Many of my book coaching clients are busy professionals who need to get a book out but lack the time to sit down to write it. Among the many reasons it may benefit you to dictate your book include a preference for speaking, struggles with writer’s block, or as an alternative to typing or handwriting for individuals with disabilities or physical limitations. Or perhaps you simply have too busy a schedule, or maybe you type slowly, make lots of errors, and it takes you forever to get it done.
You may find that speaking your thoughts aloud is a more natural and efficient way to express your ideas than writing them down. Dictating can be a more efficient way to get your thoughts down quickly without having to spend all that time typing or writing. It can also help you to overcome writer’s block by allowing you to approach your writing in a different way.
Here are several apps you can use to dictate your book:
- Dragon Anywhere: This is a professional-grade dictation app that allows you to dictate your book and edit it with voice commands.
- Google Docs Voice Typing: Google Docs has a built-in voice typing feature that allows you to dictate your book directly into the document.
- Otter.ai: This app is primarily used for transcription, but it can also be used for dictation. It has a feature that allows you to dictate your book and transcribe it in real-time.
- Speechnotes: This is a free dictation app that allows you to dictate your book and save it as a text document.
- Apple Dictation: If you have an Apple device, you can use the built-in dictation feature to dictate your book. It works well with the Pages app.
- Windows Speech Recognition: If you have a Windows computer, you can use the built-in speech recognition feature to dictate your book. It works with most word processors.
- Dictate by Microsoft: This is an add-in for Microsoft Word that allows you to dictate your book directly into the document.
Even if none of the reasons mentioned apply and you just want to try something different, give it a shot with one of these apps, and let me know how it works out!
If you have used other dictation apps and want to recommend them, feel free to drop a link to them in the comments.