Craft & System
The Author's Blueprint

Write the book. Finish the book.

Stop scattering your novel across five apps. Plan it, draft it, keep your whole world straight, and see whether it's actually working — in one calm studio that runs on your machine and never asks you to log in to write.

One-time purchase · macOS & Windows · 3 devices · 14-day money-back

no subscription. ever.

The Author's Blueprint — Drafting
The Author's Blueprint — Drafting
Sound familiar?

The book is in your head. It's just scattered everywhere else.

The draft is in one doc. The outline's in another. Character notes live in a spreadsheet, the timeline's on sticky notes, and you have three tabs open trying to remember which cousin betrayed whom. The story isn't the hard part anymore — the juggling is.

The Author's Blueprint puts all of it in one place, with the structure built in — so the only thing left to do is the writing.

Drafting

A page that gets out of your way

Open the app and write. Distraction-free mode hides everything but the words, while a quiet momentum panel tracks your streak and daily goal so you can feel the progress without breaking flow.

  • Clean, rich-text editor with a real focus mode
  • Live word count, daily goal, and writing streak
  • Find & replace, full-text search, command palette
  • Spell-check and undo/redo where you expect them
Drafting — focus mode
Drafting — focus mode
Structure

Outline on the shoulders of proven frameworks

Pick a framework or build your own. Rearrange scenes on a corkboard, link beats to chapters, and always know where you are in the story — and what comes next.

  • Seven story structures: Three-Act, Hero's Journey, Save the Cat, Story Circle & more
  • Drag-and-drop corkboard of scenes and chapters
  • Add custom beats; link beats to chapters
  • A 9-stage pipeline from Foundations to Marketing
Structure — corkboard & beats
Structure — corkboard & beats
World & Cast

Keep an entire world straight

Track every character, faction, and thread without leaving the app. See who appears where, how they feel about each other, and which subplots you've quietly dropped — before your readers do.

  • Characters with goal, wound, lie, and stakes
  • Factions, locations, and a living relationship map
  • Interactive character & faction maps you can arrange
  • Timeline view and subplot tracking with coverage
World & Cast — relationship map
World & Cast — relationship map
Analytics

Know if it's actually working

The Book Report reads your manuscript the way a sharp editor would skim it — pacing, readability, where a character vanishes for 80 pages — using deterministic rules that run on your machine. Real signal, zero cloud.

  • A craft score with pacing and readability analysis
  • Character presence: appearances, POV, longest absence
  • Subplot coverage and dangling-thread detection
  • 100% rule-based and local — no AI reading your book
Book Report — craft & pacing
Book Report — craft & pacing
Finish & ship

Submission-ready, in one click

When the draft is done, get it out in the format you need — properly formatted, not a copy-paste mess. Whether you're querying agents or publishing yourself, you're ready.

  • Export to EPUB3, DOCX (Shunn manuscript format), Markdown, PDF
  • A submission tracker for agents and editors
  • Launch checklists for indie or traditional paths
  • Full project export — your work is never locked in
Exports — EPUB / DOCX / PDF
Exports — EPUB / DOCX / PDF
Yours & private

Software you own, work that stays yours

No subscription quietly draining your card, no manuscript sitting on someone else's cloud. You buy it once, it runs offline, and your book stays on your computer — encrypted if you want it to be.

  • Offline-first: no account needed to write
  • Encrypted local backups with an optional passphrase
  • One-time purchase, free updates, 3 devices
  • Your manuscript never touches our servers
Settings — backups & privacy
Settings — backups & privacy
One price. Yours to keep.

Everything, for $47 once

No tiers, no add-ons, no monthly fee. The same app other tools charge you every month for — except you actually own this one.

$47one-time

Compare: Scrivener ~$60 · Atticus $147 · Plottr $99/yr

  • The complete app — every feature, no upsells
  • macOS & Windows, up to 3 devices
  • Free updates within your version
  • Offline-first; your work stays on your machine
  • 14-day money-back guarantee

Secure checkout by Lemon Squeezy. Your key arrives by email instantly.

Not sure yet? Read the honest comparison vs Scrivener & Atticus.

Questions

The honest answers

Is this a subscription?+
No. The Author's Blueprint is a one-time purchase of $47. You get free updates within the version you bought, and the app keeps working forever — there's no monthly fee and nothing expires.
Does it work offline?+
Completely. After a one-time activation, the app runs with no internet at all. Your manuscript lives in a local file on your own computer — it's never uploaded to us or anyone else.
Is there AI reading my book?+
No. The analytics — craft score, pacing, readability, character presence — are deterministic rules that run locally. Nothing is sent to a cloud model. Your words stay yours.
What platforms does it run on?+
macOS and Windows. One license activates on up to 3 of your own devices, so your laptop and desktop are both covered.
Can I get my work out if I stop using it?+
Always. Export to EPUB, DOCX (in standard Shunn manuscript format), Markdown, and PDF anytime, plus a full project export. Your work is never locked in.
What if it's not for me?+
There's a 14-day money-back guarantee. Email melvin@craftandsystem.com with your order and we'll sort out a refund through Lemon Squeezy, no hard feelings.
How do I get my key if I lose it?+
Head to the recovery page, enter your email, and we'll send your license key(s) straight to your inbox. You can also sign in to your account to see your keys and downloads anytime.

Your book deserves better than fifteen browser tabs.

Get the studio built to take you from blank page to finished manuscript.

Lost an old key? Recover it here.