Atticus.io Review

Is atticus.io worth the price?(Updated 2025 Atticus Review)

Before we can answer that, let’s take a look at what problems Atticus.io is trying to solve. Atticus software is an all in one author software aimed at indie authors and self-publishing. When originally released, Atticus promised to be an all in one author super tool. Providing powerful software to the indie author community that will allow them to plot, plan, write, collaborate and format books without leaving the software. Now if attcius.io can deliver on all of these, at a great price point, then it will be worth trying. Read on for my full in-depth Atticus Review. 

NOTE: I am using the pre-launch version, which I paid for and I will update this review as more functionality comes online. All new updates are at the bottom of the page. 

My Atticus Writing Experience So Far

I decided to purchase (pre-launch) and put the software to the test. I am currently writing my second epic fantasy novel, but when I first purchased Atticus I had not yet published the first instalment in the series. Purchasing Atticus was where planned to complete the writing, finalise the edit and format the book. So I jumped feet first into Atticus.io with a huge 150,000 word project.

Purchase was straight forward, setting up my username etc was also super easy.

At first, I was using the Vivaldi browser; it is the browser I use for business-related items, yes this is the author business. After doing a bit of googling and reading some of the content from the creator Dave, I switched to the Chrome browser (which it is built for, plus I have had problems with a number of chrome style extensions on Vivaldi) and further to this I downloaded and installed the app to my desktop. This I found is called a PWA (Progressive web app) basically a chrome app on your desktop. Pretty cool.

Organising my work, writing and formatting how it will look when published is all super easy and seamless. This really is a simple, intuitive writing and formatting tool for busy authors who do not have the time to learn some of the complicated options available. Switching between my desktop Windows PC, my Chromebook and my Ipad pro, is seamless. There is no real learning curve. Install Chrome, login, all your work is there, select your current project, write, create chapters, edit chapters, collaborate, share your work, format it, export it, back up your docs and more wand when you’re ready to finish a session simply log out. When you log out, Atticus automatically backs up your work. Boom.

My experiences so far is, this is a great product for a great price.

Writing – Is smooth and seamless across devices.

Formatting – is quick and intuitive, with lots of professional options.

Exporting – Is simple, fast and accurate. Be it PDF, Docx or Epub.

Projects – Creating multiple books, book series or projects is easy to use, set up and hop between.

I have now formatted and exported multiple books in Atticus.io, The Silence In The Song being the largest and most extensive, at over 150,000 words with multiple maps, etc. This was exported seamlessly with variations for Kindle, Paperback and Hardback. 

I wrote from scratch SEO A Layman’s Guide writing on an Ipad, Chromebook and Windows desktop, seamlessly. Again, formatting and exporting was a breeze and it is now available on all the major platforms, in ebook and print.

As well as 80 Plus Ideas to market your business each of these title was easy to format and exported flawlessly and without hassle. Amazon KDP, Google Books, Barnes and noble etc accepted the outputted documents with no issue and when printed or displayed on a Kindle E-reader they look fantastic.

I have came up against a few hiccups over the years and the Atticus team regularly update the software, even though this is a lifetime deal, i.e you pay once, the team is very active. And it must be noted that compared to other author software that I use, the Atticus customer service team is incredible. Communication is clear, useful and timely. Props to them.

Atticus Features & Competing Author Software Being Consolidated By Atticus.io

First I am going to look at the software stack I used to use and see how Atticus.io compares, both in function and price.

Plotting and Panning.

Google keep: Free: This note-keeping app is my go-to for ideas and brain dumps. It has a super handy app on my phone that is pinned to my home screen and synced instantly across my google account for easy access when I am on the desktop ready to evaluate those ideas.

Trello: Free: I use Trello for boards to plan out and outline my books. Trello is free and it works flawlessly allowing you to create and organise complex ideas into rows and columns easily. It has a fantastic mobile app which for me allows for idea creation and note organising on the go.

At the time of writing, atticus has of yet not implemented these features, so I cannot assess whether Atticus.io will stand up to these two in my writing stack. However, the road map does offer this.

“Plan and Outline Your Book. Forget the post-it-notes and subscription services. Plan your book where you write it and never forget an important detail.”

So I will continue to wait and update this when these features become available. However, even if this feature is a bust. The system I use just now would work well if the other atticus.io features work.

Book Writing Software

Before Atticus, I used Microsoft word as my word processor and then moved on to Scrivener to write my books, I have written hundreds of thousands of words in its hallowed halls. So how does Atticus.io stack up and what is its USP for moving away from Scrivener.

Ease of use

Yip, atticus.io wins hands down here. Scrivener is fairly easy to use but it has so many options that when it comes to setting up the book for formatting and exporting, I used to turn to a YouTube explainer video to get the settings and steps right.

Cross-platform use

This was one of the main things that grabbed me and encouraged me to buy Atticus, the ability to use the software across multiple platforms and OS. Years ago, I would after every session save my book and then upload the full Scrivener project file to Google Drive. Then if I was going somewhere or wanted to continue writing on my laptop (Scrivener installed) I would download the project file, open it and continue writing. When I finished here, I would save that, copy the project file and upload it to Google Drive etc. As I only had the PC license, this restricted me to my desktop and windows laptop and a lot of faffing about in the middle.

This also caught me short a few times where I worked relentlessly on a chapter and then realised I had not been working on the most up to date version. Yip, having to retrace and copy and paste between two versions. Headache. As I don’t want to lose any work, I then restricted my writing to only working from the PC as writing across platforms was too much hassle.

Atticus is a writing tool that is accessible from any device with an internet connection. Via a browser or as a Progressive Web App and works in the chrome and safari browsers, and can be downloaded onto the desktop as an app on Windows, Mac, Ipad, Android tablets etc, with all your book data hosted in the Amazon web servers. So wherever you log in to your Atticus account from, your work is there, synced and up to date. This has allowed me to write on my desktop PC and then move on through to the living room and continue where I finished off on my Chromebook Seamlessly. Priceless. Game Changing.

AutoSave

Autosave, it such a small thing but once you’ve been working within systems that utilise it like the google drive ecosystem or Neurone Writer (where I write my blogs) for a while you just get so used to autosave. Your writing is there. It’s safe and it has been saved. No more accidental power-downs to lose all your work. Your writing is automatically saved, continuously. Saying this Scrivener does have a competent autosave feature.

Pro Writing Aid Integration.

One thing I loved about Scrivener is its integration with ProWritingAid. This is a feature I use a lot. Pro Writing Aid works seamlessly with Scrivener, and now it works seamlessly with Atticus.io. For Atticus it is all about the Pro Writing Aid chrome extension. Once you have added that to your chrome compatible browser, just sign in and ProWritingAid will interact seamlessly with Atticus, including the desktop PWA.

Linguix and Grammarly Integration

Another two popular grammar tools are Linguix and Grammarly and yes they both work seamlessly with Atticus. They do not have the tools that PWA have for authors, like reports, critiques etc but both work fast and flawlessly every time, not something I can say about PWA. PWA does glitch on larger documents.

Organisation

Now, this is the main reason I moved from Microsoft Word to Scrivener, organisation! Scrivener gives you the ability to keep all of the files of your project in a digital binder and easily hop between chapters, character ideas, world-building documents, images and whatever else you have decided is necessary for you to write your book. Atticus employs a similar structure, making it simple to organise your core material within your book, allowing you to navigate and hop between chapters in Atticus.io effortless. However, all of the other trappings that make up your book research, notes, ideas, character descriptions, images etc are still to be added to Atticus, once it comes out I will update this. The road map looks promising.

Collaborate

Currently, I export my document out to a Word doc from Scrivener and then send this to my editor. He then edits it using the “Track Changes” feature and sends that back. This allows me to see what recommendations he has made, read the notes directly on the change and decide if it is something I wish to accept or reject. Atticus.io now offers this kind of collaboration completely within its software (December 2024). 

“We’re designing the editor collaboration to look and feel like word (Because most editors prefer it and let’s not try to teach old dog new tricks). With it, any editor can use a free editor copy to edit your work (when you send them the special link) and you’ll be able to see their edits real-time from your Atticus, and accept them as them come.”

From the creator Dave Via FB 27/05/2021

This collaboration feature is now live, and it can be used without sharing to make notes and track changes for self editing etc. 

Formatting

For many years, this was the thorn in the side of my self-publishing, indie author life. I jest, but it was not fun, until I found Atticus. Now, it is effortless.

Affinity Publisher

My main formatting tool before Atticus was Affinity publisher for all my print projects, be it a non-fiction title like “Smartphone Smart marketing” or a Dream, Writing Sprints or Gratitude Journal. Affinity Publisher is a top grade professional publishing software and can be used to create any kind of print media. Its menus and functionality are vast, the learning curve was steep and after creating over thirty books and journals, I am still skirting the surface of its possibilities, and I don’t think that will ever change as I am just a casual user.

Native Ebook converters.

When I published “Smartphone Smart Marketing” as an Ebook, by comparison, the print book was easy. The print version was created in Affinity publisher. I had all the correct dimensions, images, etc etc and when I created the PDF it was easily uploaded to B&N, KOBO, Amazon etc. The ebook, well that was something else. I published wide, direct through the main platforms, Apple books, B&N, kobo, Amazon etc. Each had a different system to convert your word doc to ebook. The generated EPUB files differ from 2MB to 30MB. Getting images to stay where they were placed, menus, page breaks and other general anomalies plagued my experience.

Vellum Mac Alternative

Now this formatting issue for ebooks across multiple platforms has been seen as an issue for some time and there was a strong single solution in the indie author market in the form of Vellum for many years. Vellum takes your input and outputs it into beautiful print and ebooks with the click of a button. The reviews are excellent and the fan base is loyal. Consistent output, no faff, and much time saved what’s not to love. Well, the price for starts.

At $249 it’s a bit steep for a one function software. Compared to $49 for Affinity Publisher (Top of the line professional grade print software) and the fact that it only runs on Apple Mac OS. As noted I am a Windows, ipad and Chromebook user. So Vellum was out on both price and availability. But I wanted this functionality, as did lots of non-apple users. And this is one of the key selling points of Atticus.io, in fact, you could argue that if you forget about the writing, planning, collaboration etc and just buy it for the Formatting you are quids in.

Atticus Book Formatting Software

Atticus.io allows you to output to both print and ebook. It offers multiple templates/themes and simple functionality to customise your book. And I think this is where Atticus.io really shines. In every other category of competition, it is fairly competitive, but for me, it is in the Formatting front that it really lives up to its promise. This is where it utterly blows the competition away both in terms of price $147 compared to $249 and compatibility. IOS, Android, Web, PC, Mac. Never mind the additional functionality! Amazing.

Atticus.io Road Map

See the entire roadmap here.

https://www.notion.so/Atticus-Roadmap-to-Launch-58d75fe66e0f40e0a7b39192c2cff6c3

Epic Fantasy Update:

So, I finally released my Epic Fantasy The Silence In The Song. This book was finalised in Atticus, formatted and outputted from Atticus into Ebook, Paperback, and Hardback. Atticus has a cool feature where you can duplicate the book and then use a tag to identify it. This allowed me to make three copies and changes the ISBNs, the images and formatting for each edition. Seamless.

Conclusion Of My Atticus Review

I have not mentioned that one of the creators behind Atticus.io is Dave Chesson. Dave is well known in the indie author and self-publishing space for creating fantastic software and having some of the best blogs and resources available for Indy authors. Descriptions generators for Kindle, Free Amazon Adverts courses, and his Publisher Rocket is a fantastic bit of software that helps you leapfrog the competition. So, for me seeing that Dave was behind this new product, instantly gave me confidence and this is why I jumped in on a pre-launch license with confidence.

My conclusion is Atticus.io is taking the self-publishing indie author market by storm and once all the functionality is in place, this software will be game-changing for streamlining the writing process from planning to publication. So grab your license and join the revolution.

https://www.atticus.io

Robb Wallace author of The Silence In The Song, Smartphone Smart Marketing and SEO A Layman’s Guide

FAQ Atticus.io

Is atticus writing software good?

Is atticus formatting software any good?

Yes, compared to the competition, atticus book formatting is a breeze. A few options, a few clicks and you are ready to upload your book to be published.

Can I create both eBook and Print books?

Yes, with Atticus you can use the same file to export to both ePub and PDF for your digital and print-ready books, or you can create duplicate versions of your books to make custom adjustments unique to each version.

Is there a limit to how many books/or pen names you can format?

You can format as many books under as many pen names as you can want – there are no limits!

Do I have to be a professional formatter to use Atticus.io?

You definitely don’t need to be a professional formatter or designer to use Atticus. It is a simple as can be.

Can I use Atticus on both my PC and my Mac?

Yes – you can use Atticus anywhere that has a browser, including PCs, Macs, Chromebook, Linux and most tablets.

Is it an annual subscription or a one-time cost?

Atticus is a one-time purchase and will include all future updates at no additional cost!

Updates February 21, 2024

Added ability to search by title, author, project and version
Added ability to sort by title, author, project and version

Updates February 14, 2024

Improved user interface across all of Atticus

Updates November 21, 2023

Enhanced support for importing text formatting of footnotes from docx
Fixed crash caused by text deletion in text message feature
Fixed chapter heading image location not respected on Kindle

Updates November 9, 2023

NEW FEATURE – Text Messaging
NEW FEATURE – Call-Out Boxes with Advanced Customization

Updates November 2, 2023

Moved ePub export process to the browser
Fixed exports failing due to opacity setting in custom themes

Updates October 4, 2023

Enhanced footnotes and endnotes
Fixed block quote attribution not included in docx export

Updates August 24, 2023

NEW FEATURE – Hanging Indent Block
NEW FEATURE – Custom indent setting
Fixed H3-H6 not applying ‘keep settings’
Fixed DP Sans Mono not displayed in the editor

Updates July 27, 2023

NEW FEATURE – Multi-level Subheadings H2-H6

Updates July 20, 2023

Fixed crash caused by ‘null’ url
Fixed page break not working when applied to centre aligned block
Fixed ePub validation error for Greek chapter titles

Updates June 15, 2023

Fixed crash caused by deleting parts and keeping children

Updates June 6, 2023

Ability to define smaller font size for any chapter heading
Fixed crash caused by pasted tables

Updates May 24, 2023

NEW FEATURE – Simple Boxset Creation
NEW FEATURE – Volumes
NEW FEATURE – Parts
NEW FEATURE – Scenes
NEW FEATURE – Chapter Level Settings
NEW FEATURE – Option to replace title page with full page image
Major update to the theme builder
New scene break options
Dynamic scroll bars that are easier to see

Updates January 19, 2023

NEW FEATURE – Best of Both option (combines orphan/widow handling with page balancing)
NEW FEATURE – Attribution setting for Block Quotes

New Additions to Atticus: UPDATES  2022

• Large print options for dyslexic friendly books.
• Book Brush Integration
• Reusable elements – images etc.
• Set Book Goals.
• Book level goal tracking
• Internal Links
• Custom Theme Builder
• Image Compression
• Full bleed images
• Chapter Header images
• Duplicate book feature
• RTF Import

New Additions to Atticus: UPDATES 07/09/2021

Custom Theme Builder options:

• Font choices: 35+ fonts to choose from for your chapter number, chapter title and subtitle

• Size and alignment: ability to choose the font size and alignment for each of the chapter page elements. (This also makes it really simple to add a quote at the beginning of a chapter.)

• First sentence after a break: you can choose to apply the first sentence formatting (dropcaps or small caps) to all sentences following a break

• Add images to your chapter heading: you can choose to add a custom image to your chapter header

  • you can add a small image between any of the chapter heading elements

  • you can choose to use a single image or a different image for every chapter

  • you can choose to add a background image

New Additions to Atticus: UPDATES 07/09/2021

• Duplicate your book instantly

• Online and offline backup directly to your computer

• Copyright template

• Choose to include a front and back matter pages in ebook, print or both versions

• Small caps/monospace/sans serif text blocks for quick and easy text or email messages

• .docx exporting

• RTF importing

New Additions to Atticus: UPDATES 04/07/2021

• Export – .Docx
• Error checking – New code for error checking auto-save functionality if the internet connection drops.
• Error Exporting – Now generates a message telling you if your export has failed.
• Export buttons- No add to the chapter previewer. 

New Additions to Atticus: UPDATES 03/06/2021

• Word count: Book level, Chapter level and Selected Text

• Page-side selection: Ability to choose whether any page or chapter starts on a specific side of your book (right, left or no preference)

• Version specific settings – You can now choose whether any Front or Back Matter element shows in your ebook, print book, both or none

• Ability to delete Title Page and Copyright Page – this will be excellent for those who want to design their own Title Page

• Chapter navigation below the previewer – Navigate through your chapters with a click of button to see how they’ll look on any device

• Title Page improvements – The pre-developed title pages have been updated to reflect your feedback and suggestions