What software do you need to write your book? This is a question that someone asked me recently during a sales conversation. So, I want to address it — because I figure if somebody brings that up when we’re talking about working together, that’s a question a lot of you folks have as well.
As far as the typing part (whether you’re going to type your book the traditional way or dictate it, which we’ll talk about in a moment), you need to use something like Microsoft Word or you can use Google Docs.
The advantage of Google Docs is it’s free, it can be easily shared, and it backs itself up. That’s a big advantage.
For me, especially when I’m wearing my editing hat, there are some disadvantages. I don’t think Google Docs is as easy to use as Microsoft Word. I also don’t like the comments feature. Tracking changes as an editor in Google Docs is more difficult. And it’s more difficult for the writer to accept those changes.
Also, I was editing a book maybe seven months ago, and Google Docs did something strange and rejected all my edits.
If you don’t have Microsoft Word and you’re worried about losing your work, then I think Google Docs is a good option. And editors such as I can always download it to Microsoft Word, edit your book, and then put it back in Google Docs for you. So, Google Docs might be a cheap solution.
If you use Microsoft Word, definitely email yourself your work or put it on a flash drive. This has happened to me countless times and I’m sure it’s happened to my clients and future clients, where something happens and then your work is gone. And that’s just devastating. So, if you’re going to use Microsoft Word, always back the document up to your email or a flash drive.
Some people are great verbal storytellers and might want to speak (aka dictate) their books. You can use a free website called speechtexter.com, that speech. You can literally just start talking and it will put the words onto a screen for you. Then, you can copy and paste that to Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
There are some disadvantages…but as I’m encouraging you to write your first draft, I don’t want you to worry about punctuation or spelling. That’s something you and your editor or proofreader can clean up later.
It might wind up being like a long string of stuff — but you’re getting your story out, you’re getting that first draft out, and that’s what’s really important.
You might be thinking, “Well, Stephanie, I’ve got all this existing content like videos, podcasts, interviews, Lives, etc. What can I do with it?”
Well, you could hire a professional transcriber from a site such as Fiverr or Upwork. You can get native English speakers from Jamaica for about $5 to $10 per audio hour or you can get somebody who’s a native US or UK English speaker for anywhere from $30 to $150 an audio hour.
If you really don’t want to spend money on that, you can go to otter.ai. You can get a free month by using this link. (Disclosure: I’ll also get a free month.)
Then the AI, which is artificial intelligence, turns it into words that you can basically edit and paste onto a page. It’s not perfect, but otter.ai is helpful. They have a free plan, and they have a $12.99 a month plan.
So, those are basically the types of software you will need for writing your book — whether you’re going to write it by sitting down at a computer, you want to dictate it through storytelling, or turn your existing video or audio content into a book.
The important thing is to just write your book! Some people even write it out in longhand, you know, traditional pencil and paper. Then they type it or hire somebody to type it into Microsoft Word or Google Docs like I was discussing earlier. That’s a great way to write your book. There’s no one rule and there’s no shame in asking for support.
