Is Fictionary Worth It? | Fiction Editing Software

About this video

Dale reviews Fictionary, story-structure editing software for fiction writers, after a month of hands-on testing with two writer friends and a demo from founder Christina Stanley. Fictionary began as natural-language-processing software for a structural (story) edit — import a manuscript and check scene/plot placement against an ideal story arc — then expanded to editors and added a free community Stanley says was approaching 1,700 members. Dale contrasts it with hiring a human developmental editor: citing a Reedsy article, he puts developmental editing at roughly two to three cents per word, or about $2,200 to $3,600 for a 100,000-word manuscript, versus Fictionary’s Storyteller plan at $14 to $19 per month (15 story insights, three manuscripts) and Storyteller Premium at $29 to $39 per month (guided Live courses, ten manuscripts). Testers praised the guided setup, auto-generated character lists and plot-point/arc visualization, but flagged heavy data entry and the risk of gaming your own inputs to flatter the book. Dale’s verdict: a solid self-education tool whose standout feature is its warm, free community, with a steep learning curve — it complements rather than replaces a human editor. He discloses Fictionary provided free access but says the video is not sponsored, and points viewers to the 14-day free trial.

Key takeaways

• Fictionary does structural/story editing (arc, scenes, plot points) — the layer grammar tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid do not cover
• Founder Christina Stanley describes it as Storyteller/Story Coach software plus a free community approaching 1,700 members
• Dale cites developmental editing at about 2-3 cents per word ($2,200-$3,600 per 100,000-word manuscript) versus Fictionary at $14-$19/mo (Storyteller) or $29-$39/mo (Premium)
• Testers liked the character lists and arc visualization but warned about heavy data entry and the ability to manipulate inputs to flatter the manuscript
• Verdict: best for self-education alongside a human editor, not instead of one; the free community is the biggest value

Episode details: published January 24, 2024 · 14:51 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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