Last reviewed by Robert Prime — May 2026
Introduction
Dictation is one of the great-undervalued productivity hacks in indie publishing. Authors who switch from typing to dictation often double or triple their daily word count once they're comfortable with the process.
But it has a real learning curve, the right tool depends on your operating system, and the workflow for turning raw dictation into a usable draft is different from typing.
This guide covers the practical reality: which tools work, how to learn dictation without quitting in week 1, and how UK accents fare in 2026.
Why dictation is faster
Typical typing speeds:
- Average: 40-60 wpm = 2,400-3,600 words/hour at peak
- Sustained over a writing session: usually 500-1,000 words/hour
- Why so much lower? Editing-while-typing, looking up things, taking breaks
Typical dictation speeds:
- Speaking pace: 100-150 wpm
- Sustained dictation: 1,500-3,000 words/hour
- Why higher? No editing while dictating, brain runs forward, voice doesn't tire like fingers
A 2-3x productivity multiplier compounds over years. An author dictating 2,000 words/day for 5 years writes the same as a typing author would in 12-15 years.
The tools that work
Dragon Professional Individual (nuance.com/dragon)
Platform: Windows (Mac version discontinued).
Cost: £300 one-off (sometimes £200 on sale).
Accuracy: Best-in-class for English dictation. Recognises 100+ specialised vocabularies. Learns your voice over time.
UK accent performance: Excellent for RP / standard British. Reasonable for Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, regional accents — improves dramatically with training.
Use case: Serious dictators who write daily. The standard.
Apple Built-in Dictation (Voice Control / Dictation)
Platform: macOS, iOS.
Cost: Free (built into the OS).
Accuracy: Very good in 2026 (much improved from earlier versions). Continuous dictation supported in latest macOS.
UK accent performance: Good but slightly weaker than Dragon on strong regional accents.
Use case: Mac authors who don't want to pay; iPhone dictation for capture on the move.
Google Voice Typing (Google Docs)
Platform: Any (uses Chrome).
Cost: Free.
Accuracy: Good. Works directly in Google Docs.
UK accent performance: Variable — Google's models are US-trained.
Use case: Casual dictation; quick scenes; authors who already use Google Docs.
Windows Voice Recognition (built-in)
Platform: Windows.
Cost: Free.
Accuracy: Improved in Windows 11 but still behind Dragon.
UK accent performance: Reasonable.
Use case: Light dictation; Windows users not ready to invest in Dragon.
Otter.ai (otter.ai)
Platform: Web + mobile apps.
Cost: Free tier + £8-£20/month plans.
Accuracy: Good for transcription of recorded audio.
Use case: Different workflow — record audio (phone, walking with AirPods), upload to Otter, get transcript. Better for "speak whenever inspiration strikes" than live dictation into your manuscript.
Microsoft 365 Dictation
Platform: Word and other Office apps.
Cost: Bundled with Microsoft 365 (£60-£80/year).
Accuracy: Good, has improved significantly with cloud-based Azure speech in 2026.
Use case: Word users who already pay for 365.
The two dictation workflows
Workflow A: Live dictation into manuscript.
- Open Scrivener/Word/Google Docs
- Activate dictation
- Speak directly into the document
- Words appear in real time
Best for: stable home/office setup, quiet environment, ergonomic seating.
Workflow B: Record + transcribe.
- Walk with phone/recorder + headphones
- Speak whatever scene/chapter you're working on
- Upload audio to Otter.ai or send to a human transcriber
- Get text back, paste into manuscript
Best for: mobile-first writers, parents who can only think while walking, plotting on the move.
Many prolific authors use both — workflow A for sustained drafting sessions, workflow B for ideas that strike on the move.
The learning curve (the part that catches people out)
Dictation feels weird at first. You're used to seeing words appear as you think them. Dictation requires:
- Thinking in spoken sentences rather than written ones. Your brain has to release the desire to perfect each sentence before speaking it.
- Knowing punctuation commands. "Period." "New paragraph." "Quote." "End quote." "Question mark." Until these are automatic, dictation feels clunky.
- Resisting editing-while-dictating. The most common dictation failure: speaking three words then "no go back actually it should be..." — this kills throughput. Dictate the whole scene, fix later.
- Tolerance for error. Dragon at 95% accuracy makes 1 error per 20 words. That's normal. Fix in editing.
Realistic learning curve: 20-40 hours to feel natural. Most authors quit at 5-10 hours. The breakthrough comes around hour 30.
Punctuation commands (Dragon)
The standard set:
- "Period" / "Full stop" → .
- "Comma" → ,
- "Question mark" → ?
- "Exclamation mark" → !
- "Open quote" / "Close quote" → " "
- "Open paren" / "Close paren" → ( )
- "New paragraph" → blank line + indent
- "New line" → line break, same paragraph
- "Cap [word]" → capitalise next word
- "All caps on/off" → CAPS LOCK
After ~20 hours these become automatic — you say "comma" without thinking.
The first-draft mindset shift
Dictated first drafts are messier than typed first drafts. They have:
- More punctuation errors
- Occasional misheard words
- More repeated phrases
- More verbal tics ("you know", "so", "well")
This is fine. The point of dictation is to get words on the page faster. The first edit pass cleans them up — and ProWritingAid catches most of the repetition and verbal tics.
The reason dictation produces more total output despite messier first drafts: a messy draft you can edit beats a perfect first chapter you never finish.
What dictation isn't good for
- Detailed editing. Dictation is for first drafts. Editing requires looking at the page in detail; speaking is the wrong tool.
- Heavy dialogue with many speakers. Distinguishing speakers in dictation is harder than in typing.
- Heavily formatted non-fiction (code blocks, bulleted lists, tables). Dictating these is slow.
- Settings where you can't speak aloud. Open-plan offices, libraries, sleeping family in the next room.
If most of your writing time is in these contexts, dictation may not be for you — or you may need workflow B (record + transcribe later).
UK considerations
- Regional accents. Dragon, the best tool, handles strong Yorkshire, Scottish, Welsh, NI accents well after training. Apple/Google dictation are weaker on strong regional accents.
- British English vocabulary. Set your dictation tool to UK English (Dragon offers UK English package). Otherwise "colour" becomes "color" and "behaviour" becomes "behavior".
- Dragon UK pricing. Sometimes available cheaper from UK resellers than direct Nuance.
- Privacy / GDPR. Otter.ai and cloud-based dictation send audio to their servers. For fiction, low concern. For sensitive non-fiction (memoir, legal), check the provider's data handling.
- Tax deduction. Dragon and Otter subscriptions are deductible business expenses for UK self-employed authors.
Setup investment
For serious dictation:
- Quality USB microphone or headset. £40-£150 (Plantronics Voyager 5200, Logitech H800, Blue Yeti).
- Quiet writing space. No echo, no fans, no traffic noise.
- Software. Free to £300 depending on choice.
- Initial training time. 20-40 hours.
Total initial cost: £40-£500. Pays back in productivity within 2-3 months for daily writers.
Common mistakes
- Trying dictation for one hour and giving up. 20-30 hour learning curve. First 5 hours feel terrible.
- Editing while dictating. Kills throughput. Dictate the scene, fix later.
- Using a laptop mic. Quality is critical. Built-in laptop mics produce far more errors.
- Dictating in a noisy room. Background noise = misheard words = abandoning the tool.
- Not training the system. Dragon improves dramatically with 30-60 minutes of voice training.
- Switching tools too often. Pick one and stick with it through the learning curve.
The author types who benefit most
- Volume writers. Anyone aiming for 4+ books per year benefits dramatically.
- Series authors. Steady cadence + dictation = compounding output.
- Authors with RSI / typing pain. Dictation removes the physical stress of typing.
- Plot-driven fiction writers. Thrillers, mysteries, romance — these genres benefit from dictation's natural narrative voice.
The author types who benefit least:
- Literary stylists who craft sentences word-by-word
- Heavy-formatting non-fiction writers (code-heavy technical books)
- Authors who can only write in cafes (can't dictate in public)
The bottom line
For most prolific or aspiring-prolific UK indies: dictation is worth the 20-40 hour learning investment. Once natural, it doubles or triples output for years.
Tool choice: Dragon if Windows; built-in Apple dictation if Mac (or pay for Dragon via Parallels). Workflow B (record + Otter.ai) if you write on the move.
Don't quit at hour 5. Push through to hour 30. Then assess.
The fastest indie authors in the world dictate. There's a reason.
Frequently asked questions
Can I dictate fiction with dialogue?
Yes, but it's the hardest part. Many dictators say dialogue line + "comma" + "she said" + "period" + new paragraph. Becomes automatic with practice.
Does dictation work for non-fiction?
Yes, especially for narrative non-fiction (memoir, business stories). Less effective for heavily-formatted technical writing.
What about voice cloning / AI dictation?
Some AI tools can mimic your voice for audiobook narration but don't replace dictation for drafting.
Can I dictate while exercising / walking?
Yes (workflow B). Many indie authors dictate during daily walks. Just record audio on phone, upload to Otter or transcriber later.
Does dictation cause repetitive strain on the voice?
Heavy dictation (3+ hours/day) can strain the voice. Hydrate. Take breaks. Most prolific dictators max at 2-3 hours of active dictation per day.
