Atticus Review: Is it worth it?

Today, we're looking at Atticus, the writing + formatting app from Dave Chesson that aims to solve a really big problem in the writing community.
Get Atticus: www.authorlevelup.com/atticus
Atticus KZbin Channel: / @atticuswriter
Preparing Your Word Doc for Atticus: • Video
Writing, Moving, and Combining Scenes with Atticus: • Video
Atticus & BookBrush Integration: • Video
Atticus Roadmap for Future Features: occipital-houseboat-325.notio...
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[@TXVETJEB]

I bought Atticus two days ago. It's door stop easy provided you follow their directions in settingup your Wrod Doc. I've had quotes for formatting of over $200. Now, I'll never have to pay another cent for all my future books. It's a great tool.

[@johnhebbe5544]

Michael. Michael. High grades for this one! Like many, I do a lot of ‘checking-out’ using videos like yours. The majority are painful to watch. Slow. Rambling. Not well organized. Time-wasters. Long list. You have risen above most of this. Today’s discussion was an absolute pleasure. Thank you. I’ll give Atticus a try. For all that it provides, the price is right.

[@Lesandira]

I purchased Atticus the other week and it has been so helpful in formatting my first novel. I can really recommend it. I'm also really grateful for all of your videos, Michael. I've been watching them for years and they have been a tremendous help in terms of indie publishing. This year I'm going to make my dream come true and publish my first novel.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Thank you. :) Congrats on your first novel!!!

[@CCoburn3]

For some time now, I have heard about all the features Atticus is about to get. They try to sell it as a simple program that combines Scrivener and Vellum into a single easy-to-use program. It looks like they have certainly managed to get the features of Vellum. But, after all this time, they haven't even started on the Scrivener features. Thanks for the honest review. I know NOT to buy the program until I have something to format.

[@randyspears9827]

I bought Atticus when it was in Beta and have never regretted it. It's a wonderful book formatting tool and has saves me countless hours in that process. That said, I tried it as a writing tool and I found my process of using Google Docs for writing worked better for me.

[@abhrapal8793]

Thank you so much for explaining this with a demo. I have been using Vellum for a while, and though I really like it, I find Apple deliberately slowing down the previous generations of Macs (Intel) to promote their new line of M series processors. I was looking at a Windows-based alternative for book formatting. This explains very well.

[@MaryJoHarrell]

Hi, I have Atticus through Dave Chesson. I think it is a wonderful app. I am just learning how if fits for authors. I will be using it for my fiction book writing. Thanks for the info.

[@txangel183]

The formatting alone makes it worth the money. Formatting has gone from a hair pulling nightmare to done in a few clicks. For writing, I feel it's lacking a bit. I use comments and highlighting a lot in my first draft as way to help my brain "move on" if I'm struggling or not confident, and that functionality isn't available in Atticus. I haven't tried in probably over a year, but I experienced the same issues on an Android phone as you did on iOS. At that time, it was essentially unusable, even within Chrome on my phone, because it kept repeating letters and jumping around. Not a huge deal since I only use it for formatting now, but it would be annoying if I used it for writing as well, since I sometimes pull out my phone to write. Overall, definitely worth the price, though!

[@makegoodcoffee]

First video I’ve seen of yours. Great! Thank you.

[@rosec-g764]

Hi, just wanted to let you know I found your presentation very informative. I appreciate how you made this program easy to understand. I'm determined to learn how to use it, so thank you for your support. I'll let you know how I do once I publish my book. Take care.

[@johnparnham5945]

Atticus is amazing. I use Atticus primarily to format my books. The results are beautiful and I wouldn't be without it. I once hired an internal designer for my text and yes, she was good , but she cost seven times the amount that buying Atticus did. My books look amazing with Atticus and I once sent a copy of my book to my illustrator who was wowed by the results. I have tried writing on Atticus and it isn't yet developed to the stage where it can challenge Scriverner but it will develop. Fo Formatting it is a godsend and it's been a seachange in my writing. I would recommend it to everyone

[@S.W.Bestwriter]

As a Windows user for 30 years, I changed completely so I could use Velum. No lie. Full Apple. Phone, watch, Macbook, Mac-mini. I used to hate Apple. I think if this had been available four years ago, it would have saved me $10000000s, changing from a system I loved to one I put up with because I thought I had to. lol :)

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Welcome to the dark side. :)

[@kristiaanverberne8419]

Thank you so much for this exciting and genuine review. I just found your channel and immediately subscribed to it. I like the simple way you create and present your tutorials. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Keep up the good work; you are doing a great job!

[@user-sk6ft2le6r]

great job explaining the program. I appreciate it. your voice is defined and easily understand. comforting, confident, and clearly spoken. thank you

[@user-bo4hu4eh1i]

Buying through your link. Thank you for this!

[@michaelgrayford]

This video was perfect timing for me. I was literally going to check out Atticus today, and I'm going to get it now!

[@opheliakee]

Love Atticus. Been using it for a few months on my windows desktop. It's great and the support team is great. Thanks for this video.

[@Comentandolasnoticias]

One important thing that you did not mention using the phone is that, even if it is difficult to type, you can use the voice-to-type feature of the phone and speak and the text starts to appear automatically, obviously you have to go back and correct it if any misunderstanding, but this is more efficient for me and faster than typing, I do agree 100% that formatting adding chapters and other functions is way easier on the computer.

[@SylviaDziuba]

Thanks for this insightful video Michael! I'm publishing my first book today, which was formatted using Word, but I needed something to convert my work into an ePub - Atticus seems like the perfect solution. I might even use it to write my next book. BTW, I've subscribed to Atticus using your link. All the best! Sylvia

[@adorablecats9891]

Excellent information! Thanks so much.

[@AphroditeLee]

Looking forward to getting this program!

[@chl4920]

Excellent information! Thank You!!

[@mlavideos5]

Very helpful information. Thanks!

[@renesbbwi]

Thank you for this video. Well appreciated. Clear and straight to the point.

[@TheIndyAuthorPodcast]

Collaborate with other authors--that's the function I'm looking forward to! : ) Thanks for another great video, Michael!

[@Archanakarthikeyan]

Thank you so much for this video, Michael. My laptop crashed this week and it really gave me a few tough moments before I was able to back up my Scrivener files. Will likely get Atticus on my new laptop so it's all on the cloud.

[@HACStudios]

Great video man! I hadn't heard of Atticus before today, but after struggling with formatting in Word, it might be something I invest in soon.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Atticus has everything. Literally.

[@BigPhilly15]

Atticus looks awesome (I may buy it) but want to remind people Draft2Digital formats your ebook and print editions for free. You don’t even have to publish through them.

[@syenite]

I bought Atticus when it was in beta still, and it's definitely improved a ton since then. I used to have (and hate) a mac and Vellum. When I lost my mac, I wasn't gonna buy a new one just for Vellum. I tried Mac In A Box to still use Vellum but it was clunky and expensive. So I embraced the CSS life and used Sigil for years until I heard about the Atticus beta. I use it as a local app/pwa with Edge browser and it's supper snappy and doesn't eat my RAM. I don't see it replacing my main writing app, however. It hasn't added a ton of features that would lure me away, especially for the plotting and revision stages. Great video, despite using Atticus for awhile now, I still learned something new!

[@RandeepWadehra]

Superb review! Thank you.

[@gw-kz9yl]

Great review, thank you!

[@gfunk425]

Love it for formatting. I have Vellum and stopped using it over Atticus. As a writing app it has a ways to go to be on par with apps such as Scrivener and yWriter. Especially for writers that have setup their own templates within Scrivener. The one big downside I see to Atticus is writing in it from my phone is basically impossible BUT for the price point it's a non brainer for the formatting features. Also if Dave's team can create a lean version of a Scriveneresque app it could end up being a killer app for indie authors. I probably use 10% or less of the available Scrivener tools available.

[@DamienLavizzo]

What did Atticus have that Vellum didn't have for you?

[@tonyapeters9195]

Best Purchase Ever.. Helped me get organized

[@DrumAdrian16]

Great video! Thank you

[@gvraymond11]

I like writing on Scrivener, but their newer iterations are IMPOSSIBLE to format in, at least to my satisfaction. After months of beating my head against the wall of a profoundly disintuitive program I bought a copy of Atticus. Less than a week later I had reformatted six books. I am delighted

[@MrsCalabresesTeachingChannel]

Thank you for this review. I suspect it will support more functions as it gains popularity. At any rate, I'm sold.

[@holdthetruthhostage]

I bought this a few months ago definitely useful

[@AriaPaigeA.I]

This channel is great, thank you.

[@thelistener13]

I've been struggling with Word for years, afraid to try anything else. Thank you for your great informative videos on how to Level Up.

[@510tuber]

Scrivener is also awesome for writing books or notes.

[@vanessajones2718]

Great job as usual

[@BigPhilly15]

Looks awesome. Does it have any outlining/notecard features?

[@writerbyluck]

Wonderful video!

[@enfoquesamanatv]

Very good video. Thx

[@ajwalker4416]

It was nice to see the other side of what the app has to offer. I only wish you had spent time on showing how to create a new project instead of importing an already written maunuscript. And the things about formatiing and exporting were good to know but not really helpful for a first time writer looking for writing software. Most of the programs I've seen you and others mention have a whole bunch of bells and whistles that are frustrating to simply getting started. I know there are "outliners" and "pantsers" with most of the apps I've seen so far are for "super outliners" when I know I'm a "panster" who has some "outliner" tendencies but I've yet to find a program like that. ☹ I have an idea, I want to get to it and get it out AND THEN circle back for all of the fine tuning. These kinds of programs seem to want the writer to have their story all figured out before they open the app. Years ago I had a program that went out of business that was simply a blank page to start writing separated by chapters and allowed for a column of notes on the side. It didn't have nested this or that or 16 steps before you got to a blank page to actually start writing. I really miss that program.

[@Boomernursespeaksup]

Hi Michael. Just found you today! Great video! Subscribed to your channel and will check out more of your videos . Thanks

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Thank you and welcome aboard!

[@TJAlex-ev9jq]

Great video. Trying to decide if I want to buy Atticus, and I think you sold me on it. My biggest issues are always headers, footers, page numbers, and title pages, and it looks like Atticus makes it all so much easier. In the past, I've paid someone to format my books for me once they're complete. I think I'll be able to do it on my own now. One question I did have, though, is if there is a grammar/spell check feature similar to what you see in Word?

[@m.e.bentoo2271]

Michael. Thank you. Very clear and well done. Except for one mistake a lot of people make for me. I'm saying for me. And that is being a novice, sometimes people say what to do next but don't demonstrate it so the viewer knows how to. I'd like to see more of your videos. This here is my big 3-part question. Is Atticus only for writing on a browser or can it be used off-line and is it possible to copy and paste from something like Word.? I have two completed manuscripts and you're right; Word is impossible to format. The third question is this. I have Windows and Mac. Can I use one purchase on both? Thanks

[@anthonyd8122]

Thank you for introducing this wonderful software and its KZbin channel to me. I believe I'm going with this one for novels, but first, do you know if there is one software for novels and screenplays?

[@merzetateexplorers]

Do you have an index software or platform that would help? This video was great. I will begin using this app!

[@deecross5028]

Mr. La Ronn, I absolutely love your voice. Thanks for this video, it's my first intro to Atticus after speaking to a friend about it last night. The book I'm working on is a novella. Will atticus work with non-chaptered manuscripts. Also, am I able to use my own imprint?

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Yes, I believe Atticus supports non-numbered chapters and you can list your own imprint as the publisher.

[@shnrbtlle18]

YES!!! It's very well worth it!!

[@jacobhubbard9266]

Question about Atticus: Does Atticus allow you the ability to mix up fonts in the same manuscript? For example, for my manuscript, I have regular everyday scenes in real life in Times New Roman font but for imagination (or dream sequences), I use a different font. This is a creative decision I made for my book.

[@kevinoflaherty8896]

Hi, thanks for your video, I appreciate your videos. Have you had problems exporting your formatted Atticus document? Mine is no exporting.

[@authorpreneursecrets]

This is good review.

[@micinomax81]

do you think it's worth the money if i use it only for a final formatting of the book, and i use scrivener to write it? I write non fiction books, and i find the possibility to organize notes and research material in scrivener very useful, but then i have to export the book in word and format it, which is a little time consuming and don't give me great results.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Yes, that’s how a lot of people use Atticus.

[@lilly4386]

You are SUCH a great teacher. You need to be on the Atticus team. I have a special request. Will you create templates for low-content books to upload into Attiticus as a page? I need lined pages for a journal. Will you also create a video on how to create the low-content books using Atticus with your template? That would make my life a whole lot easier. I am willing to pay for the template. I need it in my life now. Also, keep up with the great work.

[@cinnsuamongar]

I have IOS and got Atticus because it seemed like a good concept about a year ago. I have to go without an internet connection for long periods. I tried downloading the app IT assistance which didn't work. Atticus didn't work for me. I ended up having to use Apple's word processor Pages which is ok but doesn't have Atticus' features. Is Vellum any better for an IOS user who has to work without the internet for long periods? Thank you. Great video.

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Velllum does not work on iOS sadly.

[@RandallLeeReetz]

But it doesn't do multi column layouts? Doesn't do inline pull quotes or figures and or margin notes, margin figures, margin pull quotes, margin asides, margin images, background images, test flow around images and figures?

[@cheryldahl9192]

How do I add page numbers to my pages? Atticus seems to have problems running it. It doesn't work on Chrome or firefox consistently, and installing the app worked ONCE right after I bought it, but never again :(

[@mariedovinstumphauzerfntp]

Helpful video, thank you. 2 questions: can one Atticus account be used on more than one device (by way of a log-in)? and does Atticus work on an iPad or only a laptop/desktop? Thank you!

[@AuthorLevelUp]

Yes to the first question. Atticus does work on iPad as a progressive web app (PWA). Not ideal but it does function.

[@mariedovinstumphauzerfntp]

Super, thank you for your timely and helpful reply!@@AuthorLevelUp

[@doverbeachxyz]

Judging from the video It doesn't seem to add much to d2d formatting options which are free. But thanks for your video.

[@j5545]

What options are free? Please help

[@treasad1494]

Does Atticus have a read aloud feature like Word?

[@stylllyfe]

It's super.

[@beclear2473]

Does Atticus have the ability to have multiple sections under a chapter. For example: I. A. 1. a.

[@analyst1777]

Do you get the future updates for free?

[@LeeDurhamStone]

Observation: I assume that Atticus does not have an index-creation function. Correct?

[@Ketty-fv2cr]

Can any one share me thier Atticus logins privately Can't afford one right now 😢

[@burntgod7165]

No, it is NOT worth it. Atticus is emperor's new clothes. Many "self-publishing gurus" advocate it because they have affiliate links on their channel. But the software is clunky and unwieldy. It is certainly not a writing tool. It is terrible at handling a lot of photos, and forget about laying out pages of photos. Navigating is also poor, and it is easy to get lost. It can format for you, but only a novel or nonfiction book, really. Everything else is problematic. I bought it, but I'd issue a caveat to anyone thinking about it. The Help is good, though; they respond quickly, but don't solve the issue all the time. Everyone slams it, and rightly so, but Word is still king, albeit a bit of a tired and slightly mad one.

[@RichardGarrisonScreenwriter]

After having purchased it and trying it a few days, I'm beginning to agree with you. The main problem I have is with its hyphenation. Atticus's algorithm causes fully justified text to become hyphenated at all the wrong places. Very disappointed.

[@burntgod7165]

@@RichardGarrisonScreenwriter Yes, clunky and not intuitive. Difficult to navigate. Their help is good, however, so email and they get back. That might be something you will find in the Advanced section in formatting, right at the bottom.

[@DavidCicia]

I have two programs that I use for formatting, which are both very mature and tested. Jutoh for ebook publishing and Affinity Publisher for PDF and PDF print. You can buy both of them for much less than Atticus alone. Look at the reviews. Both of these programs have many satisfied users including writing professionals.

[@fredberri7225]

Atticus was supposed to be easy. Not so for anyone who is not a computer person. Atticus is convoluted and confusing. Why can't there be a program where you upload your completed PDF manuscript like with Ingramspark?

[@jimmears]

2:20 Everything is NOT clean. The last line of text isn't indented like the rest of the text.

[@stephenbrown2054]

Appears easy, but less powerful than Word. For example, from what you show, Doesn’t look you can kern, or set exact spacing, or even do half size fonts

[@a2.squirrellette]

I have had Atticus for over a year and I really would not recommend it. It is glitchy, super slow at key times, freezes up randomly, has several missing features you don't think of until you start using it, and there are multiple formatting design issues/limitations. Some trim sizes and other things they claim are 'supported by KDP' are not KDP-compatible. And they are missing a lot of trim sizes and other features. I've been discovering more issues as time goes on. Their customer service is fast and friendly in a cheap, worthless way--they do nothing to actually help you and are strangely blase about their product's issues. It's really annoying how cheeky and indifferent they become once you've passed the return/refund window. I wish I had gone for their main competitor from the start.

[@BeeBeeBell]

I am going to ding this software big time. If anyone reading this came-up with MS Word you will not like this stripped down software. I had my book 99% finished non fiction, high content. I had it entirely formatted in MSWord. Atticus desktop is slow. When imported into Atticus it stripped ALL the formatting. It did not let me choose print size/s. Spacing, indents, etc. not available for Windows. It did not let me choose the font I prefer - Garamond was not available - neither was I able to choose the size of the font. All it displayed in formatting was a scalable font size vs. pitch numbers... and how do I know what that is in print? It is just missing WAY to many bells and whistles. I do not recommend this software and will ask for a refund and explore other options.

[@camillainsonshine]

He used the same Garamond font in the tutorial. I don’t understand why you won’t have that option.