Writing books is not something that comes with a particularly standard format. Every writer will have their own preferences and their own way of doing things, and there are a lot of writers out there that will give you their own version of how things are done in their world. From writers who write their first manuscript in a notebook with a pen to writers who use tools like Scrivener (that would be me), there are lots of tools out there. However, one tool has definitely been popular since it first launched, and that is Google Docs. I actually started writing books on Google Docs when I was younger and I still sometimes write drafts there on the go. However, is Google Docs actually good for writing books? Well, let’s take a closer look.
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Pro: Google Docs is Very Accessible
One of the biggest advantages Google Docs has over other writing platforms is that it’s one of the most easily accessible ones out there. Starting a Google account is completely free and the Google productivity suite mirrors and resembles that of Microsoft, so it’s familiar in that sense. Additionally, Google Docs has a lot of help out there and is very easy to learn how to use.
Google Docs is also a cloud-based platform, which lets you write on almost anything that can connect to the internet. This is great for people who travel a lot or aren’t always at home at their desktop. I personally have used Google Docs when I was out of the house and I just had that random spark of inspiration.
There’s also the autosave feature which makes life easy because you don’t have to keep remembering to save the document yourself. I’m sure many of us remember back when Word didn’t have that option…
Google Docs also has revision history, which allows you to track every change you made to your document with the time and day you changed those elements. This is really important for those moments when you find that an earlier version of a scene is just better than after you’ve changed it.
Pro: Collaboration is Super Easy
Writing a book tends to be a pretty lonely activity. You write your book by yourself and you tend to plan your book by yourself as well. However, editing a book isn’t really a solo activity. If you were to edit your book by yourself, you may not notice things that stand out to your readers since it’s easy to overlook things we’ve written. Google Docs excels in this because it has built-in collaboration features and so you can share your document with beta readers (check out this post to learn more about beta readers) and you can also get real-time feedback.
You and another person can get on the document at the same time and basically take a look at what any issues may be and you’ll be able to fix these things right away instead of waiting on someone to send you a list of their feedback.
If you’re co-writing your book or you have contributors, then using Google Docs makes it much easier because they can write in the document with you instead of each person needing to make their own document. This way, nobody is going to be lost on what point the book is at. It’s honestly one of the best out there for collaborative work.
Pro: Docs is Simpler
I think some writing programs out there can get a bit complex for writers to deal with since they have so many elements to them that can be a bit distracting. Some people might actually benefit from the simplicity that Google Docs provides because it may be a more distraction-free environment. The interface in Google Docs is clean and everything is really easy to find and understand, which makes it a great tool to learn on your own as well.
Other programs like Scrivener and Dabble Writer might require a bit more instruction in how to use, which might be good for some people, but if you’re someone that finds these things difficult or even possibly intimidating, then Docs might be nice for you.
Pro: Offline Mode
Another pro that Google Docs has is that it includes an offline mode, which makes it great for writing books on the go. If you set your document to allow editing while offline, you don’t need to be connected to the internet to edit it. When you reconnect, Docs will just sync your work up as if you had been on an internet connection. I’ve had many scenarios where this was helpful and I think that it’s a bonus that Google Docs has.
However, there are other software that download straight to your computer like Scrivener where it is automatically offline so you’ll be able to write even without the internet. Still, for an easy and accessible program like Google Docs, having an offline mode is a major pro.
Con: Formatting is Limited
Although Google Docs is easy to use and very accessible, it still has limitations and one of the biggest limitations is the formatting features present in Google Docs. I wouldn’t say that Google Docs was created with the intention to write books on because it’s a lot harder to format books in Docs than something like Word. Scrivener isn’t the easiest either, but it has built-in features made specifically for authors that Docs just lacks.
Sure, you can create headers, footers, add page breaks, add page numbers, etc… but at some point, the more detailed and complex formatting options tend to fall apart in Docs. So, you can’t really put page numbering as easily for book formatting as you can in some other design software. Also, embedding images is harder and you can’t really do those cool book spreads that you see out there sometimes.
There are ways to get around this though. So, you can write your manuscript in Docs and then transfer it to another program for formatting. This might be a good solution, but formatting a book purely in Docs comes with challenges.
Cons: It’s Harder for Bigger Projects on Docs
Google Docs is great in that it has a folder system, but this can be cluttered and intensive to deal with. In Scrivener, you can easily move chapters around and change when things happen and it’s really easy to do this, but you can’t really do it as easily on Docs. If you write in a disorganized fashion like I do, you might find yourself unable to easily add chapter folders in Docs and things might be unorganized quickly. It’s not really made for supporting a large, complicated manuscript.
You can create Headings within your document which then allows you to create a table of contents on the side and thus you can jump between parts of your manuscript. This isn’t the best solution, but it’s a solution that can definitely work.
Is Google Docs Good for Self-Publishing a Book?
As a self-published author, I have done a ton of research on what it means to write books and format books and there’s a reason why I personally don’t use Google Docs for these purposes. I use it for writing drafts, ideas, and sometimes dumping world building lore when I’m not in the house, but I don’t use it for formatting.
I think Docs can get you through the initial stages of a manuscript, but when it comes to producing a final product that is ready for publication, it’s not really the best. If you’re self-publishing through platforms like Amazon KDP, you’re going to need specific formatting for certain things and Google Docs’ limited formatting just makes it harder to use sometimes. If you want to learn more about self-publishing platforms, check out this post!
There are many authors out there that write their book in Google Docs and then format it in something else like Scrivener, Vellum, InDesign, or another software. These programs are built to help authors produce professional quality designs and books. So, Google Docs is good up to a certain point for self-publishing.
Conclusion
So, is Google Docs good for writing books? The answer depends mostly on your writing process and what you value most in a writing tool.
If you value collaboration and the ability to write on the go, then Google Docs is a great choice for you. If you like the ease and simplicity of Google Docs or you’ve been using it for a long time, then it’s probably good to keep using it.
However, if you find that you need tools, organizational tools, the ability to move things around all the time, and formatting options that go beyond Docs’ basic ones, then you might want to look into another software. You can check out this post on my website about different writing software that I recommend.
At the end of the day, Google Docs is good, but it may not be enough to suit everyone’s needs.
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