Allows your to professionally format books for publication. Available for Mac users only, the software is free, but you must purchase a package before exporting a file for publication. Cost: $199.99 for publishing unlimited e-books, $249.99 for publishing unlimited e-books and paperbacks.
- Best Free Book Writing Software For Mac Pro
- Apps For Writers Mac
- What Is The Best Writing Software For Mac
- Book Writing Software For Mac
- Writing a story that will inspire people starts with two things: a book outline and the best writing software. To make writing your next story fun, entertaining, and interesting, you should look beyond Microsoft Office Word by choosing the best book writing software for your project. Nevertheless, with many writing tools out there, it may be hard to decide what software is best to use and what.
- Bad news/good news: writing a book will always be hard, and the best piece of writing software in the world won’t write your book for you. But the good news is there is book writing software that can make the process a little easier. In this post, we will cover the ten best pieces of software for writing a book and look at the pros and cons of each.
- And the best part? It is a free novel writing software for Mac. Byword; A top-notch text editor and writing app for Mac is Byword, available on Mac and Apple app store. You can easily use this app anywhere to edit your stories, blog posts, and school projects.
- With this free novel writing software free for windows 2010, we can write different types of books with a suitable format, and we don’t need to worry about privacy/security. This software can convert your content into a book with suitable modifications like page design, etc.
A lot of Authors give up on their books before they even start writing.
I see it all the time. Authors sit down to write and end up staring at a blank page. They might get a few words down, but they hate what they’ve written, harshly judge themselves, and quit.
Or they get intimidated by the prospect of writing more and give up. They may come back, but if so, it’s with less and less enthusiasm, until they eventually just stop.
In order to break the pattern, you have to get out of your own head. And the best way to do that is to talk it out.
I’m serious. Who ever said that you have to write your book? Why not speak it?
Authors don’t need to be professional writers. You’re publishing a book because you have knowledge to share with the world.
If you’re more comfortable speaking than writing, there’s no shame in dictating your book.
Sure, at some point, you’ll have to put the words on a page and make them readable, of course.
But for your first draft, you can stop focusing on being a perfect writer and instead focus on getting your ideas out in the world.
In this post, I’ll cover why dictation software is such a great tool, the difference between dictation and transcription, and the best options in each category.
Why Use Speech Recognition Software?
When Authors experience writer’s block, it’s not usually because they have bad ideas or because they’re unorganized. The number 1 cause of writer’s block is fear.
So, how do you get rid of that fear?
The easiest solution is to stop staring at the screen and talk instead.
Many Authors can talk clearly and comfortably about their ideas when they aren’t put on the spot. Just think of how easy it is to sit down with colleagues over coffee or how excited you get explaining your work to a friend.
There’s a lot less pressure in those situations. It’s much easier than thinking, “I’m writing something that thousands of people are going to read and judge.”
When that thought is in your head, of course you’re going to freeze.
Your best bet is to ignore all those thoughts and really focus on your reader. Imagine you’re speaking to a specific person—maybe your ideal client or a close friend. What do they want to know? What can you help them with? What tone do you use when you talk to them?
When you keep your attention on the reader you’re trying to serve, it helps quiet your fear and anxiety. And when you speak, rather than write, it can help you keep a relaxed, confident, and personable tone.
Readers relate to Authors’ authentic voices far more than overly-crafted, hyper-intellectual writing styles.
Speaking will also help you finish your first draft faster because it helps you resist the desire to edit as you go.
We always tell Scribe Authors that their first draft should be a “vomit draft.”
You should spew words onto a page without worrying whether they’re good, how they can be better, or whether you’ve said the right thing.
Your vomit draft can be—and possibly will be—absolute garbage.
But that’s okay. As the Author of 4 New York Times bestsellers, I can tell you: first drafts are often garbage. In the end, they still go on to become highly successful books.
It’s a lot easier to edit words that are already on the page than to agonize over every single thing you’re writing.
That’s why speech recognition software is the perfect workaround. When you talk, you don’t have time to agonize. Your ideas can flow without your brain working overtime on grammar, clarity, and all those other things we expect from the written word.
Of course, your spoken words won’t be the same as a book. You’ll have to edit out all the “uh”s and the places you went on tangents. You might even have to overhaul the organization of the sections.
But remember, the goal of a first draft is never perfection. The goal is to have a text you can work with.
What’s the Difference between Dictation & Transcription?
If you know you want to talk out your first draft, you have 2 options:
- Use dictation software
- Use a transcription service
1. Dictation Software
With dictation software, you speak, and the software transcribes your words in real-time.
For example, when you give Siri a voice command on your iPhone, the words pop up across the top of the screen. That’s how dictation software works.
Although, I should point out that we aren’t really talking about Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, or Microsoft’s Cortana here. Those are AI virtual assistants that use voice recognition software, but they aren’t true dictation apps. In other words, they’re good at transcribing a shopping list, but they won’t help you write a book.
Some dictation software comes as a standalone app you use exclusively for converting speech to text. Other dictation software comes embedded in a word processor, like Apple’s built-in dictation in Pages or Google Docs’ built-in voice tool.
If you’re a fast speaker, most live dictation software won’t be able to keep up with you. You have to speak slowly and clearly for it to work.
For many people, trying to use dictation software slows them down, which can interrupt their train of thought.
2. Transcription Services
In contrast, transcription services convert your words to text after-the-fact. You record yourself talking and send the completed audio files to the service for transcription.
Some transcription services use human transcription, which is exactly what it sounds like: a human listens to your audio and transcribes the content. This kind of transcription is typically slower and more expensive, but it’s also more accurate.
Other transcription services rely on computer transcription. Using artificial intelligence and advanced voice recognition technology, these services can turn around a full transcript in a matter of minutes. You’ll find some mistakes, but unless you have a strong accent or there’s a lot of background noise in the recording, they’re fairly accurate.
Why Use Dictation?
Dictation is the way to go if you want to sit in front of your computer and type—but maybe just type a little faster. It’s especially useful for people who want to switch between talking and typing.
It’s probably not your best option if you want to speak your entire first draft. Voice recognition software still requires you to speak slowly and clearly. You might lose your train of thought if you’re constantly stopping to let the software catch up.
With dictation software, you may also be tempted to stop and read what the software is typing. That’s an easy way to get sucked into editing, which you should never do when you’re writing your first draft.
I recommend using dictation as a way to shake up your writing process, not to replace typing entirely.
Why Use Transcription?
If you want to get your vomit draft out by speaking at your own natural pace, we recommend making actual recordings and sending them to a transcription service.
Transcription is also preferable if you’re being interviewed or if you have a co-author because it can recognize multiple voices. It’s also a lot more flexible in terms of location. People can interview you over Zoom or in any other conferencing system, and as long as you can record the conversation, it will work.
Transcription is also relatively cheap and works for you while you do other things. You can record your content at your own pace and choose when you want a computer (or person) to transcribe it. You could record your whole book before you send the audio files for transcription, or you could do a chapter at a time.
Transcription may not work well for you if you are a visual person who needs to see text in order to stay on track. Without a clear outline in front of you, sometimes the temptation to verbally wander or jump around can be too great, and you’ll waste a lot of time sorting through the transcripts later.
Do You Need Any Special Recording Equipment?
No. Most people don’t need anything special.
Whether you’re using transcription or dictation, don’t waste your money on fancy audio equipment. The microphone that comes with your computer or smartphone is more than adequate.
Some people find headsets useful because they can move around while they’re speaking. But you don’t want to multitask too much. If you’re trying to dictate your book while you’re cooking, you’ll be distracted, and the ambient noise could mess up the recording.
The Best Transcription Services
Scribe recommends 2 transcription services:
- Temi
- Rev
1. Temi
Temi works well for automated transcription (i.e., transcribed by a computer, not a human).
They charge $.25 per audio minute, and their turnaround only takes a few minutes.
Their transcripts are easy to read with clear timestamps and labels for different speakers. They also provide an online editing tool that allows you to easily clean up your transcripts. For example, you can easily search for all the “um”s and remove them with the touch of a button.
You can also listen to your audio alongside the transcript, and you can adjust the playback speed. This is very useful if you’re a fast talker.
If you prefer to work on the go, Temi also offers a mobile app.
2. Rev
Rev offers many of the same features as Temi for automated transcripts. They call this option “Rough Draft” transcription, and it also costs $.25 per audio minute. The average turnaround time for a transcript is 5 minutes.
What sets Rev apart is that they also offer human transcription. This service costs $1.25 per minute, and Rev guarantees 99% accuracy. The average turnaround time is 12 hours.
Human transcription is a great option if your audio file has a lot of background noise. It’s also great if you have a strong accent that automatic transcription software has trouble recognizing.
The 5 Best Dictation Software Options
1. Google Docs Voice Typing
This is currently the best voice typing software, by far. It’s driven by Google’s AI software, which applies Google’s deep learning algorithms to accurately recognize speech. It also supports 125 different languages.
One of the best aspects of Voice Typing is that you don’t need to use a specific operating system or install any extra software to use it. You just need the Chrome web browser and a Google account.
It’s also easy to use. Just log into your account and open a Google Doc. Go to “Tools” and select “Voice Typing.”
It’s also easy to use. Just log into your account and open a Google Doc. Go to “Tools” and select “Voice Typing.”
A microphone icon will pop up on your screen.
Click it, and it will turn red. That’s when you can start dictating.
Click the microphone again to stop the dictation.
Voice Typing is highly accurate, with the typical caveats that you have to speak clearly and at a relatively slow pace.
It’s free, and because it’s embedded in the Docs software, it’s easy to integrate into your pre-existing workflow. The only potential downside is that you need a high-quality internet connection for Voice Typing, so you won’t be able to use it offline.
2. Apple Dictation
Apple Dictation is a voice dictation software that’s built into Apple’s OS/ iOS. It comes preloaded with every Mac, and it works great with Apple software.
If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, you can access Apple dictation by pressing the microphone icon on the keyboard. Many people use this feature to dictate texts, but it also works in Pages for iPhone. It can be a useful option for taking notes or dictating content while you’re away from your desktop.
If you’re on a laptop or desktop, you can enable dictation by going to System Preferences > Keyboard.
Apple Dictation typically requires an internet connection, but you can select a feature in Settings called “Enhanced Dictation” that allows you to continuously dictate text when you’re offline.
Apple Dictation is great because it’s free, it works well with Apple software across multiple devices, and it generates fairly accurate text.
It’s not quite as high-powered as some “professional” grade dictation programs, but it would work well for most Authors who already own Apple products.
3. Windows Speech Recognition
The current Windows operating system comes with a built-in voice dictation system. You can train the system to recognize your voice, which means that the more you use it, the more accurate it becomes.
Unfortunately, that training can take a long time, so you’ll have to live with some inaccuracies until the system is calibrated.
On Windows 10, you can access dictation by hitting the Windows logo key + H. You can turn the microphone off by typing Windows key + H again or by resuming typing.
Windows Speech Recognition is a good option if you don’t own a Mac or don’t use Google Docs, but overall, I’d still recommend one of the other options.
4. Otter.ai
Otter allows you to “live transcribe” or create real-time streaming transcripts with synced audio, text, and images. You can record conversations on your phone or web browser, or you can import audio files from other services. You can also integrate Otter with Zoom.
Otter is powered by Ambient Voice Intelligence, which means it’s always learning. You can train Otter to recognize specific voices or learn certain terminology. It’s fast, accurate, and user-friendly.
Otter is based on a subscription plan with basic, premium, and team options. I’ll only mention the basic and premium plans since most Authors won’t need the team features.
The free basic plan allows 600 minutes of transcription per month, which should be plenty—but the maximum length of each file is only 40 minutes. You also can’t import audio and video, and you can only export your transcripts as txt files, not pdf or docx files.
The premium plan is $8.33 per user per month, and it grants you access to a whopping 6,000 monthly minutes, with a max speech length of 4 hours. More importantly, you can import recordings from other apps and export your files in multiple formats (which will make your writing process much smoother).
5. Dragon
Dragon is one of the most commonly recommended programs for standalone dictation software. It has high-quality voice recognition, but that high quality comes with a hefty price tag. The latest version, Dragon Home 15, costs $150, but it’s not compatible with Apple’s operating system. Mac users have to upgrade to the Professional version ($300).
With all the solid free options available—several of which are better than Dragon—I don’t recommend buying Dragon.
As a child, I used to read a lot of novels. My fascination for reading kept me glued to books all the time. I used to finish up a Sidney Sheldon novel within days of starting. But do you know how much it takes to write a book? There are authors who take years to finish up writing one. It is for the ease of all those authors and budding writers that writing applications have been developed. If you are in search of the best writing apps for Mac, the buddy, you are in the right place!
The history behind writing…
Contents
- So, improve your productivity with the following writing apps for Mac…
Writing began with stone tablets which then moved on to palm leaves and manuscripts. And then when the paper was invented, books started showing up everywhere around the globe. Writing a book with a pen took several months to complete. Typewriters shortened this time by many folds. But with the invention of computers, writing became super-convenient.
In the present generation, writing applications are being developed which will make the life of authors and writers even easier. If you are a tech blogger, the promising writer, author, then a good writing app is a must!
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What is the use of a writing app?
Though a general word file covers the basic needs of a writer, yet for a more convenient experience, you can go for a writing app. It creates the right ambiance in the system for the writer to concentrate just on the content of his write-up.
Additional editing tools, backgrounds, correcting tools etc. will help you create a better story or article in lesser time. When you write a book, you add various chapters or sub-sections to it.
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Managing all these documents can turn quite messy; in these times writing apps come to your rescue.
So, improve your productivity with the following writing apps for Mac…
Mac systems are widely used all over the globe and if you are a writer or author, then this app is god’s gift for you. This ultimate writing application can be used for focused writing sessions encouraging immersion with the text.
The app also helps you organize your write-up related documents and daily blog posts. It works on iPhones and iPads and you can also sync up your work with iCloud through this application.
It has got a 14-day free trial and after that, the monthly rental price is Rs 299.
Microsoft Word 2016
Really guys? Do you even need an introduction to this app? Popular across the globe for its simplicity yet abundant features, Microsoft Word 2016 can be used in Mac as well as Windows systems.
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Though it is tailor-made for Windows systems, yet it works more than fine in Mac ones. Available at a price of Rs 454, you can find cheaper alternatives of this in this list.
Even the name of the app has got an ‘I’ in it indicating it is made for Apple products. Listed as the best-selling text editor in the Apple store, it is a minimalistic writing application used for focused writing experience.
It is also used by famous author Augusten Burroughs. Though some users complain about its missing settings of preferences, it is this very feature that makes the app help writers focus on their content.
The item is prized at Rs 590.
Just like Microsoft Word is for Windows systems, Apple pages are for Mac systems. But it is not only limited to Mac users. If you have any other PC, then you can download pages and use it through iCloud. And the best part about this writing app for Mac? It is free of cost!
It is certainly one of the best free word processors for Mac. Though it has got an impressive user interface and features, it is not very popular as every user with whom you would like to share or collaborate would have to install Pages in their systems too.
Released back in 2007, it is one of the bestnovel writing software for Mac. It is also supported by systems running on Windows and Linux. You can now easily organize your documents and notes with the help of this content managing app. The app also offers various templates for creating screenplays, fictional, and non-fictional manuscripts.
The split-screen mode and drag-drop feature of virtual index cards make it a top choice for various writers.
TextEdit
The Mac word processing app SimpleText was replaced by TextEdit. It uses the Cocoa text format to read and edit documents in various formats like Rich Text Format, plain text and HTML.
Though it is not a very advanced tool, it can be used for applying various text edits to your content, adding multimedia inputs to it and writing different character encodings. And the best part? It is a free novel writing software for Mac.
A top-notch text editor and writing app for Mac is Byword, available on Mac and Apple app store. You can easily use this app anywhere to edit your stories, blog posts, and school projects.
There are various features like on-the-tip keyboard shortcuts and syntax highlighting that help the user achieve better productivity.
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Sync up your work in iCloud or Dropbox so that you can work on them from any device, anywhere, anytime.
The finest in the industry, it has been used by various authors and movie script writers in the entertainment industry. All have given rave reviews about this app. Tailor-made for the entertainment industry, it offers more than 100 templates for drafting screenplays and stage plays.
You can also collaborate with a partner for real-time writing, outline act, scenes and sequences easily. Apart from these, there are several other text editing features that make it one of the best word processor for Mac.
It also works on Windows systems.
Write!
Yet another free writing app for Mac is Write! Though currently, only its Windows version is available, its Linux and iOS versions are on their way for release. If you get quite distracted while writing your blog or story or even school essay, then use this tool for a distraction-free writing session.
Features like automatic spell-check, tunable autocomplete (completes your word before you end), multiple keyboard shortcuts, support for Markdown, Wiki, and Textile syntax, unlimited undo etc. make authors prefer this over the others.
Storyist
An advanced writing app for Mac preferred by various novelists and screenplay writers is Storyist. Talk about focused writing environment, more organized writing, easy access to all documents…Storyist covers them all.
It supports Mac systems and also works on iPhones and iPads.
With the help of this app, you can now create stunningly formatted manuscripts and screenplays and get a customized high-level view of the story with the help of index cards.
Experience a distraction-free writing session with app Whiteroom which creates a full-screen writing environment. It was developed as an alternative to Microsoft Word to provide a more convenient writing environment. It has got spell check and auto-save feature in addition to basic features of Word.
More the features more the distractions; that is why Whiteroom has stuck to the basics.
Best Free Book Writing Software For Mac Pro
Writing a movie script or screenplay? Go for one of the best writing apps for Mac named Slugline. It is a simple and elegant writing application for Mac and iOS systems. Its outline navigator helps you write sections and sub-sections of the write-up in a more organized way.
Just like other writing apps in the list, you can sync up your documents in iCloud and Dropbox and then work on them on other devices too.
The dark mode of the app helps you work in low light conditions. You can also pair a keyboard to your iPad and then write using it.
Apps For Writers Mac
- Tinyword:
Work on multiple document types like DOC, DOCX, PDF, HTML, RTF etc. and create amazing stories with the help of Tinyword. Featuring multiple editing tools like inserting tables, symbols, footnotes, hyperlinks, page numbers etc., it is highly preferred by budding writers and authors.
You can also protect your content with a password and also put editing restrictions on your content.
Focus on your story or write-up with the help of this amazing writing app for Mac. With quick note feature, easy to use interface, advanced markup editor with knowledge of over 20 programming languages, multiple work themes, cross-note links, focus mode, hashtags, smart data recognition, multi-device sync…and many more,
What Is The Best Writing Software For Mac
it is certainly one of the most feature-rich writing apps for Mac.
We hope the above writing apps for Mac help you create your dream story or screenplay in time. If you want a better work space, do take a look at free time tracker apps for Mac and Calendar apps for Mac.
Book Writing Software For Mac
Just the way above-mentioned tools will help you improve your writing productivity, these apps will help you achieve more work in less time.