Novela Studio

Full disclosure: I also build ProseEngine, an AI fiction-writing tool listed on the same terms as everyone else.

What it is

Novela Studio is a writing app for people who already know they are writing a book, a comic, a podcast, a play, or a screenplay. The home page's line is that it is not a book generator. You pick a template, the app lays out beats and chapters, and you decide where every chapter goes. You can write every word, or you can set a dial and have a model draft a chapter while you steer.

This review is what the public pages said on 6 November 2026, including the app screen opened on 3 November. We opened https://novelastudio.app/app/ on 3 November. It asked for a license key and said one license is for one person, on up to 3 of their own devices. We did not buy a license, enter a key, or ask a model to draft. The sentence about the register at Calloway Bait & Tackle, and the chapter titled "What Is Owed," are already on the marketing page.

The footer says Novela Studio is made by Causealytics, a brand of Trevino TodaMedia LLC, Dallas, Texas. Contact is admin@causealytics.com. The company's press release of 19 October 2026 quotes Marisa Trevino, founder of Causealytics, and calls that day the announcement. The product page itself does not use the word launch. The privacy policy and the terms were both last updated 13 October 2026.

Who it's for

• Writers who want the outline, the draft, and the export in one license. The price card lists novels, memoir, how-to and business books, comic scripts, podcast shows, stage plays, ten-minute plays, feature screenplays, and books for small hands. Thirty templates, one price.
• Writers who want the model quiet unless they ask. "Write it myself" is a real setting: templates, story tracking, scorecards, and exports, with no API key. The other two settings spend the key you bring.
• Playwrights and screenwriters who want script format in the same app. The FAQ describes scene headings, character names, dialogue, a page count that estimates how long a scene runs, and a page view. Exports include a script PDF, Word, Fountain, and, for screenplays, Final Draft (.fdx).

It is a weak fit if you want the company to host the manuscript and read it for you. The privacy policy says they cannot. It is a weak fit if you want a model included in the $148. The model bill is yours. It is also a weak fit if you need a free tier to try the editor. The page we read does not offer one.

Key features in practice

The list is what the public pages say. We did not press the controls inside a licensed copy.

• Three levels, chosen per book. Write it myself: every word is yours, and there is no API key. A little help: a coach that brainstorms, drafts your plans, keeps the Story World current, and proofreads, and "never writes your prose." Full co-writer: you steer each chapter, it drafts in your own voice, you edit, and you also get everything in A little help. You can change the dial later.
• Story World. The page says it remembers who knows what, where everyone is, what was promised, and a secret you have not revealed. The sample cards name June, the ledger, the ferry dock, a 1999 disappearance, and a secret about Pastor Dale. Those cards are the vendor's example. The price card also names scorecards and a plot audit. The home page says scorecards flag tired phrases, and the hero shows "0.0 em-dashes / 300 words" and "0 AI-tell phrases" on the sample. That is their illustration, not a measurement from this review.
• Versions. The home page says earlier versions are always one click away. We did not open the version list.
• Novela Notes. A page for an idea on the phone, the tablet, or the desk. You jot it, or you tap Talk. On iPhone and iPad, Talk can record a voice note that your own OpenAI or Google Gemini key turns into text. The privacy policy says recordings go only to that service and are not stored by Novela Studio. A note can become a new book or join the one you are writing.
• Where the file lives. Books save in the browser on the device. Optional cloud sync encrypts each book on the device with a recovery code (the privacy policy says AES-256) before upload. Causealytics stores the scrambled copy, the time, and the size, linked to the license. They say they never receive the recovery code, so they cannot open the books, and neither can someone who gets into the servers. If you lose the code, the cloud copy cannot be opened. The copy on the device is not affected. Deleting a book also removes it from the cloud copy when sync is on. The terms tell you to download a backup, because clearing site data or a device failure can erase the local books.
• Offline, with a check-in. The FAQ says you can write anywhere. Each device needs to go online at least once every 14 days to confirm the license.
• Import, from the press release. The 19 October release says you can bring in Word, text, Markdown, JSON, and Fountain. The product page we read describes exports in the FAQ and does not repeat the import list. Use the release for the import claim, and check the app if a format matters.
• Install. There is no app store. You open novelastudio.app/app in the browser you activated, then add it to the Dock, the taskbar, or the home screen. The install instructions cover Mac (Chrome and Safari), Windows (Chrome or Edge), iPhone and iPad (Safari), Android (Chrome), and Chromebook. Each browser keeps its own copy of the books.

Pricing (checked 6 November 2026)

The price block is on the home page, at #price. Stripe takes the payment. The license key appears on screen after checkout. The same page says the license is also sold on Gumroad. We did not open checkout.

What you pay Novela	Price	What the card includes
License	$148 once	One writer, up to 3 of your own devices. All 30 templates. All three levels of AI help. Story World, scorecards, and plot audit. Novela Notes. Private encrypted cloud sync. EPUB, Word, and print-ready exports. Script PDF, Final Draft, and Fountain for scripts. Markdown and plain text are in the FAQ. Every future update.

There is no monthly bar because there is no subscription. The FAQ says you pay once and keep every future update.

AI is not in the $148. If you want help, you add a key from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google Gemini, or OpenRouter. That service bills you. The price card says the bill is usually a few dollars, and that Google's free tier works too. "Usually" is their word. We did not measure a chapter's cost.

Three official pages do not agree, and the disagreement is about the license you think you bought:

• novelastudio.app and the terms, last updated 13 October 2026: 30 templates, up to 3 devices, and four AI providers.
• The press release, 19 October 2026: 30 templates, and "each license covers one writer on up to two devices."
• The Causealytics shop, read 3 November 2026: 27 templates, cloud sync across 2 devices, and "AI help uses your own Anthropic account." The shop blurb did not mention OpenAI, Google, or OpenRouter. On 6 November 2026 that URL returned a page that said JavaScript is required and did not show the product blurb, so those three lines were not re-read.

The app screen opened on 3 November repeated the 3-device sentence. The terms, last updated 13 October 2026, still say 3 devices. The press release of 19 October 2026 still says up to two devices, and still says $148. If you are about to pay, read the checkout you are actually on. This review treats the product page and the terms as the current offer. The press release has not caught up. The shop could not be checked again without JavaScript.

The terms say refunds follow the policy shown on the product page at the time you buy. The product page we read does not print a refund window. A refunded or charged-back payment turns the license off. Check the vendor site before you pay if a refund window is the reason you would buy.

Using it as a writer

1. Read the sample chapter on the home page before you pay. It shows the shape they are selling: a chapter, a Story World, and a scorecard. It is their example.
2. Decide the dial before you create a key. Write it myself never sends the prose to an AI. The other two settings do, on your account.
3. Count devices as three, and keep the recovery code. The terms and the price card say 3. The press release still says 2. The shop said 2 on 3 November and did not render on 6 November. Cloud sync cannot be opened without the code, and they cannot send it back to you.
4. Export a backup. The terms say clearing the browser's site data can erase the books. Cloud sync is a convenience, not the backup.
5. If you publish, follow the store's AI rules. The terms say the disclosure guidance inside the app is general information, not legal advice.

Strengths

• The no-AI setting is a product, not a missing feature. Templates, tracking, scorecards, and exports are listed on that card, with no key.
• The file is described as yours, in both senses. The terms say everything you write is yours, including text the AI drafts at your direction, and that Causealytics claims no rights to it. The privacy policy says they cannot read the cloud copy.
• One number. $148 once, on the page, with the update promise in the same card.
• Scripts are in the same license. Fountain and Final Draft are named, not waved at.
• The language line is wide. Any language you can type, set per book.

Weaknesses

• The official pages disagree on what the license includes. The product page and the terms say 30 templates and 3 devices. The press release says 2 devices. The shop, on 3 November, said 27 templates, 2 devices, and Anthropic only, and it did not render on 6 November. You should not have to reconcile a shop, a press release, and a price card.
• No free editor. The marketing page is public. The app we opened stopped at a license key.
• The model bill is extra and unmeasured here. "Usually a few dollars" is the vendor's phrase. A long book on a paid Claude key can be more than that. Check the provider.
• No refund window on the page the terms point at. The terms delegate the policy to the product page. The product page we read does not state one.
• A browser install is not a signed desktop app. Books live in the browser you activated. A second browser is a second copy.
• We did not run a chapter. The scorecard numbers on the home page are theirs.

How it compares

• Novela Studio vs Novelcrafter. Both can send a chapter to a model on a key you bring. Novelcrafter's codex is a database you maintain, and the writing app is a subscription with a bring-your-own-key plan. Novela is one payment, and the no-AI setting is on the price card. See the Novelcrafter review.
• Novela Studio vs Type. Type is a document editor with notes, offline mode, and a Word export. Novela adds templates, a Story World, script format, and a dial for how much the model writes. See the Type review.
• Novela Studio vs Owen Book Studio. Owen builds a story plan for free and sells a generated first draft. Novela's own headline says it is not a book generator. The co-writer setting drafts a chapter you steer. Those are different jobs.
• Novela Studio vs ProseEngine. ProseEngine is made by the person who runs this site. See the disclosure above. It is also a fiction studio with a codex and scene generation. We are not scoring that matchup. Read both product pages and run the same chapter in each if you want a comparison that is yours.

Verdict

Novela Studio is a one-time writing studio with a real off switch for the model, a Story World, and script exports in the same license. The privacy design is the part worth reading twice: the book is encrypted before it leaves the device, and the company says it does not have the code.

The pages that sell it do not yet tell one story. On 6 November the price card and the terms still said $148, 30 templates, and 3 devices. The press release still said 2 devices. The shop, which on 3 November said 27 templates, 2 devices, and Anthropic only, did not render without JavaScript. Buy from the page that matches the license you think you are getting, and do not assume the $148 includes the model.

FAQ

Is Novela Studio free? No. On 6 November 2026 the product page showed one license at $148. The app we opened asked for a license key. There is no free plan on that page.

How much does it cost? $148 once, for one writer on up to 3 devices, on novelastudio.app on 6 November 2026. AI help is extra and is billed by the provider whose key you add. The press release still said 2 devices. The shop said 27 templates, 2 devices, and an Anthropic account on 3 November, and did not render on 6 November. Check the page you pay on.

Does Novela train on the manuscript? The privacy policy does not use the word training. It says books are encrypted on the device before cloud sync, that Causealytics never receives the recovery code, and that Write-it-myself text is never sent to an AI. AI help sends the text you choose to the provider you picked, under that provider's agreement.

Who owns the writing? The terms say everything you write is yours, including text the AI drafts at your direction, and that Causealytics claims no rights to it. You are responsible for what you publish.

Can I use it without an AI key? Yes. Write it myself is the setting for that: templates, story tracking, scorecards, and exports, with no API key.