What Is Reedsy Studio and Should You Use It In 2026?

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Is Reedsy Studio a good writing app for novelists? With all of the options available for writing a book, how does Reedsy stack among them? There is a reason why I have published two books so far on the platform, with many more planned. But is it something that you should use?

Even in its free version, I’ve found a lot of use out of Reedsy Studio. To say that I’m a fan would be an understatement. And with the paid outlining add-on, I feel that it’s an incredible powerhouse for those looking to write novels.

So, let’s take a look at Reedsy and why I invest my time and money into such a platform.

What is Reedsy Studio?

Reedsy Studio is a web-based writing app that was specifically designed for novel authors. Using industry-standard formatting and helpful writing tools, anyone can write a book and have it easily published.

The hardest part of using Reedsy is facing writer’s block. The system is quite self-explanatory, with tools and functions being clearly labeled to reduce confusion. In other words, you don’t have to hunt and search for specific features.

Being a web-based writing app, this means you need to maintain an internet connection while using Reedsy. For most of us, that’s not too much of a hassle. However, there have been times when an offline mode would have been ideal. This is true whether you’re using your web browser or the installable desktop app.

Since Reedsy Studio is web-based through your browser’s backbone, your writing extensions for your browser will work in it as well. For instance, I use the Grammarly Chrome extension as a spellchecker on steroids, and it works beautifully in Reedsy Studio.

Although you get more tools and features by upgrading Reedsy Studio, you can write, format, and publish your book from the free version. These files include PDF and ePub formats, which are the industry standards for both eBook and printed copies for most retail book sites.

Who Is Reedsy Studio For?

Developers designed Reedsy Studio for the novelist. While it has minimal HTML capabilities, the central focus of the app is to write a “traditional” book. However, you can easily put together cookbooks, educational materials, and more in the Reedsy platform.

If you’re looking to write a graphic novel, you may want to find an alternative. While Reedsy does allow images, your options for editing and formatting are very limited. And images you do upload to Studio will be stretched or shrunk to fit the dimensions of your book automatically.

So, it’s a good idea to know what size image you need and where you want it on your page.

If you have a lot of headings and bullet points, you may also want to export a “proof” copy of the manuscript and check where the pagebreaks are in the file. You don’t want your lists separated by a page.

Of course, you should always export a proof PDF or ePub anyway before uploading the manuscript to Amazon and other platforms. That way, you can catch formatting mistakes before people start buying your book.

The main point is that Reedsy Studio is focused more on text-only books or novels that have limited imagery. Hopefully, this is something the developers will address at a later date, but from a novel-writing perspective, the app works extremely well.

How Does Reedsy Studio Help Authors?

I have a list of pros and cons of Reedsy Studio, but let’s briefly go over what you can expect from the app. Why would you consider using the free or paid versions of Reedsy?

Now, some of these might not pertain to your needs. These are merely the highlights I’ve found in accordance with my own needs and wants.

Setting Up Goals and Deadlines

I am driven by goals and deadlines when it comes to writing anything. I even have a spreadsheet that keeps track of everything I’ve written throughout any given day, week, month, or year. But I’m also a bit of a dork when it comes to numbers.

Reedsy Studio lets you set up deadlines for when you want to finish a manuscript. Then, it calculates how many words per day you need to write based on how often you plan to write throughout the week.

This is one of my favorite features, as it helps fuel motivation to write. And it was this feature that helped me finish writing my first book, Kingmaker, two weeks early. Of course, you have to put in the effort for any goal to really matter in the end.

In the paid version of Reedsy Studio, you can create a variety of custom goals to help keep you motivated to write. Just make sure you’re creating realistic goals according to what you can actually handle. Keep in mind that life happens, and you could get frustrated if things keep interfering with maintaining unrealistic goals.

Distraction Free and Preformatted Text

Another great highlight is having a distraction-free layout, especially from the desktop app. It’s easy to get sidetracked by the various things that are on your browser.

Also, while you write, the text is displayed in a preformatted layout emulating an actual book. This includes automatic indents for paragraphs and dialogue. Instead of the text simply wrapping around the entire window, it looks and feels like a real book. And that is one of the biggest attractions for me.

Now, you can get something similar through Word or other writing apps. But I’ve also come across a few that I hated writing from, as the text looked like a big wall of letters.

*Cough…Atticus…cough*

At the end of the day, I simply enjoyed writing in Reedsy Studio more than I did while using Word or LibreOffice. It just felt more professional and clean, in my experience.

Common In-line Formatting

Reedsy Studio has built-in text formatting while writing your manuscript. Simply highlight the section of text, and a tool window opens with the most common functions. The tool window for Reedsy includes:

• Paragraphs
• Headers (H1, H2, H3, etc)
• Line justifications (left, centered, right)
• Numbered list
• Bullet points
• Block quote
• Bold
• Italicize
• Underline
• Strikethrough
• Superscript/Subscript
• Links (HTML addresses)
• Comments (great for collaborations and notes to yourself)
• HTML code block (extended functions for eBooks)

As a novelist, I rarely use anything other than bold and italics. However, I’ve been debating writing an educational book, which would include more lists, headers, and quote blocks. So, these will be very useful for my future projects.

Tracking Changes and Writing Timeline

A great feature to have is the ability to go back in time to an earlier version, especially if you really screw up the story. Reedsy Studio has a couple of ways to do this, depending on the situation.

First, you have the Writing Timeline, which lets you go back to earlier versions all the way to when you started the manuscript. However, the timeline will be removed if you haven’t logged into the book in about a year. The most recent version of your manuscript will always be available, but anything in the past will be removed unless you access the book regularly.

I only had to use this function twice while writing Kingmaker. But I can tell you, it was a lifesaver!

Integrated Pages, Chapters, and Parts

Reedsy Studio provides templates for the most common pages in a book. This includes pages like dedication, about the author, epilogue, prologue, and much more. They are easy to enable by the flip of a switch, allowing you to pick and choose which you want in your manuscript.

Table of Contents and other vital pages appear automatically by default.

You can add chapters and parts by clicking the button at the top. Coincidentally, you can also use “chapters” to create custom pages and then drag them up and down the list to place them where you want.

For instance, you can add a “chapter” page, retitle it Glossary, and then move it to the back of the book.

Collaborations

Collaborations in Reedsy Studio are when you invite people to help work on your manuscript. Individuals will need their own free Reedsy Studio account to access your books, but then they will have writing and editing capabilities.

This is where the Comment tool really comes into play. If someone is helping you fine-tune the manuscript, then they can highlight a word or series of words and leave a comment for you to address. It works similarly to Google Docs in that regard.

What if a collaborator messes up the manuscript? That’s what the writing timeline and tracking changes features come in handy. You can see the changes, who made them, and then revert to an earlier save of the draft.

Unlimited Books

Reedsy Studio allows you to save as many books as you’d like while also being able to archive older ones without losing data. So, you could theoretically have 20 books that are a “work in progress” without losing a single word from your manuscript.

While you can save unlimited files using something like Word or LibreOffice, there are some writing apps that limit how many manuscripts you can save. This puts Reedsy Studio ahead of those platforms, even in its free version. For example, the Novlr writing app only lets you save up to five at a time.

This probably isn’t a make-or-break feature for a lot of authors. But I like the idea of being able to save all of my books without issue on a platform. Plus, the manuscripts are in a single location on the Reedsy Bookshelf, which is convenient instead of having to sift through a variety of folders on my computer.

Besides, I like seeing the book covers on the shelf of the projects I’m working on. It helps me with keeping with the “author” mindset. It’s not some Word file saved on my computer with its default icon. It’s an actual book cover that I am proud to display, even if it’s just for myself.

Planning Tools Galore (Paid Version)

In the paid version of Reedsy Studio, you have access to a lot of planning tools. Not only can these help you outline your manuscript, but you can also do a lot of world-building, character development, and save specific research.

You can also pin any of the notes from your planning board to the manuscript, which is helpful for outlining and keeping specific information front and center while you write.

One of the features I like is how you can create as many boards as you need while keeping your notes organized in folders. This was exceptionally helpful when writing Shadows of Atlantic City, as I saved links to websites and YouTube videos as part of my research.

My Experience with Reedsy Studio Thus Far

I’ve been using Reedsy Studio for several years now, long before they added the “Studio” part to the app. Back then, it was just the Reedsy writing app. Since then, they’ve consistently added new features and functions ideal for novelists, and I’m here for it.

This shows that the company is concerned about its product and continues to improve upon it, making writing a book much easier for all skill levels.

So far, I’ve published Kingmaker and Shadows of Atlantic City from Reedsy Studio, and I am nearly finished with my book, Fury. I also have plans for several others in the near future, such as a sequel to A Freelancer’s Tale. The app has everything I need to keep me productive while delivering a professional appearance.

In fact, the printed copies from your Reedsy exports look professional according to industry standards. I am quite pleased with how well both the eBook and printed copies appear.

Perhaps the biggest drawback for me, and not really one that is a deal-breaker, is the limited formatting options during export. There are currently only three available, but the developers assure me there are more coming. I suspect they will keep the three free options and put the others behind the premium service, but that is purely speculation.

When all is said and done, I enjoy using Reedsy and have dedicated a lot of time to working on my books from the platform. It’s easy to use, has a great appearance, and comes with all of the tools I need as a novel writer.

FAQs About Reedsy Studio

Can Reedsy Studio Help You?

I’ve been using Reedsy for several years, and I believe it keeps getting better. But as I’ve said countless times in the past, the best writing app is one that delivers everything you need for your situation. In this case, Reedsy has served me well since 2021.

Collaborations, writing goals, the planning board, free exports, and visual layout are probably the biggest points for me.

Don’t be afraid to test a few apps out for yourself. You never know when you’ll come across something that just seems to fit all of your goals and plans perfectly. For instance, I was using LibreOffice before giving the Reedsy writing app a try. I haven’t written a story or a book in LibreOffice since.

What writing apps have piqued your interest over the years?

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Michael Brockbank

Michael has been a freelance writer since January of 2012 and has contributed to a long list of blogs throughout his career. He is also a published author and continues to help other writers find their own paths. Maintaining both the WriterSanctuary blog and YouTube channel, he covers topics that relate to writing in all forms.

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