[mrdeluxe]

What word processor would you recommend for long, extensive writing, like a full novel?
Ive been looking at a whole lot of them:
Word is the oldest and probably the most worked onbut it has the (big) negative side of being ugly and heavy with dispensable tools. I prefer a simpler, minimalist style. As I read somewhere: Working with MS seems that Im working for the Word, not it for me!
I tried Pages in a store the other day, and liked it very much! Most of the commands are hidden, but can be used very simply, like the fonts choice that I usually do at the beginning and then almost dont change it at all! But there are somethings that I have to use constantly, like Italic, and I didnt explore Pages enough to learn if theres a short-key for italic, and I also dont know if Pages is consistent when the document starts to be too long.
I also read about NeoOffice, AbiWord, Mellel and Nisus Writer Express, but I havent tried these.
So, which one do you recommend?

(Please note that I dont have my Mac computer yet (it will be a Powerbook)! But Ill buy it soon, but when I do I want to buy at the same time the Word Processor of my choice.)

[Brettcamp]

Congrats for looking beyond Word. I embarked on a similar search last year, and concluded that there's no perfect word processor for all kinds of writing. instead, various writing apps work for different purposes. TextEdit actually works for a lot of my day to day short writing or clipping.
For actual long form writing for my book in progress, I decided on Mellel, in part because of its wonderful outlining (which they call "auto numbering") feature that lets you navigate long documents easily via an outline in the sidebar. It's also great with references, which is why it's becoming a leading word processor for academic writing. The downside for me is that its handling of styles requires a steep learning curve, at least for me, and I still run into frustration with that and other aspects of it, mostly because I haven't taken the time to RTFM in full. It does some things quite differently from Word, which is often a good thing but sometimes tough to figure out. It's also fairly affordable -- $40 or $50 now, though I bought it when it was cheaper.
NeoOffice is a great concept that I support, but it's still not quite simple or Mac-like enough for me, and I don't really need the other modules, though I keep it around just in case. It's not bad, though, and I certainly recommend it as an Office alternative. AbiWord just felt clunky to me, though, like NeoOffice, it's free and so you should try them first to see if they fit your needs.
Another free one (so far) that has a lot of promise is called Jer's NovelWriter, which actually is usable for nonfiction, too. What I like about it is the easy outlining and inline notes panel. Give it a try for sure -- there's nothing else out there quite like it, at least that I've seen. For novels and other long works, it helps to have outlining that lets you navigate the whole thing easily.
Some writers swear by CopyWrite, and you should probably give it a try. But Mellel and JNR have it beat for my uses. I haven't tried Pages yet, although I have the demo, and would be interested to hear more about it for writing, and to see what the next version looks like. From what I've read about it, I'd like to see better outllining and inline note making features. I looked at MarinerWrite and Nisus, but neither seemed to me to be much better than NeoOffice or AbiWord. So, I recommend Mellel and Jer's NovelWriter for writing a novel.
A couple of other recommendations. DevonNote and DevonThink, while primarily info organizers, are actually evolving into quite capable writing tools. I can imagine using either for notetaking, info organizing, outlining, and even writing, though I think there are better tools for each step. SuperNotecard is a good info organizer that's also aimed right at novel writers; I'd probably use it if I didn't already have DevonNote. And OmniOutliner makes a really good intermediate step for organizing long documents.
Sorry I don't have time to put in links to these apps, but you can find them all on VersionTracker or just Google them. I urge you to try them all and let us know what you conclude about each. Again, different tools will be more appropriate to different writers and even different projects. Finally, whatever you decide, be sure to save or export your work to rtf so you don't ever get imprisoned in a proprietary format and can change as your needs change or as different tools and versions come along that suit your needs better. Good luck!

[mrdeluxe]

Thank you very much for the such detailed answer, it was much help and I'll certainly be looking into your recommendations.
Cheers!

[Naphtali]

By trade I'm a manuscript editor-book designer. I'm always interested in making my job easier. And receiving files from writers by way of publishers is a recurring headache.
Your question has more than one facet to it: how easily can your writing software allow you to work your magic; and how transparently will the manuscript you just sold to Publisher XYZ be moved to his page layout software for a print run of zillions?
*
I run OS 9.2.2, not OS X. "Why," you might reasonably ask. What you and I do is primitive in terms of software required. Since I prefer to keep my hands on the keyboard rather than use a mouse -- in fact, I don't use a mouse; I use a Kensington Orbit -- I like command keys. And if I cannot force a command key structure, I prefer single-click solutions.
For nearly all editing (Sometimes I must filter a manuscript through a text editor to minimize extraneous garbage.), I use Word 2001 grotesquely tricked out. No drawing, no painting, no graphing, no charting, no Internet connecting, no HTML. Just long and short document processing.
Any word processor that incorporates paragraph styles will function as a writing tool for novels. Many text editors will also do the job. Having said that, to extensively rewrite and track notes, comments, ideas throughout the process of writing your novel, a word processor that provides you with layered note taking and organizing will be valuable.
The word processor that most closely meets my needs is Word. Since Word 2001 can select non-contiguous text (it's a hidden feature) as do all OS X versions, includes nearly unlimited control of keyboard, file windows, and mouse clicks, I strongly suggest you think hard before selecting a different word processor.
I have no experience with Word 2004 (although I have it and OS X 10.3.9). Word 2001 is stable and quick. To use any version of Word from 6 through 2001 well requires Microsoft's manual for version 6. As far as I know, this is the final print manual offered for Word. If OS X Word versions run similarly, a power user absolutely needs this manual.
I have no problem sending you my universal editing template if you want to see for yourself what works for me. Be advised that the template may not function in OS X versions correctly.

[JRB]

I edit a magazine and freelance-edit books, and I write for magazines regularly and write a book now and then. What you use in the privacy of your own office is up for grabs--Jer's Novel Writer shows a lot of promise, Hogbay Notebook was working well until the developer changed focus, and will probably be working well again some day, under the new name Mori; the same focus shift happened with Macjournal, which is headed more toward a blogging tool than a writing enabler; OmniOutliner works well to organize text and exports easily to Word; DevonThink is widely admired, though I can't seem to wrap my head around it. SuperNoteCard seems a good fit if you think and organize around the old favorite index-card metaphor.
But once you leave the privacy of your office and head out to the publishing world with a finished manuscript, you pretty much need to be running Microsoft Word. These days, most editing is done on-screen; my jarful of blue pencils and stacks of PostIts are gathering dust. Mainstream publishing is built (for the most part; there are holdouts and mavericks) around author-editor interaction using Word's revision marks. I know of no substitute for it. Publishers deal with authors all the time who don't use it, of course, or resist using it, or can't use it. But they much prefer to work with authors who do use it, and after using revision marks, where you see every instance of the editor misinterpreting your deathless prose, most writers do, too.
So although I take notes in a pre-blogger copy of Macjournal and mess around with the structure of pieces in in either HogBay or OmniOutliner, when I get ready to send it to my agent or to my editor it goes as a Word attachment, whether I want to or not.
And really, except for its lame-o outlining and its tendency toward random shutdowns and convoluted commands, it isn't a bad word processor, and hasn't been, really, since Version 1.0. It isn't a great word processor--at least it isn't a great writer's word processor--but at a certain level it becomes a default choice, like it or not.

[Brettcamp]

JRB's assessment of Word in publishing is a fair one. When I was editing a magazine a couple of years ago, we used Word almost entirely -- but not out of any policy, simply because that's the format most authors sent their files in. It's true that Word's revision tracking feature is, AFAIK, unmatched by the alternatives. (You might also check the NeoOffice forums; I haven't used it in awhile, but I seem to recall that revision tracking was being considered for a future release.)
Still, even when I used Word, I seldom use its revision tracking, and neither do most of the magazines and newspapers I write for regularly. Some editors prefer to use different colored text for revisions, or to mark revisions the old fashioned way with asterisks or all caps. Some just send you an edit and you have to find the changes. I confess I don't know the standard editorial usage in the novel writing world (the OP's intended use) but it wouldn't surprise me to see Word being common there.
However, plenty of journalists and other writers are able to get by without using Word; just because many editors use it doesn't mean that alternatives aren't available. Because of the Word deficiencies listed above, I'd choose to draft my novel using one of the alternatives I listed in my earlier post. then, if an editor insists on using Word because of its revision tracking or other features, you can always buy it then and import the draft into Word. Both Mellel and TextEdit have an option to save or export files in Word format, so that anyone using Word "sees" them as Word files. That's how I send my columns (generally drafted in Mellel or DevonNote) to the designers and I don't think they even realize that the files weren't created in Word. I'd recommend saving everything as .rtf so you're not locked in to any proprietary format, because any word processor can read those files.
That said, Apple is offering a sale on MS Office with purchase of any new Mac now, and the OP did say she/he was buying a new Mac.
Let us know what you decide.

[rlinhares]

Hi. I'm haveing about the same problem, but as I'm writing my master's thesis and I'ts gonna have a lot of pictures, I'm also looking for a new word processor that can stand 100 plus pages and deals well with pictures (something that's just impossible with M$ft Word). Besides that, just the basics, paragraph style, margins, etc.. no track changes etc... I thought about Indesign, but that would be just over the top. I'm thinking pages, would that fit well??
cheers and good luck on your search.

[pkeene]

Previous posters have given you a pretty comprehensive overview of the options available so just 2 comments from me. First, while your novel is still a work-in-progress I'd really recommend (whichever app you're using to write) keeping each chapter as a separate file. Second, don't overdo formatting - keep it simple.
Peter

[shades]

If you need high end word processor with something extra for page layout, then try:
RagTime Solo, free high-end page layout, with styles, etc, plus graphics handling and integrated spreadsheet, and it is cross-platform.

Papyrus, another page layout program (cross-platform) that will give you everything you need.

[Nobody]

I'm interested in hearing from those of you with publishing experience. I've been experimenting with Word substitutes as well, I'm an aspiring academic. I like Mellel, but when you export to rtf and open it in Word, it retains the appearance of your styles but all of your text will now be a single style (i.e. "Normal" text). In Nisus Writer Express, on the other hand, Word will retain the different styles so you can make changes easily. Is this an important issue for publishers? In other words, not being familiar with how specialized publishing/layout software works, would it make it harder not having styles to work with in Word, or does this not make a difference?

[Brettcamp]

I don't know yet about book publishing, although I will soon. But I'm a magazine writer and former magazine editor, and I can tell you that none of the dozen or more magazines and newspapers I've written for and worked for in the past few years care about styles from writers. As long as you can save your story in rtf (or occasionally .doc) format, it's fine. At most they'll ask you to send it double spaced or with other very basic formatting. The graphic designers then take over and put everything in InDesign or Quark anyway. If they send you an edit in .doc format, any major word processor will be able to read it; if not, you could ask them to save it in rtf, but I've never had to do even that.
I'm talking about journalistic publications here. Someone else will have to tell you about academic journals, but Mellel was designed for academic writers and some of their staffers are working academics, as are many -- perhaps most -- of its users, many of whom praise it as far superior to MS Word for academic writing. You might post your question on the Mellel forum, if you haven't already. There may be a workaround to the issue you pose. You don't have to be a registered user of Mellel to post there.

[Nobody]

Thanks for your insights. I did post this in the Mellel forum, but didn't really get a substantial response. Maybe it's not a crucial issue, I figured that publishers probably weren't using styles from Word, but it seems like it would be harder to reformat text that isn't tagged with different styles (especially for a long document). But like I said, I have no idea how InDesign or Quark goes about doing it.
I would feel a lot better about it if I could easily reformat in Word, which is why I'm considering Nisus (right now, I'm back to using Word). There's also the issue of collaborating with someone -- once I send it out, my styles would be lost. It's not like I'm doing anything too fancy with styles, but it does make it easier to work with a long document, and you still want to be able to have decent-looking output on your own. Similarly, there's the issue of being locked into Mellel's proprietary format. Suppose you wanted to switch to another app, you could export to rtf, but then your styles will be lost if you ever want to edit your documents.
Anyway, I'm curious to hear other peoples' thoughts.

[JRB]

In my experience in both magazines and book publishing, making a manuscript look pretty isn't important; too often, it's a distraction. What is important is a consistent presentation and adhering to your publisher's guidelines. A publisher might deal with several dozen to several hundred different authors each year, each with his or her own idea of how to output a manuscript. It doesn't take long for things to go beyond confusing.
All you need for mainstream publishing formatting are a double-spaced manuscript, a (usually) 12-point font, one-inch margins all around, page numbering, and a clearly understandable heading structure; it might even be helpful (and in some instances is required) to preface headings with H1, H2, H3, etc., to remove all doubts.
All of your formatting will be stripped away no matter how pretty it is, and either the editors or the production folks will assign styles based on the designer's requirements. Typically, the editors work in Word and use specific stylesheets to provide consistent formatting. The production folks will attach different stylesheets in Quark or whatever that follow the same naming convention (H1, H2, etc.).

[Millenniumman]

I use Pages, and really like it. Its got a great interface with the built in OS X tools for spell check, font, color, etc. used extensively. These things do seem to be hidden at first, but once you know how to bring them up, it becomes very efficient. And there are short keys for things like what you mentioned. Italic is command-i . Personally, I really like the Apple font palette, but the short keys are nice for occasionally making a word bold or italic. Then again, Pages is meant for layout as much as word processing, and if you just want to type the words and not deal with anything else, you may prefer Ulysses for your novel writing, and Pages for everything else. Ulysses doesn't give formatting options beyond italic/bold/underline for people writing things that they won't be formatting anyway (novels, magazine articles, etc.) This is great for some things, but it makes it useless for anything you want to submit or turn in as a finished product (Not just the text itself). If you can only get one, get Pages as its great for nearly everything.
You said that you thought word was ugly. NeoOffice, OpenOffice, and Abiword are far uglier and somewhat buggy. NeoOffice and Open Office have atrocious interfaces with nonstandard file browsers. Open Office in X11 isn't Mac-like at all. AbiWord is just ugly, and it doesn't integrate all that well into the OS. I'm not trying to say these are necessarily bad ideas, but as of yet, they are not a good alternative to use as a word processor.
I haven't used Mellel or Nisus Writer Express, so I won't comment except to say I think they are similar to Ulysses.
I remember Think Free Office as being a rather tacky looking, less powerful Microsoft Office, but I could be wrong.
Overall, I'd say get Pages, and if you feel you don't need all the formatting options, and would be more efficient when writing long things without them, get Ulysses (Or Mellel or Nisus Writer Express).