Quick Answer Scrivener for drafting, Vellum or Atticus for formatting, ProWritingAid for editing, Sudowrite or Claude for AI help. Pick one tool per job; stop shopping for the perfect app and finish the book. When people asked me about the best writing apps or software, I used to say, “Just use whatever you have and
For the past few years I’ve been studying the craft of writing better books, and found woefully few useful resources on how to actually plot, write and edit your book to increase engagement. Working with cowriters, clients and writing students, I’ve started collecting new strategies to check and improve your writing without paying a...
Quick Answer Free 24-chapter outline template for Google Docs — 4-act structure that avoids the saggy middle. Copy the template here. Need a free plotting template to help outline your novel? Want to write your book using Google docs? I’ve just created a detailed document you can copy to your own account and use to
Quick Answer If you only study three, make them Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t (Steven Pressfield), Plot Perfect (Paula Munier) and Write Your Novel From the Middle (James Scott Bell). Of the famous ones, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (Jessica Brody) is the one to plot with and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is
Doing NaNoWriMo this year? The organization shut down in 2025, but the 50,000-word challenge still works. Plan November with my NaNoWriMo 2026 prep page (free templates and tools), then come back here in December to edit. While you draft, my free word tracker logs your daily count and streak, no sign-up needed. Years of publishing
If you’re interested in publishing or self-publishing a book, you’ve probably got a lot of questions. There are so many tools, resources and services offering tips and information. How does it all work? How do you put a book together, get it out into the world, and get people to buy it? You might have
I’m writing a book on book marketing. It’s not exactly revolutionary, but after reading everything else available, I’ve realized a lot of advice for indie authors is outdated, disorganized or just plain wrong. Which is why most indie authors are terrible at promoting their own books. Since I’ve worked with hundreds of...
