Support for Indie Authors discussion

I write in word because I also write a lot of documents for consulting purposes, so Word is one of the few things you can send that people at the other end can read it. Yes, I could convert to a pdf, but that has its issues too.

One of the many things that Word has is a lot of hidden formatting, which, from different versions, changes. Not a big deal, until you come to compiling ebooks, then it degenerates int something nasty if you are not careful.

If you r into science, it is even worse. The 1998 version had something called equation editor. If you used that, the later versions won't read it - the computer sends up a box saying Word hasn't got enough memory to allocate to it! What a crock!

But I stick to word. It is clunky and has problems, but the fact that most other software like compiling software is set up to recognise it means it is reasonably obvious to use it.

David wrote: "My real point was: If you are writing, why are you formatting text? Do that at the end. It has no purpose other than slowing your writing down."

Well, I must be a lot more visual because it would be very annoying for me if I just wrote without any formatting. Having the chapter headings a certain way, italicizing thoughts or memories, etc. All of that makes it easier for me to keep up the flow of my writing.

Also, why delay all the formatting to the end and make it a chore if you can learn to do it as you go along and make it a non-intrusive part of your writing?

I find I'm always formatting as I go. When I write for blog posts/internet I will use just input the appropriate tags for example as I go so I don't forget where certain emphasis should be... >.>

But maybe that's not what you meant by formatting? Anyway, word is pretty powerful and most of us have only scratched the surface. It has tools and options that make it very versatile. For example, it is super easy to make superscripts and subscripts in word (at least compared to google docs, which is what my work is trying to make us switch to) and I need to use a lot of them when writing equations and such for work.

I have recently been experimenting with freeoffice, mostly because I read that it's pretty close to word and would be easy to switch to for word users and you can save in word file formats for easy access when switching between computers or sharing files. It's been ok so far, but I have begun to notice and miss little things that word used to do for me automatically that I never really thought about or appreciated. Anyway, I guess I'll come back with more details on FreeOffice once I've tried it for a bit longer... maybe once I start that new novel.

Does anyone use plottr?

Micah wrote: "Jessica wrote: "...I can't stand Scrivener. Most of the features on it I didn't use. I don't use anything for writing other than Word, and I like to be able to see my scenes in one long flow. But W..."

I'm sure it is very easy to get Scrivener to do that, but there is a lot of fluff in that program I just don't want. Which means I'm sitting there thinking why I've got a whole program full of chaff I'll never use, but ponder on whether I should use it as it's there... Not good for my personal creative flow. This doesn't mean I think it's wrong to use it, what people want to write on is their business, of course. Considering it was built for writers I assume they got a lot of input before creating it. I'm just not one of those writers that works that way.

The thing about Word is I do use it for a lot of things, including the day job (I work in education admin), and so it's a lot easier for me to have all my work written on it and it can easily transfer to all of my computers. It is very powerful once you've delved and I got very good at understanding it when I manually formatted my books once upon a time. Usefully, those skills were all transferable. And interesting you should mention merge. I use merge and compare a lot - when I get beta versions of my books back I merge them to get the comments on one document.

I'm actually a huge fan of very simple programs, too. Final Draft is the precursor to Vellum in a way, it being an automated processor specifically for scripts, and when I write scripts I love using it. Vellum, however, isn't the kind of thing I'd write my books on, as the visual space is too small.

Hock wrote: "Does anyone use plottr?"

Got the trial a few days back, and am just getting into it. I usually make my own time lines in Excel but being a visual person, the way Plottr formats them is really useful.

Have you got very far with it yet?

David wrote: "Sorry if you felt I was calling people lazy Shanna, but it wasn't want I meant. You have tried many apps and that's great but many don't bother. My real point was: If you are writing, why are you f..."

I actually prefer to write with the almost final formatting, as I think less about it. I find it very hard to read mss formatted books where there are big white lines between paragraphs and everything is flush left. My eyesight is pretty terrible, so this might be a factor. Though, I think if we want to format like that early on we are entitled to do so with our own work!

Jessica wrote: "I'm sure it is very easy to get Scrivener to do that, but there is a lot of fluff in that program I just don't want. Which means I'm sitting there thinking why I've got a whole program full of chaff I'll never use, but ponder on whether I should use it as it's there..."

;D

But just think how you'd feel if you were working with Word for the first time! Look at all those menus! Insert, Design, Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View, ACROBAT ... WHAT? Never mind things like Themes and Styles.

I use Word a lot as well. Just not anymore for book writing. Trying to keep all my draft copies straight, organizing all my project notes ... it was a logistical nightmare and all very manual. Scrivener gave me one place to store everything for my projects all within the same work environment and automated all my backup and versioning. I ignore the fluff (others really like all that stuff).

For some folks, myself included, Scrivener is just too busy. I keep all of my plotting, notes, etc, in a separate application because if it was all right there while I was trying to write, I'd never get anything done. I use Word, but I'm also looking for a replacement, not because of formatting (face it, Word really is the easiest when it comes to properly formatting an ebook), but because I'm not a fan of subscription services and web based word processors. Obviously, that means Google docs is out for me. In the past, I've found open source software like Open Office to be buggy and a little too bare bones, but it's been many years since I have tried. Anyone got any opinions on other options that might fit for me?

As for the original post: formatting by using the preset buttons will always remove bold and italics. It's best to set your formatting beforehand. When I write in word, I have a preset format that I've set as the default and I keep every chapter separate until after my first round of rewrites. Typically, it's pretty smooth this way.

Jessica said, I actually prefer to write with the almost final formatting, as I think less about it.

Me, too! I'm glad I'm not the only visual one. I think that's why Scrivener wasn't working for me. When I tried the window only view, my brain just wouldn't let me focus on the words rather than the long lines. I use Apache Office and start with the formatted template from Kindle so I can see the left and right pages in the size I've chosen.

Like Jessica, I like writing where the formatting is almost complete. I do use Scrivener, but I'm not a big fan. I like it for research because I can keep it all there. I also like the ease of using the character and setting sheets. My Scrabble where I do my mind maps does integrate with it. I use Aeon for timelines which are complicated is another tool which does help and isn't included in Scrivener.

The Novel Factory is okay for laying out a book and a first draft, It follows the SnowFlake method, and like Scrivener has good character and setting sheets. Again, I'm not overly fond of it as it doesn't format well and is cut up into sections which aren't that flexible.

No matter what other program I may use, after the first draft is completed, I have to go to Word. I have a basic formatted template for my books. All I need to change is the fonts and chapter headings. Because I see stories as linear, I start at the beginning and work through until the end. When revising, it's much the same. I can't do like some and write chapters out of sequence, which is where Scrivener and Novel Factory are great to use. I've discovered Scrivener is impossible to format for a book as is The Novel Factory. The end result is how I use it for certain types of books like my mystery/thrillers. where I use the mind maps and time lines, then collate it and export to Word. My second draft is a total retyping while revising into the formatted template.

As to the cost, the MS Office with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc, it's very reasonable for what you get. I do use the yearly subscription as it's cheaper than buying a new computer to get the newest version, (Remember you can deduct the cost on your taxes as if business expense of you are a published author) I'm not fond of subscription services, but for Word, it's worth it when you have the whole package which is updated regularly without any additional cost and I can put in on all of my devices (and have done so,) I do use Excel and PowerPoint and publish. I can work off like and get tons of stuff done.

Ywriter is great. Free of charge, easy to use and very intuitive. Five diamonds. When the draft is ready, I export it to word and do the final edit. Works like a charm.

I start in Pages, which I actually prefer to Word, but then I end up doing a lot of final writing and all editing in Adobe InDesign, when I self-publish. The design and the writing tend to meld into one job, at some point, especially because I illustrate my books, and I really start caring about how things look on the page as much as the words themselves. This is a huge change in my creative process (I used to just think about the words themselves and not design elements as part of the creative process) and I wonder if anyone else has trended this way too since you've started to self-publish vs. use a traditional publisher.

Libre Office but use Word.

When the draft is ready, I export it to word and do the final edit.

Why on earth would you want to do that when you could draft it in Word to start with?

I love to use Scrivener personnaly. What I like about it, is that I can create, in the same space, documents for pics of my characters, for my landscape, copies of webpage I want to keep as notes, etc. Plus, I can see the whole document or just move the chapters around if I want to.
Word, I used it a lot but I ended having tons of notes and files with pics and, as I am not the most well-organized person, my files ended being so complicated.
I think, the most important aspect of a writing software is: to have the one that helps the best with your own creativity. So, it is very personnal.

I love using Google Docs. And, in the past, I used Libre Open Source because I was able to save my .odt into .docx or .doc. Anyway, Google Docs is the way to go, and then download your document as a .docx. And, then use it in Microsoft Office platforms. Hope this helps!

Maybe the wrong place for this, but I used Word for my first book, and it seemed to format over to Kindle a lot better than Open Office. Does anyone have any formatting tips to improve the appearance of an Open Office manuscript going over to Kindle?

Bill wrote: "Maybe the wrong place for this, but I used Word for my first book, and it seemed to format over to Kindle a lot better than Open Office. Does anyone have any formatting tips to improve the appearan..."

Best way to send your book to Kindle is to use Calibre as an intermediary step. It handles both ODT and ebook formats well, and it also gives you the chance to make some modifications before you post. To date, all ebooks I uploaded worked without a glitch.

Why don't you simply go back to Word?

I could not for the life of me get to grips with page numbering in Word. it was easy in Libre Office. I wish Microsoft would make it easy as I like Word.

David wrote: "I could not for the life of me get to grips with page numbering in Word. it was easy in Libre Office. I wish Microsoft would make it easy as I like Word."

Oh, yes, page numbering. I forgot about that. Somewhere along the line I finally figured it out. I'm pretty sure the next time I use it I'll have to figure it out again.

Jessica wrote: "Hock wrote: "Does anyone use plottr?"

Got the trial a few days back, and am just getting into it. I usually make my own time lines in Excel but being a visual person, the way Plottr formats them i..."

I haven't started yet but am glad to hear you like it.

Numbering pages in Word can be a hassle if you are a formatting it without a number of every page (IE the 1st page of a chapter doesn't have a page number) You have to use the Quick parts and go to the page number there. You need to be aware of sections or it will number all pages. Use the formatting tools so you aren't paging down, making new sections and starting chapters on a new page by inserting a page break.

As for D2D, If you use their formatting, it's a piece of cake. If you use what you do, It can be a bit of a hassle.

Word for writing.
Excel for research.
That's sufficient for me.
Tried Scrivener, but did nothing that I wasn't already doing.

I enjoy using Scrivener for organising research, rearranging sections and chapters, writing a section (in nonfiction) while looking a source material in the other pane. And I like using the full-screen mode to avoid distractions. I like Scrivener's lightning-fast compile process.

However, I don't trust Scrivener to format a final version, so I invest in one of Joel Friedlander's MS Word templates.

I wish they'd hurry up and release Scrivener 3 for Windows!

Peter wrote: "I enjoy using Scrivener for organising research, rearranging sections and chapters, writing a section (in nonfiction) while looking a source material in the other pane. And I like using the full-sc..."

I am also using Scrivener for my latest manuscript and enjoying all the features you've mentioned Peter. My last book was written in Pages (mac) and I used Vellum to create ebooks for all platforms plus a print PDF and it was so easy!

Word for the bedrock foundation. Scrivener for the ease of storing all the data and research in one place, and WriteItNow for the same reasons as Scrivener plus the timeline availability.

I write by hand, transcribe with LibreOffice and export ePub to Calibre. It's a fountain pen for writing, a standard template in LO and a standard, minimal CSS in Calibre.

I mostly use Google docs so I can access it anywhere

I use Mellel and Pages. Mellel has many author tools for working with my drafts and it also has international typography. Pages is nicer when the book is finished and you just want to do the interior design.

scrivener

I use Google Docs, because I want to be able to access it anywhere. But also, I bought a chromebook for writing, since its very portable and offers great battery life. I didn't have the option to install other programs.

I haven't heard a compelling reason NOT to use Google Docs, though if there is some huge advantage to the others, I'd be open to it.

David wrote: "I haven't heard a compelling reason NOT to use Google Docs"

It was incredibly laggy for me once the file was more than 5 chapters (some 15k words).

I use Word and format. Or I write on plain printing paper without lines. Works for me. :)

Tomas wrote: "David wrote: "I haven't heard a compelling reason NOT to use Google Docs"

It was incredibly laggy for me once the file was more than 5 chapters (some 15k words)."

Ditto. Incredibly laggy and cumbersome to use. And why use that when you can use Word or Scrivener or whatever software you want, and have your files available everywhere by storing them on Dropbox or some other cloud server? I use Scrivener for all my writing projects and I default the projects to a folder on Dropbox.

The only reasons to use Google Docs, IMO, are 1) if you bought a Chromebook (which I'd never do precisely because you're locked into their proprietary software), or 2) if you're sharing files with others.

For example, my gaming friends all use shared spreadsheets on Google Docs for organizing character creation for new roleplaying game campaigns. It's a bit of a pain but it allows for easy sharing between users on all platforms from anywhere we are.

For those who are using word, if you work multiple places, save it to google cloud or dropbox. You can then access it everywhere. It's the same for Scrivener. You can save to the cloud or dropbox and have access to your files. I've begun doing that as my couple has already shown me the blue screen of death a few times and I wanted to make sure I had everything backed up to where I wouldn't lose one word of all my manuscripts. (yeah, I'm one of those to keep my first draft)

David wrote: "compelling reason NOT to use Google Docs."

Hi David,

Not to raise any concerns, but I would never put anything I cared about on a Google service. (Or any other "free" service)

The Google Terms of Service: ... When you upload, submit, store, send or receive content to or through our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works ..., communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.

Yes, I know it's highly unlikely that they would do anything, but it's clear they want you to know that they could.

I use libre office as a back-up. It's not as sophisticated as word in the bells and whistles department but, it does what I need it to do when I'm not able to use word.

Hi, new here! I used Word for first few drafts, then found Scrivener. Is there a spell check and/or thesaurus feature in it? I cannot find either. I have exported it back out to Word for a spell check which seems ludicrous.
And saw someone uses Final Draft for screenplay. Have you looked at the Screenplay template in Scrivener? Is it comparable?

ME wrote: "Is there a spell check and/or thesaurus feature in it? I cannot find either."

Google is your friend (so is youtube, there are tons of how to videos on youtube for Scrivener) but a quick search found the following: "Edit -> Spelling and Grammar -> and select Check Document Now"

I saw a video the other day where they used a built in thesaurus so I know that's in there as well. Probably in the Edit menu as well, possibly in the Spelling and Grammar section.

I wrote my entire book in Google Drive, and then edited it using Grammarly and Word.

Using Google Drive allowed me to work on it wherever I was, using any computer, and my phone!

Scrivener does check spelling but it isn't as powerful as MS Word. As for Thesaurus, I use an online one. There are a bunch of free sites but I like MasterWriter which I keep open when I'm writing or editing as I use it a lot.

I do move my work to MS word for the last drafts as I can format it and make it look pretty for my Beta readers. I'm looking forward to replacing my computer as then I can then use Vellum. (Yeah, I'm going to get a MAC but will partition the drive so I can still use my windows for Word and my games.)

Micah wrote: "ME wrote: "Is there a spell check and/or thesaurus feature in it? I cannot find either."

Google is your friend (so is youtube, there are tons of how to videos on youtube for Scrivener) but a quick..."

thank you!

B.A. wrote: "Scrivener does check spelling but it isn't as powerful as MS Word. As for Thesaurus, I use an online one. There are a bunch of free sites but I like MasterWriter which I keep open when I'm writing ..."

Thank you! I shall check out MasterWriter.

I have drafted three novels on Ywriter. I like to see the structure of the book as I am drafting. It's got a cleaner interface than Scrivener which I have tried to use with multiple projects.

I did try YWriter but found it harder to use than Scrivener. I did end up taking a class to learn how to do things in Scrivener. I'm waiting on them to get Scrivener 3 ready for Windows as it has a lot more nice functions. I also like that my Scrapple for mind maps interfaces with Scrivener and that I can plug in ProWritingAid.

My other favorite program is Novel Factory. It's easy to use and helps to make sure you have all the attributes you need for each part.

Needless to say, MS Word is still used as none of the others format for print and so I need to use word for that.

I use a variety of tools for research and self editing, including word, Excel and notepad ++; I almost never use Word for main narratives; that job is done by Scrivener, yWrite5, or Novel Writing. The latter two are relatively straightforward to transfer between my office and study PCs. I'm still experimenting with scrivener.

This is a general question about formatting and software. Maybe someone can advise me. Has anyone published a screenplay on Amazon? I see one of Nevil Shute's books, Vinland the Good, was written in a film treatment format. I also saw Downton Abbey published as a screenplay but in a weird format. I am writing my books into typical shooting script format and would like to publish them that way. Does anyone know if that format can be supported by Amazon and Kindle. The software I use for film is Movie Magic. I use Word and Libre Office for novel writing.

I use Word. I have used Open Office, and Corel Word. MS Word seems to do the best for my needs. i also have Grammarly add on .

I'm a Scrivener chick right now, but the fiance is getting me a MacBook as a wedding present so Vellum here I come <3