Using Google Docs for Writing

Hey All!! Today is the first day of the Indie e-con 2017! Be sure and head over to Kendra's blog to take a look at all the things she's got going on there. Word wars, games, articles, and more! Oh, and there is some voting for book awards going on, too!
Today's subject is writing, and there are a lot of great authors sharing their insight . . . so be sure and check it out!

Using Google Docs for Writing:

For the first draft of any book or story I’ve written, I always use Google docs. While you can’t really format much in it, or upload it on a self-publishing site, there are several reasons and factors that have come into play that have made me decide to use this writing platform.

Google docs is fairly simply to use and understand. It has a good selection of fonts, and it’s pretty simple to customize it in any way you’d wish. And of course, it’s free. If you have a google account, you can sign in and start using Google docs. Below I’m gonna list some of the advantages and reasons that I use Google docs in my writing. 

     1.) It’s accessible from any internet device. For me this was a huge thing, because it meant I could sign in on a tablet, phone, our second laptop, or even the computer at the library and get some words written. When I’m working on a first draft, I like to be able to write any idea down just as soon as I get it. And there are times when I have to spend the day somewhere else, and I like to write whenever I can squeeze in a few minutes. 

     2.) It’s easily shared.  Now, I know, you’re probably thinking “Share?! My writing?!” I know, it seems a bit intimidating, but if you ever decide to get beta-readers, or even want to share it with friend or sibling, it’s quite easy to add them to the document. All you have to do is click the blue “share” button at the top right corner, enter their email, and press share. They now have access to your document. This also requires no downloading to your computer or device, such as Word Doc would. 

    3.) People can leave comments and suggestions right in the document.  This is so much easier than sending someone a Word Doc or PDF and having them try and critique it. In Google docs, they can comment on pretty much everything. This option is available in Word Doc, however, only one person at a time can comment in Word Doc, which makes the process more time consuming when you have more than one person reading your writing. 

     4.) It doesn’t require yet another platform to keep track of. In this day and age, most of us have a gmail account, or are some way a part of the google network. Another beauty of Google Docs is that one account is all that is required. And you don’t have to remember another password, because this is the same password as your email. 

     5.) It is simple to convert into PDF or Word Doc. Because I used Word Doc for publishing, pretty much any platform I use for writing is going to have to convert to Word Doc easily. Thankfully, google docs does just that. At the top left corner of the screen, click “file. Then, go down till you get to “Download as”. Then choose whatever form you want it downloaded in. It’s as simple as that! 

So have I convinced you yet? Will you give Google Docs a try? What platform do you use for writing?