Pleased beyond words
I'm incredibly happy with Ulysses. I use it for writing fiction (which is then sent to Vellum for formatting, because I don't have the patience to create the level of export template I'd need to be happy with a direct Ulysses PDF). I also use it to publish to WordPress and Ghost blogs. I love the cross-device sync (invisible and just works) and cross-device feature parity. The editor is simple, and gets out of my way. On an iPad, I can run two copies side by side and use one side (1/3rd screen) for my notes and the other (2/3rd) for writing. It all works GREAT for me, and I've found the developer to be incredibly quick and responsive to problems as well as suggestions.
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The best PERIOD....
For some reason when the Ullysses app prompted me to write a review. There was already a review preloaded in and I am not sure if I wrote it or not. I was not sure because everhting this review said was dead on. I could have just hit submit and be done with the whole product feedback chore.
But... Ullysses acutlly makes me want to write. It makes me want to use my own words. It has this quality that makes me more productive and thoughtful at the same time. It's the WP equvlent of what I imagine a cofortable parir of siippers means to an old person in a cozy house next to a raging fire ala Kincaid painting. I really like Ullyesses and renewing it each year ia an expense I will happily incure.
But... Ullysses acutlly makes me want to write. It makes me want to use my own words. It has this quality that makes me more productive and thoughtful at the same time. It's the WP equvlent of what I imagine a cofortable parir of siippers means to an old person in a cozy house next to a raging fire ala Kincaid painting. I really like Ullyesses and renewing it each year ia an expense I will happily incure.
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The simple and friendly alternative to Scrivener
Ulysses is simple in the ways I care about when writing a book:
* It organises and structures lots of pieces of writing in an obvious way - it's just a folder structure
* It auto-saves all my work in the cloud (including seamless integration with its mobile app)
* It separates out the formatting. You mostly just write in plain text. Where you need headers, quotes, bullets, etc there is a very simple markup to apply at the start of the line, like # for heading 1 and ## for heading 2. The great thing about this is that you aren't worrying about formatting until the output stage. What font will you use, at what size, and how will headings look? Not a concern until you are generating your output, you can change and experiment as much as you like, and Ulysses has a number of great default templates.
I tried Scrivener but found it to be a complicated, old fashioned, mess. It was like going back 20 years in software design. You needed training to use it, and it made you work to do simple things.
Ulysses which is simple and effective in the way I expect modern apps to be.
* It organises and structures lots of pieces of writing in an obvious way - it's just a folder structure
* It auto-saves all my work in the cloud (including seamless integration with its mobile app)
* It separates out the formatting. You mostly just write in plain text. Where you need headers, quotes, bullets, etc there is a very simple markup to apply at the start of the line, like # for heading 1 and ## for heading 2. The great thing about this is that you aren't worrying about formatting until the output stage. What font will you use, at what size, and how will headings look? Not a concern until you are generating your output, you can change and experiment as much as you like, and Ulysses has a number of great default templates.
I tried Scrivener but found it to be a complicated, old fashioned, mess. It was like going back 20 years in software design. You needed training to use it, and it made you work to do simple things.
Ulysses which is simple and effective in the way I expect modern apps to be.
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Response from developer
Thank you for your kind words and detailed review. We are happy to hear you like Ulysses' distraction-free and minimalistic design approach that helps writers to focus on their work. Regarding templates, did you know that we do not only have a lot of built-in templates but also a style exchange where you can download even more export styles and themes: styles.ulysses.app Furthermore, our export is fully customizable. In our tutorials we explain how you can adjust existing style sheets or create your very own: ulysses.app/styles/ In case you need any assistance, you can always contact us directly via help@ulysses.app —Andrea
Because writers write:
Here's a splendid tool that every writer should have, a versatile engine that is devoted to nothing less than prose itself, and while it can do much more, its entire point is as simple as that, becasue as the old saying goes, writers write -- and it's really the only pedigreee any writer needs, because if you're writing, you're a writer, and if you're not, you aren't.
Ulysses takes its name from what happens to be my favorite poem, an heroic epic from no less than Tennyson almighty, who like all writers knew the agony of an art that begins with nothing, but by som curious alchemy offers outcomes our world simply could not be without.
We writers are as Tennyson penned, "one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield." Quite simply -- in a way that is both simple but not easy, Ulysses (both the app and the epic poem) helps us get there.
So download it, then spring for the modest annual, and then get to work and use it every day, because whether you know it or not, the world needs your pen, your poetry, and your prose, and we need them all more than ever before.
Five stars, but only becasuse it wont let me give any more.
Ulysses takes its name from what happens to be my favorite poem, an heroic epic from no less than Tennyson almighty, who like all writers knew the agony of an art that begins with nothing, but by som curious alchemy offers outcomes our world simply could not be without.
We writers are as Tennyson penned, "one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield." Quite simply -- in a way that is both simple but not easy, Ulysses (both the app and the epic poem) helps us get there.
So download it, then spring for the modest annual, and then get to work and use it every day, because whether you know it or not, the world needs your pen, your poetry, and your prose, and we need them all more than ever before.
Five stars, but only becasuse it wont let me give any more.
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my go-to writing app, nearly perfect! but could use more features
I've had a Ulysses subscription for over a year now and I think it's nearly perfect. But as a writer, I think the developers should consider these features: 1) a timer for writing sprints, 2) hemingway mode, which doesn't allow you to delete for an alloted amount of time 3) a feature like the app "flow state" which forces you to keep writing for a certain amount of time, and pausing for more than 5 seconds erases your progress.
Currently I use third party apps for those features but I think it would be wonderful if they could be incorporated as options for the app / sheets, like typewriter mode.
Currently I use third party apps for those features but I think it would be wonderful if they could be incorporated as options for the app / sheets, like typewriter mode.
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Not for me. Evernote is so much better
I tried this because my beloved Evernote wasn't updated for the new Mac yet. It's. . . OK. But I hate it in many ways. As a journalist I toggle between notes and stories, and there was no way to make a particular story/note open in it's own window, without openeing up many windows and removing the sidebar. Annoying. The part that bothered me most was no date on the notes, it's nice to see when something was created and last updated. I also don't like not having the option to title every note. Annoying. Perhaps there are features I don't need that make this a great app, and one worth paying for. But now that Evernote is back i have no desire to use it even if it were free.
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Love this app
Having tried many writers apps, this is the only one I have found where I can view and edit my work on multiple platforms. When you are working on a complex novel with many notes and sections this is paramount. It takes some getting used to the markdown - I find the lack of paragraph indents sometimes confusing, however the ease of use in every other area cancels that out. The fact that I can see everything I've ever written in one place and choose what to work on is also brilliant. Not so keen on the export option - if you're not into markdown and setting it all up before hand then it takes a while to get a manuscript looking how you want it in Word, which sadly is the industry standard for publishers. Also if word count is important when exporting, Word counts punctuation marks with a space either side as a word - worth bearing in mind. On the whole, Ulysses is brilliant. Worth every penny.
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Response from developer
Thank you so much for taking the time to write your review — we really appreciate it. Ulysses seems to have helped you a lot in your creative writing, which we love to hear of course. As you might already know, Ulysses distinguishes between writing the text itself in the editor and formatting it during export, according to the export style you selected in the export window. There is a built-in export-style called "Manuscript", which might already be what you are looking for. But there are many other styles available on our website and many of those are also tailored to manuscripts: https://styles.ulysses.app. If you have any questions about this or anything else, please let us know: help@ulysses.app. —Max
Loving it
I have been using this program for over two years now. As an author, I love the simplicity of the interface. I open the program and start writing, no messing around with too many "in your face" extras. Yet, this is powerful, allowing me to tag, drag and drop chapters and sections of my novels, add attached notes, and export beautiful epub3 documents that I can upload to a variety of vendors. (you can export to other common formats too, like docx, pdf, etc)
The auto backup works flawlessly in the background, so I can revert to previous versions. The other bonus is that I can share on any of my devices that are signed into the cloud, which means writing anywhere. Offline too.
The auto backup works flawlessly in the background, so I can revert to previous versions. The other bonus is that I can share on any of my devices that are signed into the cloud, which means writing anywhere. Offline too.
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Nearly Perfect Writing Tool
As a novelist and short story writer, I'm enjoying using Ulysses on both my Mac and my iPad. It's biggest strength against any competitors is the seamless iCloud syncing. Other apps are too finicky or have very limited syncing options. With Ulyssees, the writing I do on my Mac just appears on my iPad and vice-versa. I can write and edit virtually anywhere. The otheer feature I think is a strength is that all of your writing is in one container, which you can organize however you want. I like this over having separate files for each project and wondering where that story you worked on three years ago is on your disk. Features that would get it a fifth star would be better planning tools (like a spreadsheet view that showed part of the first line of a sheet, or the first comment, keywords for each sheet, the target word count, and the current word count, with rows that can be rearranged by dragging), an ability to add meta data to a group and include it in the export (for example, author name, word count, story title, and the like for a manuscript suitable for submission to a publisher), and more formatting options in the export styles.
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Response from developer
Thank you for leaving a review. We are happy to hear you enjoy working with Ulysses. I've +1'd the feature requests for a planning mode as well as for storing and exporting sheet meta data in your name, so please consider your vote counted. Regarding the latter, would you mind sharing your specific use case for this? You can do so by contacting us directly via help@ulysses.app Also, we'd be interested what formatting options you are missing. I assume you are already aware of the fact that export is fully customizable. If not, here are our tutorials explaining how you can adjust existing style sheets or even create your very own: ulysses.app/styles Should you need any assistance, please don't hesitate to get in touch. —Andrea
Apparently I am the only one
So, I really love everything about this app until Mac OS Mojave was released. I have a 2016 iMac desktop which at 25 billion dollars retail should remain feasibly efficient and functional *eyes Apple over rim of glasses sternly* for at least 5 years if not more, I would assume. Since Mojave, it can take upward of 5 minutes to load Ulysses and this is after several fake-out "Application not Responding" warnings. On both El Capitan and the Sierras Ulysses loaded in about 2 seconds. I've searched at length online for others who may ahve this prolbem but apparently I am the only person ever who experiences it. It's gotten so bad I had to switch writing app which is too bad because in terms of style and functionality I really really really love it.
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