What do you guys think? Have you tried Google Docs? What do you prefer writing in when it comes to software? Tell me in the comments!

I use Google docs and have Grammarly installed to check the spelling/grammar. It's on beta right now, but it seems to work pretty well. Being able to write a couple of sentences on my phone whenever and wherever has really helped.

I've used Google Docs to write for years, but you still showed me some things I hadn't known about.

I just switched over to google docs myself and so far I’m digging it! I used scrivener for a while but honestly it was just overkill for me. I don’t like cycling between different features and screens once I have my manuscript open so I make all my notes and flowcharts on paper and note cards that way I can just look at them while I write and not have to move around on the screen once I get started.

I thought I'd let you know that I've been linking this video to a bunch of new writers I meet on beta reader forums. It's so nice to have a way to show them how to use the collaboration feature for beta reading.

I LOVE google docs! I used to do Scrivener but lost lots of work from it. Never doing that again! Google Docs ftw!

I switched from Scrivener to Google Docs this February. I’m in love 🥰 with it. I’m a convert. I also use Google Tasks within Google Docs for my plot points (Thank you for your recommendation of Super Structure by James Scott Bell - it’s been a game changer for me). It’s nice to have both Google Tasks and Doc open in one screen. It is such a quick and easy way to reference my “sign posts” when I’m writing on the go and away from my office and cork board. I’m seriously now considering investing in a Chromebook.

I’m starting my writing journey and finally figured out a system that works for me. And you are the first person I’ve found who has a similar process as me. I love it. Scrivener is a good program but I couldn’t get around the fact that it’s not cloud based. Absolutely love the cloud based part of Google Docs. The fact that it’s helpful for Beta readers is so helpful to know, when it comes to that stage for me!

I write the first draft in Scrivener. Every once in a while I compile and save the compile to Google Docs (as a word doc), just for an additional back-up. Then, when I'm done with my first draft, I use Google docs for beta reads for all the reasons you say. It's fantastic for collaboration. I just prefer the flexibility of being able to jump around in Scrivener. I don't think it's as easy to do that in Docs.

I love Scrivener. Everything from outlining, to research, to character profiles is in Scrivener. I wouldn't use anything else. I use Google Doc for other things, but it's not my favorite for writing. Scrivener saves as I write (it always has, not sure why your version didn't). There's no zipping--if you want to work on another computer, just email the one project you are working on or export it as another kind of file. I've never lost anything. I've been using it since 2009. Everything I need is there. Everything connected to my project is in one place. I never have to stop and look up information. That alone makes any drawback worth using Scrivener. I never have to go looking for character sketches, or research, or pic, or relationships, or any other information related to my novel. Everything is one click away. Everything is there. I do backup Scrivener and my entire computer because you never know when things can go wrong. I isn't good for Beta Readers, but it's simple to export your Scrivener file and put it on Google docs.

I love Google Docs for the review stage (beta readers) and submissions (manuscript). For drafting, it's a bit unwieldy if you move scenes around a bunch. Google Docs just doesn't support moving things via the outline tool. It also can't produce something of publishable quality since it doesn't support hyphenation. Otherwise ... It's a brilliant tool for all the reasons you mention.

Thank you for making this video. I use Scrivener for outlining, brain dumping, organizing, and drafting, and then copy and past scenes into Google Docs to share with my readers. . I love Google Docs for all the reasons you mention.

Thanks for the video! I am so with you about Scrivener. It became more about the software than the writing/story. I kept trying to force myself to use it because I paid for it. But a the end of the day, I just didn't enjoy using it. I primarily a nonfiction writer and I write devotionals so all of the features just got in my way. I know that Scrivener has a "nonfiction" template, but it really feels like more of an afterthought. Thanks again for pointing out the features of Google Docs I didn't know about! (new subbie).

Love Google docs!! I’m new to writing and I’ve found it to be so user friendly. Quick question? Where do you get good beta readers when you’re a newbie like me who has absolutely no following yet? Great video! 👍🏽

Hi Sarra! My ultimate trick to never lose any files when writing or composing music is; to save multiple versions of the document with numbers of versions. Let's say your document title is ''In the shadows'', you save it: intheshadows1, then after a while, save it to intheshadows2 and so on... So you don't delete or overwrite on top of older versions, you just save on a new version number. So anytime something happens you can go back as many version as you want. You can go back to older versions when the chapters where in different order or your story line was different... I have as many as 70-100 versions sometimes per file. Writing does not weigh much anyway, it wont' full your computer and their easy and fast to back up to external drive. You can even put them on a small external drive in a safe deposit box at the bank like I do and renew the back up with a new saved back up every week for extra protection. Thanks for your Videos, your great!

I'm writing my first novel in Google Docs. I love it and you taught me some of the features I didn't know about, so thank you. The spell/grammar checker isn't the greatest as you said, but honestly Word is only a smidge better.

You just saved my whole entire writing life! I couldn't get through the whole video before I ran over to google docs all my stuff was there! My stuff from collage was there! Thank you so much for this wonderful idea!

Scrivener has changed soo much since it first came out, crazy tons and some of the flaws mentioned have been fixed! :) You're right though, crazy detailed programme, I'm not sure I'll ever figure it all out-- or need to. Sounds like Google Docs has changed a fair bit since I last used it too!!

Scrivener has a desktop and mobile version. If you change your save file to dropbox or google drive, you can automatically save to the cloud and they stay in sync. I love Scrivener. I love that I can just pull out my phone and use most of the features when I am stuck waiting somewhere.

Backup is auto on Scrivener now! Loved this video, Sarra!

I went into this video like "SCANDALOUS!" But now I can see all the huge pros of Google docs and why it works great for your process and collab. I really like the outline feature. That's my #1 con to anything but Scrivener, not having the binder, but this isn't a bad alternative. If I ever go away from Scrivener, I would try Google Docs, although I'd really miss the targets and word count trackers. That's definitely one of my absolute favorite features of Scrivener, and it works well with how I work as a writer. Awesome video!

Yay SAO! Also, I'm so thankful for this! I've moved most of my writing to a tablet which doesn't support Scrivener. This is huge! Thank you!

I’ve been living out of Google Docs recently and I LOVE it! So far I’ve only used it for co-writing a series, but I’ll have to try it out for a solo book 😁

I love google Docs. I don't see changing that at any time in the future. I tried Scivener, but I really didn't like it and I didn't need all the extra stuff. I use Evernote for my notetaking and outlining, and it's free too. Thanks for this video!

Scrivener was just too much for me - I also prefer to do my plotting on paper, and I like my word processors as simple as possible. Google Docs has been my go-to for the past year. I never even realized the potential for collaboration, so thanks for sharing that! Great video!

I write in Scrivener but my Scrivener is set up to save to Dropbox so every time it saves, it's also backed up (Dropbox does versioning too). Scriv autosaves every few seconds. Plus I have other backups going on as well.

Thank you so much for saying "Everybody should be using an editor". Love your content.

Just save the original scrivener file in your drop box or Google Drive. Every time you save it, it automatically updates that file, so there is no need to 'zip the program into the cloud' on each save. You can also pull from that same file on any other computer that runs Scrivener, and it will save it right back.

Google Docs have made my series bible possible in the cloud for free, I always recommend it to my writer friends

I am learning, and thank you for the training

Wow. Ive been writing primarily in Evernote, but last night I downloaded Scrivener for Nanowrimo. The full tutorial takes TWO HOURS! LOL I'm still going to try it during the free trial period, but I'll be keeping all these Google doc features in mind. Thanks for an awesome discussion!

Another SAO fan here! Thank you for all the Google Doc tips. I never thought about using the headings options to make POV tracking easier! Also, I always deleted instead of resolved my comments (leftover from Word formatting errors!). It's awesome to see that "resolved" still tracks without affecting the document. My only frustration with Google Drive is forgetting to "see"/download the offline edition before I walk out the door. Do you know the settings you use to make it accessible no matter where you are? I use the Grammarly plugin for Google Docs. I run advanced grammar through a program called Smart Edit for passive voice, formal name usage, advanced grammar, repetitive word usage, etc. You can get a free version for Google Docs called Atomic Scribbler. I haven't used it, but I love the one for Word.

I agree with you. I lost things in Scrivener too. When you are a writer and you are trying to write books, losing parts of them is catastrophic! It is suppose to be a lifetime program. You pay for it and can go in anytime and reload it if you lose it or have a problem. That worked for a while, but the last time my computer crashed and I tried to upload it to a new computer, it wouldn't work. I will never use Scrivener again! Recently, I started using Google Docs and it is working so much better and when you download writing apps that are available, I like it way more. Plus it is FREE!!! Thanks for your video. :)

I always used g-docs, and recently bought scrivener. My editor was not used to google docs, but once I just said "just get on google docs and I send u the draft" and he tried it out, now I converted him. Hahaha, I like scrivener too cause I feel its more organized, u can synch it on docs actually. But I prefer google docs for all the reasons u told. Also, the headings goes automatically on outline if u just jump line or change it to bold. It does on mine.

Love Google docs 😍 I use this mainly so I can access my story anywhere on any device, and if I get ideas or notes I can keep it all in one place. I have google forms setup for beta readers to use alongside the chapters for additional thoughts and questions. 😁

I also write in Google docs because I love using the durable, comfy keyboard of a chrome book. I also love the lightweight to set it on my lap to write. It also fires up so fast.

Two years later and the first time seeing this video. I'm encouraged to try Google Docs and see how far they've come since this video was posted.

Outlining: Microsoft OneNote Writing the novel: Google Docs Scrivener: does NOT work on multiple Platforms

I have a Chromebook and I use Google docs. I love it!

Thank you so very much!! This was really helpful for me - especially demonstrating the editing capabilities. I really appreciate you sharing this information!

I use a mixture of both. I tend to do my planning, research, and first draft, in Scrivener. Then transfer to Gdocs for editing and beta/sharing with others.

I have a Chromebook and love writing in Google Docs!💜I also love how I can write offline and not worry about it not saving and write with the GD app. Another thing I do to save my projects is back up my flash drive every other week or so, just to be safe.✨

THX for introduction. very informative.

I used to write in google docs, but for no reason, I stopped. But now I'm thinking seriously to move all my work there. My main reason is that maybe one day my laptop will crash and all the work gets lost. Great tips and thank you for sharing. Means a lot XO

I couldn't agree more, Sarra! When I first using Google Docs, I was a bit skeptical because I'd worked with Microsoft Word for so many years -- like, pretty much since day one. But three years into using Google Docs, I LOVE it! I don't have to email my docs to myself anymore or constantly switch them back and forth from flash drive to my hard drive. It's amazing!

Thank you for making this! Google docs has been such a life saver. I often wonder why writers don't talk about it enough

Scriv lets you save to Dropbox, so you can bounce from computer to computer.

I love doing my brainstorming, outlining/storyboarding, and main writing in Scrivener but I think I'm going to use Google Docs for Beta Readers. I finished my first draft at the end of December and I'm starting my second draft now. Although I have three months before my second draft will be ready for Betas, I've been trying to get ideas on how to do it. Thanks for the video. It has given me a lot to think about.

I use GD with my betas. I love it. Another good add-on is pro writing aid. Right now I'm trying out Ulysses because Scrivener was too big. I'm debating whether I'll stick with it or go back to Google Docs.

Thanks for sharing with us your Google Docs working flow.

I am definitely a Google docs writer. I have a HP chromebook. I am a cull time student and I work full time, so I love the fact that o don't always have to lug my laptop around, I can just pull out my phone and work on which ever project that I'm working on at that time. Its a ease to use. I also found something else really helpful which is the document history, I accidentally did something to one of my chapters and thought it was lost, but found the document history tab and was able to restore it. Was a huge relief. I love google docs hands down.

Just came across this video, and as usual, I love your stuff. I’ve used Google Docs before because I liked the idea of being able to use any device, but I always had trouble with formatting. You made that a little easier so thank you. One thing you didn’t cover though was how you go from finished Google Doc to publishing. Can you upload straight to Vellum or other formatting program? Or do you save it as a Word doc and format from there?

I've been on and off binge watching your content for about 18 hours again now and I hadn't seen this one before! Was just using Google docs myself

I have never had to hit the SAVE button in Scrivener. It saves automatically, and can sync automatically to Google Drive or Dropbox. Personally, I plot and write in Scrivener. I edit in Word. And I save backups in Google Docs. The collaboration is still tricky in Scrivener, so Gdoc totally wins there. I want to show you screengrabs of all the color-coding and customizations I do in Scrivener! I think the crafter in you might get interested again ;-p

This helped answer all the questions I had about deciding on a MacBook or a Chromebook. You’re wonderful.

Really good tips! I’ve been using Google Docs but I was having a hard time trying to keep my document organized. Using headings is a great idea. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for this video. I thought I was alone in writing my novel in google Docs! I've learned so much about it that I didn't know existed through this video! One thing though. I have experienced losing two paragraphs of work because google hadn't saved it yet. Just thought you should know about that. I'm really careful with it now. I had highlighted the paragraphed to check how many words I'd done during that particular writing session and accidentally hit the delete button. When I went back to undo my mistake it wouldn't let me and I tried a couple other things and it still didn't work. I guess those paragraphs needed reworking and now they're better (fingers crossed lol). Thanks again and I look forward to your next video!!

I like Google doc. I also save it in Word to send to my editor.

I prefer Google Docs since it's so easy. I've only used Scrivener once and I will say the program is amazing! But I have a Chromebook too, so Google Docs is easier for me. I own a PC but I don't write on it and I share it with multiple people, so if I'm writing, I like to write in my room, or in other places where I have to move around my computer. A desktop just doesn't work. So for me, I like my laptop and Google Docs just works perfectly with the automatic save, the easy opening, the no cost, and the Chromebook problems. And I totally agree with other devices!

Just bought Scrivener and its much better than when you were looking at it. Maybe time to have another look.

They've made everything way more seamless on Scrivener - esp for the Apple version. I use the Dropbox service to access all the cloud-based things you mention and Scrivener allows you to auto-save on your own schedule so you can have it set to save every few seconds or when the software closes down or whatever. An app called Scrivio does all of the phone/iPad stuff you've mentioned. Haven't tried to collab with Scrivener - thanks for putting this out there - I'll have to check into doing something like that. To do the edit/feedback stuff you talk about, I've been exporting a version for them.

I've been using google docs on my phone to write notes as I had been traveling a lot the last 2 years between my home and my fathers to look after him. I had no idea it had all these features! Thank you for making this video, I will definitely try google docs for an entire novel.

I will have to look into Google Docs... Currently using Writer Plus on my Amazon tablet.

Thank you for this video! I'm a Scrivener girl, but I will take this for a test drive. BTW, your new video camera works great! Very professional looking.

I appreciate this so much. Ive been writing on a typewriter, srsly, like a Royal travel mechanical typewriter, for years bc it helps me avoid distractions, which in my ADD case should just be termed "actions" because i do more distractions than actual actions, but anyway, I haven't found a program that turns the scanned pages into a pdf that I can then turn into a word document that can also handle my smudges, bad typing, markings and edits, etc. With any regaroty, like it is faster to just retype it into word. Soooo I decided to just suck it up and turn off wifi and use Word, but Word is the same Word i used in like 2013; not that great, do not love, okay only. I love this idea of Google docs autosaving and being available on all devices. Huge. These other tips are also pretty boss. Thank you!

It's 3 yrs later. Not sure if you're still on Google docs but I use scrivener on Mac and windows. I set the location to save in dropbox on both. It's a lot easier now. I even use it on my iPad. No zipping.

The benefits of Scrivener far outweigh anything else, but it's very cool to see how you use Google Docs. I think it would drive me crazy to have beta readers giving feedback while I'm still working, but that's just how my process is. Once I'm done, I could see moving to Google Docs for beta feedback. Having them be able to see one another's notes could be super useful. But for outlining, worldbuilding, research, and so much more, Scrivener just can't be beat. And I also save my Scrivener file to Dropbox for use on multiple machines (laptop, desktop, phone) and for backups. Thanks!!

I love Google Docs. And Scrivener. I’ve also lost quite a bit of work a while back but decided to give it a proper go again. Google Docs stays my go-to though. This is a basic how-to video for Google Docs. Really helpful to clean up my Google Doc for publishing. Great video! Thanks for sharing

Google docs is so simple and easy to use! I love the auto saving feature and that I can write at work in my free time!

I just started using Google docs and I am obsessed.

An extra tip for anyone using google docs that has visual strain or dyslexia. You can change the pages background color. Go to File> Page Setup> Page Color. If you know a color that works best for you it is even possible to get that exactly by entering the hex code for the color on the custom color options.

I love Scrivener and use it for all of my longer works, or anything that requires lots of research like academic papers. I find the split-view and having things all in one place amazing. I also have a Chromebook, and while I wish there was an android app that natively works with Scrivener (which I know the L&L team really wants to develop once they have finished Scriv 3 for windows, so eventually that may happen), a workaround I use for the time being is using Scrivener's Sync > with External Folder option. This saves my files as plain .txt in my dropbox folder, and from there I can use Jotterpad (or some similar app) on my Chromebook (or phone) to edit those files, with markdown for formatting. I also have my dropbox folder automatically synced to Google Drive as an extra backup. For shorter works, or anything that requires collaboration, I'll use Google Docs. Especially for collabs, it's definitely superior. I find it's really finicky about formatting though when I want to copy & paste the finished document to another program, I wonder if you know a better way to do that? I've taken to using Calmly Writer for blog posts, because I can easily copy and paste them into Wordpress and I don't have to go back in and fix the wonky paragraph formatting, and it saves to Google Drive as well. I just wish that Google Docs played a bit nicer with other programs, because especially for things like poetry, it can really be a pain to have to go back and reformat the whole thing.

I love scrivener, I do, BUT! I have 3 kids so I absolutely HAVE to have portability. There are days where I get a few sentences on my laptop, a few on my phone, back to the laptop, etc. Google docs has SAVED MY WRITING SANITY! I have yet to get most of the add-ons to work for me, but that could just be my bad, lol. I'm just now starting to play with Google Keep, I have a feeling you could get the plotting and character development aspects that I love about Scrivener from there. Not sure yet, but it has potential. Thanks for the great video!

Since they have the pageless option I love gDocs. I put pages in after writing and formatting. Navigating the headings is super smooth and quick on the left.

I love Google docs - I used to use Scrivener, and I do love Scrivener, but there's no fear of losing material in GD.

I just started using Google Docs for random stuff but now I know I can use if for much more! Thank you for sharing how you use it!!

I hit the like button before I watched the video. Now I wish I had a second like button. The outline/navigation is what sold me. My main concern is that I give my scenes descriptive titles that I don't intend to use, i.e, are not intended for the ultimate reader to see. Hate having to incorporate those into the text. Thank you. I use Scrivener and Word. Scrivener has an autosave feature and I set Word to autosave every minute. That said, I'm really tempted by the portability of GDocs.

your explanation is marvelous Sara, keep up the good work.

Love Scrivener. Links with Dropbox. Also has the iOS app so I can write while on the go links to Dropbox, so I pick up where I left off. I also dig the cork board and index cards. I can easily rearrange chapters or scenes and keep a version history just in case I have to go back - Snapshots. Yes Scrivener does have a learning curve but once you set up the way you want, you can make it into a template and use it every time you’re ready to write. I use to have Scrivener 2, but now I have 3. Three is intuitive to how novels are set up, IMO. Maybe I will use Google Docs for a short story. 🤔 Thanks for your informative vid.

Thank you for this video! I have been trying to decide if I wanted to renew my MS Word or not. This is actually perfect because I really dislike Open Office.

I think Scrivener is much better than it used to be with syncing across devices. It still uses Dropbox, but you can set it to automatically save and sync. It definitely isn’t real-time collaborative capable yet, though. I’ve used Google Docs for 10 years and agree with all your info about auto-save, collaboration, and instant sync. I still prefer to do my outlining, research, and writing in Scrivener. But my favorite way to collaborate is by exporting a chapter at a time to share with any beta readers. They can collaborate on that and I can then accept, decline, or edit that doc. Then I can use that doc to update/edit my chapter in Scrivener. That prevents me from having my beta readers in my main doc-not that they can ruin it, because I can always revert to a previous version. But I’d prefer they were never in my main doc. I absolutely agree that Google Docs is the absolute best way to collaborate with people!

I love cloud-based writing! It's so convenient (write while waiting in line or sitting in the parking lot) and not stuck on one local machine (I can't lose work even if my old computer crashes). Also try other online text editors that are minimalistic and offer less distraction. Some are customizable to look the way you want. Some will even let you save to Google Docs. Have fun discovering your favorite.

Sarra! Love your tips and Google Docs. Also, if you have Google Suite, you can use colourful post-it notes in Google Keep, arrange and pin them - it's fun. Another feature I love is assigning your comments to people. You might know it already... but if you hit "enter" inside your comment, click on + or @ and add a person't email, it will notify them via email that you have assigned a comment or a question to them. Say, they say "Done" +sarra@heartbreathings... and you get an email. So you don't have to go back into the document until you get an email notification from one of your readers. And if you click on the notification in your email, it takes you right back to the document and the comment. It's super convenient if you need to ask someone a question. Have a great week!

This has been a game changer for me. Thank you for the advise! I get so much more done now.

I agree with you. Google Docs is the best. I use it along with Pinterest, because when I create my character profiles, I use images on Pinterest for what I choose my characters to look like and then add their characteristics with their images into one file. Then I use Pinterest for Images for my World Building and maps. You can use so much stuff together in coordination to make your book so great! The reason I enjoy doing this is the fact that just looking at these images helps me have a lot better imagination about what might happen in the story. It is so helpful to me.

I am starting my writing journey and trying to find the best tools. I really love google docs scrivener is really overwhelming. Totally over my head. I’m happy hear writers use google docs.

Love the idea of the collab for edits! That is a fab way to get things done.

You made some awesome point abt using google docs! I plan on start using it!!!! Woot woot thanks!

I love Google docs as well as their spreadsheets because of the fact I can use it on my work laptop, home laptop, Chromebook and phone - plus the spreadsheets have more features I like to use which isn't available in Excel

With Google Docs if I wake in the middle of the night with an idea I can use my smartphone to dictate directly into the document.

This was a really informative video Sarra, I've been looking into different platforms to use for my future writing and this has answered a lot of questions.

Thanks! I love your videos. The information is so useful and the way you present it is easy to follow.

I'm not sure why you had trouble with Scrivener. I have it on pc, mac and ios and I switch back and forth all the time. It saves automatically and makes a backup when I close it (which means I have backups in three different places in case of emergency with no effort on my part). If you are using different platforms, you just need to choose dropbox as your save folder.

LOVE Docs, and have been using it since its inception. Best thing is collaboration. My editor has access to my MSSs, and it saves so much time. I can work on his edits as he's making them AND if there's an issue, we can open the chat pane and discuss. SUCH a time saver.

I'm using it and find it plenty capable. Thanks for this info. It's going to help a lot.

Microsoft Office 1995 constantly crashing Word at work is why I store all book stuff on a thumb or flash drive. Everything is on one drive that is not always plugged into the computer. I can use it at home on my computer or take it with me & use it on my laptop. No internet needed. I do love Scrivener, but due to not trusting programs I really do use the save function frequently. Google Docs is handy for multiple persons updating a project simultaneously or as you say it would be handy for the writer on the go. Scrivener does have a phone app which syncs with the project, I don't use it as my projects are on a flash drive. Really enjoying your videos, thank you for sharing your experiences.

I just discovered your channel. I love it! :) Thanks for all of the great information♥

I do ALL of my writing in google docs, both my creative writing and writing for clients. I do have Scrivner and I liked it okay (I had it back up to my gdocs LOL) but I am most comfortable with google docs because most of my planning and plotting is on paper so I need an app for writing and saving to the cloud, that's it. I'm glad someone else likes it as much as I do.

I love the way you design your covers of your books who does your front cover

I've tried Google Docs and I love how they collab with Grammarly, but I seem to feel more comfortable with Word online for some reason and I love to use OneNote as a Scrivener replacement. I don't know if it's a recent update or not, but you can collab and comment with Word as well, and in the navigation tab you can click to your headings. I also have a free program called Manuskript that is similar to Scrivener. It doesn't have the sidebar where you can add photos and things but like I said I like to use OneNote for that and they have recent updates so they are still updating their software.