Nov 12, 2019 Wondershare has developed a Mac version of the popular PDFelement app, which is positioned as an easy way to edit PDF documents. It gives you the tools to add text, images, links, backgrounds.
2020-03-06 18:14:13 • Filed to: macOS 10.14 • Proven solutions
- Skim is a free Mac PDF editor. It functions like Preview, offering markup tools that help highlight important PDF content. You can also add and edit notes, crop PDF files, and more. View PDF files. Add and edit notes. Highlight text. Take snapshots of PDF files. Give presentations with built-in transitions.
- Dec 23, 2019 PDFelement ProPDFelement Pro is one of the best programs for all solutions to edit PDF files on Mac. With this tool, you are able to edit, add, modify and delete texts, graphics and images in PDF format. You can also convert your PDF files to Word, Excel, EPUB, Images and more formats.
EPUB (electronic publication) is a widely used file format with a highly versatile design. It runs on numerous Mac OS, and comes with a highly responsive, self-adjusting layout that makes any EPUB file optimized for display on devices with varying screen sizes. However, things can still go wrong with the reader experience if the EPUB reader for macOS 10.14 is deficient or defective. This article gives a rundown of 10 best free EPUB software for macOS 10.14. They're outlined in no particular order, as they can all equally compete for the top spot.
10 Free EPUB Readers for macOS 10.14
1. Calibre
Calibre is an e-book viewer that intensifies reader immersion by supporting a host of customization functions including a full-screen mode which curtails distractions; font-size adjustments options for open pages; bookmarking; and pagination method options. It also furnishes users with an e-library as well as a highly versatile file converter to ease file management.
Pros
- A great app for managing ebooks
- Extensive file support for almost every type of file format
Cons
- Does not read copyrighted works that are DRM-protected
- Lacks highlighting and annotation tools for penetrating perusal
- Inclination towards book cataloguing comes at the expense of book creation functions
2. Adobe Digital Editions for Mac
This is an eBook reader based on Adobe Flash. It is another versatile eBook reader used for managing and viewing digital publications. It is unarguably one of the best EPUB software for macos 10.14 because it supports a wide range of file formats, including all the various types of EPUB files.
Pros
- A simple ebook management system that allows users to easily sort and filter ebook items
- Interactive features such as bookmarking
- Fluent page turning motion
Cons
- Poor visibility due to black on black layout
- An unsupported app
3. BookReader
With an easily adjustable layout and support for nearly every file format including EPUB, DOC, RTF, MOBI, TXT, etc, BookReader comes in as another highly versatile Mac OS 10.14 epub reader. Its library management functionalities include sorting and searching options for managing files on the bases of genres, titles, tags, authors, and lots more.
Pros
- An impressive array of file management functionalities
- eBook customization features like highlighting and bookmarking
Cons
- Lacks filesharing functionalities
4. FBReader
This is another widely used EPUB reader free macos 10.14 that infuses cross-platform compatibility with highly responsive layout to make for seamless ePUB file management. It provides users access to popular online library facilities, and also supports a myriad of file formats including EPUB, MOBI, RTF, Word, and lots more.
Pros
- Support a wide range of file formats and incorporates several popular libraries to give users access to extensive collections of digital publications
- Numerous ebook customization options including bookmarking, choice of colors, page turning effects, etc
Cons
- The bells and whistles of the ebook customization features may cause distractions
5. NOOK
This free EPUB software for macOS 10.14 facilitates access to millions of titles including epic publications and crash hot new releases on numerous popular libraries including the NOOK Book library. It comes with a host of library management tools including shelve features and sorting options like title, custom tags and more. The library management system also features a sync functionality that transmits bookmarks and notes to other devices.
Pros
- Supports numerous OS including macOS, Windows and Android
- Annotation, highlighting and bookmarking functionalities
- Exclusive LendMe file sharing technology
- Reads Adobe DRM files
Cons
- File importation function processes only one file per time
6. Readium
As a Chrome extension, Readium reader is an epub reader os10.14 that does not require the energy and space required to run a typical eBook reader software on a device. It was designed by an open source developer community to serve as a reliable web-based EPUB reader app. Designed with simplicity of use as a cardinal objective, the Readium sports a plain, simplistic interface. But it does perform as a reliable EPUB reader that’s free for macos 10.14 users.
Pros
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Does not necessitate software installation on the device
- Supports numerous file formats, including the various types of EPUB
Cons
- Has no delete file option
- Runs only on Chrome Browse
7. Stanza
This free EPUB software for macos 10.14 also reads files of a range of widely used formats including Mobipocket, RTF, HTML, PalmDoc, PDF and more, allowing users to view a vast array of digital publications. The app's text layout is highly flexible, and comes with a range of layout viewing options including multicolumn, vertical scrolling, horizontal scrolling, and lots more. The app also comes with a file sharing technology that allows users to convert EPUB macOS 10.14 files to other suitable formats and to export the files to various types of mobile devices.
Pros
- Extensive file format support
- Filesharing technology
- Free EPUB software for macos 10.14
Cons
- Has a scant collection of eBook customization tools
8. Kobo
With its own book store and a host of different applications that are compatible with different OS, Kobo stands out as one of the best EPUB software for macos 10.14. It comes with a neat, intuitive design that features a user-friendly interface, full screen view, separated windows for open books, and menu neatly displayed on the left for distractions-free reading.
Pros
- Viewing options such as font style and size choices, alignments options, margins settings, line spacing options and background themes like day, night, and sepia
- Provides access to a wide array of digital publications including rare and brand new publications
Cons
- Sluggish loading speed and slow frame-by-frame transition when a page is turned
9. Clearview
Designed as a tabbed style book reader for Mac, Clearview gives users greater control over their reading experience. File formats supported include EPUB, MOBI, PDG, RTF, and lots more. It provides users with library shelf and sorting functionalities. It comes with a rich assortment of interaction tools that include bookmarking, commenting, annotations, etc. In addition to these, it is cross-platform compatible.
Pros
- Tabbed reading that allows for a highly organized and efficient book reading session wherein related pages are viewed in group tabs and less time is spent switching between book windows
- Interaction features such as annotation and bookmarks
Cons
Best Epub Reader App
- It is not inegrated with popular ebook stores and libraries
10. iBooks
As the default reader all for Apple devices, iBook is designed with tradition of excellence. It sports a nifty interface with colors displayed vibrantly. The page-turning movement sequence is swift and lifelike.
It supports numerous file formats including EPUB, PDF and DMF free file formats. It is well-known for its reliable filesharing functionalities that syncs files between many devices.
Pros
- Simplified navigation
- Adjustable brightness, text style and size, and other ebook costumization features
Cons
- eBook collection on iBooks store is relatively smaller
EPUB VS PDF: What is the Difference
As the publishing world vies to put out files in formats that are the most user-freindly, two files formats have proved to be of unparalleled service: EPUB and PDF.
1. Electronic Publication (EPUB)
EPUB was created and popularized by the International Digital Publishing Platform. Designed as the XML format for reflowable digital contents, ePUB quickly caught on among publishing powerhouses. It lends itself to various kinds of usages, including digital newspapers, guild journals, and user manuals.
Pros
- Writren in XML and XHTML, ePUB provides an almost incomparable digital publishing solution
- Contents are reflowable and comes in flexible, self-adjusting layout
- It can be read on a wide array of OS, but is independent of any OS
- EPUB is packaged in a ZIP file which contains archived organizational and content files of the publication
Cons
- EPUB file creation and archive building requires indepth technical knowledge of the format’s languages, as well as style creation know-how
2. Portable Document Format (PDF)
Portable Document Format was created by Adobe systems in 1993 as a solution for digital publishing that's independent of software and OS. However, a PDF file can only be open on a device with a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Pros
- PDF is an OS-independent digital publishing solution that lays out files in a neat display on any device
- It supports customization functionalities like font style and size settings, annotation and highlighting, etc. This gives readers optimum control over the layout of the opened files
- PDF files can be easily created through the use of GUI-based third party tools
Best Epub App For Ipad
Cons
- Conversion of PDF files to web-friendly formts might be fraught with difficulties
- PDF file contents aren't easily reflowable, and may appear in distorted layouts on some devices
Best Free EPUB Converter for macOS 10.14
As seen above, even the most widely used file formats come with downsides that can mar the reader experience. The bottom line is that each of the file formats are best suited for particular devices. Mac users therefore need to have a reliable free EPUB converter for converting files to and from EPUB file format, depending on which format best suits their devices. PDFelement is a free ePUB converter for MacOS which has left smiles on the faces of millions of users who find it very convenient and expedient to use.
With PDFelement, users can convert various text and image file in various formats including Word, HTML, RTF, Excel, PowerPoint, etc, into fully editable ePUB files. PDFelement also provides users with an impressive collection of file viewing and editing tools. It also features an inbuilt OCR functionality that extracts data from scanned documents into analysis-ready files.
Key features:
- Quick, easy, and cost-effective file creator
- Converts a plethora of file formats into EPUP, and vice versa
- Batch process feature that allows for the conversion of multiple files in one go
- Powerful file editor with functionalities such as graphics insertion, digital signature creation, watermarks, and more
- File creator that allows for the incorporation of interactive features such as drop-down lists, butons, text fields and more
- A multilingual OCR functionality that extracts data from scanned documents
Free DownloadFree Download or Buy PDFelementBuy PDFelement right now!
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Writing a book is hard. I’ve written seven books and at some point during each one I had the thought, “There has to be a tool, a piece of book writing software, that would make this easier.”
Bad news/good news: writing a book will always be hard, and the best piece of writing software in the world won’t write your book for you. But the good news is there is book writing software that can make the process a little easier.
In this post, we will cover the ten best pieces of software for writing a book and look at the pros and cons of each.
Click the links below to get our review on the best writing software.
Best Writing Software: Contents
Worst Pieces of Software for Writing a Book
First, though, let’s cover software you should avoid, at least while you’re writing a book:
- Video Games. Especially World of Warcraft (always always always!) but also Solitaire, Sudoku, Angry Birds, and, for me right now, Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes.
- Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Media Software. Do I really need to say more? Fortunately there’s a piece of book writing software for avoiding this very distracting software (see Freedom below).
- Other Productive Software Not Directly Associated With Your Writing. Yes, it’s good to reconcile your bank account on Quickbooks or make sure you’re up to date on your calendar app, but responsible, well-meaning work can easily be an excuse for a quick distraction that turns into a major distraction from writing your book.
Set aside time for your writing every day and then stay focused!
Best App For Editing Epub On A Mac Free
If you need a game, make writing your daily word count your game.
If you want more “likes” on social media, imagine how great getting five-star reviews on your book will be.
If you need to check your bank balance several times a day, think about what your bank balance will be when you stop checking it constantly, finish your book, and become a successful author.
The 10 Best Pieces of Book Writing Software
No piece of writing software will write your book for you, but these ten will help. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each.
1. Scrivener (Word Processor)
Scrivener is the premier book writing software. It is made by writers for writers. Scrivener’s “binder” view allows you to break up your book into chapters and sections and easily reorganize it. Project targets let you create word count goals and then track your progress daily. Its composition mode can help you stay focused by removing all the clutter. Plus, it allows you to format for publishing (e.g. on Amazon or Barnes & Noble).
There are some problems with Scrivener. Formatting is more complicated than it needs to be and collaborating isn’t easy, meaning it loses its effectiveness as soon as you bring on an editor. But it more than makes up for that by being so helpful in the early stages of the writing process.
In fact, we believe in Scrivener so much, we published a book about how creative writers can write more, faster using it. It’s called Scrivener Superpowers. If you’re using Scrivener or want to save yourself time as you learn how to use it for your creative writing, you can get Scrivener Superpowers here. The next edition comes out on Tuesday!
Cost: $49 for Mac, $45 for Windows
You can get a copy of Scrivener here, or learn more about how to use the software with one of these resources:
- Scrivener Superpowers by M.G. Herron
2. Google Docs (Word Processor)
While Scrivener is the best book writing software, once you get to editing and getting feedback, it begins to fall short.
That’s why Google Docs has become my second go-to piece of book writing software. It’s free, very easy to use, and requires no backups since everything is in the cloud.
Best of all are its collaboration abilities, which allow you to invite your editor to the document and then watch as he or she makes changes, tracked in suggestion mode, and leave comments on your story (see screenshot below).
Cost: Free!
3. Google Sheets (Spreadsheet)
If you’d told me when I was first trying to become a writer that one of my most-used tools in my book writing software toolkit would be a spreadsheet, I would have told you I didn’t major in English to have to use a spreadsheet.
But now, as I’m finishing my twelth book, I realize that I’m using spreadsheets almost daily.
Spreadsheets allow you to get a sense of the elements of your book at a glance, and when you’re working on a 300-page document, distilling it down to useable information becomes very necessary.
You might use spreadsheets for:
- Character tracking
- Scene lists
- Outlines
Google Sheets is perfect for this because it’s free and you can quickly share your documents with your writing partners, editors, or beta readers to get feedback. Microsoft Excel is another great option, but for writers, I suggest Google Sheets.
Cost: Free!
4. Vellum (Book Formatting/Word Processor)
If you want to turn your book into an eBook, it’s not that hard. Scrivener, Word, Pages, they all can make eBooks. But that doesn’t mean they’ll look good. In fact, it takes a lot of skill and effort to make an eBook look good on any of those word processors. That’s why I love Vellum so much.
Vellum makes beautiful eBooks.
Vellum picks up where Scrivener, Word, and Pages leave off, giving you a tool to make great looking eBooks every time.
The most important part of this is the previewer (see the image below), which lets you see how each formatting change or book edit you make will appear on Kindle, Fire, iPhone, Nook, and other eReaders.
It also has stripped-down, option-based formatting, which is perfect for designing eBooks.
I really love this app!
UPDATE: Vellum recently expanded into formatting for paperback books! I haven’t tried it yet but it looks awesome!
Cost: $199 for eBook generation, $249 for Paperback Formatting
5. Freedom (Productivity App)
One question writers always ask me is, “How can I stay focused enough to finish what I write?”
I have too many thoughts on this for this article, but as far as writing software to encourage focus, I recommend Freedom.
Freedom allows you to block your biggest distractions online, including both websites and mobile apps, for a set period of time. So when you mindlessly escape your book to scroll through Facebook, you’ll find the site won’t load.
You can also schedule recurring sessions, so that at a scheduled time (e.g. Mondays from 6 am to 10 am), you won’t be able to access the sites on your blocklist, even if you try.
There are other apps like this that we’ve written about before, notably Self-Control for Mac and StayFocused for Windows. But Freedom goes further, allowing you to block sites on both your computer and your phone, and enabling recurring sessions.
You can learn more about how writers can get the most out of Freedom on our review here.
Cost: $29 / year for Pro version, which I use and recommend (Free trial available)
6. Microsoft Word (Word Processor)
Again: no piece of book writing software is going to write your book for you. If you’re looking for the next “shiny new toy” to help you write your book, it might be an excuse to avoid doing the hard work of writing.
Most of us learned how to use computers by using Microsoft Word, or a program like it. Word gets the job done. Sure, Scrivener is a little better for books, but I wrote my first book on Word and it’s fine.
I wrote a long review of the pros and cons of using Word to write books—the main problem is that as your document grows, it becomes more and more difficult to work with, whereas with Scrivener, it becomes easier—but the point is, if Word is what you have, don’t let that stop you from finishing your book.
As Jeff Elkins said in his review of Word, “If you aren’t already putting in the hard work to be the kind of writer you want to be, it doesn’t matter what new writing software you invest in. It is not going to help.”
Cost: $69 / year from Amazon (includes Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and other Microsoft software)
7. Ulysses (Word Processor)
When I’m writing for a long time, I like to get up and go for a walk. Sometimes, I wish I could continue writing while I walk. Other times, I come up with an idea while I’m walking, type it up on my phone, and then want to easily move what I wrote to my laptop without having to go through the hassle of emailing it back and forth to myself.
That’s where Ulysses comes in.
Ulysses is a word processor for Mac that allows you to sync between all your devices, so you have what you need wherever you are. Scrivener recently released their iOS app which allows you to do this as well, but the process is clunky and requires you to purchase both the desktop and iOS apps. Ulysses’ sync makes the process much more seamless.
Like Scrivener, it has a binder-like sidebar that allows you to move documents around. Ulysses is not designed specifically for books so it takes a little configuring to make it work for you, but once you have it set up the way you want it’s very intuitive.
And while I hate Markdown, I actually like the paired-down formatting options Ulysses gives. Overall, I’m not going to convert from Scrivener to Ulysses any time soon, but I think it’s a great option for most writers.
Cost: $45
8. Microsoft Excel (Spreadsheets)
As Jeff Elkins says in his review of Microsoft Excel, it’s great, but “it’s a little like bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. You will need only a small fraction of its capability.”
If you have Excel and love it, great. Otherwise, use Google Sheets, especially if you’re sharing your sheet with a collaborator or editor.
Cost: $69 / year from Amazon (includes Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, and other Microsoft software)
9. ProWritingAid (Grammar/Spell Check)
Can book writing software replace an editor?
Definitely not. But if you ask Alice Sudlow, our in-house editor, she’s tell you, “If you don’t have access to an editor (or if you do, but you don’t want to hire them to edit your emails or Facebook posts), grammar checking software like ProWritingAid is an accessible, affordable alternative.
If you struggle with grammar, sentence structure, spelling, or even writing style, ProwritingAid can help. It goes far beyond your built-in spell-check.
You should still learn grammar skills, but ProWritingAid can help you start to see the patterns and grow as a writer.
There’s a free version that’s very good. It can even be installed into your browser or Word processor, so you can check your grammar wherever you write. The paid version, just $60 a year (less than half of what Grammarly costs), gives you additional support on sentence structure, style, and vocabulary.
Learn more about how writers can get the most out of ProWritingAid here.
Cost: Free! (Premium version is $60 / year)
10. Hemingway App (Grammar/Style Checker)
Most writers think their sentences are easier to read than they are. You think you’re coming across clearly, that your writing makes sense, but then someone reads it and comes away with something totally different.
Hemingway App helps with that.
Hemingway App is a free website that checks readability. You can copy and paste your writing into the website’s input box. Then it will grade your writing based on your used of adverbs, passive voice, and sentences as units.
Hemingway App is useful, but even the best book writing software can’t replace a good editor.
Cost: Free!
The 7 Tools Every Writer Needs
Every professional has a set of tools at their disposal that not only makes their job possible, but makes them better at doing it. Writing is no different, and while the right software is important, it’s just one of the many tools you need as a writer.
That’s why we published a free 22-page eBook, 7 Tools to Help You Write a Novel. In this short guide, we’ll cover some of the basic tools that form the foundation of a writing life.
You can download it for free here. Enjoy!
The Most Essential Book Writing Software
Imagine it’s three thousand years ago. You’re sitting around a campfire with some of your family and friends, tired from the day’s work. You begin to tell a story. It’s one you’ve told before, told a hundred times. You can see faces around the fire, the children with their eyes wide, the men and women who have heard the story before but still enjoy it because it brings meaning to their lives.
Storytellers—writers—have existed since the beginning of humanity. They didn’t always have book writing software. They didn’t have the printing press or the internet. They didn’t always even have the alphabet to write their stories down.
Instead, storytellers had their imaginations, their voices, and a rapt audience.
You don’t need book writing software to write a great story. Book writing software can make the process a little faster or easier, but the truth is great stories will always exist, no matter what kind of software we have.
The only three things essential to writing a great book:
- Your imagination
- Your words
- A desire to tell your story
That’s all you need. Do you want to write your book? If you do, then do it. Write it. Nothing is stopping you except you. So go get writing.
What pieces of book writing software do you use? Let us know in the comments.
PRACTICE
The world is full of powerful software to help you write your book. In the end, though, all these tools are just that—tools. The stories you imagine and your discipline to put the words on the page are far more important.
So for this practice, set aside all the fancy software. Eliminate all the bells and whistles and open up your computer’s native text editor (TextEdit for Mac or Notepad for Windows). Take fifteen minutes to write without any distractions. Continue your work in progress, or start a new story based on this prompt:
A student discovers one of their teachers is not what they appear to be.
When you’re done, share your writing practice in the comments. And if you share, be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers!