When I’m writing this newsletter, I don’t use the Substack editor to write my newsletter. I have many reasons for this, but mainly I just don’t like it. I wanted to write in another app that wasn’t Substack. Over the past few years, I’ve been searching for a writing app that was built for authors, and I believe that I’ve found that app. Although, I think many people could use this app. The app I use is called Ulysses. Ulysses is a writing app that is built for writers, using Markdown formatting, and contains powerful tools to enhance your writing. I love this app, and I would like to tell you why!
The first reason was actually not in my criteria for a writing app. Ulysses uses Markdown to format everything written in the app. Now, if you aren’t familiar with Markdown, it basically uses symbols (like asterisks, hashtags, etc.) to format the document. For example, if I want to make something bold, I just put two asterisks before the word and two after. Now, you don’t see this because it disappears when I export it. Markdown is nice because you don’t have to open formatting menus and go through all of that to change the formatting of something. You can continue writing without having to stop. At first, I didn’t really like Markdown because you have to learn the symbols and because it just looks weird. I’ve really come to love it, though, and would say that markdown is one of the pros for Ulysses.
My second reason is all the tools that supercharge your writing. This was what I was most excited about when I downloaded Ulysses. This outstanding app has quantities of useful tools built in. One of my favorites is the ability to see the average read time for my writing. I can also set goals, so it will let me know when I reach a certain read time, word count, page count, etc. For example, I set a read-time goal of at least 5 minutes for each newsletter. Ulysses even has a built-in editor that will edit your writing, similar to Grammarly. (I still use my amazing editor-mom to proofread everything!) All of these tools are great and really help power my writing!
The final pro for Ulysses is the organization and storage. For me, keeping documents and files organized is essential. Ulysses allows me to do just that. I can organize everything into folders, projects, and even folders within a folder or project. Ulysses automatically saves everything and allows you to store everything in iCloud, so it doesn’t take up storage on your device. Finally, you can sync all of your writing between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
For me, Ulysses is the ultimate writing app, and I love using it! I started using it a few months ago and have been using it to write every newsletter since the second one. Ulysses is $5.99 per month, but you can start a 7-day free trial here. You can also find more about Ulysses on the website. Also, this could be a good Christmas gift for any writers in your life. I seriously love Ulysses, and it is one of my favorite apps that I use on my iPad!