Last Updated on April 26, 2021 by Jay Clover
No matter if you are a long-form content writer, ghostwriting a book, or writing your own books, you know how hard is to organize your work. Lots of sticky notes, drafts, and ideas written on a piece of paper or your computer – it’s all a mess. And, may we add the fact that the text should be grammatically correct and have a flow so that it’s easy to read?
There are so many things you need to consider when writing, which makes the writing process more complex. Imagine if there was some sort of software that could make your work easier?
Actually, there is an app called Scrivener, which helps you organize your work and supports you throughout the entire process, from the very beginning to the end. It provides you with everything you need to research, write, organize and reorganize your ideas and content, and edit the same.
What Is Scrivener?
Scrivener is a writing app designed for writers who write long forms of content. It helps them organize their ideas and drafts, edit their text, write the entire piece, and eventually publish it. It’s indeed as impressive as it sounds thanks to all of its features.
What makes this book-writing software so popular is that it’s a one-time investment. You pay once to download it and then you use it as long as you need it. There are no monthly or annual subscriptions. And, you can use it on various devices, including Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
Features of Scrivener
Scrivener comprises a ton of impressive features that make writing books and any other form of long content much easier. Imagine it as a personal assistant that keeps track of every idea you have about your piece. Doesn’t that sound great?
Well, now you have your very own assistant right there on your device. You can write whenever you feel inspired without having to desperately look for a piece of paper and a pen before your idea is gone. How convenient!
The features of Scrivener include:
Ring-Binder
At the center of the app, there is a ring-binder metaphor that allows you to view all your notes, drafts, and other material by flipping as if it’s a real notebook. That’s not only convenient but also provides you with a well-organized view of all the parts of your manuscript.
There are also built-in outlining tools that allow you to plan everything in advance or restructure the content afterward.
“Scrivenings” Mode
Scrivener’s editor is more than a simple editing tool. It allows you to choose how you work. Do you want to edit one section at a time or all at once? If you find it easier to divide the entire text into small sections, you can edit each section one by one. In fact, if you’re writing a novel, you can write each scene in a separate document and then put them together with the “Scrivenings” mode.
On the other hand, if you prefer working on the entire text at once, you can edit a whole chapter at once.
Editor
The Scrivener’s editor looks like a Word file. It operates the same way and has the same and more features. Using the editor, you can format your text to make bold, italics, highlight text, add comments, make lists, insert elements (images and tables), and much more.
Formatting Presents
The formatting presets allow you to indent a blockquote and make the text smaller or the heading larger and bold. They are very easy to use as everything is done with one click. Moreover, you can copy and paste the formatting of one section to another and save complex formating for future use.
Import
If you have already written part of your book in Word or another app, you can easily import it into Scrivener. Apart from inserting text, you can also insert images, PDFs, web pages, movies, and sound files.
Corkboard
If you ever searched online for ways to organize your work, you’ve certainly come across corkboards. They are the most efficient way of organizing tasks as they allow you to simply pin notes with the task on them and have an overview of all your tasks at once.
You have the same thing in Scrivener. The corkboard is one of the most popular planning and organizing tools for writers. There’s no need to reshuffle the sections of your book as you move the notes. Now, the sections rearrange automatically as you move the notes. Plus, each section is attached to its note, which allows you to step back and work following the notes.
Outliner
The outliner allows you to work with sections, chapters, or the entire content at once. It provides you with plenty of information regarding the selected part and allows you to arrange your manuscript in folders and subfolders. For instance, you can organize your thesis into Chapters and sections.
In addition, you can review the parts you’ve already written as well as write an outline of what you’re going to write next. You can also reorganize your sections via drag-n-drop and view metadata.
Templates and Icons
This feature allows you to create templates that you can use for new sections of your book. Also, you can add custom icons to the templates and any section so they are more visible and easier to choose from the outline.
Scriptwriting
The scriptwriting features of Scrivener deal with the formatting of the content, thus allowing you to focus on what matters most – writing.
Tools for Non-Fiction Content
Not writing a novel? No problem! You can use Scrivener even when working on research papers, essays, and other forms of long-form non-fiction content. Some of the tools for this type of content are a footnote, MathType integration, and templates for general and academic content.
Split Editor
Writing a long piece of content can be hard especially when you want to compare one part of the content with another, translate, check for consistency between chapters, and similar. Now, it’s not anymore, thanks to Scrivener’s split feature which divides the editor in two, thus allowing you to view two different parts of your text at once.
Full-Screen Mode
If you want to focus on your writing without being distracted, the full-screen more will make that happen. You can turn this feature on with a single click, it’s that easy. You can also choose the theme. There are a countryside scene backdrop, green-text-on-black theme, and many others. No matter what you preferred, you can have it since this feature is fully customizable.
Writing Statistics
As its name suggests, this feature tracks your writing. Actually, it tracks how many words/characters you’ve written in a day. To use it, you need to set a word/character target. Then, the feature will do the rest. Apart from showing your progress on the given target, it will also show you detailed statics, including average sentence length, average, paragraph length, and the frequency of word use. It can even estimate the number of pages your text will take in a printed form.
Metadata
The metadata feature allows you to find and save useful data. You can track the progress of revisions by applying a “Status” on the document, color-code sections with labels, and assign keywords. It also allows you to create your own metadata fields according to the project’s demands.
Collections
With this feature, you can create lists of related documents from your project. You can build smart lists, which automatically show documents that aren’t finished, drafts, or flashback chapters. You can do this by simply creating a collection and giving it a name that corresponds to the content you will put in it.
Print, Export, Publish
Are you done with your novel? Then, it’s time for it to see the light of day. Print it, export it, or self-publish it, you can choose any of these three options based on your needs. Using this feature, you can save screenplays to Final Draft format, export to Microsoft Word, PDF, and RTF, and even create a Kindle or Epub version of your book to publish it on Amazon or another online self-publishing platform. You can also use MultiMarkdown for LaTeX support.
Snapshots
Do rewrites scare you? No problem! You can take snapshots of the sections you want to revise or send for a revision. This will allow you to return to the earlier version of the file when you need it. You can even compare both versions side by side.
Auto-Save and Backups
One of the biggest nightmares of all writers is the sudden closing of the app. It’s because, in this case, they haven’t saved the file. But you don’t have to worry about this anymore because Scrivener automatically saves all your writings while you work. It also automatically backs up all your projects so that you have a recent version safely stored.
Benefits of Using Scrivener
Scrivener offers a ton of benefits to its users, including:
Offers More Features Than Word
Scrivener is specifically designed for writers, unlike Word or any other word processor. It comes with plenty of impressive features that help writers throughout the entire writing process. That’s what makes it a better alternative to Word and similar programs.
Helps You Focus on Your Work
With a ton of features, Scrivener helps you focus on your writing and achieve your daily goals. Some of those features are Writing Statistics and Full-Screen Mode.
Offers Various Templates
Scrivener offers templates for writing content in different formats and styles, including:
- Non-fiction – academic papers following the APA, Chicago, and MLA style. It also features tools that include mathematical and scientific data for scientific and technical research papers.
- Fiction – novels and short stories.
- Scriptwriting – allows you to format your script, screenplays, stage plays, and a few other types. Plus, you can use it with Final Draft and other scriptwriting programs.
- Miscellaneous – recipes and lectures.
Organizes Your Work
As a writer, you have lots of ideas related to the project. Now, you don’t have to write them down on a piece of paper or sticky notes. Scrivener allows you to write them in the app and organizes them so that you can find them easily. Moreover, it allows you to import files and links you’ve written previously to make sure you have everything in one place and well-organized.
Can Be Used Anywhere
Scrivener is downloaded and used offline. This gives you the freedom to work anywhere you want, without the need to be connected to the internet. Also, it’s compatible with Windows, macOS, and iOs, so you can use it on your laptop, tablet, or another device supporting any of these operative systems.
Saves Your Content Automatically
Scrivener saves as you write and backs up all your content. In this way, it ensures you never lose your writing, no matter what happens.
Allows You to Export Your Content to Any File Format
Once you’re down writing your book you can export it to almost any file format, including DOC, DOCX, PDF, TXT, RTF, EPUB, and MOBI. You can also print it out.
Drawbacks of Scrivener
As you could see so far, Scrivener comes with a plethora of helpful features, which make it extremely beneficial. However, it’s not perfect but has some flaws, including:
Takes Time to Learn the Program
Due to having so many features, Scrivener can be a bit difficult to understand and use at first. That’s why you need to take time and learn how to use it following the free tutorials on their website or invest in a Scrivener course.
It’s Not Free
There is a quote that “nothing good comes free”. The same goes for Scrivener. While this incredible feature-rich app doesn’t come for free, it’s not expensive either. Plus, you only make a one-time payment and use it for as long as you want.
There’s no Web App
Scrivener doesn’t have a browser version; it’s only available as an app you download on your device.
There Aren’t Collaboration Features
Scrivener doesn’t have any features for co-working. Only you can see the content you write without having an option to share it with other people, e.g. proof-readers, chief editors, publishers, etc.
Pricing
Scrivener has several pricing plans based on the operative system and purpose:
- For Windows:
- Standard License – $49
- Educational License – $41.65
- For macOS:
- Standard License – $49
- Educational License – $41.65
- For iOS – $19.99
- Bundle for Windows and macOS – $88
Updates Price
Apart from the one-type payment to get the latest version of Scrivener, there also costs related to its updates.
For customers buying from Scrivener’s web store:
- Minor updates are FREE – This refers to updates that don’t change the number of the software’s version, such as when it goes from v.1.1 and all the way to v.1.9.
- Major updates are discounted – This refers to updates that change the number of the software’s version, such as when going from 1.x to 2.x, and so on. However, if you purchased Scrivener up to 3 months before the new major version, the update is free.
For customers buying from the Mac App Store and App Store:
- Minor updates are FREE – This refers to updates that don’t change the number of the software’s version, such as when it goes from v.1.1 and all the way to v.1.9.
- Major updates are paid at full price – This refers to updates that change the number of the software’s version, such as when going from 1.x to 2.x, and so on. There’s no discount for these updates but you need to pay the full price of the update.
Free Trial
If you want to try out Scrivener, you can download the software without purchasing a license. The free trial is available only for Windows and macOS versions, not the iOS version.
The trial lasts for 30 days but not based on calendar days, rather on how much you use it. For instance, if you use it every day, it will last for 30 days. But, if you use it every second day, it will last for 60 days. And, if you use it once a week, it will last for 30 weeks.
