Buy once for v1.x
The Direct edition is a one-time purchase. No subscription is required to keep the editor, worldbuilding tools, or export workflow usable.
Direct for Mac · $59 · Mac App Store live
The fiction writing app that keeps your manuscript, worldbuilding, and AI in sync.
Buy Direct for a one-time Mac license, bring your own AI keys or local Ollama, and keep your draft in a native workflow built for long-form fiction.
Stop juggling character notes, timeline spreadsheets, and generic chat tabs. Everything your story needs lives in one place.
Lifetime v1.x licenseActivate on 3 Macs30-day money-back guarantee
Prefer App Store billing? Writers Studio is live on the Mac App Store as a free download with optional AI subscriptions.
Launching on Product Hunt
$59
Direct price
Lifetime v1.x license
3 Macs
Per license
Manage devices any time
Local
Ollama support
Private AI option included
8
Export formats
DOCX, EPUB, PDF, FDX, and more
Why Mac writers buy Direct
The Direct edition is for writers who care more about ownership, privacy, and flexibility than having Apple handle billing.
Private AI setup
Use your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini keys, or run local AI with Ollama when privacy and cost control matter more than convenience.
Mac-native workflow
Draft, worldbuild, check continuity, and export in one native app instead of stitching your process together across notes, docs, and generic chat tabs.
Direct & App Store Pricing
Choose the buying model that fits you best: Direct is a one-time $59 purchase for v1.x, while the Mac App Store edition is a free download with optional cloud AI subscriptions.
Direct Edition
One-time license · BYOK cloud AI + free local Ollama
$59
Standard price · Lifetime v1.x license
$59One-time purchase for the full v1.x lifecycle
- ✓ All features included at every price
- ✓ Immediate access
- ✓ Your API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini
- ✓ Free local AI via Ollama
- ✓ Activate on up to 3 Macs
- ✓ Free updates for v1.x · Lifetime license
- ✓ 30-day money-back guarantee
macOS 14+ · 30-day money-back guarantee · One-time purchase
Mac App Store Edition
Free download · No API keys required
Free
Live on the Mac App Store
- ✓ Full editor & worldbuilding included
- ✓ AI via cloud proxy (no API keys needed)
- ✓ iCloud sync
- ✓ Family Sharing
- ✓ Optional AI credit subscriptions
- — $9.99/mo or $29.99/mo for AI credits
App Store billing and automatic updates
Screenshot-led product tour
How the workflow should read without a video
If the page has to sell without a demo video, the screenshots need to tell a clean story: write, structure, then verify.
1. Draft with context
Write beside an assistant that stays anchored in your story world.
This is the core promise of Writers Studio: the manuscript and the assistant live together, so you are not re-pasting lore, character notes, and scene context into a generic chat tab.
Real in-app screenshotNo mockup fluff
2. Build the story bible from the draft
Turn manuscript text into structured characters, locations, and story data.
Instead of maintaining a separate world bible by hand, you can extract entities from the prose and refine what the app proposes.
Real in-app screenshotNo mockup fluff
3. Check continuity before readers do
Run a dedicated pass for contradictions, timeline issues, and drifting details.
This is the strongest reason to switch from a normal writing tool or standalone AI. Writers Studio is designed to catch problems across the manuscript, not just answer prompts.
Real in-app screenshotNo mockup fluff
See the workflow in product screens
A quick look at the live writing, worldbuilding, and AI-assisted workflow inside Writers Studio.
Step 1Click to enlarge
AI assistant in context
Draft and revise with an assistant that stays grounded in your story context.
Step 2Click to enlarge
Worldbuilding dashboard
Track characters, locations, lore, and timeline details from one organized workspace.
Step 3Click to enlarge
AI entity extraction
Turn manuscript passages into structured entities you can approve and edit.
Step 4Click to enlarge
Continuity checking
Catch cross-chapter conflicts before they reach your editor or beta readers.
Step 5Click to enlarge
Provider settings
Configure OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or Ollama in one place.
Step 6Click to enlarge
Focused writing editor
Write in a clean, distraction-free editor designed for long-form fiction.
Step 7Click to enlarge
Visual timeline
Plot events across chapters and arcs in an interactive timeline view.
Why writers switch
| Capability | Writers Studio | ChatGPT / Claude (standalone) | Scrivener / Ulysses |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI with persistent story context | Yes — knows your world | Resets every session | No AI |
| Continuity conflict detection | Yes — across chapters | No persistent context | Manual only |
| AI entity extraction | Yes — auto from prose | Manual prompts only | No |
| Local AI via Ollama | Yes — free, offline | No | No |
| Export formats | 8 formats incl. FDX | Copy/paste | Usually DOCX/PDF only |
Organic discovery stays here
If you are still comparing, use the resource pages instead of guessing from one sales page.
This page is intentionally sales-focused. These links are the secondary path for people who arrived from search and still need buyer-intent content before deciding.
Read the Scrivener comparison
Best for writers asking whether they need a drafting container or a story-management workflow with AI context.
Open resource →
Read the Ulysses comparison
Useful if you like minimalist writing tools but need more continuity, worldbuilding, and manuscript structure.
Open resource →
Read the Atticus comparison
Helpful for authors comparing formatting-first tools against a writing app built for active drafting and revision.
Open resource →
Browse the writing blog
Use the blog if you want more educational content, comparison articles, and longer-form writing workflow guidance.
Open resource →
Founder Story
Why I Built Writers Studio
I built Writers Studio for my wife. She is a hobbyist writer who is deeply creative, but she kept running into the same friction: character bible notes in one place, timeline details in another, and draft edits spread everywhere. I wanted one app that could keep her world and manuscript in sync while still feeling like a writing editor she actually enjoyed using.
Who built this?
I built Writers Studio at LiteStep, starting from a very personal use case at home, then expanding it for other fiction writers facing the same workflow problems.
Why build it?
She wrote a 250k-word manuscript and used the built-in AI chat that had access to her full document. Together, we discovered it was not one oversized book, it was actually three complete books hiding inside a single draft.
What pain does it solve?
It helps writers track character and timeline consistency, reduces context switching, and makes editing easier for dyslexic writers with guided AI support. Most importantly, it helps long drafts become clear, structured books.
Questions about the roadmap or launch priorities? Contact the founder.
🔑
Choose the edition that matches how you buy software
Direct ($59 for v1.x): Use your own API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google — your writing never touches our servers. Free local AI via Ollama.
App Store (Free): AI features via our cloud proxy with optional credit subscriptions. All core writing, worldbuilding, and export features work without any subscription.
Everything You Need to Write Your Novel
🧠
AI Entity Extraction
Stop manually transcribing characters and locations into a separate bible. The AI reads your draft and builds structured profiles for you — approve the ones it gets right, dismiss the rest.
🔗
Continuity Checking
No more embarrassing beta-reader emails about eye colors that changed chapters ago. AI scans your full manuscript and flags contradictions before they leave your hands.
🌍
Worldbuilding Dashboard
Your character bible, world lore, and locations live in the same app as your draft — always one click away, never a separate document you forgot to update.
📤
8-Format Export
When your manuscript is ready, export in the exact format your publisher, agent, or distributor needs — DOCX, PDF, EPUB, FDX, and more. No reformatting, no copy-pasting.
🔒
Privacy-First AI
Your manuscript is your work-in-progress — not training data. In the Direct edition, AI requests go directly to your chosen provider. Your words never pass through our servers.
✈️
Offline-First
Write on a plane, at a cabin, or anywhere without Wi-Fi. Your drafts are on your Mac, not in the cloud. Losing internet only pauses AI — your editor always works.
Full Manuscript Lifecycle
📝 Write & Organize
- ✓ Rich text editor with chapter management
- ✓ Manuscript lifecycle: Planning → Draft → Revision → Final → Archived
- ✓ Series support — group related manuscripts
- ✓ Word count targets and progress tracking
🌐 Build Your World
- ✓ 8 entity types: Characters, Locations, Items, Events, Organizations, Races, Magic, and Lore
- ✓ Relationship tracking with AI detection
- ✓ Timeline events with AI proposals
- ✓ Structured worksheets from 12 worldbuilding categories
Why buy Direct now
If you already want the Direct workflow, buying Direct is mainly about ownership, BYOK cloud AI, local Ollama, and faster access to Direct updates.
Use it now
Direct buyers get immediate access through the one-time purchase workflow.
Pay once for v1.x
The Direct edition is a one-time $59 purchase for the full v1.x lifecycle, with no subscription required.
Influence the last mile
Current Direct buyers are close to the founder feedback loop for polish, onboarding, and quality-of-life fixes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Direct cost?+
Direct ($59) — One-time purchase for a lifetime v1.x license. Includes the editor, worldbuilding tools, export workflow, BYOK AI support, free local Ollama support, and 30-day money-back guarantee.
What's the difference between Direct and App Store?+
Both editions include the same core writing and worldbuilding features. The Direct edition is a one-time $59 purchase where AI chat goes directly to the provider using your own API keys. The App Store edition is a free Mac App Store download with optional AI credit subscriptions.
Is my writing data private?+
Yes. Manuscripts are stored locally on your Mac. In the Direct edition, AI requests go straight to the provider using your own keys. In the App Store edition, AI requests pass through our encrypted proxy but are never stored.
Does it work offline?+
The editor, worldbuilding tools, and export features work completely offline. AI-powered features require internet (unless using local Ollama).
What does "lifetime license" mean?+
Your purchase covers all v1.x updates. If v2.0 is released, you can continue using v1 forever or upgrade at a discount. v1 never stops working.
Can I activate on multiple Macs?+
Yes — up to 3 Macs. Manage devices at activate.litestep.com.
What AI providers are supported?+
OpenAI (GPT-4o, GPT-4.1), Anthropic (Claude Sonnet 4, Claude Opus 4), Google (Gemini 2.5 Pro/Flash), and Ollama (local, free). Switch anytime.
Do you offer refunds?+
Yes — 30-day money-back guarantee on Direct purchases. Email [email protected].
Product feedback
Using Writers Studio already?
Send rough product feedback directly to the founder. This is for friction notes, bugs, and workflow gaps, not polished testimonials.
One app. Your full manuscript lifecycle.
From first draft to final export — your characters, world, and continuity all in sync.
$59 standard price · Lifetime v1.x license
Immediate access · 30-day money-back guarantee