In this competitive market, your manuscript has to shine,
regardless of how you hope to publish it. An agent isn't going to look twice at
a manuscript full of school-boy errors, and if you are thinking about
self-publishing, then your book needs to be at least as good as those produced
by the big publishing houses. A Copy Editor (Line Editor) is a must, but there
is also a great deal of software out there that states it can help you with the writing process, but also with the editing as well — a bold claim indeed.
So today, I thought we would
look at some of the software that is out there for purchase. Please feel free
to write in the comment below if you have had success with the software
I am going to show you today.
*Please note. I do not endorse any of the companies or software
below. The blurb under the logos are the companies own words, not mine!*
Scrivener is a powerful
content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing
and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete
control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward
first draft.
Our
software helps turn your good writing into great writing.
Improve
readability and eliminate errors.
Grammarly
makes sure everything you type is easy
to read, effective, and mistake-free.
Communicate
quickly and accurately with Ginger Page's one stop writing shop – writing tools
that help you express yourself better.
Meet your new critique partner.
The fresh
set of eyes your manuscript needs.
Instant,
unbiased feedback without the hassle
Save time
and take control of the editing process.
Polish
your manuscript and write better fiction.
Expresso
is a little tool to edit texts and improve your writing style. It will teach
you to express yourself through writing more efficiently and help make your
texts more readable, precise, and engaging.
Scribophile
is a respectful online writing workshop and writer’s community. Writers of all
skill levels join to improve each other’s work with thoughtful critiques and by
sharing their writing experience.
StyleWriter
will make you a better writer – we guarantee it. A bold claim we know, but
that’s what our users tell us. Thousands of people download StyleWriter every
month and use it to edit advertising copy, business reports, contracts,
manuals, newsletters or web pages. Even professional journalists and novelists
use the program to polish their writing style.
If you're
working on contracts, proposals, reports, technical documents, articles and
books, PerfectIt saves time on copy-editing, so that authors can pay more
attention to what matters most: the words and their meaning.
Hemingway
makes your writing bold and clear. It's like a spellchecker, but for style. It
makes sure that your readers will focus on your message, not your pose.
So there we have it. A list of software that claims they can help you with your writing and editing. Which software, if any, do you use? Let me know below.
Thanks for reading!
Great post for writers! I use Grammarly when I write and I also use their Chrome extension that helps to correct my usual typos and misspelled words on social sites and website posts
ReplyDeleteI use Grammarly too! It is the one piece of software I wouldn't be without!
DeleteYes, I find it very useful. I can edit a 200 page book easily with the full version that is installed in my MS word. It also checks for plagiarism, gives me US and UK spelling and so on :)
DeleteGreat article. We all can use all the help we can get. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cristina. I am glad you found it useful!
DeleteThanks for posting this, Mary Anne. I know a number of people who use a few of these. Even though I use none of these, I am somewhat familiar with Grammarly, as it's used by a friend of mine. I didn't think it helped them all that much. I have some friends who are editors, and they usually help me out. Still, not all the typos are caught and corrected. I probably should start looking into these.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Joe.
DeleteI used Gramarly but only for a free trial period. They want too much for their basic package. I didn't find that it help all that much. Plus you have to put in short paragraphs, it cannot do the manuscript in full, not even the whole chapters.
ReplyDeleteI was also in couple of online writing communities, like YouWrireOn and Authonomy and another one I can't remember the name. It was okay for a while, but there are trolls too that will do anything to get their books noticed while tearing other authors down. So I left those sites for my own peace of mind.
Thanks for posting this. It's a great collection of tools that help writers.
I have Grammarly and the paid version does so much more. It is expensive, but it is the one piece of software I use all the time.
DeleteI live and breathe Scrivener. It is one of the reasons I was able to finish my first book. The storylines are complicated and it really helped me keep everything straight.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cracking post, so full of useful links, especially as my editing skills are poo. With so little to do and so much time - I jest, reverse that, new skills are hard to learn well. Thus I do what I can and my editor is great for my novels and my beta readers and those that offer genuine critique fantastic for the rest.
ReplyDelete