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nightlong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
851
164
Australia
1 million books were printed last year in America alone, and another 2 million were ebooks. The chances of any of us wannabe fiction authors are a million to one. :(

Maybe, but you can shorten the odds. It is true that sending a manuscript even to an agent let alone a publisher without doing anything to pave the way will most likely send it no further than the slush pile.

There are workshops not just in writing but also in editing (your manuscript needs to be publishable not just promising), and in publishing (what publishers and agents want, how to write a synopsis and present the work, how to identify your market etc) and in marketing and publicity (these are 2 very different things and you will need to do both as a newbie, the promo budget is likely to be slender at best).

A manuscript is more likely to be read by a publisher or agent if it comes with a recommendation ... Be prepared to pay (several hundred dollars, depending on the length) an editor, author, or manuscript assessment agency to read it.

Publish other work along the way ... Journalism, literary journals, blogs etc ... Develop a profile as a writer.
 

JonLa

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2009
378
28
Thread resurrection!

Writer Pro is currently on sale in the iOS App store. The Mac version remains full price.
 

nightlong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
851
164
Australia
For those who use iPad for writing, I recommend this:
ZaggKeys Pro, an excellent backlit keyboard case, the back matches silver back of my ipad4, closes with magnets, very good protection for screen when closed. Battery lasts for months and, best of all, choice of colours for lighting in keyboard ... Haha.
 

Meister

Suspended
Oct 10, 2013
5,456
4,310
I write almost all day.

For writing I use word, pages and notepad on my rmbp. Those apps are somehow enough for me.
In my office I have to use either my rmbp or winXP, where i use Word.

On my iPad I use the same apps and on my phone only MS office.

I sync between the two machines via icloud.
 

nightlong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
851
164
Australia
I write almost all day.

For writing I use word, pages and notepad on my rmbp. Those apps are somehow enough for me.
In my office I have to use either my rmbp or winXP, where i use Word.

On my iPad I use the same apps and on my phone only MS office.

I sync between the two machines via icloud.

I still have Word 2008, but it isn't optimised for retina and very fuzzy and so I only use that when necessary.

is there a retina version yet?
 

Meister

Suspended
Oct 10, 2013
5,456
4,310
I still have Word 2008, but it isn't optimised for retina and very fuzzy and so I only use that when necessary.
is there a retina version yet?
i have office 365 and the mac version of office seems to be from 2011.
I do think that it is a bit fuzzy.
 

skaertus

macrumors 601
Feb 23, 2009
4,230
1,380
Brazil
I still have Word 2008, but it isn't optimised for retina and very fuzzy and so I only use that when necessary.

is there a retina version yet?

Word 2011 for Mac (part of Office 2011) has a retina version.

Office 2008, which is the one you use, does not have a retina version and Microsoft will not release it. Microsoft ended support for Office 2008 in April 2013 (the last update was in March 2013).

You may want to subscribe to Office 365 or wait for the next version of Office to ship (which should happen in the following months). Or stick with the old fuzzy Word 2008.
 

JonLa

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2009
378
28
Just picked up Ulysses III as it was half price yesterday (and still is today) and I rather like it. Scrivener proved too complicated for me to ever actually use, and I like something (like IA writer) that just syncs with my ipad and iphone via icloud.... Anyone using it?

Bit disappointed in the interface with Daedalus - looks like I will either have to copy everything to the Daedalus section whenever I finish for the day, or save my work in the more limited (no keywords, etc) Daedalus sync area permanently.

But otherwise it looks good. I wonder if it'll help me finish anything.
 

nightlong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
851
164
Australia
Just picked up Ulysses III as it was half price yesterday (and still is today) and I rather like it. Scrivener proved too complicated for me to ever actually use, and I like something (like IA writer) that just syncs with my ipad and iphone via icloud.... Anyone using it?

Bit disappointed in the interface with Daedalus - looks like I will either have to copy everything to the Daedalus section whenever I finish for the day, or save my work in the more limited (no keywords, etc) Daedalus sync area permanently.

But otherwise it looks good. I wonder if it'll help me finish anything.

Haven't tried Ulysses, have tried many things ... Love IA Writer, which I use on iPads, when I just want to write (rather than doing more complex things in Scrivener on Mac or MacBook). What are the outstanding features, for your purposes, with Ulysses?
 

JonLa

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2009
378
28
What I was looking for something that was simpler than Scrivener (because I end up spending all my time trying to get the perfect writing font, and getting lost in all the different bits of each template, and forgetting how to view the file cards or the text, and it's never quite the right font, or width, or... well you get the idea) but still allowed me to group fragments that I might originally have written in IA Writer.

I wanted Writer Pro to take this on for me but as we've established, it's really just not there yet, but I wanted something that was a simplified Scrivener that synced with my devices, like IA Writer does.

I use IAW for all of my sketching out, first draft, fragments because I can jot something down on the go and work on it when I get home or in the office. I'd like something similar for the structuring and follow through.

----------

PS I think it's a Writing app sale as Scrivener is also half price, and there's a few bucks off the Mac Writer Pro
 

monokakata

macrumors 68020
May 8, 2008
2,035
582
Ithaca, NY
What I was looking for something that was simpler than Scrivener (because I end up spending all my time trying to get the perfect writing font, and getting lost in all the different bits of each template, and forgetting how to view the file cards or the text, and it's never quite the right font, or width, or... well you get the idea)

It's easy to get lost in Scrivener's tricks, but I wonder if you might not be kind of making Scrivener into Word, rather than using Scrivener's strengths (as you have) to get your writing done, and then handing fonts, spacing, widths, and all the rest off to Word -- at the end -- which you're going to need when you send stuff out, anyway.

I use Scrivener for the things it does better than anything else, and while I'm doing that I don't worry about formatting or any of that stuff.
 

JonLa

macrumors 6502
Dec 22, 2009
378
28
I think I've spent hours trying to find a distraction free writing setup in Scrivener that is as nice as IA writer and for whatever reason, I just can't handle it - too wide, font too big, font too ugly. Learning how to use the index cards and all the rest of it. I've spent more time trying to work out how to use Scrivener than actually writing in it. The writing all got done in iaWriter.

So no - not worrying about the fonts and layout of the end product, just something that is minimalist enough to get me into the zone.

(and before you say "a writer just writes" that's great - for those who can do it. The rest of us need help!)

So - Ulysses for now seems like a nice compromise - the menus are less cluttered than the default Scrivener setup, the writing area is nice and simple and it has an icloud setup that I like without the constant worrying that dropbox will destroy my Scrivener projects.
 

monokakata

macrumors 68020
May 8, 2008
2,035
582
Ithaca, NY
(and before you say "a writer just writes" that's great - for those who can do it. The rest of us need help!)

No, I'd never say that. If there's any truth to that statement, it's at such a general level as to be useless advice.

If Scrivener's not for you, it's not for you. Learning what works for you is crucial. I've exposed some of my writing friends to Scrivener. The poets, not surprisingly, see no value beyond assembling poems for a book. And not all the fiction writers have taken to it, either. One or two have.

I'm about to begin a large project, and I'm going to write in Scrivener, but I'm not going to use any of its tools except those that help me assemble arbitrary sections into larger ones, move things around, and keep comprehensive notes and trials in an easily-accessible place. I'm going to move a story collection out of InDesign (where I finished it, even though that wasn't the best idea I ever had) and into Scrivener, and keep it in a place where it won't get in the way but I can access it in a second window either just to read, or to pull stuff from if I need to. I won't use the other tools because (apart from compiling/exporting) I don't need them.

As for Scrivener's text, I'm not crazy about it but I put up with it. It's not really "Scrivener's" text, though. If I'm not mistaken, what Scrivener gives you is really put on the screen by TextEdit, which is what Scrivener calls to get that job done. That makes no difference to you, of course.
 

eclipse

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2005
986
13
Sydney
No, I'd never say that. If there's any truth to that statement, it's at such a general level as to be useless advice.

If Scrivener's not for you, it's not for you. Learning what works for you is crucial. I've exposed some of my writing friends to Scrivener. The poets, not surprisingly, see no value beyond assembling poems for a book. And not all the fiction writers have taken to it, either. One or two have.

I'm about to begin a large project, and I'm going to write in Scrivener, but I'm not going to use any of its tools except those that help me assemble arbitrary sections into larger ones, move things around, and keep comprehensive notes and trials in an easily-accessible place. I'm going to move a story collection out of InDesign (where I finished it, even though that wasn't the best idea I ever had) and into Scrivener, and keep it in a place where it won't get in the way but I can access it in a second window either just to read, or to pull stuff from if I need to. I won't use the other tools because (apart from compiling/exporting) I don't need them.

As for Scrivener's text, I'm not crazy about it but I put up with it. It's not really "Scrivener's" text, though. If I'm not mistaken, what Scrivener gives you is really put on the screen by TextEdit, which is what Scrivener calls to get that job done. That makes no difference to you, of course.

I've found that the side notes on the left where my 'wiki' is is a really quick way to refer to character sheets etc when I want to look something up. As a YA Sci-fi enthusiast, a folder on the side lists a town with all the people and creatures etc in it. The town is a folder header, and the characters and creatures are all sub text pages filed into that master folder.

If I want to check that out at work, I just hit shift and hold down that folder and all the sub-pages in the notes just compile together: click in the main view and Select All and copy and paste into anything: gmail if I want to! Then I can view it at lunch time at work, and if I make any changes I send myself an email back to home to put back into Scrivener.

Scrivener's plotting cards ROCKS! Anyone who's ever read "Screenwriter tips for authors" by Alexandra Sokolof will recognise what I'm talking about.
 

JuryDuty

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2014
320
31
Texas
Another time bump. :D

I just got Scrivener and WOW! I went through all the tutorials and love it. I write all day long and this is the first tool I've found that could actually replace Word almost completely. It's really got the writer in mind. I'll know more after using it for a month or two, but so far very impressed.

Other than that, I use a MacBook Pro Retina 13" and iPad Mini Retina with keyboard for all my writing.

I use Word on both.
 

jojoba

macrumors 68000
Dec 9, 2011
1,584
21
Just picked up Ulysses III as it was half price yesterday (and still is today) and I rather like it. Scrivener proved too complicated for me to ever actually use, and I like something (like IA writer) that just syncs with my ipad and iphone via icloud.... Anyone using it?

Bit disappointed in the interface with Daedalus - looks like I will either have to copy everything to the Daedalus section whenever I finish for the day, or save my work in the more limited (no keywords, etc) Daedalus sync area permanently.

But otherwise it looks good. I wonder if it'll help me finish anything.

Agree, I really wish the interface with Daedalus, as well as Daedalus itself, were organised along the same principles as Ulysses III. But Ulysses III is otherwise awesome, I really like it.

I'm also experimenting now with using Curio more for academic writing. The advantage over Scrivener (which I also think is a brilliant app, but it doesn't have the same distraction free UI as Ulysses) is that I can have mind maps and outlines side by side with my text.

I keep getting drawn between rich UIs like those of Scrivener and Curio, and the distraction free environments of Ulysses or Simplenote. I haven't quite settled my workflow yet. But if someone put a gun to my head and asked me to chose one, it would be Scrivener.
 

markusbeutel

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2014
144
14
For those who make their living with words, whether journalism, fiction, blogging, or in the course of a day job ... What mac gear do you use, and what are your favourite apps?

My own system ... In transition, still using my 2007 iMac at desk with Word, use ipad2 for a lot of writing, typed and handwritten, favorite apps so far are iA Writer, Noteshelf, Quickoffice, Penultimate, Pages. With apple BT keyboard and Wacom baboo stylus.

Air 13 inch would be ideal next buy for me in every way except for perhaps the screen. has anyone taken the leap to rMBP just for sharp text, even if the rest of the machine is overkill for yr purposes?

Will also be overkill, but I switched to using a Surface Pro 3 and it blows my old Air out of the water - also has the best pen I've ever used so far.
 

nightlong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
851
164
Australia
Will also be overkill, but I switched to using a Surface Pro 3 and it blows my old Air out of the water - also has the best pen I've ever used so far.

haha, that was a long time ago (the post you quoted), i'm way into overkill these days with retina screens, i've heard good things about the Surface Pro 3 but i'm allergic to Windows.
 

BenTrovato

macrumors 68040
Jun 29, 2012
3,035
2,198
Canada
Word 2011 for Mac (part of Office 2011) has a retina version.

Is there something I need to do to get the retina version? I have Office 2011 but mine is fuzzy.

haha, that was a long time ago (the post you quoted), i'm way into overkill these days with retina screens, i've heard good things about the Surface Pro 3 but i'm allergic to Windows.

Haha I need to use Windows from time to time and it always feels cheap and flimsy. Retina screens are such a joy to do work on! I can't go back :p
 

DaKKs

macrumors 6502
Aug 15, 2012
474
43
Stockholm, Sweden
I still do all of my writing on my Macbook. And i just spend an ungodly amount future proofing it, just because i don't want to get rid of it.

I just really like the white MacBooks. Might upgrade to a white unibody if i find a nice one, but thats it. I'd consider a Macbook Air, i just don't buy one out of principle. I don't like Apple's new computers, the non-upgradability is a bitch move imho.
 

nightlong

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
851
164
Australia
I like the white laptops too. I still have a white G4 iBook from 2003 .. Indestructible! It worked very hard for the 5 years I had it, a family member still uses it, everything still works, never been repaired, apart from battery replacement once in an Apple recall.

But can't turn back from retina screen now, especially on a laptop.
 

naomired

macrumors newbie
Nov 17, 2013
25
0
I have tried Scrivener, which is quite complicated. Then moved to Ulysses III. I just love the way it handles texts. Beautiful and simple app, very flat learning curve. Highly recommended. I pair it with Daedalus, the same company's iOS app, for note taking and jotting on-the-go, and it automatically sends notes to Ulysses III.

If you are looking for an outliner , then I would recommend Tree app (software maker: Top of the Tree of Japan). Elegant and simple, and again very intuitive.

Mindnode pro is another beautiful app for mind mapping.

Now I outline in Tree and save the file as .txt and then open the file in Ulysses, and start writing. Ulysses can export files in various formats, so does Tree.

Word or Pages can be used for formatting and finishing.
 
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