Logline: For writing. And writing. And writing.
Description: Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more.
6.88/10
Main characteristics:
- Desktop / Web-based / Mobile App
- Business model
- Pricing
- Company credibility
- Customer Service Desk
- Perceived difficulty to use
Desktop / Web-based / Mobile app
The writing platform is accessible online from desktop and it has dedicated mobile apps for Apple devices.
I give more weight to online apps due to the fact that they are accessible from anywhere and always up-to-date.
Desktop - 2.5 / Web-based - 5 / Mobile app - 2.5.
5/10
Business model
One time payment. Using a new version has a discounted price for owners of the previous one.
To choose a writing software is a long-term decision. You choose a business partner that needs to have resources for updates, maintenance, and customer support. This is better provided by the a regular cash flow of a subscription model.
Subscription - 7 One-time - 3.
3/10
Pricing
One time payments for macOS & Windows: Standard License – $49
Educational License – $41.65
One time payment for iOS – $19.99
Bundle for macOS & Windows – $80
Price is an important factor in the decision to use or not a software. Furthermore, for a the company behind the software to be capable to continuously improve and offer you good customer service a steady cash-flow is a major component.
8/10
Company credibility
Team presented on the website. One of the most well known writing software. Established in 2006.
I check if the team is mentioned on the website and if they are identifiable by social media profiles. I also look if it's structured as a business or if it's a family or single owner enterprise.
Team - 10 Family/Single owner - 9 No information - 0.
10/10
Customer Service Desk
Email communication. Forum for community.
While communicating with your clients through different channels is good, having a dedicated Service Desk is important for the quality of the customer service provided.
7/10
Perceived difficulty of use
Video 7utorials, User manuals. Perceived as having a long learning curve.
I analyze the quality of internal tutorials as well as the perceived difficulty and need for courses or tutorials from outside sources.
9/10
Features:
- Research notes
- Planning and story structure
- World building
- Story elements – Characters, Locations, Settings
- Writing editor
- Analytics
- Export to Word, PDF, or eBook formats
- Collaborative writing
- Project management
- Backup and security
Research notes
Yes.
Research notes are an independent module used to gather information and keep your ideas in order.
10/10
Planning and story structure
No.
Planning includes Premise, Outline, Synopsis, Timeline as well as Manuscript Structure module.
10/10
World Building
Basic – included in the other modules.
This is a feature that can be based on other modules, but there are a few book writing software that offer a specialized module including Wiki and Visual Maps.
3/10
Story elements - Characters, Locations, Settings
Yes, defined as Story Elements.
Characters and Locations have a specific format and need to be identified as separate modules.
10/10
Writing editor
Yes.
The writing module is the core component of all solutions. I differentiate based on the enhancements offered by a specific editor software.
10/10
Analytics
Basic word count and similar.
Every solution has a report page with word count and a few other data outputs. I am looking also at features covering discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data.
5/10
Export to Word, PDF, or eBook formats
Yes.
Exporting to PDF or Word format is mostly default, but more and more solutions offer conversion to ePub or Mobi formats.
10/10
Collaborative writing
No.
Collaboration includes the possibility of writing with a partner as well as access for an editor, beta reader or translator to the manuscript.
0/10
Project management
No.
Writing a book is a project. The project management components of a book writing software have an increased importance.
0/10
Backup and security
Local auto-save and backup
I take in consideration the software solution backup as well as integration with various online solutions like Dropbox, Google Docs or similar.
Parallel server or cloud backup - 7 Dropbox or similar integrations - 3.