Galley as a Word & Google Docs alternative
Last reviewed July 2026
The facts first: Word (via Microsoft 365) and Google Docs (free) are general-purpose document editors: excellent at text and collaboration, with no built-in concept of trims, mirrored margins, gutters, or EPUB. Producing a book from them means manual page setup or a conversion tool. Galley (€199 one-time) is a book-specific editor where those conventions are the default and export produces the print PDF and EPUB directly.
This is where most writers start, so let's be precise about what goes wrong. A novel in a word processor is one endless scroll: no real chapters, no idea who your characters are, find-and-replace as your only revision tool. At the end, print-on-demand wants mirrored margins, a gutter that grows with page count, front matter conventions, and an EPUB, none of which a document tool produces without manual labour or plugins.
Galley treats the book as the unit of work. Chapters are chapters. Characters and places are records, not memories. The page you draft on is a real trim size in a real book face, and the export menu ends with files any printer or store accepts. Your editor still gets their .docx, as an export, not as the manuscript's home.
| Feature | Galley | Word / Google Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | €199 once | Docs free · Word via Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Built for books | Yes, chapters, trims, front/back matter | No, general documents |
| True book page while drafting | Yes | No |
| Print-interior PDF & EPUB | Direct, with KDP preflight included | Manual setup or converters |
| Story bible | Built in | A second document you stop updating |
| Revision analytics | Overused words, name consistency, pacing | No |
| Real-time co-editing | No | Excellent |
| Version history | Daily per-chapter snapshots | Document history |
| Works everywhere | Web (desk-sized screens) | Everywhere, including phones |
What actually goes wrong at the end
Drafting a novel in a word processor is fine; the trouble is specific, and it all arrives at once, at the finish. Print-on-demand wants mirrored margins and a gutter that widens as the page count grows, set by hand, re-checked every time the length changes. Running heads and folios fight section breaks. Front-matter conventions (half-title, title, copyright, the right pages starting recto) are yours to know and enforce. And there's no EPUB: you export, run it through a converter, then fix what the converter broke.
Galley makes those problems not exist because the document was a book from the first sentence: chapters are chapters, the trim and gutter are the book's, front and back matter are typed conventions, and export writes a valid print PDF and EPUB directly. Your editor still gets a clean .docx, as an export for track-changes, not as the place the manuscript lives.
The story bible is the quieter win. In Word, "who has grey eyes" lives in a second document you stop updating around chapter nine. In Galley the characters, places, and timeline are records attached to the book, a keystroke from the prose.
Stay with Word or Docs if…
- You co-edit live with other people; Docs is unbeatable at that
- You're drafting on a phone or tablet regularly
- Someone else handles your book production entirely
Choose Galley if…
- You're writing a novel you intend to publish yourself
- You want the formatting phase deleted from your process, not outsourced
- You want your tool to know your characters as well as you do
Common questions
Can’t I just write my book in Word or Google Docs?
You can, and millions do; for drafting they are fine. The pain arrives at the end: mirrored margins and gutters set by hand, page numbers and running heads fighting section breaks, and EPUB requiring a converter. Galley makes those problems not exist, because the manuscript is typeset as a book from the first sentence.
My editor works in Word. Does Galley handle that?
Yes. Galley exports a clean .docx for editors (and imports their returned file, splitting chapters automatically). You keep the book; Word stays the exchange format.
Is Galley a subscription like Microsoft 365?
No. €199 once, updates included. Google Docs is free; Word typically comes via a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Details checked July 2026. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace pricing varies by plan and region; check theirs. I've tried to be fair; if I've got something wrong, email me and I'll correct it.
Documents are for memos. Your novel deserves a book.
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