Marcus Richards
The Novel Factory is purpose built software for novel writers. It takes care of characters, plot, locations and so much more. It even includes a fully integrated guide to writing a novel.
Tell us about yourself?
My background is in software and in novel writing, so those things came together perfectly to create this product!
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Be patient, and trust your instincts that slowly building up a trusted product is better than a breakneck marketing strategy.
What problem does your business solve?
It helps novel writers who are struggling to complete their first novel. And it helps experienced novel writers become more efficient, productive, and therefore sell more books.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
It was very personal. I wanted to write a novel and I felt that technology could help me avoid time wasting, and get my chaotic story thoughts in order. That’s always been the driving ethos behind everything we do with the software.
What is your magic sauce?
It’s a combination of the software being easy to use from the first time you open it along with the fact it integrates a complete step-by-step guide to writing a novel, which takes you from initial concept to final manuscript and even offers advice on getting published.
Also, it is very feature-rich, with drag and drop index cards for shuffling your plot, detailed character profile questionnaires and visually pleasing statistics to show your progress towards your goals.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
There are a ton of new features we want to add to the software, and of course we’d like to grow our customer base and become even better known within writing circles.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
We initially sold the software on a lifetime licence fee, but as we grew, we discovered that wasn’t going to be a sustainable business model, so we had to change to a subscription basis.
We did this very reluctantly, as we know many people prefer to buy outright, but it was definitely the best decision for being able to support ongoing development, and as we build trust with our customers, we are usually able to overcome their doubts about the subscription model.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We’d love to have more collaborations with experienced writers and writing coaches who have genuine depth of insight and understanding of novel writing and self-publishing.
We’re also looking out for a youtube content creator to partner with, who can make regular video content relating to the software.
Other than that, we’re always interested in hearing from writers who have tried the software and have suggestions as to what features and improvemenst they would like to see, to make it work better for them.
