Atticus Update: This Changes Everything
I'm sold on this program, three ways I'm using it.
I am a creature of habit.
I have probably shared this with you before. However, it needs to be repeated because I don’t often change my core tools for writing and self-publishing.
But…
I finally have a program that is changing everything. I should briefly update you on what I have learned from trying our Atticus for 30 days. Read my initial article:
I’m Trying A New Program for Self-Publishing Software
Most authors don’t like change. I get it. Why mess with something that had worked for 15 books and counting? After all, I put the time, energy, and money into fine-tuning my previous system for writing, editing, and formatting my books.
Before we get into this, I still have a couple of weeks of my test drive of this software. However, there were a few things that I really enjoyed right at the beginning, such as this one.
So, today, I wanted to share three ways I use Atticus.
No.1 - Formatting Books
While this is the primary reason I decided to try it, it has surpassed my expectations. There are three things about this program that I love for book formatting:
It is so clean and easy to use. I love how easily I can switch between editor, formatting, and preview. This makes use of the program and updating my formatting crazy easy and fast.
Less is more. While there are fewer total design options with Atticus vs. Vellum, you still have the option to customize your design. So you can take one of the base ones and change it to fit your needs quickly.
Updating old books is easy! I have already updated several of my book interiors from my old books, and it was easy to get them uploaded to the program and fix things.
Overall, it's an excellent formatting program for doing just that. But the great thing is how much more can be done in the program.
You need to check out ’s book!
Merry Christmas To a Broken Heart: A Devotional Companion for December
Merry Christmas to a Broken Heart offers daily devotionals for those struggling with grief, loss, and hardship during the Christmas Season. Drawing from his experience leading grief support groups, John Dobbs provides spiritual comfort and Biblical wisdom for navigating difficult seasons. The devotionals are ideal for individual reflection or group study, especially for those facing their first holiday after a loss.
No.2 - Writing/Compiling First Drafts
Typically, I write or compile my first draft straight into a Google Doc. However, that doesn't have to be the case. And in fact, it is way better for this because I can break down my edits chapter by chapter.
What I like about this is that copying in blog posts is easy, and they don’t get super messed up format-wise. Sometimes, copying something over from Medium or Substack to a Google Doc ends up getting messy.
But with Atticus, it copies over well. And while there might be some things to update, they aren’t bad. So, it is an excellent program for putting together your manuscript.
No.3 - Writing A Series of Blog Posts
Here is something I wasn’t expecting to find myself doing, but this will probably lead to more books being created very quickly. I’m putting together a series of blog posts and writing them in Atticus. Here’s why:
The Listical Book Writing Method. I think I saw
coin this one. But the basis is that you write a listicle article that will be your book outline. Then, write each chapter. After you have done that, wrap it up with a little longer listicle article pointing people back to the individual chapters. You can do this with Atticus (I’ll probably share my experiment later).A Brilliant Archive. Even if I don’t turn this series into a book, it will be a brilliant archive for what I think will be a great series I could build on later. It may become a course or digital product, even if it's not a book. This is an unexpected reason to use this one.
Easy to Breakdown Blog Posts. On top of writing and storing the blog posts, it will be easier to break them down for social media posts and even minimalist blog posts on Medium or LinkedIn. You can keep these shorter posts to promote the book or course later.
For these reasons alone, I have really enjoyed using the program and think it could also transform my writing/editing for online content, which is totally unexpected.
Final Thoughts on Atticus So Far
Had it not been for Jamie and
to talk about using Atticus, I probably wouldn’t have tried it. Yet, here I am. I will give a full report in a couple of weeks, but I wanted to give this quick update.Before I go, I wanted to remind everyone that my next book (Author Platform Solution) is now available for presale!
My name is J.R. Heimbigner and I am a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon with 15 self-published books. I have two things I want to share with you:
A short book to help you write books with your Substack posts called Substack Books.
The New Writer School on my Gumroad Store. You will find a free checklist for daily engagement, my Writer’s Starter Pack, and a sign up to have a one-hour call with me to discuss writing or self-publishing.
Also, this post may contain sales or affiliate links, so I might get a little kickback if you purchase anything. Thank you in advance!
I’ve had Atticus for a long time. Did a couple of books in it. They are always adding new ideas.
But I’ve also used Canva. Trying to decide which is easiest.
Thanks for the mention my friend, I love Atticus too!