As a writer and author, I’ve always looked for tools that facilitate the writing process and make it more user-friendly, intuitive, organized, or just plain easier. Of course, when I first started writing, I used Google Docs and Microsoft Word since those were the tools available at my disposal easily, but it turns out that there’s actually more writing software out there that are equally great or even better than Docs and Word. Of course, those two are still valid choices (and we’ll talk about that below), but I’ve decided to compile a list of the top ten best writing software for authors to help you find the one for you.
There are a lot out there, but I went with ones that I felt offered the most for writers from multiple standpoints. If you want more specific tools for world building, then you can check out this post on my blog where I talk about world building software for authors.
(Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission at no extra cost to you when you purchase through my links)
1. SCRIVENER
My all-time favorite writing software ever has to be, hands down, Scrivener. I use it nowadays for all my books and all my writing projects and it really has been a lifesaver for me.
I was first introduced to Scrivener when I was in 8th grade. We had an author visit my English classroom and she talked about Scrivener and how she uses it for all her books. I immediately knew that I had to get my hands on Scrivener.
Scrivener has some of the best features for writers on the market. The entire system is set up to service your needs as a writer, with tabs for research (including the ability to insert websites into your project file), character design, setting design, manuscripts with multiple parts, custom templates, and more.
The corkboard system is one of my favorite things about Scrivener because it gives you a good overview of what your book looks like with summaries on each card to help you contextualize your plot better.
I’ve written a guide on how to use Scrivener in-full, so you should go check that out.
PRICE
Scrivener has several pricing tiers, depending on what you need. If you need it only on Windows or only on Mac devices, it costs $79.99 CAD. The bundle costs $127.98 CAD, which lets you use it on both Windows and Mac devices.
If you are a student or work in academia, you can buy Scrivener at the education price tier for $67.99. The bundle for Mac and Windows costs the same for students.
You can also get a 30-day free trial for Scrivener if you’re not sure about using it just yet. You don’t have to input any credit card information or anything like that and it only uses up days in the trial so long as you open the app. So, if you open it one day and leave it for a week, you still have 29 days in your trial left.
If you’re interested, you can get Scrivener here.
PROS AND CONS OF SCRIVENER
Pros
- Available for Windows, Mac, and iOS
- All your notes, writing, and ideas are stored in one place
- Can format eBooks and paperback books alike
- Great for manuscript formatting to submit to agents as well
Cons
- Doesn’t allow real-time collaboration
- Can be difficult to learn how to use
2. ATTICUS
A relatively newer contender to the field is Atticus, an all-in-one writing software that has been making the rounds with authors all over the internet.
Atticus has become very popular quickly for its features, allowing you to write and format books in its software and even has templates that allow you to give your book a unique design to it. There’s also a custom theme builder in case you want something a bit more personalized to your style.
There’s headings, footnotes, the ability to have large print in your books, and so much more. It’s really a good tool for people who want to format books, but it’s also fantastic for writing books and formatting them too. You can also insert your current project into Atticus so that you don’t have to retype everything and all that.
PRICING
Atticus costs upfront $147 USD, but you get free updates for life, don’t have to pay any extra subscription fees, and have a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you didn’t really find that it suited your needs.
PROS AND CONS OF ATTICUS
Pros
- Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome
- Can format books easily and make them look professional
- Is an alternative to Vellum
Cons
- High upfront cost
- Not as complex as Scrivener for use in world building
3. GOOGLE DRIVE
I know that it seems like the more obvious answer here, but Google Drive really is a good option for writing books. This is mostly because of the folder system in Google Drive.
Google Drive is not the most complex system out there and it’s not made specifically to cater to authors, but it has a lot of features that are very helpful and it’s also super easy to use.
Firstly, Drive is free so long as you have a Gmail account, which I assume in this day and age, most people do. Furthermore, Drive lets you get access to the entire Google suite, which includes Sheets, Presentations, Docs, and more.
Google Drive lets you create folders and you can insert files of any Google app into your folder, so you can include a spreadsheet and your manuscript as well as insert images and files into that same folder.
PRICING
Technically, Google Drive is free, but there is a paid option for people who need tons of storage in Drive. I will say though, if you reach your Google Drive storage limit, you’re probably doing something wrong or you’re inserting too many massive videos or something.
Still, if you do end up needing the upgrade to 2TB of storage, you’re going to have to pay $15.60 CAD every month for a one year commitment.
PROS AND CONS OF GOOGLE DRIVE
Pros
- Easy to use
- Free for everyone with a Gmail account
- Full suite of productivity apps
- Can create folders for organization
- Allows for real-time collaboration
Cons
- Limited in scope for formatting books and documents
- Is not made for writing books, so lacks some important features and tools
4. MICROSOFT WORD
Another popular tool used by writers has been Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is basically the standard across businesses and academia, and has been used for a long time by most people. It’s a common tool that if you ask anyone, they’ve at least had some level of exposure to Microsoft’s tools.
Word is a software that lets you create documents, format documents, and more. People have used Word for writing anything from essays to articles to books, and I’ve personally used it before for formatting novels.
Word is probably one of the easiest tools to use if you’ve been using it for your whole life or you’ve had exposure to it in school or something like that.
My issue with Word though is that it’s certainly not perfect for writing books. It’s great for documents, but for books, it can be a hassle and it’s going to require a lot of trial and error. Meanwhile, there are other software out there that do all of what Word does and more.
Another issue with Word is that Word doesn’t really let you go beyond the linear style of writing. The easy thing with things like Scrivener is that you can work on any scene or any chapter you want when you want and you don’t have to go in-line,
PRICING
Microsoft Word can cost different prices depending on if you want more than Word or you just want Word alone. There is a subscription or a one-time price.
The one-time price for Microsoft Word is $159 CAD for one device. If you want the entire suite of Microsoft’s productivity tools, you get Word with Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and 1TB of cloud storage for $8 CAD per month.
PROS AND CONS OF MICROSOFT WORD
Pros
- Used by lots of people and can be used on nearly any device
- Real-time collaboration and editing with others
- Standard in the industry
- No surprises in your formatting
Cons
- Lacks tools that are helpful for authors and writers
- Doesn’t allow export to epub for eBooks
- Doesn’t provide the opportunity for working on different sections of books
6. PAGES
Pages is a software tool made by Apple for iOS and Mac devices. Pages can be used across Macbooks, iMacs, iPads, iPhones and more and comes automatically with Apple devices. You can format documents and do things like insert images, apply text styles and more. It’s pretty comparable with Google Docs and Microsoft Word.
Pages is less about formatting and more about stylizing and designing your document. It also doesn’t really have the same amount of tools that other software tools have. Still, it automatically comes with any Apple device you probably already own, and if you’re a big Mac user, you will find this easy to use because you can sync progress across your cloud.
PRICING
Apple’s Pages comes free with your device, so there is no cost to using it at all.
PROS AND CONS OF PAGES
Pros
- Comes with Apple devices
- Syncs across all your connected devices
- Allows comments
- Can make really nice pages
Cons
- Lacks tools for organization of ideas and help with writing
- Not really made for formatting documents much
7. yWRITER
yWriter is another software tool made specifically for authors by an author. It resembles Scrivener in its design strategy, with the software breaking up writing by chapters and scenes, letting you write in a disorganized fashion in case you have ideas but they don’t fit into the linear timeline just yet.
yWriter can also add things like characters, locations, lets you add multiple scenes per chapter and multiple characters per chapter and so much more. It’s also completely free, meaning that you can download it to your device and begin writing without worrying about having to pay anything.
yWriter does lack a few features that are available in things like Atticus or Scrivener, like no templates for screenwriting and it may not feel as smooth, but it’s still a very valid writing software that is very accessible for Mac and Windows laptops.
PRICING
yWriter is free, so there are no upfront or subscription costs involved.
PROS AND CONS OF yWRITER
Pros
- Completely free
- Made by an author
- Smooth and easy to learn
Cons
- Interface can be a bit complicated
- Doesn’t allow real-time collaboration
8. DABBLE
Dabble is an online writing tool that focuses on simplicity in being a writing software tool, giving you all the necessities without cluttering your UI. It includes a browser version, a plotting tool, a dark theme, lets you add prologues and epilogues easily, and recent updates have added book covers and even a thesaurus.
It has a very similar style to Scrivener, but doesn’t lock to a single device from a license, and is much simpler to learn and use compared to Scrivener, which can be complicated for first-time users.
However, Dabble is subscription based, which means that you’ll have to pay a monthly fee to use it and keep your writing in it. Still, with it being web based, you can sync your progress and write from anywhere easily without needing to lug around your laptop everywhere with you.
Check out Dabble if it does seem interesting to you!
PRICING
There are three tiers to Dabble, basic, standard, and premium. The basic tier is $7 USD per month, standard is $15 USD per month, and premium is $23 per month. I’ve included a screenshot that explains the differences between each tier below.
There is an option to pay annually though if you don’t feel like paying each month.
PROS AND CONS OF DABBLE
Pros
- Easy to use and learn
- Streamlined format
- Can be web-based, which makes working on-the-go easier
Cons
- Subscription model may be a hard sell for some
- Lacks book formatting options
9. LIVINGWRITER
Livingwriter is a great software tool for authors because of how user-friendly it is, easy to learn, and clean it looks. Livingwriter includes the option to create a blank manuscript or choose a template to work off of. It also splits the writing process into chapters, scenes and more, similar to how Scrivener does it. This makes the writing process much easier if you’re like me and find it hard to sometimes write linearly.
It also has a sidebar, which lets you create notes or descriptions of the chapter and scene you’re working on, allowing you to get a quick summary in case you’re reviewing something or want to remind yourself what that particular chapter was about.
You can create profiles for characters, drag and drop scenes or chapters if you want to move them, and organize your plot and more through the boards feature. The Story Elements is great because you can reference these things quickly as you’re writing by looking at the sidebar instead of clicking off of your current document.
Livingwriter does have a subscription price model and doesn’t include formatting options for books, which is included in other software on this list.
PRICING
Livingwriter has different pricing options. Firstly, there is a free trial for 14 days, there is a monthly billing option of $14.99 USD per month, and then there is an annual billing option of $144 USD per year.
If you don’t want to pay annually or monthly, you can buy a one-time price of $699, which is definitely among the steeper options on this list.
PROS AND CONS OF LIVINGWRITER
Pros
- Very easy to use
- Nice UI and look
- Provides lots of features for the disorganized writer in us
Cons
- Subscription pricing and a very high one-time payment fee option
- No book formatting
9. NOVELPAD
NovelPad is an online and offline writing software that lets you write with others, create your writing in chapters and scenes, plot out your story on a board with scene cards to let you move and replace elements, and more.
NovelPad makes it easy to learn the software, and includes great grammar editing through ProWritingAid so that you can proofread as you type and not worry about those pesky spelling mistakes we make while chugging coffee at 3 AM.
You can also set and track goals within the software as you’re working, which lets you see how on/off-track you may be with your novel. This is great if you have goals like writing a novel in one month (which is something I’ve talked about before) or something similar.
It’s also got a distraction-free formatting which lets you just focus on writing, planning, and creating your story.
PRICING
You can either pay $15 USD per month or $120 USD per year for Novelpad, which is pretty on-par with other writing software tools I’ve talked about on this list so far.
PROS AND CONS OF NOVELPAD
Pros
- Constant updates → it’s always improving
- Scene card design lets you drag and drop and plan your story out the way you want
- UI is easier to learn and use
- Work online and offline if you want
Cons
- Subscription pricing model
- Limit of 100 novels
- Lacks book formatting tools
10. NOVLR
Novlr is a unique writing tool that is not only made by authors, but is author-owned, which means that you can be one of the co-owners of the software in a collective.
The base Novlr tool itself is free to use, but there are paid tiers, which I’ll get into in a minute.
Novlr lets you set writing goals, write in a distraction-free environment, and is online, meaning that you can write your story from any device you choose. There are grammar and style checks built into the tool, so you can ensure that your work is top-tier as you’re writing.
It’s also super easy to use and doesn’t require tutorials or a learning curve to figure it out. You can also connect with proofreaders and editors in the app to get feedback on your work. However, Novlr doesn’t include all of the writing features and tools in things like Scrivener or Atticus, and there isn’t really a way to break everything down to scenes and microscenes like Dabble or Livingwriter.
However, it is a minimalistic tool that lets you just focus on writing and nothing but writing.
PRICING
Novlr has different pricing strategies, and I’ve included screenshots for you to look at them all. The starter is completely free and gives you up to five projects. Plus includes everything in Starter but also lets you get extra features like unlimited projects and an author website, which is $5 USD per month or $48 USD per year. Pro includes everything in the other two tiers with things like advanced grammar check, a proofreader, your own domain for an author website, and more and costs $18 USD per month or $168 USD per year.
There are also two other options if you want to be a co-owner as well. For $99, you become a co-owner of the tool. For $499, you become a co-owner and get lifetime access to Novlr pro, so you can gain some profit and have a say in how Novlr works.
PROS AND CONS OF NOVLR
Pros
- Minimalistic and clean, making writing easy
- Cloud based and online, so you can write from anywhere
- Neat features in the higher tiers
Cons
- Lacks more advanced tools in other writing software
- Subscription price model can add up overtime, making it not as cheap as other software on the list
Before you go, don’t forget to check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga and consider subscribing to my newsletter to get updates and more on what I’m working on, new posts, and more!