Show HN: Storytella – an app for authors, in development, looking for feedback

by nomadcoop • 12 years ago

1 2 12 years ago

I think it's a great idea but not sure if it's compelling enough as a stand-alone application.

Just toyed around with it for a few minutes but not sure how it's different from using Google docs?

Tracking your progress over time is compelling but it would seem that the switching cost is just too high to justify learning a new tool just for that.

Maybe I should have spent more time using it but I'd suggest focusing on the specific components of what makes your tool different than Google drive or microsoft word.

Also, I'd suggest letting people play with it or at least have a better sense of what they're signing up for because I'm sure a lot of people see a registration form and run away before even trying your software (people who otherwise might have registered if they got a chance to play with it first)

Along the same lines, I'd suggest changing your call to action button from "Register" to "Try it out!" or something like that. I can't speak for everyone but I have a feeling that young programmers tend to be averse to registering unnecessarily.

Along similar lines, making users go to a separate "register" page is just one more step that users can abandon the sign-up process. Rather make registration happen on the same page as they hit "register" if possible to remove the points in the process where people can give up.

The entity concept is really interesting - especially if I could link it to CSV or something like that but couldn't figure out how to get it working in the few minutes I toyed with the app.

All the best! :)

nomadcoop• 12 years ago

Thanks for the feedback! Someone else has said similar things about registering and allowing people to demo the app without signing up so I'm adding that to my task list.

The entity system and the writing stats are probably the biggest differentiation from Word or Google Docs, so I'll make these features the core part of a demo.

Thanks again!

Show HN: Storytella – an app for authors, in development, looking for feedback

Related Stories