Maybe... It looks straightforward to me, but it is off course highly subjective.
Creating a folder is something that most people can do, and you don't have to do it often.
Even if what I propose is not your cup of tea, the general idea is that you have to think of a streamlined workflow for writers.
Another thing I'd add to the above idea would be a local, private branch for each branch, that would keep every step on save (no need for a commit message), and then rebase the private branch on its public counterpart on commit (message required) for sharing with others. The WIP branch may also be pushed, for backup purpose.
Now that I think of it, the above would better be implemented using tags. Only share tagged commits with you collaborators.
"CTRL + S" is ingrained in most people's hands, and having an automatic time machine would be a nice addition.
I'm just throwing out ideas, hopefully, you'll like some :-)
