Draftwell Pro started as a small fix for one author's pile of separate documents and grew, over more than ten years and several rewrites, into a desktop writing app for novelists.
It keeps the manuscript, outline, brainstorming, and character and story notes side by side, runs locally on Windows and Mac, and comes with no account, no subscription, and no generative AI. Mike, its founder, built it for his wife, a working author, and still builds with her feedback in the room every day.
We asked Mike about the early versions, the rewrites, his pricing experiments, and what he'd do differently if he were starting again tomorrow.
[SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: Draftwell Pro main window showing the manuscript beside the outline and character notes]
What does Draftwell Pro do, and what problem were you trying to fix when you started?
Draftwell Pro is a desktop writing app for novelists that keeps the whole book in one place: manuscript, outline, brainstorming, and character and story notes, all side by side. It runs locally on Windows and Mac, with no account, no subscription, and no generative AI.
I started building it for my wife, an author. For years I watched her juggle a pile of separate documents just to keep track of her own story, and the tools on offer kept getting in her way. I built a simple fix, and every time she hit a new frustration I solved that too. Over a decade it grew from a small utility into a complete writing environment.
What did the first version look like, and how long did it take to get in front of users?
The first version was a clunky WinForms desktop app that worked but wasn't something I'd have shown a stranger. My only user was my wife, so it was in front of a real author from day one.
Over more than ten years and several complete rewrites, as my skills and the technology improved, it became the polished product it is today. Every rewrite was driven by what an actual writer needed next.
How did you find your first ten users?
Friends, family, and the author circles around my wife. Authors trusting me with their unfinished work is a real act of trust, and I never take it lightly. Those first users were generous with honest feedback, and much of what Draftwell Pro is today comes from them.
What's the hardest decision you've had to make so far, and what did you learn from it?
Starting over. More than once I chose to rebuild Draftwell Pro on newer technology, which meant throwing away work I'd spent time on, and it's a daunting first step when you can see everything still ahead of you. Each time it paid off, with a product that was faster, more reliable, and easier to improve. I learned that a rewrite done to serve the user beats protecting effort already spent.
[SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: Draftwell Pro outline or story notes view, showing how the structure sits alongside the manuscript]
How did you land on your pricing, and has it changed since launch?
Pricing is the part I'm still working out, and I'll be upfront about that. I want the price to signal quality while staying approachable for working authors, many of whom don't have deep budgets. Draftwell Pro is $19.99 as a one-time purchase, with a $10 early-access price while I find my first wave of users. For comparison, other writing tools I looked at run from $60 to $147 one-time, or a monthly fee. I'm not building this to get rich, so my instinct has been to keep it fair, but I'm learning that too low a price can read as low value. I'm treating it as something to keep testing and adjusting as I hear from users.
Which tool or habit could you not run the business without?
Persistence. Early interest was thin and the market is noisy, so it's hard for a small independent product to be heard. What keeps me going is that I believe in what I've built and I've seen it work for a real author. Staying with something you believe in when attention is slow to arrive is the habit everything else depends on.
A second habit is building with a working author in the room. Daily feedback from my wife keeps every feature honest.
What would you do differently if you were starting again tomorrow?
The core of the product I'd keep, since it was built around a real writer's needs and she's happy with it. What I'd change is the timing: I'd put it in front of more authors and start telling its story much earlier. I spent years perfecting it in a small circle, and sharing sooner would have meant more feedback and a stronger sense of what the wider market wants.
What's next for Draftwell Pro, and what would you tell a founder who's where you were a year ago?
Next year is about getting Draftwell Pro in front of the writers it was built for. The product is mature, so the work now is visibility.
To a founder where I was a year ago: work out what makes your product genuinely different and lean into it instead of competing on everything. Keep going too, because progress is slow when you're small and it's easy to mistake slow for failing.
You chose a one-off purchase with no subscription and no AI. How has that affected your cash flow, and would you make the same call again?
Honestly, it hasn't made me rich, and I won't pretend otherwise, because revenue is still early. But I'd make the same call again. Writers have been asked to rent their tools and, increasingly, to hand their words to AI. I wanted to build something authors buy once and own, where the manuscript stays on their own machine, nothing is sent anywhere unless they turn on sync to their own Google Drive or Dropbox, and nothing generates or rewrites their prose.
That choice matches why I built it. A one-off price does mean slower revenue than a subscription, and I've accepted that trade. The measure that matters most to me so far is the value it has given my wife and the authors who use it.
[SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER: Draftwell Pro sync settings showing the optional Google Drive and Dropbox options]
Try Draftwell Pro
You can find out more on the Draftwell Pro website, and you can read its listing in the We Are Founders tools directory.
