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. (Updated May 2026.) I have been buying, testing, abandoning and re-buying writing software for over fifteen years. I have written 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 The three books every writer should own: On Writing by Stephen King, Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. (Updated May 2026.) When I decided I wanted to be a writer, I got my hands on everything I could about plotting, prose, story and character development and
Quick Answer A step-by-step process for self-editing your novel — from big-picture structure down to line-level prose, with the tools that make each pass easier. Updated May 2026. Years of publishing has taught me that a book written and published quickly can be just as good (or better) than one that took ten years to
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exactly revolutionary, but after reading everything else available, I’ve realized a lot of advice for indie authors is outdated, disorganized or just plain wrong.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...
