Publishing: The delightful dozen – Software to publish a novel from start to finish

Like with wine and fashion, everybody likes something different (for info, I prefer rosé and yoga pants). I've found software that works for me, and thought I'd put together a quick summary of the twelve apps/programs I swear by and a few tricks I've found for getting the best out of them.

I get nothing in return for recommending any of this software, but I do use all of it myself.

For writing

Dropbox

Before you start, it's best to set up somewhere to back up remotely. Dropbox is easy to use and gives a decent amount of storage free.

Cost: Free

Daedelus Touch

I draft all my novels on my iPad mini, which might make me squint a bit but for some reason I find it easier than typing on a keyboard. For first drafts, I use an app called Daedelus Touch, which is a basic writing program. What makes it different is that rather than having separate documents for each chapter that you have to open and close, you can swipe between them like flicking between pages on a kindle. The simple layout is clear of distractions and it syncs with Dropbox, meaning I don't have to worry about losing work.

Cost: 99p

Scrivener

When I've finished a first draft, I transfer everything over to Scrivener. This has a reputation of being the gold standard for writing software, and for good reason. Indeed, I'm typing this blog in it before I paste it into my website. Scrivener means you do most things Word can do, and is easier to format. It also has the advantage that you can compile your work straight into a MOBI file for kindle, an ePub file for other eBooks and a PDF file for print books. But, it has a limitation. It only comes in a Mac/PC version—there's no mobile version yet.

But… there's a workaround. Even if it did take me ages to work it out.

Within Scrivener, you can either backup the entire file and save it to your backup site, or you can sync the individual files. If you sync these with a folder in Dropbox, you end up with a text file for each chapter, and you can then open them up separately in a text file. On my iPad, I've found Textilus to be the best by far.

Cost: $45 and has a 30 day free trial.

UPDATE: Scrivener have now released a full version for iOS, and I LOVE it! I use it every day and it's changed my freaking life…

Textilus

At last count, I've tried 10 different writing apps for my iPad, and Textilus beats the rest hands down. Even Word—Textilus is much more user friendly. It gives you a rich text editor in a simple interface, and the keyboard is customisable. Best of all, I can use it with Scrivener.

Cost: £8.99 for the pro bundle.

One great thing about Scrivener and Textilus is that they both have a text-to-speech option. I get them to read my writing back to me, and it's a lot easier to pick out errors and parts where things don't flow.

Word

Word is an invaluable part of the editing process, because of its track changes feature. I export files from Scrivener to Word to send to my editor. Once I've been through all the tracks, I past the text back into Scrivener.

Cost: £5.99 per month for a personal licence.

For cheaper options, you could try Word online, which is free (I've never tried this) or use OpenOffice.

Pro Writing Aid

As part of my editing process, I use an online app called Pro Writing Aid. It's supposed to find all your spelling and grammar flaws, but in reality no program's going to do that. I have found it very useful in some particular areas, though:

– Word frequency – PWA picks out all my crutch words, the ones I use too often and really need to get rid of. As it highlights these, it's easy to pick them out and change them.

– Commas – I do have a tendency to put commas in the wrong place on occasion, and PWA has proven good at telling me where these are.

– Repeated sentence starts – PWA highlights instances where you've started a sentence with the same word three or more times in a row. As this can lead to your writing sounding a little boring, it's good to alter these.

– Pronoun use – Left to my own devices, I'd use pronouns everywhere. PWA keeps an eye on this and politely informs me when I've overdone it, especially at the beginning of sentences.

– Vague words – Count up the number of times I say “a couple of” in my rough drafts. I guarantee its a lot. PWA doesn't like this.

While the program is far from perfect, once you're used to using it, it's a helpful tool to assist with fixing your common flaws.

Cost: $35 per year, or has a free version for chunks of up to 3,000 words.

 

For graphics

Photoshop

While there are ways of doing without it, I believe the £8 or so monthly subscription is a worthwhile investment for any indie author, plus a bit of time invested to master the basics. I don't pretend to be an expert by a long shot—indeed I could spend my entire life doing nothing but Photoshop tutorials and still not understand half the features—but I can knock up a reasonable cover as well as creating blog posts, social media banners and adverts.

Professional covers can run to thousands, which if you're a best seller might seem reasonable, but that's out of reach for a lot of debut authors. The good news is it's possible to create a nice cover without paying through the nose. It's worth looking through art sites like Deviant Art for an artist whose style you like, and approaching them to see if they take commissions. I found my cover artist through the forums at ConceptArt. I describe my ideas and she's done an amazing idea of turning them into pictures. I add the fonts/blurbs/logos myself, which means I can tweak bits and pieces easily and quickly without having to rely on the artist for that stage.

Cost: £8.57 per month.

If you'd prefer a free option, Gimp is available but not so user friendly. Canva is also useful for creating cheap adverts and blog posts.

Cover Action Pro

At $149 for the bundle, this wasn't cheap, but the program allows me to quickly and easily create 3D book mockups in Photoshop. Sites like Fiverr charge $5 for each of these, so the costs soon mount up. If you're going to have several books and want to create your own adverts, it's worth the investment.

Cost: $149

Note: Cover Action Pro has a sister site called Actionuser. Avoid this – the actions are out of date. I didn't realise it was a sister site until after I bought Cover Action Pro, and I'm still waiting for a refund. It pains me a little to recommend CAP after my experience here, but it is a good bit of software.

 

Other useful things

Kindle Previewer and Calibre

Use Kindle Previewer to preview your Kindle MOBI files on your computer before they go live on the Kindle store. This piece of software saves the hassle of having to sent the files to your kindle, and you can simulate different models of Kindle to check your book shows up properly on all of them. Calibre does the same for the ePub format if you don't have access to iBooks.

Cost: Free

WordPress

Every author needs a website (even if it doesn't have a blog!) I started off using Wix, but although it's very easy to set up, I soon found out it had limitations. It's hard to add comments to blog posts, and you can't embed HTML in them. Before the site got any bigger, I decided to bite the bullet and switch over to a self-hosted WordPress site.

I used hosting through Bluehost, and it's super easy to install WordPress at the touch of a button. There are hundreds of free themes available for your site, and fancier ones available to buy. Mine comes from Nosegraze and Ashley, who runs it, is super-helpful if you have any problems.

Cost: WordPress if free. Bluehost hosting – From $3.49 per month for the basic option, plus $19.99 per year for backups.

MailChimp

MailChimp is a great way to manage your email list and create nice looking emails. You can use a plug-in with WordPress to embed a signup form into your website.

Cost: Free for the basics.