioned below:
Microsoft 365 for Enterprise
Pricing is listed below:
Enterprises can get a quote by contacting the sales team through the Microsoft 365 website.
6. Google Docs, an Online Writing Software
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 I need a place for my synopsis and notes.
Here are some of the many features it has to offer:
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:
What Makes Our Book Writing Software Different?
I noticed there was a HUGE market need for a more seamless software personalization and education. 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.
Best Free App To Write A Book On Mac
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 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 ThoughtsBest Mac App To Write A Booklet
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.
Best Book Writing Software Mac
And all things considered, Squibler is the only option that ticks all of those boxes.
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