Do you need a(nother) writing app?

Question

I always wrote short stories or articles as a hobby. But one day I decided to aim higher and I started a novel. I realised that compared to programming, the available tools were quite antic or not appealing at all.

That's how I started building Colofon.

After a deep analysis of the existing market, I wrote up what I precisely wanted and what was obviously lacking. Aiming at simplifying the workflow and limit technical problems (data loss, formating, cross-platform ...)

Now, I'm opening for Beta and trying to get people involved but I have doubts. Do people really need a new tool dedicated to writing books, scripts, screenplays, etc.?

Is taking all the best features dedicated to writers considered disruptive and it’s frightening people who do not want to change their habits?

Please help me here as I need more feedback on my product. https://colofon.io

Robin Nessensohn · Accepted Answer

Hi there :) It's great that you are reflecting on whether people actually need a new tool for that. To me it seems very interesting but I wouldn't be a target customer. I would highly advice you to use a tool such as the Value Proposition Canvas (Osterwalder) to evaluate who your target customers are and what they actually need. With no business you can be sure that people actually want it so the only way to find out is to concretely define your target audience and then go out and talk to them about their pains and needs.

Regarding the aspect of people being afraid to change habits, that is a very valid point. When introducing new products it is therefore always helpful to implement features that are familiar to people, so the new product does not seem to abstract.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have questions :)

Laura Vasquez · Answer

For what it's worth, I would love to try this out. I've always wanted to write short stories based on dreams and nightmares I've had, which I write down in a dream journal. I never did it before because it seemed like there weren't any places to write neatly, and I didn't want to write on fanfic.com or anything like that. I will be giving your tool a try very soon :)

Thomas Malicet · Answer

@robin_nessensohn Thanks for your answer!
So far I see a lot of visitors who bounce back so I guess I haven't found my market yet. 
I started cold emails and got pretty good returns. But it's tough and time consuming.
Thanks again for your advices.

Thomas Malicet · Answer

@laura_vasquez95 I hope you do and tell me what you think! 
As of writing, I know there isn't a better time to start than right now.
Good luck!

Do you need a(nother) writing app?

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