The advancements of modern technology have brought with it an incredibly array of tools and services to benefit all sorts of professions. From automation to evolution, there is not a single walk of life that has not benefited or evolved from this. Naturally, this includes the publishing and writing industry which can be considered a legacy profession. As such, there is perhaps more skepticism around technology being introduced due to it being somewhat set in its ways but regardless of how slow the progress is, change is inevitable.
One company that speaks to this change is Living Writer. They describe themselves as “the most efficient online writing service available for anyone looking to create or finish their next work”.
As we said a moment ago there is likely to be some hesitancy around utilising technology to help with one’s work, but in this review we will take a close look at exactly how Living Writer works as a service or tool, what sort of price point it sits at and ultimately whether or not it is worth considering for a writer who may be seeking extra help with their work.
We want you to make informed decisions when it comes to how and where to invest your money. That’s why our mission is to help educate authors on the various self-publishing companies and services that are on the market today.
Our reviews are meant to be unbiased, 3rd party reviews, but we will speak up if there is a scam or a clearly better option.
What is Living Writer?
Living Writer is very much a modern day tool that aims to assist writers with their work. Perhaps for those who do not have a mentor, have not undergone formal training or simply need assistance with getting their work over the finish line.
Having studied the best practices, the most ideal features, interesting tools, and the workflow of various types of authors, Living Writer was put together for the purpose of creating the most expansive, functional, user-friendly writing program available. Their aim is to break the mould and to continuously improve on the platform, take feedback from the writers using the platform so that and take Living Writer can evolve over time to be a self perpetuating tool of improvement.
To their credit they also acknowledge that they are not the only application available for such a purpose. Whereas many companies make grandiose claims about being a unique solution Living Writer acknowledge that choosing which service to assist with a writers work is far from easy. To write a novel masterpiece is not easy.
It is difficult to have a full grasp on numbers and percentage of users in the market but Living Writer claim that most writers choose Living Writer because they value exactly what writers value in a writing software. Their main focus is on on-going agile development with feedback from writers like you contributing to our features. These features are built into the writing software in an intuitive way with security in mind. On a more general level they want to cater to each writers needs. Whether it is with the app itself or with their partnerships with other services, the overall aim is that no writer stops using Living Writer until their work is finished.
Living Writer updates happen as frequently and quickly as possible, so that users never have to wait too long for the next version or evolution in the product. They strive to work in a very agile way and have a heavy focus on new and improved features every month.
Whether it is massive updates to current features, performance upgrades, or brand new shiny toys delivered in intuitive ways – they say they have all users covered. Users can even follow along with the roadmap and submit requests for features using the feature upvote section.
One of their key strengths is the fact that they have got UI/UX certified designers, because they value ease of use above all else. If there is ever a “how-to” question being consistently asked, they dive in immediately to see how they can make it more intuitive. So far that have received rave reviews for their user interface and ease of use, but use that as motivation to keep improving rather than rest on their laurels.
Living Writer was ultimately born due to a lack of solid software for writing. The founding team are all writers, and some are already published authors. Their vision for the future is to be the singular point for all writing needs. To do that they are steadily partnering with other companies to give users the tools and services to get the job done with absolutely no extra cost. This is on top of all the ongoing feature updates already on the roadmap.
Living Writer Pricing
Price wise there are no tiers with regards to features which certainly simplifies the process. This means that potential users will not have to weigh up which features would be of use to them and which they can live without, something they can be difficult to ascertain without first hand experience of using the tool.
Instead, there are two price points based around length of sign up. A user can either pay;
⁃ $96 which is billed yearly (averaging out at $8 per month
Or
⁃ $9.99 monthly (if used for a year would be $119.88)
To help with making this decision, all users have access to a 14 day free trial to see it for themself and then make a decision. It will ultimately depend on how long the users time spent using the service will last for and if they have one project or multiple upcoming that they will need elongated use for.
Potential users may wonder why Living Writer have opted for a subscription service. Helpfully, they answer this on the website and claim it allows them to provide a better product.
A subscription allows them to provide built-in cloud syncing, minute by minute revision histories of all users stories and chapters, release of new features constantly and great support. Users stories will be hosted by Living Writer forever, backed into Amazon Cloud Servers with bank-level encryption and security.
New features and improvements come weekly, not yearly like product releases of other companies. At no additional cost to the user, ever.
By subscribing to Living Writer for just $9.99 a month, users get a great product and service right away.
What are the Alternatives to Living Writer?
As mentioned earlier, it will come as no surprise to learn that there are multiple companies offering similar tools to Living Writer.
Tools such as Plottr, Scene One, Dabble and Script Studio all do similar things with minor nuances between features functions and price points.
Writers should always do their full due diligence and self evaluate their own circumstances before comparing all of the available options before making a decision. Any company that claims to be unique or one of a kind is likely best be avoided.
Living Writer Review – Final Conclusion
In summary, the combination of Living Writer’s attractive price point, the honesty about their place in the market and the transparently constantly improving product make it a great option. That is not to say however that it is vital for every writer.
Some writers may not be in a position to need such a service, if they are comfortable working in a more old school method. They may not have the finances available to commit to a long term subscription. Or they may simply just be unwilling or unable to utilise the technology that Living Writer requires.
If a writer does not find them self in an obvious position to not use Living Writer, then at the very least they would definitely benefit from checking out the free trial, and seeing the type of impact it can have.
3.5 Stars