7 Reasons to Use Scrivener to Write Your Book

I have a confession: I hate Microsoft Word. I just don’t like it. I don’t have the patience to learn Pages, even though I’ve been using a Mac for over a decade. I do, however, love logical organization and having all my materials in front of me when I need them! Scrivener has quickly become the most invaluable tool for writing my books. Here are the top 7 reasons I think you should try it out for your books, too!

*Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post! I did not receive payment, a discount, or anything free that’s not available to anyone and everyone (read #1 below to see what that means).

7. Choose a Template from Comics to Plays to Fiction or Non-fiction (and more)

I love a good template! It just takes so much pressure off of me (because I put a lot of pressure on myself). Once you choose a template, you can simply fill in the rest, right? I feel like the hard part is done for me when I already have a template formatted for my project.

Choose one of theirs or create your own!

Helpful info about the format you choose will be provided upon opening.

6. Easily Add Front Matter (so you look like an actual professional)

Writing a book is great and all, but you know who has to put in the copyright information? That’s you. You know who has to put in the title page? That’s you. Guess who has to put in a dedication? You again! Scrivener makes it easy to not only remember to do all these things, but to actually do them.

5. In-app Tutorials

Writing a book is really just the tip of the iceberg of writing a book, if you know what I mean. Scrivener makes it easy, but you know what makes Scrivener easy? Their tutorials. They literally walk you through every step of using their program to make it as easy as possible for you. Scrivener has a ton of capabilities, not the least of which is help you do what you want to do: write that book!

4. Easily Convert from Scrivener to Word, PDF, ePub e-book, Kindle e-book (and more)

This is what makes Scrivener invaluable to a writer: compiling. Once your manuscript is finished, you can select “File>Compile” and choose which format your book needs next. For instance, my Lost and Found series of travel novellas was published via Amazon from a Microsoft Word document, because that’s what Amazon wanted. Subscribers to my newsletter, however, were promised a FREE copy of each book. The format they wanted that would be easiest for them and me was a PDF document.

Related: Your Ultimate Guide to Self-publishing with KDP Amazon

3. Have All Your Resources at Your Finger Tips

I don’t like having a zillion windows open and twice as many tabs. Everyone has their own system they’re used to and comfortable with, but for me, the less swiping and clicking over I have to do, the better! Scrivener has built-in places for notes, research, a synopsis of each part of your project, etc. I’ll often jot something down in the synopsis or notes section as I think of it, then go back later to flesh it out when the time comes for that. It’s nice to have it all right there instead of in three or four different applications or windows!

I often use my “Synopsis” section for taking notes. No one is judging me except maybe you!

2. Organize It How You Like

There is more than one way to be organized, and Scrivener has the flexibility to let you organize yourself as you like! This is one of my favorite features because I’m always a little bit “outside the box.” I like to use the Short Story format when writing my Lost and Found series, but I also like some elements of the Novel format, so I drag and drop those elements where I want them. You can use or not use as many features of Scrivener as you like. You won’t go to Scrivener Jail, I promise.

The Short Story format doesn’t come with folders or the front matter you see here. I simply dragged and dropped the front matter from a novel format and created folders for each “Day” of my story, which are like a chapters. Do what you want!

1. Try It for 30 Days for FREE

That’s 30 days of use, not 30 consecutive days! It only counts the days that you open the program. I wasn’t sure about paying $50 for a program I might not like, might not use, and might not need, so for 30 days over the course of about 3 months, I tried it out for FREE, then had no hesitation of purchasing it! Even with my crazy travel schedule last year, I still got a fantastic start on my book and realized that Scrivener is so much better than Word! Seriously, there is no reason not to just try it!

Are you ready to use Scrivener to take your writing to the next level! I recommend it! Again, this is not a sponsored post, I just love the program and want you to know about it!

Want more? Check out all the best tips and how-tos on my Writing and Publishing Page!

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