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Scrivener Essentials: A Quick Start Visual Guide For Windows Users
Scrivener Essentials: A quick start visual guide for Windows users.
Imagine if you could use Scrivener for Windows like a seasoned professional, knowing the keyboard shortcuts, what the tools on the toolbar do; flying through the application and creating an amazing story without being distracted by having to look up how to use a feature every time you want to use it.
In the back of your mind you know that the Scrivener software you bought is going to simplify your writing process and help you become more productive. You have heard about the cool split screen views, virtual cork boards and the collections feature where you can process all instances of a document at once even though you have it in several different collections.
But best of all you’ve heard that you can export your content to multiple platforms without having to change the original draft document! Imagine the time you are going to save. Not to mention that if you can format your own work for export you will no longer be held hostage to the whims and schedules of anyone else.
The problem is, before you can do all that, you have to learn how to use the Scrivener software. This can be time consuming if you try to learn from the Scrivener users manual which is highly technical and includes every conceivable function and feature of the software. Don’t get me wrong. The Scrivener users manual has every bit of information you will ever need regarding Scrivener because it is supposed to be like that, but it sure is difficult to weed out the bits that pertain to the project you want to write. I know because that is the way I had to learn it.
What I would have liked was a Scrivener essentials guide with:
Plenty of pictures, so that you can instantly recognize the regions of the user interface. Arrows pointing right at the buttons mentioned in the instructions, making them easy to find. Instructions embedded into the images they refer to so that they don’t drift onto the next page because of the personal settings on your Kindle. No distracting instructions for Macintosh users that send you on a wild goose chase after functions that are not supported by Scrivener for Windows.
So I wrote a guide just like that. In it you will learn to:
Open a project and customize your workspaces. Toggle between normal Text Editing Mode, Cork Board Mode and Outlining Mode and how to use each of them as well as how to use the distraction free Full Screen Mode. Split your screen to have two documents or two versions of the same document open at once. Manage your files and folders, whether you are starting from scratch in Scrivener or want to import your content from another writing application pre-sorted into chapters or sections. Make use of Scrivener’s editing tools like collections and snapshots (which takes a snap shot of the current state of a document so that you can revert to it if you don’t like your subsequent edits.) Compile your work for export to your agent, as a paperback or as an eBook. How to download some tools so that you can preview your content before you send it out.
If you are ready to improve your writing process, scroll up, click the buy button and start making the most of your Scrivener Software today!
Imagine if you could use Scrivener for Windows like a seasoned professional, knowing the keyboard shortcuts, what the tools on the toolbar do; flying through the application and creating an amazing story without being distracted by having to look up how to use a feature every time you want to use it.
In the back of your mind you know that the Scrivener software you bought is going to simplify your writing process and help you become more productive. You have heard about the cool split screen views, virtual cork boards and the collections feature where you can process all instances of a document at once even though you have it in several different collections.
But best of all you’ve heard that you can export your content to multiple platforms without having to change the original draft document! Imagine the time you are going to save. Not to mention that if you can format your own work for export you will no longer be held hostage to the whims and schedules of anyone else.
The problem is, before you can do all that, you have to learn how to use the Scrivener software. This can be time consuming if you try to learn from the Scrivener users manual which is highly technical and includes every conceivable function and feature of the software. Don’t get me wrong. The Scrivener users manual has every bit of information you will ever need regarding Scrivener because it is supposed to be like that, but it sure is difficult to weed out the bits that pertain to the project you want to write. I know because that is the way I had to learn it.
What I would have liked was a Scrivener essentials guide with:
Plenty of pictures, so that you can instantly recognize the regions of the user interface. Arrows pointing right at the buttons mentioned in the instructions, making them easy to find. Instructions embedded into the images they refer to so that they don’t drift onto the next page because of the personal settings on your Kindle. No distracting instructions for Macintosh users that send you on a wild goose chase after functions that are not supported by Scrivener for Windows.
So I wrote a guide just like that. In it you will learn to:
Open a project and customize your workspaces. Toggle between normal Text Editing Mode, Cork Board Mode and Outlining Mode and how to use each of them as well as how to use the distraction free Full Screen Mode. Split your screen to have two documents or two versions of the same document open at once. Manage your files and folders, whether you are starting from scratch in Scrivener or want to import your content from another writing application pre-sorted into chapters or sections. Make use of Scrivener’s editing tools like collections and snapshots (which takes a snap shot of the current state of a document so that you can revert to it if you don’t like your subsequent edits.) Compile your work for export to your agent, as a paperback or as an eBook. How to download some tools so that you can preview your content before you send it out.
If you are ready to improve your writing process, scroll up, click the buy button and start making the most of your Scrivener Software today!
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2014
169 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Karen Prince
3 books183 followersKaren Prince was raised on a wildlife farm in Zimbabwe; a perfect childhood for someone who always wanted to become a writer. Between searching for wild dogs and other dangerous creatures on horseback and cooling off in the nearby dam - which was occupied by at least one crocodile - it was a wonder she survived.
This chaotic life was balanced during the school term by the harsh discipline and unreasonable constraints of attendance at an all girls boarding school, an overnight train ride away. This was where Karen became an avid writer. Mostly of heartfelt pleas to anyone who would listen, to rescue her soon.
Switch! Is her first novel in the Kingdoms of Karibu series. A ripping yarn, set in a world that quite literally defies belief, where magic seeps into the drinking water for anyone to use or abuse, and the terrain is impossible to navigate without help from extremely risky sources.
This chaotic life was balanced during the school term by the harsh discipline and unreasonable constraints of attendance at an all girls boarding school, an overnight train ride away. This was where Karen became an avid writer. Mostly of heartfelt pleas to anyone who would listen, to rescue her soon.
Switch! Is her first novel in the Kingdoms of Karibu series. A ripping yarn, set in a world that quite literally defies belief, where magic seeps into the drinking water for anyone to use or abuse, and the terrain is impossible to navigate without help from extremely risky sources.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 24, 2017
I had already seen Karen Prince's great video on how to back up documents from Scrivener to Dropbox and knew she was very good at explaining, so when the opportunity to read this came up I knew it would be good. And it was! Excellent in fact. I have used Scrivener for some time now but I still learnt a couple of new things, and wish I'd had this book much earlier. It is the best writing software out there, and this is an excellent guide. Concise. Covers everything I can think of and well laid out. HIghly recommended.
August 8, 2017
An excellent primer
"Scrivener Essentials" by Karen Prince is an excellent introduction. Scrivener is a complex piece of software. It comes with countless features, and even more bells and whistles and a steep learning curve. It doesn't take much to get lost in all the available options, but Karen Prince's guide comes in. It shows in plain English, and with many screenshots, what most writers need to know.
"Scrivener Essentials" by Karen Prince is an excellent introduction. Scrivener is a complex piece of software. It comes with countless features, and even more bells and whistles and a steep learning curve. It doesn't take much to get lost in all the available options, but Karen Prince's guide comes in. It shows in plain English, and with many screenshots, what most writers need to know.
July 27, 2017
Scrivener Essentials
This quick start guide is well written and easy to follow, with plenty of really helpful tips for those who are new to Scrivener as well as for those that have been using Scrivener for some time. The additional links to other articles, video lessons, and help are welcome and useful.
This quick start guide is well written and easy to follow, with plenty of really helpful tips for those who are new to Scrivener as well as for those that have been using Scrivener for some time. The additional links to other articles, video lessons, and help are welcome and useful.
July 3, 2017
A good quick reference book to help get a novice Scrivener user up and running. I like the many screen prints that show what the tabs, index cards, and general organization should be to help get the writer organized and easy to find areas that need to be revised.
March 28, 2019
This was more helpful than I expected.
I've read many of the guides before, and often they simply regurgitate the same old stuff. But I actually learned something new from this one. I'll be keeping this close by from now on.
I've read many of the guides before, and often they simply regurgitate the same old stuff. But I actually learned something new from this one. I'll be keeping this close by from now on.
June 7, 2017
A good scrivener primer
I have struggled to learn scrivener and this concise book gave me the info to start using the writing program more efficiently.
I have struggled to learn scrivener and this concise book gave me the info to start using the writing program more efficiently.
September 14, 2017
Highly recommend for anyone starting new with Scrivener. The instructions are detailed and organized in a way that makes them easy to follow and understand.
June 10, 2018
Very good guide
Exactly what is needed for the beginners. Well written, with step-by-step screenshots from Scrivener. Highly recommended before any other books on Scrivener!
Exactly what is needed for the beginners. Well written, with step-by-step screenshots from Scrivener. Highly recommended before any other books on Scrivener!
April 9, 2017
BEST SCRIVENER GUIDE EVER!SCRIVENER ESSENTIALS: A Quick Start Visual Guide For Windows Users
I can claim the above title as being true. For those of you who don’t know me, put something in front of me I like or need to do, and cannot do and you create an Everest that must be conquered. People say I am an excellent cook and chef pâtissier. However, when I was twenty, I had never made fudge, though I had been baking since the age of eleven. So, I bought a five-pound bag of brown sugar and thought, let’s make fudge, right? Making smooth, creamy fudge became my Everest. A five pound bag soon became a ten-pound and a twenty-pound bag, and the more I tried, the more the hard sugar became like an impregnable weapon. I would end up wasting … well it took me months to learn how to make fudge the way I liked it.
When I began to study Scrivener, because people around me seemed to be using it without any problems, I thought, how difficult can this be, right? Well, over the last year, the damn program became as complicated and impregnable as a hard-rock batch of my first attempt at fudge. I mean, I’m an intelligent person. I deal with new programs every day (some I just refuse to be bothered with), I’m not an idiot. I tried the Scrivener manual and full tutorial which took me three days to go through. After … mush—my brain. I tried video slides some author was peddling, nope, nothing. There is something about the separate components of this program that has me frazzled. I don’t think my mind works this way. I am the type of person who takes up a thought and can follow it through a long list of obstacles, unscathed and unspoiled.
After going through Karen Prince’s incredible book—how she accomplished illustrating her book like this on Kindle is another book in itself—I finally was able to get it. I was fighting with myself and my own way of working. I can now import files to Scrivener and make all the changes I want to them. A miracle. I learned something else about me. I am an old dog and I don’t like to separate my files into scenes or paste any information on the cork board. It’s not for me and I don’t need to use Scrivener the way others do. This was the most precious lesson from Karen’s wonderful book, Scrivener Essentials . I can adapt this great program to the way I want to use it. And now by the grace of reading her book, I can. On to the next Everest, (I actually threw my arms up in the air and did a little gig). Highly recommended to all!
I can claim the above title as being true. For those of you who don’t know me, put something in front of me I like or need to do, and cannot do and you create an Everest that must be conquered. People say I am an excellent cook and chef pâtissier. However, when I was twenty, I had never made fudge, though I had been baking since the age of eleven. So, I bought a five-pound bag of brown sugar and thought, let’s make fudge, right? Making smooth, creamy fudge became my Everest. A five pound bag soon became a ten-pound and a twenty-pound bag, and the more I tried, the more the hard sugar became like an impregnable weapon. I would end up wasting … well it took me months to learn how to make fudge the way I liked it.
When I began to study Scrivener, because people around me seemed to be using it without any problems, I thought, how difficult can this be, right? Well, over the last year, the damn program became as complicated and impregnable as a hard-rock batch of my first attempt at fudge. I mean, I’m an intelligent person. I deal with new programs every day (some I just refuse to be bothered with), I’m not an idiot. I tried the Scrivener manual and full tutorial which took me three days to go through. After … mush—my brain. I tried video slides some author was peddling, nope, nothing. There is something about the separate components of this program that has me frazzled. I don’t think my mind works this way. I am the type of person who takes up a thought and can follow it through a long list of obstacles, unscathed and unspoiled.
After going through Karen Prince’s incredible book—how she accomplished illustrating her book like this on Kindle is another book in itself—I finally was able to get it. I was fighting with myself and my own way of working. I can now import files to Scrivener and make all the changes I want to them. A miracle. I learned something else about me. I am an old dog and I don’t like to separate my files into scenes or paste any information on the cork board. It’s not for me and I don’t need to use Scrivener the way others do. This was the most precious lesson from Karen’s wonderful book, Scrivener Essentials . I can adapt this great program to the way I want to use it. And now by the grace of reading her book, I can. On to the next Everest, (I actually threw my arms up in the air and did a little gig). Highly recommended to all!
September 14, 2014
Easy visual advice from an expert user.
After hearing many positive comments about Scrivener from other authors, and taking advantage of an offer, I purchased the program. I went through the video presentation of the features, and I’ve checked others explanations, but they all seemed very convoluted and difficult to remember at the time of actually getting down to writing. Due to that I’d so far hesitated trying to launch a full-blown project in Scrivener.
Thankfully, this book came to the rescue. It is a step-by-step guide, and best still, visual. That means you can actually open the programme and have the book by your side, allowing you to check as you go along. For me, always looking for that button at the bottom right, under the double line, with a non-descript indicator on it, having an arrow pointing, makes a big difference. Another beauty is that the writer, an author herself, gives us her personal tips, things she has discovered through use, that are invaluable (and will not appear in any of the impersonal, “how-to” guides).
The discovery of this short gem has made me feel more confident in trying and using Scrivener. I recommend it to all writers, who, like me, have been wondering for a while about the program, but been scared by what appear to be never-ending complex explanations. Thanks Karen Prince!
After hearing many positive comments about Scrivener from other authors, and taking advantage of an offer, I purchased the program. I went through the video presentation of the features, and I’ve checked others explanations, but they all seemed very convoluted and difficult to remember at the time of actually getting down to writing. Due to that I’d so far hesitated trying to launch a full-blown project in Scrivener.
Thankfully, this book came to the rescue. It is a step-by-step guide, and best still, visual. That means you can actually open the programme and have the book by your side, allowing you to check as you go along. For me, always looking for that button at the bottom right, under the double line, with a non-descript indicator on it, having an arrow pointing, makes a big difference. Another beauty is that the writer, an author herself, gives us her personal tips, things she has discovered through use, that are invaluable (and will not appear in any of the impersonal, “how-to” guides).
The discovery of this short gem has made me feel more confident in trying and using Scrivener. I recommend it to all writers, who, like me, have been wondering for a while about the program, but been scared by what appear to be never-ending complex explanations. Thanks Karen Prince!
February 12, 2015
Leaps and bounds better than Take Control of Scrivener 2. Not that there was anything really wrong with that book. It was just that it was geared to Scrivener for MAC version 2. The assumption was that unless specifically stated otherwise the text you were reading applied to both Mac and Windows versions. The problem was that you would sit there and read long passages about a feature and how to use it only to be told at the end the feature did not appear in the Windows version of the program. That was really irritating.
This one, however, is geared specifically toward Windows users (the author also has a book by the same title but for Mac users). It is presented in clear, concise text with plenty of screen shots and pictures to illustrate what Karen Prince is talking about. Of course, since the version I read is a Kindle book it is searchable to make it easier to find the answer you are looking for. The book is not exhaustive as it does not go into every bell and whistle found in the program (that's what the user's manual is for),but it does go over the features that you are most likely to want to use when starting out with the program.
I think I paid $3.99 plus tax for it on Amazon, and it is worth so much more.
This one, however, is geared specifically toward Windows users (the author also has a book by the same title but for Mac users). It is presented in clear, concise text with plenty of screen shots and pictures to illustrate what Karen Prince is talking about. Of course, since the version I read is a Kindle book it is searchable to make it easier to find the answer you are looking for. The book is not exhaustive as it does not go into every bell and whistle found in the program (that's what the user's manual is for),but it does go over the features that you are most likely to want to use when starting out with the program.
I think I paid $3.99 plus tax for it on Amazon, and it is worth so much more.
March 20, 2015
I have worked my way through both Scrivener Essentials books because I use a Mac at home and a PC at work.
They were easy to use and work well whether you read them all the way through or just look up the features you want to know about and click on them in the Table of Contents.
I was told Scrivener has a steep learning curve but I should try not to get too bogged down with the overwhelming array of features and concentrate instead on the things I need to know. With the step by step pictorial instructions in these little books it was hard not to distract myself with those other features which was just as well because I learned some clever tricks.
As I was about to start the long and boring job of copying and pasting my work in progress into Scrivener I discovered you can import your whole manuscript already sorted out into chapters in just a couple of clicks.
It turns out that Scrivener itself is fairly intuitive, not that hard, and if you have a quick read through whichever of these books match your computer platform you will be able to tell which features you would love to try and which ones you won’t need to bother with.
They were easy to use and work well whether you read them all the way through or just look up the features you want to know about and click on them in the Table of Contents.
I was told Scrivener has a steep learning curve but I should try not to get too bogged down with the overwhelming array of features and concentrate instead on the things I need to know. With the step by step pictorial instructions in these little books it was hard not to distract myself with those other features which was just as well because I learned some clever tricks.
As I was about to start the long and boring job of copying and pasting my work in progress into Scrivener I discovered you can import your whole manuscript already sorted out into chapters in just a couple of clicks.
It turns out that Scrivener itself is fairly intuitive, not that hard, and if you have a quick read through whichever of these books match your computer platform you will be able to tell which features you would love to try and which ones you won’t need to bother with.
September 11, 2016
My Kindle app is littered with Scrivener books. Prince is the only one I'm awarding more than three stars.
Now, the gotcha: Found out at the end that Prince thoughtfully provides a link to free download of the book as a .PDF. Wish I'd known! The Adobe reader plays very nicely with Scrivener if you want both on your screen at once (which you definitely will).
Learning Scrivener? Start here. The Scrivener tutorial goes way too deep into way too many areas that aren't going to help you get started. Prince will help you get started.
Now, the gotcha: Found out at the end that Prince thoughtfully provides a link to free download of the book as a .PDF. Wish I'd known! The Adobe reader plays very nicely with Scrivener if you want both on your screen at once (which you definitely will).
Learning Scrivener? Start here. The Scrivener tutorial goes way too deep into way too many areas that aren't going to help you get started. Prince will help you get started.
May 31, 2015
Useful Book
I have purchased numerous books to help me learn to use Scrivener in writing novels, and I've spent hours online researching the same. This book is the most useful thing I've found so far, by far. Clearly written with many screenshot examples, it is easy to follow. The author writes in a chatty rather than overly technical style -- perfect for me!
I have purchased numerous books to help me learn to use Scrivener in writing novels, and I've spent hours online researching the same. This book is the most useful thing I've found so far, by far. Clearly written with many screenshot examples, it is easy to follow. The author writes in a chatty rather than overly technical style -- perfect for me!
May 18, 2015
In a word - outstanding!
Makes working with Scrivener for a first time user incredibly easy.
Makes working with Scrivener for a first time user incredibly easy.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews