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General Discussion Help issue with Atticus

HopeScribed

HopeScribed

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So after getting the suggestion to switch styles from Bible Study to Memoir I have been working day and night to get it completed. I thought I was finished this past Saturday when I printed it and during church Sunday it hit me. I needed a full chapter that really paints God and show how many ways his help came. So as soon as I got home I started but I have been sick and decided a nap was a better option instead. I wake up hours later and start back at it. Finally finishing around 2 A.M. then .....

Atticus has a brainfart! Lost the entire chapter. Poof! Just gone to never created land. Then it hit me. By the grace of God in my excitement to share with my huspand did a copy print of the text. Not a formatted version. But like if you would select this text and hit print. So I go into ChatGPT and have it pull it and give me the text version to plug back into it.

I thoughtI had it fixed and then logged in a few minutes ago to see yet again Atticus has lost my chapter. Easier to retrieve at this point but this is getting annoying. It failed to store the changes in the order of chapters and messed so much up the other day. I really need a suggestion to overcome. Any suggestions?
 
Well. It seems your issue is not unusual. From an AI search on this...
Yes, there have been multiple reports from authors about losing entire chapters or even all book data when using Atticus. Some users on forums and social media have described situations where chapters disappeared suddenly, data was wiped out, or backups did not contain recent work. These losses were sometimes triggered by syncing issues, software glitches, or possibly when pasting external content into the app, which Atticus itself warns can risk corrupting or losing content. While some users have recovered their work by logging out, clearing caches, or reloading, others were not able to restore their lost chapters, leading to significant frustration and the recommendation to keep frequent backups in another application.
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I asked AI if Atticus offers any solutions...
Atticus acknowledges the risk of losing chapters or content and does offer several solutions and recommendations to address this issue. They strongly advise against copying and pasting content directly from other programs, as this can import hidden formatting or coding that may corrupt your manuscript and even make it permanently unrecoverable. Instead, Atticus recommends importing your work from a .docx file, which is much safer for preserving content and formatting integrity.

Additionally, Atticus automatically saves your work to the cloud. There is also a Save button at the top right of the screen, which acts as an account backup to restore your entire account if unusual or accidental data loss occurs. For extra safety, they advise making regular backups by exporting your work to .docx, which preserves your content independent of Atticus’s own system. If issues persist, Atticus support recommends logging out, clearing your browser cache, and contacting their support team for troubleshooting or recovery assistance.
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Oof. I wouldn't trust my manuscript to such a platform. It's taken me 3 years to get where I am at this point. And I think I'm going to do a backup right now!
 
At some point I'm planning on getting a filing system so I can print and store all of my finished writings in physical, hard copy form. But that takes space, so not super easy right now. But I don't like trusting electronics with my writing. Thumb drives can be helpful, but I've had one go bad too.
 
Atticus says it's for writing, and it could be used for such, but it is more for formatting; maybe use a different software for the writing, then save it after each session in a drive or a cloud, along with on the computer, so two or three places.
 
There are apps that keep your work on YOUR computer, but automatically back up your work. Ulysses (mac only) and Scrivner do this, for example.
 
robwitty said:
Well. It seems your issue is not unusual. From an AI search on this...

I asked AI if Atticus offers any solutions...


Oof. I wouldn't trust my manuscript to such a platform. It's taken me 3 years to get where I am at this point. And I think I'm going to do a backup right now!
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Thank you so much. I spent yesterday thinking that it was the AWS issues. That is probably my problem. I use AI to correct my grammar. I guess I need to make it a dox file first, then transfer. Not sure how to do that yet, but I can figure it out. The reason I like Atticus is that it lets me see what it looks like in different forms (Print, mobile/computer). Thanks for all the help.
 
A ".docx" file is just a Microsoft Word document. When you save a Word doc, it's appends the suffix ".docx" to the filename.

If you don't have MS Word, most word processors will let you export your document in MS Word format (.docx). I personally don't like using MS Word. It's a bloated program and is not designed for authors.

There are various writers tools out there that specialize in formatting your manuscript for publishing. My plan was to employ one of these at the very end--after all the editing is done and I'm ready to publish.

Atticus is a cloud-based app. That means all your work is stored "in the cloud" on THEIR servers (not YOUR computer). If their servers get hacked or the internet goes down or ?, then you're manuscripts are unavailable to you--hopefully, just temporarily.

Consider an app that runs on your computer and stores your manuscripts on your computer. If you want suggestions, I'm sure there are plenty of authors here that will offer suggestions.
 
robwitty said:
A ".docx" file is just a Microsoft Word document. When you save a Word doc, it's appends the suffix ".docx" to the filename.

If you don't have MS Word, most word processors will let you export your document in MS Word format (.docx). I personally don't like using MS Word. It's a bloated program and is not designed for authors.

There are various writers tools out there that specialize in formatting your manuscript for publishing. My plan was to employ one of these at the very end--after all the editing is done and I'm ready to publish.

Atticus is a cloud-based app. That means all your work is stored "in the cloud" on THEIR servers (not YOUR computer). If their servers get hacked or the internet goes down or ?, then you're manuscripts are unavailable to you--hopefully, just temporarily.

Consider an app that runs on your computer and stores your manuscripts on your computer. If you want suggestions, I'm sure there are plenty of authors here that will offer suggestions.
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I do use MS Word for all my writing, but it does become very difficult very quickly with large documents. For short stuff that's only a few pages long, it is fine, but over 10 pages and it gets hard to scroll.

I did however find a way to use the navigation system to make it wwaaaaaayyy easier. I can even grab entire sections and move them using the navigation system. And I can click on the section instead of trying to scroll. But it is still cumbersome.

Are there any good free apps that are non-internet dependent for Windows or linux? I'm wanting to switch to Linux, but haven't made it over yet. In the mean time, I'm running out of space on my computer, so I don't want any huge apps. (And I can't really afford to pay for apps, especially since I plan to switch to a different OS soon.)
 
I asked AI for some suggestions...

Here are the free word processing apps that are not web-based and store their documents locally on your computer, rather than in the cloud:
  • LibreOffice Writer: A robust, open-source word processor with strong formatting capabilities. Supports .docx and other formats, works fully offline, and saves files to your local disk.
  • Apache OpenOffice Writer: Similar to LibreOffice, provides advanced formatting and layout tools, works offline, and saves everything locally.
  • FocusWriter: A distraction-free writing app focused on drafting. All writing is saved offline on your computer.
 
robwitty said:
I asked AI for some suggestions...

Here are the free word processing apps that are not web-based and store their documents locally on your computer, rather than in the cloud:
  • LibreOffice Writer: A robust, open-source word processor with strong formatting capabilities. Supports .docx and other formats, works fully offline, and saves files to your local disk.
  • Apache OpenOffice Writer: Similar to LibreOffice, provides advanced formatting and layout tools, works offline, and saves everything locally.
  • FocusWriter: A distraction-free writing app focused on drafting. All writing is saved offline on your computer.
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I think Mommy's Linux has Libre. That may be what I use when I switch over. In my experience, it does not work too well with Microsoft Word docs, though, which is problematic for sending stuff to magazines and such that require MSWdocs.

Focus Writer... I'll have to look into that and see what that is. I don't recognize it.
Thanks.
 
I have been using LibreOffice, but it can't seem to create and stay with headings. I try to include a 3" drop above the heading, and it often ignores that part. I have been saving it in its .odt form, but that hasn't helped.

OH! And I clicked on this thread because I have friend who found a feral cat in her attic. They named him Atticus. He is no longer feral.
 
Have you heard his invitation to write?
You are the daughter of your Father.
He who spoke the cosmos into being can surely handle the cost of a word processor.

Stop looking at what's in your hands, and look at what's in his hands.
You are his beloved.
He's calling you to this.
Ask, and he will give it.
 
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