Writing desk
Scrivener, Ulysses, and similar desktop software is where a long manuscript is shaped, rearranged, and prepared for export — the structural work AuthorAZ does not attempt.
AuthorAZ category
The Private Back Office for Indie Authors
AuthorAZ keeps the whole author career organised, private, and offline — the writing, and the publishing asset vault that sits behind each book. Version 2 added a Writer and on-device dictation, so the drafting no longer has to happen somewhere else before the back office can be useful.
The distinction
Writing desk, workspace, back office
These solve different problems, and the boundaries are not walls — AuthorAZ now writes as well as files. Knowing which job you are asking a tool to do still makes it easier to choose and use well.
Knowledge workspace
Obsidian and research tools are where notes, ideas, sources, and connections can live across many projects.
Private back office
AuthorAZ is the local-first author vault for the business material that follows a book through publication and promotion — and, since version 2, a place to write the book in the first place.
What AuthorAZ is for
A calm, local source of truth for the information that gets reused in retailer dashboards, newsletters, launch notes, and author marketing.
Writing chapters, with autosave and chapter history
On-device dictation, with no online fallback
Manuscript reference snapshots
Metadata, ISBNs, keywords, and buy links
Pen names, covers, quotes, and reviews
Quote cards, review cards, and carousels
Password-encrypted backups you place yourself
One-time purchase, no recurring subscription
What it deliberately does not do
AuthorAZ writes, but it is not a binder or corkboard, not a configurable compile workflow, not a cloud writing suite, and not an AI writing assistant. It exports to DOCX, TXT, Markdown, or a plain .zip of text files, and any manuscript you import from elsewhere stays a read-only snapshot with your original file as its source.
Compare AuthorAZ and ScrivenerPrivacy architecture
No AuthorAZ account. No AuthorAZ cloud library. No in-app tracking. No AI processing of manuscripts. Dictation runs on the device or not at all. Android release builds ship without internet permission. The app keeps its library on the device, with password-encrypted backups that the author chooses where to store.
Common questions
Does AuthorAZ replace Scrivener or another writing app?
Not necessarily. Version 2 added the Writer, so AuthorAZ can draft and export a manuscript on a phone or tablet, but it has no binder, no corkboard and no configurable compile. Many authors will keep a desktop writing environment and use AuthorAZ for writing away from the desk and for everything that surrounds the book.
What does AuthorAZ keep in the back office?
Manuscript drafts and chapters, book metadata, covers, retailer links, quotations, reviews, manuscript reference snapshots, social assets, pen-name portfolios, and password-encrypted backups.
Can I dictate into AuthorAZ?
Yes, where the device supports it. Dictation uses the device’s own built-in speech recognition and AuthorAZ explicitly requires the on-device mode; if the device or language cannot provide it, dictation refuses to start rather than falling back to an online service.
Does AuthorAZ upload manuscript material?
No. The app has no AuthorAZ cloud library and does not send manuscripts to AI services for processing.