Using a Chromebook for novel writing and editing
Posted on March 11, 2016 (Subscribe to Blog)
Updated on March 31st, 2022.
Now that I've finished Unicorn Hunters and worked through comments and corrections, I'm reminded again how useful Google Docs is. So this post is for those who write or are in any way interested in my methods.
It's worth mentioning that I started AND finished the first draft of Unicorn Hunters in January 2016, and here we are midway through March and it's just about to publish. This is a huge achievement for me, yet it didn't seem to be as much effort as previous books have been. I'm not sure if it's because I enjoyed it so much or because I disciplined myself into writing a bit every morning and night and getting 2000 words a day completed. Maybe both. Either way, two months total for one complete novel? That's a record, and I know I can do it again.
Something else that helped enormously is what I wrote it on. I used to write in Word. Then I would transfer the novel to Google Docs so that my author buddy Brian Clopper could do a first-sweep beta-read and leave comments throughout. I then adjusted and produced a Kindle version, and I typically read that "fast" to see if anything else jumped out.
These days it's different. Last year I bought myself a Chromebook, which is an inexpensive laptop with a Google OS (not Windows) that is centered around apps from the Google app store. Google's Chrome browser is of course already installed, as is Google Docs, which is like a cut-down online version of Word, completely free.
My Chromebook is small and lightweight with around 8 hours of battery life and a super-fast "wake up" like a tablet. It's ideal for writing and editing on the go. Of course it works better when connected to the internet, but Google Drive works offline too; it just continues as normal until you get back online, and then it re-syncs with the cloud.
That's the thing about Google Docs. It saves to the cloud as you type, and so if you have to quit suddenly or the battery happens to die, you don't lose a thing. I can write half a sentence on the Chromebook, shut it down, open the document on my tablet or phone, and type the rest of the sentence. (Of course, while editing and commenting is easy on small devices, writing is obviously much better done on a laptop with a proper keyboard.)
Anyway, the point is that my writing productivity has increased quite a bit. The 11.6" Chromebook is more portable than my 17" work laptop, and its battery lasts eight times longer. I can much more easily read and edit in the living room instead of making a decision to go to my office (which oftentimes means I don't bother). And I can very easily sit in the van and write for two hours while my daughter is at basketball practice.
So, once the book is written -- and I usually separate it into two or three chunks just because it can get a tad sluggish when you're up above 30,000 words -- I share it with Brian. I just set the permissions for the document (I choose from three options: Edit, Comment, and View) and allow him to comment. This means he can highlight bits and write comments in the margin. But also, there's a fantastic "suggestion" mode that allows him to actually "edit" the document text; his suggestion is in pale grey, and it's saved as a comment that I can either accept or deny. Very cool.
I can't say enough good things about Google Docs. I'm sure other people have their preferred methods, but nothing comes close to this for sharing. When we're both online at the same time, I can see his comments appearing on the side, and I can reply instantly like it's some kind of chat tool.
Anyway, just thought I'd share in case anyone is interested!
Update (July 2018) -- It's now over 2 years later, and I'm still using the same Chromebook and enjoying it as much as the day I bought it. No problems with it whatsoever. Battery life is still fantastic.
Over 22,000 people have read this article, and I still get separate emails in addition to the comments below. A common question is, "Which Chromebook did you buy?" Well, I bought the Acer Chromebook CB3-111, and at the time of writing this is still available even though it's been discontinued. A newer but basically the same version is available these days, the Acer Chromebook CB3-131. Both have amazing reviews. (And there's an even newer version here!)
A friend of mine bought a different brand Chromebook the other week, and he loves his too, but I found it much heavier than mine. His screen is more glossy and vibrant, but my less-glossy and less-vibrant screen is part of why the battery lasts so long and the laptop is lighter. For writing, I don't need glossy and vibrant, thank you very much. :-)
And regarding Google Docs -- Today, I use it 100% for my novel writing. The phone app is now much better than ever, so I can proofread my book as though I'm reading it on Kindle... except I can make edits directly whenever I come across something. That's awesome, a huge time-saver.
Update (March 2022) -- My old Chromebook is STILL going strong, and the battery life is still fantastic.
Check out all these Chromebooks on Amazon
Published your book yet?
If you're on Amazon, you should seriously consider advertising on AMS (Amazon Marketing Services) to get your book seen. It's a "pay to play" game these days. If you don't play, you'll be lost among the masses of other books. Take a look at my post, How to find the best keywords for Amazon (AMS) sponsored ads, on this subject.
Thanks for the post, I just recently bought a new Chromebook after my laptop crashed, I write mystery short stories and want to branch out into the kindle market, do you have any suggestions to go from google drive to a text formatted for kindle publishing?
Since I'm a website designer by day, I built my own ebook tool that makes it very easy for me to import my book and convert it. You're welcome to try it, but if you want any images within the pages, then it's no good to you. It's a text-only tool (complete with cover, of course). Go to https://www.unearthlytales.com/epub.
So, here's the thing. I normally download my Google Doc as a Word .docx file, then open it in Word and save it as an .html file. I then import the .html file into my tool, and it instantly splits it into chapters and works perfectly... at least for me! Then I have an .epub file, which can be imported into Amazon's Kindle Previewer tool to generate a .mobi file (and the .epub file can also be uploaded directly to KDP).
But you're using a Chromebook only, so I guess you'd have to take your Google Doc and save it directly as an .html file. This makes more sense, right? Except that for some reason Google does an even worse job of creating an .html file than Word does, and I found it often ran into problems and generated errors during validation. Still, you can try and see what happens.
Basically, if you use my epub tool, you can either copy-paste each chapter manually, or you can import the whole shebang — but I can't guarantee it won't run into problems. That's why I don't advertise it. Too many gnarly issues. It works 100% perfectly for me, but that's because I programmed it with me in mind. :-) Generally speaking, though, if you have the word "Chapter..." between each section of text, that's how the document will be split during import.
I used Word 2013 on my PC and laptop with MS 365 account to do much the same thing. The only difference was I preferred syncing it to the Word app rather than work in the Web version.
Thanks for sharing this article! I am so with you in your opinion of Google Docs! I find that there is no better tool in the way of writing. Some people use Dropbox, and that's... decent, I guess. But Docs is something else... You might not have tried this yet, but some versions of Google Docs supply the ability to create spreadsheets, slides, graphs, and more!
Wow, I just realized just how much like a TV advertisment I sound like. Oops. Well, you get the idea; I love Google Docs.
Anyway, thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work!
Brian, I never tried the syncing-with-Word thing. But how does that work when sharing with another reader for proofing and critiquing? Or maybe you just have another method.
Wondering Wanderer... Google has Slides and Sheets in addition to Docs, so technically speaking, they're not PART of Docs but separate components of an office suite similar to Powerpoint, Excel, and Word (only free). Oh, and I use Dropbox too, but not for writing. It has its uses though!
Keith, I don't collaborate with anyone when writing/editing.
In 365, you can share the document by inviting them, to read or edit, and it tells you if they are editing in real time -highlighting the words they are typing etc. However, I don't think the chat collaboration functionality is as good as Google's (yet).
Great article! Thanks for sharing!
I am brand new at this little Chromebook which I just bought with intentions of becoming a writer. All my life everyone has constantly told me that I should become a writer because I've had such an exciting life and told such great stories. Can you tell e which writer's program would be the best and most simple for me to begin my novel writing and short stories? Also, once I have written these stories, how do I then send these novels to companies from Writer's Digest or whatever (send it by mail or on the computer from the computer, and do I need to copyright all these stories first? I was told if I enclosed them in an envelope and mailed it to myself unopened, it serves the same purpose. My only selfish dream for myself is to be published before this cancer gives me my exit visa from this earth. Oh, that was my last question. What about self-publishing and selling directly from the internet? I figure I can put out at least a story every two weeks as i'm pretty fast at typing. Can you answer these questions for me and help my dreams to come true? I have 3 children's stories , a western, 1 religious story, and 2 autobiographies to do. I had 35 stories but someone whom I trusted took my old computer to backup all my books and data and she stole the entire hard drive and memory. I learned a very hard lesson and I want to get this done before I have nothing to leave my granchildren to be proud of. Please, can you help me?
Vicki, I tried emailing you, but both addresses you supplied failed. I'll post my reply here instead:
>>> Can you tell e which writer's program would be the best and most simple for me to begin my novel writing and short stories?
Since you have a Chromebook, I would go ahead and use Google Docs. There's a Google Drive app on your computer, a sort of online hard drive that opens in your Chrome browser. It gives you plenty of space for your work, and if you click to create the red "NEW" button and create a new Google Doc, you'll find it's a full (simple) word processor. It saves as you type, which is great.
>>> Also, once I have written these stories, how do I then send these novels to companies from Writer's Digest or whatever (send it by mail or on the computer from the computer)
You'd have to check with each company and see how they want the story delivered. Many will say "send by email," but they'll also say "no unsolicited stories," which means you'll have to write a submission query and maybe attach part of the story, and if they're interested, they'll ask for more. But every company/publisher is different.
>>> do I need to copyright all these stories first? I was told if I enclosed them in an envelope and mailed it to myself unopened, it serves the same purpose.
Yes and no. To be clear, ALL written work is automatically copyrighted by American law (assuming you're in America) the moment you write it. The problem is proving it. So actually what you're seeking to do it REGISTER your already copyrighted work. The best and most official way is via http://www.copyright.gov. It takes a while, and it's not free, but apparently it's the only sure-fire of proving your copyright. I registered my first few books, but honestly I got tired of the process. Still, I have plenty of online presence and history nowadays to prove my case.
You might want to check out this article I wrote years ago about a case of copyright infringement for short stories:
https://www.unearthlytales.com/author-copyright.html
>>> What about self-publishing and selling directly from the internet?
Use Amazon's KDP service:
https://kdp.amazon.com
There's so much involved in this whole process that one email isn't going to help much. I would recommend you do a lot of reading, but you can start with my own blog here. At the bottom of the page, click where it says "show/hide all previous posts" and have a browse through. I've talked about CreateSpace quite a lot (where you can print your books for almost no cost) and Amazon KDP for Kindle ebooks, among other things.
Good luck!
Thanks for the post, I found it useful to read when I was considering buying a Chromebook. I purchased one in the end, and this blog helped to decide- so thanks again! Also, if anyone is interested, I wrote a similar article on my blog about Google Chromebooks.
Thanks for the very helpful article.
I'm an author of non-fiction and currently have ten books on Amazon Books. The first five were written in Word 2003 and 2010 then I switched to Atlantis Word Processor for the next five. Now I am working on two more books using LibreOffice Writer and like it very much. I do all this on an older HP desktop with Windows 7. My Dell laptop sits idle except when I am teaching a class.
But I am currently looking at Chromebooks on Amazon and plan to buy one soon. Since I would be using Google Docs on it I wanted to get started familiarizing myself with it so I downloaded it to my Win7 machine and have started a book there. I have found that doing a project in any given software is the best way to learn it. Now I am working some of the time in LO Writer and some in GD. This latter will prepare me to make the switch later to the Chromebook.
Honestly, I cannot thank you enough for this!! I've been skeptical about using this Chromebook (I just bought it) because I wouldn't be able to download proper writing software and I didn't really like using Google docs when I was in school. Then I found your article and decided to give Google docs another try. I have two other people who edit my stuff as well and my gosh, all I can say is I love Google even more! It really does help especially with editing and it's super easy to transfer to Word afterwards. Thank you!
Love the article. Question how hard is it to move chapters around,etc for editing. I found Microsoft Word to be a headache. I used Scrivener in the past and way easy to move things around.
Glad this post has been of use, guys! :-)
Eimilee, moving text around in Google Docs, as in Word, is basically done by copy-paste. Honestly, though, I find it strange how many authors look for a function to easily move text around. When I write a novel, it stays pretty much in the order I write it. I find it odd that the chapters of a novel could even be considered "moveable." I might move a scene or two, but I certainly don't need all those re-arranging and indexing options that Scrivener provides. Each to our own, I guess!
I am a chromebook owner/user and have been for over a year! I love my chromebook and will not go back to using a Windows OS anytime soon. I still do not feel as though I got a definitive answer here about how to perfectly write an ebook on docs and submit it to Amazon's KDP for proper formatting, however, I did watch a youtube video today that was created by an author with books in Amazon KDP and he said with certainty that kdp can take your book from word, docs, even pdf and reformat it so I am going to check further into that claim before settling for writing my book in docs and hoping for the best!
I will be looking at several chromebooks today but my main concern is printing. Can I connect chromebook to my wireless HP printer to print from Google Docs, Excel?
I don't see why not, Autumn, but that's really a question to ask the manufacturer or store. I'm pretty sure I've printed from mine to my wireless printer in the past.
If I write & print offline without ever connecting to web - does Cloud make copy? Also, which Chromebook has writer-friendly keyboard?
This article came up on my search to discover if writing novels on Chromebook would be feasible / advantageous / relatively simple. You've helped a great deal. My husband's laptop died a couple of days ago - we have identical ones. Since I'm the writing one, we've decided I get new and he will have my old (less than 3 years but that's how it goes).
I'd already been researching Chromebook in its more modern version - not just a glorified search engine in a posh case. I'm about 75% certain now and not entirely certain about the other 25% - what's holding me back? Perhaps it is tradition? Scepticism? My age!
What I do know is this - writing on my smartphone has to cease soon! Thanks for the information. Now I'll check out the rest of your site.
Will, your Chromebook will save a copy locally (on your computer) until you connect to the web, but almost everything works the same regardless. As for keyboards, I think they're all writer friendly!
Glad my article helped you, Shirley. Chromebook or not, I use Google Docs exclusively now. Seamless writing and editing between devices. I write on my PC and Chromebook, and I read and edit on both plus my phone.
Keith Robinson:
Thank you for this. I found it via a search on my Hewlett-Packard/Google/Chrome/Chromebook [whichever - there you have it] laptop computer. My browser question was: does chrome have a manuscript editing service
I will be subscribing to your blog.
Thanks, Barbara! I don't think Chrome has a novel editing service, but I do! Check at the top of this website for Novel Proofreading. Maybe I can help?
Thank you for the interesting post, I was about to purchase a normal Windows laptop until I read your post then I did some research on Chromebooks, I went to our local Pc world and spoke to a Google expert who explained everything about them to me, I bought one of them instead of a Windows laptop and I am glad I did. Still trying to find my way around it but it's so fast and easy to use, I have already started to write the synopsis for my very first book.
Yes, hello. I have to admit I'm not published but aspiring and a few years ago I found Write Way software and it's amazing. Wondering if any similar software is available for Chromebooks.
Thanks for the info! I found it to be very helpful in my search to see if a chromebook would be suitable for writing a book. Please, if you don't mind, what chromebook do you use? I can forward my email address if you prefer to answer me privately. Thanks~ Khaja
Khaja, I bought the Acer Chromebook CB3-111 a few years ago. The battery is amazing, the laptop is very light and fast to boot, and it's always done its job nicely. It's perfect for Google Docs, especially when I had to take my girl to softball practice; I could sit in the van and write comfortably and easy for hours.
The only "bad" things I can say is that sometimes it crashes if you have a few videos open (or one of those "news" websites with a ton of adverts down the side). Typically, it plays YouTube videos without a problem, but struggles with sites that embed videos, just because those sites often have a lot of other things going on. Also, software is limited, or was when I first got it; I haven't checked what's available lately. It's not much good for my website work, nor with graphic editing, just because I can't use the software I'm used to.
But for a lightweight typing machine? It's great. You don't even have to save the document. Just shut the lid and go, re-open it later and keep typing (with or without internet).
Hi, I really am dependent on Word - Is the Word/app adequate for me to use on a Chromebook? (Vs. writing in a Google doc and then converting it later?)
thanks all!
Marcy, test it by using the Chrome browser on your Windows computer. The Chrome browser is the same no matter what. If it works the way you want it, then you'll know how it'll work on a Chromebook.
Hello! I have been using Google docs and a Chromebook for a few years now, but it's my first time attempting to write an entire manuscript using it. I am nervous there's a chance something goofy will happen and I may lose my work once I get started. Do you trust the cloud completely, or do you back up your work on a flash drive? Thank you!
Robin, Google Docs has frozen up a few times, which it's always worrying, but I've never lost a word after reloading it. It saves pretty much every few seconds. Still, I tend to download a hard copy once in a while just in case. Never had to use those hard copies though. :-)
Thank you!
Thanks for the article. My main problem is not the underestimated versatility of the chromebook for word formats, but lack of knowledge about layout with this software. I used Apache Open Office, and from that enforced leap (2 notebooks 'died' in december 2017, but my income had no raises...)
Good luck for your book-sales!
I love my HP Chromebook. I bought it when the laptop was on the fritz so I could keep working on my novel. I found it pretty easy to learn how to use Google Docs rather than Word. The only thing that worries me is that with my work now going into the Cloud, do I still have guarantee that my copyrighted material won't be stolen? It feels kind of scary putting my personal work into the Cloud. Isn't it more open to theft?
Stirling, the Cloud is always going to be "more" open to theft, but then again, having everything on your laptop and accidentally leaving it on the train is worse. Or having an accident where the laptop ends up damaged. So in that sense the Cloud is great. I'm really not worried about theft from the Cloud, though. You're far more likely to have your book stolen after it's published and available online. Pretty much all my books have shown up on one pirate website or another. You can drive yourself nuts worrying about it.
So far, so good — nothing stolen, nothing lost. (Apart from pointless pirate sites, I mean. Really, who would ever buy or download a book from such a scummy place? And if someone wants stuff for free that bad, then they wouldn't ever buy it from Amazon anyway, so they're not a paying customer either way.)
I did lose a lot of text one time before the Cloud came along. It was an old desktop computer. These days, with the Cloud and the fact that my Chromebook saves everything to the hard drive as well... well, it's just better.
Thanks for your thoughts, Keith. I feel much more reassured. I always back up everything I write on multiple devices. And I have a little box of flash drives with my novels in a fireproof box that I can grab in an emergency. So I know what you mean about not wanting to lose hard work! Anyway, I just worked on my novel today on the Chromebook and was confused as to why there were so many delays in saving the document. I'd type a few words and then it would freeze.
Granted, it's a long file - 150 pages - but I couldn't quite figure out what the delay was. Maybe my Wifi isn't stable. Anyway, as you said in another comment, eventually the changes were reflected and saved, so nothing but inconvenience. I'll keep trying. Thanks again.
Hey Stirling — yes, 150 pages might be making it work a little hard. I usually limit my work to about 30,000 words, either two or three documents. Once in a while I have to refresh, which makes all the difference! But mostly it's pretty stable. And no, never lost a word. :-)
Can you please explain how you break up your work in chunks to avoid the sluggish speed? I've heard of that before and don't want to deal with that frustration. Thanks.
Eric, I just write until I get to about 30,000 words, and then I start a new document and so on. Each doc might be 8 chapters or whatever. I name the docs "Pt 1 - [Book Title]" so I can identify them easily.
I find that my early beta readers like this too. It's just better to load smaller docs like this — especially when using the Google Docs phone or tablet app!
Okay, then in sequence; you copy and paste in a single doc after?
Yes. Actually, I leave it as three parts in Docs, but I copy-paste all three parts into Word so I can do the final layout with page numbers, front matter, and so on. I use Word ONLY for this. I export it from there as a PDF, and that's where my relationship with Word ends (unless I need to make a change later).
You can also export directly from Docs to PDF, in which case you'd combined the three parts first... but I haven't tried that, and I don't know how it works with page numbers. (Must investigate that!)
EDIT: Okay, just quickly investigated that, and it looks great! I never used Docs pagination before, but I need to give that a go. Very simple and clear. I could probably bypass Word from now on. :-)
Too cool! Thank you very much for your help. This solidifies my decision to get a Chromebook for my writing. Thanks again!
Have no idea how much your comments help me. It was noble of you to share your experience with us. god bless you and live long so you can keep it up for those less knowledgeable in this matter. keep it, Bless.
I downloaded google docs on my iPad just to test drive it before getting a Chromebook but can’t find how to save an article. I’m used to seeing file, save etc on a top bar. I’m really pretty smart but this has stumped me. :). Can you help please?
Good to hear, Eric and Felix!
Rhonda, the document is already saved — it auto-saves as you type. But I understand, and if you want to manually save it to your hard drive, go to File > Download As... along the top. And if you don't see "File" at all, then your menu is probably hidden, so use CTRL + Shift + F to show it. ;-)
Thank you so much. Like most on here, I'm planning on writing a book, and I found your article very helpful. Wish me luck.
Good luck, Donna!
Hi
If you're still on the chromebook you may want to try out Wavemaker Novel Writing Software - Offline and in the Chrome Web Store, Just search for "Wavemaker" you should find it
Thank you so much for the tip. Google Docs. I would have never thought of writing my stories there. But great idea. Thanks Again.
Dar
Thanks for doing the research on these extensions and presenting them so clearly. I'm not a fan of Chrome, but Wikiwand and Dark Reader could be useful for me.
By the way, do you have any recommendations on how to save comments from YouTube that extend more than a screen? From recipes to DIY to politics, I occasionally would like to save a long comment. I've been making do with the scroll capture feature on my Samsung phone but would like the comment as text, not an image. Do you know of any Android app that would provide this functionality? Thanks.
Regards
Alisha Ross
For the computer adventurous... you can use Crouton to install a LInux distro like Ubuntu on to your Chromebook.
With that option, you lose some security of the Chromebook(reverts to your general laptop security level, basically), but you gain the advantages of Ubuntu.
If you favor software like OpenOffice (mentioned here) and the like, you now have that door open to you.
I use an Acer R11. It's been great to travel with compared to my ThinkPad and even my AirBook.
I join the chorus in saying, Thanks, for this article!
Thank you for your insightful article. I too am an author and have completed one novel "GOTCHA!!!"; a 300* page book that is being published by the Putnam County Library System. Have you had any problem submitting your work anywhere due to computer 'language difference barriers?
Thanks again.
Regards,
spence
Spence – no, I can't say I have! But I only write in English... and in centaur, ogre, elfish, dragon, and numerous other dialects. :-)
Thank you Keith for all the information you have provided. My question is does Google own my writing?
No, of course they don't own your writing. Google is powerful, but even they have limits. :-D
I'm finding your Blog chock full of great info. I'm glad I found it💜
Hi thank you for this post. I'm was just looking at a chromebook today and I wasn't sure if this would be a good purchase for me. You helped me to decide. I will start my writing. Thank you!
Good luck, Anonymous! I was sitting in an internet-less environment earlier today with my trusty Chromebook. Just opened it up and carried on writing. This thing runs exactly the same as it always has — not a single problem except maybe the plastic casing around the hinges is starting to loosen (though the actual hinges are as tight as ever). Love this thing.
Great article, very helpful to me as I just purchased my first chromebook. I'm trying WaveMaker on the chromebook, while i have Scriveners for Windows on my desktop. Have not tried importing anything from WaveMaker yet, or using some sort of remote access from Chrome to my desktop to use Scriveners. Thanks again - glad I found your article.
Thanks Dave — and good luck with your writing!
Great article and just the info I needed! I went into my local Best Buy the other day and asked the "computer expert" in that dept about using Word on a Chromebook, and he told me that Word won't work on a Chromebook. He looked for the app for a minute, but when he couldn't get to the Google Playstore to even find the app to show me, I left and felt like I was going to have to drop more money on a Windows supported laptop than I had planned. Color me confused!!
Question: I read that you can't run the Word app on a screen bigger than 10.1 inches. I have an Office online account that I pay for every month, so am I wrong to assume that if I buy a Chromebook with a larger screen than this, the online version will work as usual? And I also read that a Chromebook won't post directly to a blog, but can't I just create a Google doc and copy and paste to where I want it? I've already written an entire first draft of a novel in word and wondering also how difficult it will be to convert it to a Google doc.
Thanks for the awesome info. Looks like I'll be a Google docs fan very soon!
NeNe, it's true that the downloadable Word won't work on a Chromebook (Windows products don't work), but I don't see why the online version wouldn't — I haven't tried, but I will later.
As for screen size... First, anything that's dependent on screen size is usually to do with the size of the browser window, not the screen itself. So if "screen size" is an issue, you could reduce the browser window a little.
Also, yes, you can export a Google doc — into Word format if you like. In fact, importing a Word doc into Chrome is very easy too. Either open it and press the convert button, or just copy-paste it in.
I just wanted to add my AMEN!
I've written my entire body of works on a Chromebook in Google Docs, and I love it! It is great for crowdsourcing feedback. And I love that I can even edit on my phone when I want to. Love the versatility of switching devices.
I do backup my work occasionally, but that's more just paranoia. I've never had any problems with lost data.
It's also cool that Docs saves every keystroke. So if you want, you can basically playback your entire novel from the first day you started writing.
Great post. Glad to know I'm not the only one crazy enough to do this, ha ha.
: )
Haha, great to hear from you, J Washburn — and no, you're not the only crazy one to do this. Well, you might be crazy, I don't know. I certainly am. But that's neither here nor there. :-)
I back up occasionally as well. This is not so much fear that Google loses it, more to do with the idea that one of my cats might sit on my keyboard and methodically (and sleepily) delete everything with the backspace.
Hey! I just got a Chromebook yesterday and your article helped guide me in buying one. You have great points here, so thanks for doing this writeup! I bought the cheapest one we have here in my area, so spent around $200 CAD which is probably $150 USD. Great little thing so far. I am excited to write more on it and already spent quite a bit of time writing last night.
Even with this cheap laptop I am able to access android programs and so I can download office apps if I need to, but I am loving Google docs. Another bonus was that I could download a music composing app that I usually use on my android phone, that I can now easily use on my computer. Anyways my point is, thanks for writing this great post!
Hi. Just found your comments etc. By accident and firstly they are ace. I have had my first Chromebook nearly a year and for the first time writing my third book on it. Just one major question, how do I get my text to align on the right like in a printed book. As heck as like can I find out after countless searches and posts. Kindly help an aspiring author from England.
Amy, glad the article helped!! :-)
Patrick, just highlight your text and press the justified button in the toolbar (other options are left align, right align, and center, but you want justified for left AND right align).
Keith, thank you for your prompt reply. I will do as you advise when I finish editing my book. Also I like the idea of your proofreader. Will do an automatic word count when finished. Thank you.
Can a chromebook be used to create a document without any internet access at all?
Anonymous — yes.
Wanted to say a bit regarding going from WORD to Google Docs. I had only used PCs before, but the process was fairly simple. When I got my Chromebook, about two years ago, all my writing was in WORD.
Not knowing what to do, I just went ahead and tried accessing the documents I had uploaded to the Microsoft cloud from my Chromebook and downloaded them. The FILES app on the Chromebook then advised me through dialogue windows about compatibility issues and directed me to the proper app to convert the WORD documents to Google doc. It was something like: "What app do you want to use to open this file?"
The process was the same for other documents that were saved on flash drives. Honestly, at this moment I forget if it was an app already on my Chromebook or through a process in the Google Docs itself, it was easy enough though. I am not a professional writer or an IT tech type of person, but getting the final result was simple.
Automatic assistance that comes up in much the same way as on a Smart Phone or Tablet, when the OS will direct you to Apps in the play store to do what you want. I very much like the ease of access between my Chromebook, Tablet, and Smartphone.
Oh, and I want to be sure to say thank you, Keith Robinson, for this article.
Looking to transition from an almost 8 pound Windows laptop + MSWord habits to a hopefully light-as-a-cloud setup, literally on the day HP releases their newest 11 inch barebones chromebook, this article is a huge relief!
I now know that I'm going to make the switch for sure. I'm hoping that issue of 30k+ words making the doc lag is a thing of the past, but your workaround is simple enought ot not worry about it for now. :)
Thank you!
Aurcoe, I'd love to know how you get on with your new Chromebook in terms of performance with a 70K+ doc. I'm sure the new ones have improved a LOT with memory, etc!
OMG...I just got rid of my 5 day migraine from researching what the hell to buy!!
I've had advice from every writer I know and an editor friend literally said, " get a chromebook and get your s#$& out there already!" You, sir, have just made up my mind. Thanks to COVID, money is tight and I hate my 300lb Lenovo with 2 hrs battery life.
I'm secluded at home and have numerous short stories to submit and deciding which novel ( 4 1/2 written..one YA complete) to get on with. Writing isn't the problem, but I handwrite in journals so putting it all on a device...holy hell! I'm not a techie, just a writer who is tired of everyone telling me how skilled I am..get it out there...as I procrastinate and worry. Thank you so very much...I'm worried still, but only 1/2 as much.
No clue what Google Docs is, I've probably used it, but everything is word. Most submissions are electronic so I was concerned a Chromebook couldn't do that!
I do believe I'm finally going to be published again..been a long time...typewriter- mail-in -manuscript long. You saved the day and made Corona useful.
Thank you to all published and budding writers who taken time away from their projects to help those if us preparing to leave the pencil to it's own devices, grab the outline, and, with the help of modern technology in the form of a Chromebook, begin!
Does anyone use a flashdrive instead of the Cloud? Also, I prefer to use a wireless keyboard and mouse at my regular computer,but not sure if a USB hub would work with a Chromebook?
Got to go...a room full of characters are trying to get my attention!
Thanks
Thanks for this! I realize that this article is old but, it's still helping people like me! I have been putting off my writing until I get a laptop but, that's just something I'd been using as another excuse. My Chromebook which I'm using to type this response works JUST FINE! I love Google Docs. I just need to reorganize all of the crap that I have a scattered all around in various emails, OneNote and other files so that I am better able to access them. I should have imported them to my Google drive ages ago. Now I will! Good luck with your future endeavors! You will be getting a shout out in mine! <3
thank you so much for your generous heart in sharing with others. I have never wanted to write a book;but after 15 years of running from it I started about a year ago on and off. I could be traveling or talking to anyone in the world and people would say to me you should write a book . mainly because I've had a lot of weird experiences happen to me. I've spent at least 4 hours surfing trying to get answers to questions reguarding chrome book when I came across you. you've simplified my life. Thanks again !
