Ulysses vs Scrivener,how do you decide what’s the right book writing software for you?
- Ulysses Mac App Review Website
- What Is Ulysses App
- Ulysses App For Windows
- Ulysses Mac App Review Iphone
- Ulysses For Mac
- Ulysses Mac App Review Android
Ulysses, a popular writing app for the Mac, iPhone and iPad, is receiving an update with some new features. The user interface has been slightly redesigned with a new right-hand column that acts as. Ulysses has long been a staple on the Mac, especially when it comes to long form writing, and today Ulysses comes to the iPad. I've been using Ulysses exclusively on my iPad Air 2 for the past week in the place of my regular text editing app. Complete with iCloud sync, Markdown support, and a beautiful 3 pane interface, Ulysses feels right at home on the iPad. Ulysses: The Ultimate Writing App for Mac, iPad, and iPhone Sponsor By MacStories Team. Ulysses is an extraordinary text editor for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone with an unparalleled set of advanced features and a beautiful design that received an Apple Design Award. What sets Ulysses apart from the pack is a carefully balanced set of advanced tools that writers appreciate in a refined, elegant, distraction-free UI that makes writing a pleasure. Ulysses 13 review for Mac and iOS: The best Mac minimalist text editor gets even better Ulysses has long been a dream app for writers, but new support for deadlines and coders make it even better.
For years, writers and authors have beencreating apps, programs, software, and other innovations to help with theprocess of writing and publishing all typesof books.
Ulysses Mac App Review Website
Writing a novel isa huge commitment that requires a lot of time, effort, creativity,organization, and hard work. It isn’t easy to write and finish a novel withoutseeking help from writing software and tools.
There are several book writing software available to choose from such as Ulysses and Scrivener.
When it comes to a great word processor,you certainly have a few options. With Ulysses vs. Scrivener both are popularand comprehensive programs, it gets a bit hard to make the right choice.
I have covered the two toolsside-by-side in this article. You will find full comparison of Ulysses vs.Scrivener with features, pros, and cons.
Let’s get started.
Ulysses vs Scrivener: What They Have in Common
The Ulysses vs Scrivener debate can be a hot topicsometimes, as users of each are passionate in support of their favoritesoftware. They are both created with similar goals in mind, which means theyhave quite a few things in common.
Auto Save
A simple yetimportant feature. Both programs willautosave your progress as you go so you don’t have to worry.
Version History
If you areediting your work and changing things up, you may decide that you actuallyliked it better the first time around. Both of them keep backups if you wish torestore an old version of anysection.
Writing Goals and Statistics
Sometimes,finding the motivation to write can be the hardest part. Setting goals andcommitting yourself to sticking with them can be extremely beneficial andimprove your productivity to a great extent.
BothScrivener and Ulysses offer tools to setwriting goals. Goals canbe for whatever you want – a day, a session, a week, or even a word count goalfor an entire manuscript.
Once you getstarted, both programs keep track of a few statistics so you can see yourprogress as its happening. Goals and statistics are small and simple features,but they are essential to a successful writing process.
Notes and Images
What Is Ulysses App
BothScrivener and Ulysses come with support for both note taking and image inclusion. Both of them have theoption to import notes from other places, and both offer features to take noteswithin the project itself.
Notes andreferences can be saved in a few different locations. In both programs, you cancreate separate folders and documents for anything you want – and this includesnotes.
Each of themalso includes an optional secondary sidebar. This is in addition to the regularsidebar and appears on the right side of the screen. If you don’t wish to usethis option, or you want to hide it temporarily, you can easily bring it up andput it away again.
Thissecondary sidebar is a fantastic way to add notes, references, links, quotes,or anything else to a specific chapter. Stick them in the sidebar, and put itaway for later. Mac os mrt.app. Best film planning apps mac. When you want to go back, bring it up again with a single clickand you will be able to view the notes you made alongside the chapter as youare writing.
Images canalso be of great help at times. They give you a reference for the appearance ofyour characters and/or settings. They can provide inspiration and help youcraft your unique world.
Scrivener andUlysses both offer you the option to import and include images in your project.
Distraction Free Writing
Scrivener andUlysses both have a distraction-free mode that can come in veryhandy.
Perhaps youhave a critical deadline to hit, or you’re just in the zone and you want tostay super focused. Whatever the reason may be for needing to godistraction-free, it is an essential feature that both programs offer.
The specificdetails of the feature differ between the two, but the basic idea is the same.Distraction free mode removes everything so the only thing you can do is write.Toolbars, sidebars, documents, files, everything is still there buthidden.
Both of themoffer customization within the distraction free mode as well. You can changeits features:
- Color scheme
- Background
- Size of the writing area
- Font
This allows apersonalized experience that will help you maximize your focus.
Dropbox Integration
Dropbox is a popular tool thatpeople use to store documents in a way that allows them to be easily shared andaccessed across multiple devices. For those who use Dropbox frequently and relyon it day-to-day, having their writing projects available is essential.
Ulysses and Scrivenerboth have Dropbox integration options.
EBook Export
If you wantto publish your work, which I am sure you do,you can easily createan eBook version via both the tools. Having the option to create an eBook from your projectfile is very important.
While bothprograms offer slightly different options, both have the ability to export yourwork into an eBook format.
Ulysses vs Scrivener: Where Scrivener Shines
WhileScrivener and Ulysses are equal in many important and essential features, thereare some areas where Scrivner is stronger.
The strongand powerful features of Scrivener are discussed below.
Cork Board
The corkboard is one of Scriveners best and most powerful features.
Aestheticallyreminiscent of a real-life cork board, this section can be used for a number ofdifferent things. It essentially allows you to “pin” small, virtual note cardson a corkboard.
It can be agreat tool for outlining your story. You can create a notecard for each chapter you plan towrite, and jotdown some notes and/or a synopsis of each chapter.
The cards aresmall, which allow them to be laid out at once, but each one does have theability to scroll so you can include as much or as little information as youwant. Cards can be rearranged by simply dragging and dropping.
This is alsoa great place to do some storyboarding if that’s something you’re into. It’s avery straightforward and linear way to plot your story’s main events andturning points.
Templates
Templates are another powerfulfeature that makes it extremely versatile.
Scrivenercomes with a few basictemplates in a numberof categories to get you started. If you are a fiction writer, you can choose relevant templatesfor novel writing and short stories.
Additionaltemplates include:
- Essays
- Screenplays
- Lectures
- Recipe collections
- Comic books
You can alsoimport templates if you want. This allows for endless creative opportunities. Youcan choose from thousands of templates and add them to your account with ease.
You candownload templates for extensiveoutlining, fordetailed and structured novel writing, and even for scientificresearch papers.
With so manyoptions, Scrivener really shines when it comes to versatility and variety ofuses.
Better Research Support
Most goodstories require some level of research. Scrivener reallyencourages the research process and has a lot of options to support it.
The mostimportant feature is its “research” tab that is automatically included in everyproject. You can hide or delete it if you really want to, but it’s anincredibly useful tool.
Using boththe documents and corkboard, you can store anything and everything in thisresearch tab. It is readily available as a heading in your binder, but it isneatly tucked away at the same time. You can access it with a single click andtoggle back and forth to your draft with ease – but it doesn’t get in the way.
More Complex Compiling
When gettingyour draft ready to transform into a published eBook, it is important to ensureeverything is perfect.
BothScrivener and Ulysses can help you with compiling, but Scrivener gives you morecontrol.
The user-interfaceis simple on Ulysses, but it is not as thorough and extensive. Scrivener’scompiling process allows you control over every single detail.
Windows Version
This is anarea where Scrivener has a huge one-up onUlysses. Ulysses is available exclusively on mac products.
Originally, Scrivener was a software for mac as well. A version for Windows has been available for several years now, though. While updates to the Windows version are often slower to be released than mac, it is still available.
There areslight advantages to the software when used on a mac, but the Windows versionof the book writing software is just as thorough, comprehensive, andpowerful. Legit app that cleans mac of deleted apps.
If you are aWindows user, Ulysses is not even an option for you.
One Time Fee
With Ulyssesvs. Scrivener, Scrivener is available for a one-timeprice of $40 or $45, depending on which system you are using. This gives you alifetime license to use the book writing software.
Major updatesin the future may cost a small upgrade fee, but it will not be mandatory. Whenyou purchase Scrivener, you have it for life.
Ulysses, on the other hand,requires a subscription to maintain access. You can pay $4.99 USD per month, or$39.99 USD per year.
The monthlyfee may sound small, but it will begin to add up quickly. A few years down theroad, Ulysses will end up costing you much more. They do have the advantage ofbeing available across all devices, but it is still costly.
Ulysses vs Scrivener: Where Ulysses Shines
Scrivenerdoes have some advantages over Ulysses, but Ulysses has its strengths too!There are several areas where it outperforms Scrivener.
Simplicity
Whencomparing Ulysses vs Scrivener, it’s important to note that Ulysses has aninterface that’s easy to interact with while also have a way to set your goals.
If you’relooking to focus, it’s much easier to do here than in Scrivener.
iCloud Sync
For Macusers, this is a huge advantage. Ulysses can sync all your documents to iCloud,whereas Scrivener cannot.
More Exporting Options
WhileScrivener does offer exporting, Ulysses has more options. There are a varietyof choices available to choose from, but you also have access to the Ulysses Style Exchange. This is a space where youcan find and download lots of different export styles that are created by thecommunity.
It also has abuilt-in live preview so you can see exactly what it will look like.
Share Options
Ulysses gives you the ability toshare your work in several different ways.
Easily attacha manuscript to an email, or share it to third-party apps. This is a simplefeature, but it is a great way to quickly and easily send work to editors oreven friends who have been recruited to help.
WordPress and Medium
In additionto sharing your work via email or other apps, they have included seamlessintegration with both WordPress and Medium.
This isfantastic news for frequent bloggers. Draft and write your posts withinUlysses, taking advantage of all organization and productivity tools. When youare finished, publish to WordPress and/or Medium with a simple push of abutton.
If you writemultiple pieces at once, you can even set up post scheduling so your work ispublished exactly when you want.
Split and Merge Documents
![Review Review](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134043795/393012569.jpg)
This is a greatfeature that allows you to manage and rearrange chapters and other documenttypes with incredible ease.
With a simplecommand, you can split or merge your documents. If youhave a chapter that is running a little too long – simply split it in two.
Alternately,you can easily merge two shorter documents into one longer chapter. This makesthe editing process much easier.
Keyboard Control
Ulysses hascreated an incredible way to save you both time and effort while writing.Everything has a keyboard command. You can use each featurein Ulysses without reaching for your mouse even once.
Ulysses vs Scrivener: The Verdict
When decidingwhich book writingsoftware to use, itultimately comes down to what you are trying to accomplish.
Ulysses App For Windows
Both thesewriting software have all the basics covered, and both possess powerful andintuitive features that help the writing process greatly. Each shines in adifferent way.
Longform Writing
With itsunmatched outlining, research, and organization abilities, Scrivener is probably your best betwhen it comes to longer pieces of writing.
Ulysses Mac App Review Iphone
Novels, nonfiction books, screenplays, or even anthologies areworks that will greatly benefit from the powerful features offered byScrivener.
Blogs and Shareable Content
If you are anavid blogger who utilizes WordPress and/or Medium on a regular basis, youdefinitely want to go with Ulysses. The integration with both platforms isincredibly convenient and will make your sharing and publishing process mucheasier.
Additionally,if you are frequently writing smaller pieces of sharable content like emailcampaigns or professional advertisements, Ulysses is a great tool for you. Withthird-party sharing capabilities, you can have your work out there with speedand ease.
An Alternate Option
Scrivener andUlysses are both great programs in their own ways. They are powerful,comprehensive, and have a great capacity to improve productivity. Thesecharacteristics come with a lot of complexity, however, and that may not workfor everyone.
If you arelooking for a simpler, more streamline book writing software to assist you inwriting your next book, Squibler may be a good choice.
Squibler isdesigned to help you finish your book as efficiently as possible – it suggestsa goal of about 30 days. It is done by providing a section for everything youneed to craft your story:
- Outlining
- Summaries
- Note boards (characters, locations, etc.)
- Research
- Scene setting
Each sectionis available on the left-hand side in an easy-to-navigate window. The researchand notes sections have options to include images and links for quickreference.
Ulysses For Mac
Much likeScrivener and Ulysses, Squibler also offers several options to help you publishyour work once you have completed it.
Ulysses Mac App Review Android
If you really can’t decide which writing software is right for you – try using two or more at the same time! You may find that different programs can be useful in different areas of your writing that highlight their respective strengths.