Chapterly for Authors

 

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Okay, enough ads! You’ve read my how-to and info about Chapterly. Now let’s talk about how this app works for authors.

The app provides many resources for authors with the basic $10 level. I think my favorite was the planning board. It’s nice to have a free-form planning app built into the program. Unlike Scrivener, you don’t need to buy the additional flow chart app to plan. The chart is within the story folder. How many of us forget the plan and need to consult? It’s nice not to have to find it in another program.

The book cover feature is another unique piece. You can create a paperback cover quickly. For me, paperback covers are magical and can only be created by graphic artists. This feature alone might save you hundreds of dollars. Remember, though, graphic artists know all those secret things that make covers stand out. I’m not saying we can’t make our own covers. But we all know that sometimes homemade ones stand out (as bad).

With all the other paid features built into the app, authors can find editors, cover artists, and mentors easily. In this industry, word of mouth is often the only way to find such services. Having everything within one app helps authors keep the details simple and clean.

That being said, unless you need those services—covers, editing, etc., I would not recommend Chapterly. It’s expensive at $10 for a basic subscription. Other software gives you more for a low-tier price (Office 360) or one price to purchase the license rather than a subscription (Scrivener).

Their ads were very aggressive. Users must enter payment information before the free trial. How many of us forget to unsubscribe? Once I put in my payment info, a coupon page came up. It offered discounts for the paid program. A good discount, except that the offer showed up three times, asking me to shell out another 200 immediately. The coupon was only valid for ten minutes. I hadn’t even tried the app yet!

Inside the program, I didn’t care for the folder window on the left side. If you have only one or two projects, it’s great. But the window shows all your projects in one space. If you add a new book, it loads under the last one. This can become very confusing, and I could see my work becoming more disorganized as I added. I have many, many projects on Scrivener. I need each to be its own file.

I won’t say I don’t recommend Chapterly, but it didn’t work for me. I like free or one-time-payment software. I hate ads and disorganization. The structure and the add-ons were not useful for me personally. I hope this information will help you choose if the app is for you.