Every author has their tools of the trade and the truth of the matter is that there isn’t any correct way to write. There are no “magic tools” no matter what any company might say, however each writer’s tool has a flow and a set of features that you might vibe with. My best advice for determining which writers’ tools to spend your money on, is to figure out what works best for you.
However, in an effort to help you get started, here is what I use!
Scrivener
Scrivener, by Literature & Latte, is a word processing program that allows you to save projects directly to your computer, or the cloud in an easy, highly customizable way. The great thing about this app is that it can be as simple and straightforward or as complicated and in depth as you’d like.
The app offers a variety of templates that you can use when starting a new project if you don’t have any particular direction you’re looking to go, but also offers the option to just start a blank project. I won’t go too deeply into the different tools and options in the flexible interface because I think that the Scrivener website already does a really good job with that. Instead, I’ll just talk briefly about why I like it.
I got my license for Scrivener through a deal that was running the year I did NaNoWriMo, which I believe got me maybe $10 or so off the ticket price. However, the price itself is pretty reasonable at a one time payment of $60.
The great thing about this is that it is a lifetime license and there are no monthly or yearly subscription fees that you need to keep up with. As a self-published author just starting out, I understand the desire to keep your costs low. That said, I think that Scrivener is a really great choice, not only for the price, but also for the features themselves and I will never be going back to Google Docs ever again.
Atticus
I know that some people use Atticus as a writing platform, and you certainly can do that. However, I use Atticus exclusively as a formatting platform for my finished drafts. The major competitor to Atticus is a software known as Vellum, however, Vellum is exclusively for Mac users, whereas Atticus can be used with Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook.
The biggest selling point for me was that I didn’t have to switch to a Mac to format my book. As a PC and Android user, I didn’t want to open that can of worms for a myriad of reasons and was very grateful to find an alternative.
On top of that, Atticus is pretty significantly less expensive than Vellum, at $147 for eBook and Print formatting compared to Vellum’s $249. Like Scrivener, Atticus is a one time purchase without any monthly or yearly subscription fees and I’ve, thus far, used it to format all of my published books.
My favorite feature of Atticus is the “book preview” where you can see what the formatted version of your book would look like on a variety of devices including phones, tablets, Kindles, as well as physical books.
The Process
With all of the software options advertised to writers, it can seem daunting to get from draft to publishable final product, but it’s really not. Here are the exact steps that I follow.
1. Write the draft in Scrivener.
2. Compile the document as a PDF.
3. Upload the PDF into Atticus.
4. Format to your liking.
5. Export the file as a PDF and ePUB.
That’s it.
Like I previously said, there are going to be many different authors, with many different preferences for writing, but these are just what I use and have found to be a low cost, professional option that work well together.
If you’re an author and you use Scrivener or Atticus, let me know what you like about each one and if you use something else entirely, please comment as well! I’m always on the lookout for tools that will make my life easier without breaking my budget.
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