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Book Writing Software
- Thread starter djinn
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Microsoft Word seems to be a staple of authors and editors, in my experience. And I typeset and design a lot of publications. Style-sheets can be imported along with the text matter.
Any of the apps listed by xsedrinam should be OK depending what the style of publication is as long as they can export a clean RTF file. For instance, scientific writing can be done with LaTex.
Don't expect a good writing and editing tool to be the same as an app designed for small to medium-sized typesetting such as QuarkXpress or InDesign. Typesetting huge publications and directories tends to be done on more bespoke systems.
Any of the apps listed by xsedrinam should be OK depending what the style of publication is as long as they can export a clean RTF file. For instance, scientific writing can be done with LaTex.
Don't expect a good writing and editing tool to be the same as an app designed for small to medium-sized typesetting such as QuarkXpress or InDesign. Typesetting huge publications and directories tends to be done on more bespoke systems.
I've just started using Ulysses and it is great, but again it depends on what type of writing you do (I'm a fiction writer).
I think scrivener is a good software for mac.Scrivener is a word-processing program designed for writers. Scrivener provides a management system for documents, notes and metadata. This allows the user to keep track of notes, concepts, research and whole documents for reference
voodoopad, evernote, text wrangler, etc. the more crap you can do with it, the less you'll probably write. unless you have a lot of footnotes or other complex formatting, in which case word will serve you best, just keep it simple.
i prefer evernote, because it is the best at syncing.
if you want a personal wiki, voodoopad is hands down the best software available for windows or mac. its internal linking capabilities really make it shine.
i prefer evernote, because it is the best at syncing.
if you want a personal wiki, voodoopad is hands down the best software available for windows or mac. its internal linking capabilities really make it shine.
if you are a researcher, bookends is great. i use it every day. but, it comes at a steep price
i don't like word. i use it, of course, but i find it is best for things that are already pretty well organized (final drafts) and not terribly conducive to creativity in the early stages.
not a big fan of omni outliner. it's a bit pricey as well.
evernote premium is $5 a month. that's 1GB of uploads each month. it's cumulative, so by the end of a year you have 12GB of stuff there, accessible from anything (mainly my ipad) and full of features.
admittedly, it doesn't have a lot of the layout features you might need for a final draft, but that's what i think word is for.
LaTeX (preferably XeTeX) is kind of both, though. Problem could be for many that looking at their text dispruted by code blurbs might be creatively counter productive. A few years ago XeTeX type setting (with the fontspec package) also produced much neater looking typography than Word but Microsoft's app has no doubt progressed as well during that time. Though, that's more of an issue for designers of course.
I have been looking for an easy way to convert markdown to latex in order to use iA Writer (sorry, I can't help it but I love writing in that app, pricing be damned) and then move over to my latex setup afterwards.
Does anyone happen to know an easy way to accomplish this? There's Pandoc but I was hoping for a simple to install app with a GUI...
For a pure writer's tool Scrivener has already been mentioned. Ulysses seems to be another [EDIT: Ooops, mentioned as well, sorry.]. Both seem to priced reasonably for both full and part time writers.
Dramatica Pro is the ultimate creative writing companion and one of our highest ranked products. This program is stacked with great features and allows you to determine and organize every aspect of your story before you ever begin to write. You can easily switch between different story guide paths, allowing you to achieve your maximum writing potential. And I am sure it will be compatible with your system.
This is a pretty old thread. But, does the OP have need advice about writing/composition, or about publishing and digital output?
I am just beginning a book on Apache healing and asked a friend who serves 400 attorney clients with document input, formatting, output. She suggested simply using Word and stuffing each chapter into a separate folder, then compiling them when done.
I am just beginning a book on Apache healing and asked a friend who serves 400 attorney clients with document input, formatting, output. She suggested simply using Word and stuffing each chapter into a separate folder, then compiling them when done.
Not a wise move.
Scrivener allows you to import all documents into its research folder. Then you can move and access them as you write and rearrange. Very simple.
Check out theScrivener Forums, looking not only at the Technical, but check the Zen of Scrivener for usage scenarios.