The story behind Talers

Would you like to know the story behind Talers?

How did the idea come about? Why embark on such a project? 🤔

For those who don't know me, my name is Matthieu, I'm the founder and technical director of Talers.

It all started back when I was still a youngster, and found unrivalled pleasure in sitting down in front of a notebook or screen to write down whatever stories came into my head. Like many people of my age, I couldn't escape the charms of fan fiction, and I used a character of my own invention, with the bizarre name of “Xerou”, in all the worlds I liked.

The famous Xerou has had many adventures. He roamed the Middle Lands in the company of elves and hobbits; from an illiterate barbarian rescued by Imperial soldiers on an icy planet, he learned to master the force from Darth Vader himself; at Hogwarts, he was a rebellious and mischievous student who mastered the art of potion making like no other.

Xerou has been a musician, an assassin, a traveler, a manager, a humorist, a feminist... In the end, Xerou was once a knight of the round table, and then nothing else.

I wrote my first novel - “Xerou the knight” - on Open Office. The tool wasn't the easiest. How do you write dialogue? Where was the hyphen? How to type a capital “ç”? How do I share my text, with my friends or the whole world?

But I managed. At first, it was relatively easy. Then, as the project grew, I lost myself in the two hundred pages. I began to separate the novel into chapters, and to file the chapters into folders. I found my way around better, but it wasn't ideal either.

The realization was obvious: I needed a tool adapted to writing. A tool to organize my texts, correct my mistakes, take notes, help me find inspiration...

Did such a tool exist?

So I began my search. That was ten years ago. I was finding interesting projects, but never satisfying ones. There was always something missing. And every year, religiously, I set out again on my quest. I discovered Scrivener, Google Docs, Scribbook, WriteControl, Ulysses, ZenWrite, Obsidian, Framapad, FocusWriter, Wricker, Genario, and many others.

Each of these tools brought interesting things to the table. But I couldn't find the ideal writing environment, the alpha and omega of writing software. Like Xerou the knight - whose story was beginning to gather dust in the drawers - I was looking for the Grail, wondering if I wasn't chasing a dream.

Until the day I realized that maybe it was up to me to bring this tool into the world.

I had the ideas. I had the technical knowledge. I had the motivation to create that writing software you've been missing, that would solve the problems ignored by others; it would be simple to use, yet powerful; elegant, with state-of-the-art technology under the hood; it would correct mistakes; give rhymes and synonyms; rephrase sentences; help you organize efficiently; translate documents into twenty-seven languages; automatically synchronize documents between different devices and still work 100% offline...

This project is Talers.

We're building it with you. We're building it for you.

So that you don't have to waste years trying to find a writing application that suits you.

To give you confidence in all your writing projects.

So that your novels, articles and dreams don't sit in a drawer gathering dust 😉

Enjoy writing!

Cover by StorySet