Top 10: Book Writing Software

2024. Book writing software Dabble makes it easier to create characters



Dabble has released a new version with enhanced character and cast creation feature. Now authors can craft intricate backstories, define relationships and visualize cast with our new Cast and Characters features. You can now set up property lists in Notes and Characters to keep track of all the important details, mark your editing progress, scenes to come back to, or important notes by changing their icons, create and reuse your own character templates easily. Just like Character Templates, you can create a template for your scenes and scene notes. Perfect for following along with writing courses or setting up your scenes in the perfect way. Notes can have banners now. Whether it's a magical ring or a flaming volcano, you can visualize what your note is more easily. And just like Characters and Scenes, you can create various note templates. Besides, now you can print notes directly from Dabble quickly and easily. No more messing about with exporting first.


2023. Reedsy adds cats to its Writing App



It is a truth universally acknowledged – or at least whispered among the scattered tea mugs of literary history – that the likes of Stephen King, Doris Lessing, Jorge Luis Borges, Alice Walker, and even the ever-so-clever Mark Twain drew their musings from a singularly profound source: cats. Yes, cats, those enigmatic furballs of inspiration, whose only real competition for universal domination is probably gravity. Now, thanks to the marvelously quirky minds behind the Reedsy Book Editor, aspiring scribes can bask in the same feline wisdom with the whimsical "Reedsy Cats" feature. Simply toggle CAT mode, and voila! A digital cat saunters into your workspace, lounging, licking, and purring with a studied indifference that only a true muse could master, as you chip away at your daily word count goals. Because nothing quite says “productive genius” like being outpaced by a virtual cat’s napping schedule.

2022. ProWritingAid enables Scrivener proofreading



Scrivener, that ever-so-clever toolkit for writers who enjoy organizing their thoughts into a dazzling labyrinth of digital index cards, does indeed come with its own spelling and grammar checkers for Mac and Windows. But, as with many well-meaning inventions, they occasionally fall short of perfection, like a robot that makes tea but forgets the biscuits. Enter the shining hero of text refinement: ProWritingAid. This splendidly meticulous grammar checker works harmoniously with Scrivener, both online and on desktop, offering a symphony of precise grammar suggestions. The process is delightfully simple—select a file in the Binder, and voilà! ProWritingAid gets to work, displaying its corrections like a traffic controller with a penchant for good prose. Accept, ignore, or banish the rule that triggered each suggestion; it’s all in your hands. Stumble across an unknown word marked as a spelling error? Add it to your personal dictionary, and the word shall never be hassled again. Save your changes when you’re done, and your project is polished, prim, and properly sorted. Tea and biscuits optional.


2021. Writing app Dabble has gone mobile



Fiction writing service Dabble now has mobile support which enables writers to work on their novel anytime, anywhere. Unlike other apps that are delivered through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, Dabble is accessible through a regular website and can be installed on your phone’s home screen for advanced support, just like a native app. To install it on an iPhone, you simply navigate to Dabble’s website, click the share button at the bottom and choose Add to Home Screen. Android users can use the button in the URL bar to do the same. The Web App is able to function offline and sync with the server whenever it goes online, just like on desktop. All of the features you enjoy on desktop are available on mobile.


2021. Scrivener 3 for Windows gets simple and beautiful interface



The latest version of Scrivener 3 is now available on Windows, bringing with it a variety of new and improved features. The update includes a modernized and simplified interface, a redesigned and more flexible Compile feature and a full styles system in the text system. Other enhancements include the ability to view index cards on colored threads, improved ebook export and the addition of Writing History to track daily writing progress. Custom Metadata has also been improved, allowing for checkboxes, dates and list boxes to be added to the Inspector and outliner. Additional features include enhanced outlining, a new Quick Search tool, progress bars and a Dark Mode, among others. The Bookmarks feature also replaces Project Notes, References and Favorites, making it easier to access frequently used documents. Furthermore, the Dialogue Focus feature allows users to easily locate all dialogue within their text.


2020. Writing software Jutoh 3 adds storyboard planning tool and Cover Designer



Jutoh 3 introduces features aimed at enhancing the creative process of your project, such as a drag-and-drop planning tool, writing exercises and writing advice. In addition, it improves on various aspects of Jutoh 2, with a revamped menu structure and parts of the user interface that are faster and more intuitive. The storyboard feature allows you to arrange cards in rows, giving you the freedom to rapidly reorder scenes and unleash your creativity. Furthermore, Jutoh's cover designer now has full undo/redo capabilities and objects can be moved and resized interactively. Other additions include the ability to use spell-check mode in the Inspector to view all unrecognised words at once and the ability to find content with specific formatting using the Formatting mode of the Inspector.


2020. Livingwriter now allows to upload book cover art



In the wildly inventive realm of online book-writing tools, the creators of the rather splendid LivingWriter have unveiled a shiny new feature that lets you, yes you, upload your very own book cover art to all your budding literary masterpieces. If you're not quite ready to unleash your magnum opus upon an unsuspecting universe but would like to ogle it in its fully covered glory, Canva—a fantastically clever website with free and tweakable book cover templates—stands ready to assist. Begin your journey by scouring the covers of best-selling books that feel like distant cousins to your story, gathering inspiration like a magpie with a penchant for paperbacks. Then sashay over to Canva, where you can choose a template as thematically aligned as a well-trained choir. Tinker with titles, colors, spacing, and visuals to your heart’s content, employing Canva’s built-in images (some free, some costing the princely sum of a dollar or so) or plundering professional freebies from unsplash.com. The result? A tantalizing glimpse of your book’s destined-for-greatness visage, guaranteed to spark delight and a smidgen of literary ambition.


2017. yWriter for Android is released



In the same way a hyperspace bypass might revolutionize your morning commute (by making it entirely unnecessary), the team behind yWriter has rolled out a shiny new Android app, effectively turning your pocket-sized device into a novel-writing command center. This delightful add-on speaks fluent Google Drive, letting you load and save your precious database files with ease. It’s perfectly aligned with the newest yWriter desktop iteration (version 6.0.0.5, if you must know), which heralds the arrival of the spiffy new yw6 file format. By letting you chop your magnum opus into neatly digestible chapters and scenes, yWriter helps you maintain progress like a seasoned Vogon bureaucrat ticking boxes. Best of all, this Android app lets you jot down your galactic epic wherever inspiration strikes—tablet in hand, manuscript in tow—while the magic of Google Drive ensures seamless interplanetary syncing between your PC and mobile device.