---
title: "Galley as a Word & Google Docs alternative for writing a novel"
description: "Word and Google Docs are where most first drafts start, and where book formatting goes to suffer. Galley is book writing software built for novels: true book pages while drafting, a story bible, and direct print & EPUB export."
source: https://usegalley.com/compare/word-google-docs
---
# 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.

[Launch Galley](https://app.usegalley.com)