For what it’s worth, I actually really do like non-standard UIs and gestures and invisible buttons, and I could well be crazy enough to like an app like PsyWriter, if the introduction of the various features was a little more gradual. I’ll agree with you that PsyWriter is outside-the-box text editing, but it also introduces quite a number of gestures that are completely non-standard (triple tap to copy all, dragging backwards to select text) and it can be rather overwhelming to start off with.

I also believe it’s reasonable to think that the gestures that seem completely natural to some may seem confusing to others. I know that other apps work around some of that by including a few buttons or a hybrid system of custom gestures and standard UI elements (ex. PlainText lets you tap in the margin to move the caret by one letter or use the magnifying glass and Reeder app lets you slide an article off screen or tap a ‘back’ button).

As a last bit: what’s wrong with auto-correct for looking over and editing a piece? I’ll agree it can be a real pain in the ass while actually writing, but for showing and quickly correcting typos, it’s blazingly fast and convenient.

The text is VERY selectable. All you have to do is touch it. PsyWriter is optimized for the most common text insertion scenario: inserting between words. You simply touch a word to select it or touch a space between words to select that space. With a space selected, you don’t have to begin and end your next typing with space characters. PsyWriter automatically includes them. For more precise selections, you simply touch and hold, then move against the flow of text to re-position the insertion caret or move with the flow of text to select a precise range. It’s actually less convoluted than “every other” way. You just have to approach it with an open mind.

PsyWriter is based on the philosophy that buttons are evil and that gestures are preferred whenever possible. Gestures may not be as immediately obvious as buttons, but once discovered, they are never forgotten. And they won’t hijack your train of thought.

But then again, if you think that auto-correction is “good for editing,” then PsyWriter is definitely NOT for you.

PsyWriter is for crazy people (i.e. writers).