Free Wild Hearts tools, plus honest recommendations for the paid tools we use and trust. All work in Australia with Australian payment methods. Where we have affiliate agreements, those links are noted — we only list tools we'd recommend without the commission.
Targeted editorial feedback on your opening hook, pacing, dialogue, character voice, or emotional resonance. Fast, honest, and specific.
Try it free →Upload 1–3 sample chapters. Receive a structured Style Guide capturing your unique voice — perfect for sharing with collaborators or uploading to Claude Projects.
Try it free →A multi-turn AI writing collaborator. Choose a mode — plot problems, character depth, world building, opening hooks, or theme — and think through your story.
Try it free →Upload your manuscript and download a properly formatted .epub with a table of contents, clean paragraph formatting, and optional cover image.
Try it free →These are tools we use and recommend. Some links below are affiliate links — marked with affiliate. This means we earn a small commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you.
One-time ~$75 AUD
The best long-form writing software available. Organises your manuscript, research, notes, and outlines in one interface. Used by the majority of serious book-length authors worldwide. Works on Mac and Windows.
Try Scrivener →Free (limited) / ~$79 AUD/year
The best AI self-editing tool for manuscript-length work. Understands fiction vs non-fiction voice, tracks repetition across chapters, and gives genre-appropriate style feedback. Far more useful than Grammarly for book writers.
Use Grammarly for emails and social content. Use ProWritingAid for manuscripts.
Try ProWritingAid →Free / ~$15 USD/month
Excellent for everyday writing — emails, social posts, blog content. Not recommended for manuscript editing: it optimises for general English, not genre-appropriate fiction or long-form narrative voice.
Try Grammarly →USD $147 one-time (~AUD $230)
Creates print PDF and ebook EPUB from a single file. Works on both Windows and Mac. Our top formatting recommendation for cross-platform authors — it replaced Vellum as our default pick because it works everywhere.
Try Atticus →From USD $199 one-time
Produces the most polished ebook output available. Mac only. If you're a Mac user who prioritises ebook aesthetics, Vellum is excellent. For cross-platform authors, use Atticus.
Mac only.
Try Vellum →~$200 AUD/year
Excellent for social graphics, promo materials, and back-cover text layout. Not a substitute for professional cover design — the front cover of your book should be designed by a professional who understands genre conventions.
Use for everything around your cover. Not for the cover itself.
Try Canva Pro →From ~$100 AUD/year
Professional book mockup images for social media posts and advertising. Dramatically improves the visual quality of your promotional content.
Try BookBrush →USD $49 setup per title (promotions run regularly)
The primary route to Booktopia, Australian bookshops, libraries, and 39,000+ global retailers. If you want your print book in any Australian bookshop, you need IngramSpark. No ongoing fees — printing costs deducted per sale.
No affiliate — just the best tool for the job.
Visit IngramSpark →Free (they take a small % per sale)
Distributes to Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, and libraries with no upfront cost. They take 10% of each sale. Excellent for authors who want wide ebook distribution without managing multiple accounts.
Try Draft2Digital →USD $97 one-time (~AUD $150)
Shows exactly what readers search for on Amazon, which categories are competitive vs accessible, and what comparable titles earn. Saves enormous time on launch strategy. Even a small improvement in category selection can mean hundreds of additional readers.
Try Publisher Rocket →Free up to 1,000 subscribers / from ~$25 USD/month
Built for creators — better automation, better deliverability, and easier to use for non-technical authors than Mailchimp. Free up to 1,000 subscribers. This is what we use to deliver the Wild Hearts toolkit and our email sequence.
Try ConvertKit / Kit →Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. This means Wild Hearts Publishing earns a small commission if you purchase through our link, at no additional cost to you. We only list tools we genuinely use and recommend. We have turned down affiliate arrangements for tools we don't believe in.
All the formatting and marketing tools in the world won't save a manuscript with unresolved structural issues. Start with the review.
Submit Your Manuscript — from $149 →