Software with opinions
Galley leaves out a lot of what other writing apps have, and most of that is on purpose. Here's what I left out and why, so you can decide if it suits you before you buy it.
The name
A galley is a printer's word for the proof you get just before a book is printed. It's the manuscript set in its final pages, ready for one last read. That's what the app is for: getting your novel from a blank page to that proof.
Novelists, not “writers”
Galley isn't for screenwriters, academics, bloggers or teams. Because it only does novels, the editor can follow fiction conventions like unindented first paragraphs and typeset scene breaks, the story bible is built around characters, places and a timeline, and the revision tools look for problems novels have, like a character's name spelled two different ways or a filler word you use too often.
A web app, on purpose
Galley runs in the browser, so it works on Mac, Windows and Linux without installing anything, and you're always on the latest version. Your manuscript saves to your account while you write. On top of that, every chapter gets a daily snapshot, anything you delete sits in a bin for 30 days, and you can export everything as a zip whenever you want.
No mobile app
Galley needs a screen big enough to show a book page, so it runs on laptops, desktops and iPads in landscape. I don't think most novels get written on a phone, and I don't want Galley nagging you about a streak when you're away from your desk.
Why the app is dark
The app around the page is dark so the page is the brightest thing on screen. You can switch the page itself between light and dark separately, so you can write on a cream page during the day and a dark one at night.
No theme libraries
Book interiors follow conventions: mirrored margins, a gutter for the spine, running heads, page numbers, paragraph indents. Readers don't notice them when they're done well, but they do notice when something's off. So Galley sets those for you instead of giving you themes to choose from. What you do choose is the trim size (six of them), the typeface (35, all licensed for commercial publishing), and your own chapter ornament and scene-break mark. That's fewer options than Vellum or Atticus give you.
No image dumps, no fifty formats
Galley doesn't do inline image galleries, custom font uploads or dozens of export formats. It exports print-interior PDF, EPUB 3, Word and Markdown, plus the copies you send to people: watermarked drafts for beta readers, a proofreading PDF, and a submission package for agents. Every format I add is one more I have to keep working, so I've kept it to those.
Full-page images for maps and part titles are a fair ask though, and I'm working on them.
No AI in your prose
Nothing in Galley writes for you. The tools count words, check names and spelling, and typeset the book. No model suggests sentences, and your manuscript is never used to train anything.
I'm not the only one doing this. Novlr is owned by its writers and has been AI-free for years. The Novel Factory is AI-free too, and its plotting tools are better than Galley's. Novelium doesn't write for you, but it does use AI to read and check your manuscript. Sudowrite is an AI co-writer and is open about it. What bothers me is tools that use AI on your writing and don't mention it.
One price, one-time licence
Galley costs €199 once. That includes every feature, every export format and every future update, and the licence doesn't expire. I didn't want a subscription because nobody writes every month, and I don't want to build something that's mostly about keeping you paying. Am I leaving money on the table with that? Most likely.
Leaving should be easy
You can export everything (manuscripts, story bible, versions) as a zip of open formats with one click, whenever you want. There's no fee for it and nothing to cancel first.