Working as a freelance writer comes with a lot of perks. When you work as one, you can enjoy flexibility because you get to choose when and where you’re going to work. Working as a freelance writer can also help you save money as you won’t have to leave home to earn money. Here we take a look at some great tools for freelance writing. These tools can make life much easier for the freelance writer.
Since freelance writers work on their own, it’s crucial to invest in the right tools for you to be efficient in your job. These tools can save you time and energy without compromising the quality of your outputs. Over time, these tools can help you create a name as a reputable freelance writer, making it easy for you to attract clients and earn a stable income.
For you to jumpstart your career as a freelance writer, start using these tools right away:
Word Counter
Words will be your best friend when you work as a freelance writer. The words you’ll use and how you’re going to use them can make or break your career as a freelance writer.
If you don’t want to disappoint clients by submitting material that has fewer or more words than required, use a word counter tool. As the name suggests, this tool will automatically count all of the words in a document, saving you time from manually counting everything by yourself.
Aside from keeping your clients happy, this tool can also boost your productivity and save you a lot of time, as you won’t have to redo any content just because it doesn’t contain the appropriate number of words. Submitting content to a client and then working on it again because of word count issues can be very stressful.
Basecamp
As a freelance writer, you will be working with clients with different needs, budgets, and timelines. And for you to make a name in the industry, you need to satisfy all of the demands of your clients in the fastest way possible.
For you to organize all of your projects and determine your priorities as a freelance writer, use Basecamp. This tool is a project management system that allows you to check all of your pending projects in one view.
When you create an account and log in, you will see all of your projects on your dashboard. You can even invite your clients to see your progress and send them the initial draft of your output through the tool.
Grammarly
Proofreading is a need for all freelance writers. Regardless of how experienced you are about the topic of the material you’re currently working on, you still need to proofread before submitting it to your client. A single misspelt word or using the incorrect punctuation mark in a sentence can leave a negative impression about your skills and professionalism as a writer.
You can easily proofread your outputs by using Grammarly. This is a great editing tool that detects issues with misspelt words, incorrect use of punctuation marks, run-on sentences, and verb voice errors. Grammarly can also check if your output contains chunks of words similar to published articles online. This feature will make it very easy for you to provide original and unique content to your clients.
Since Grammarly also provides suggestions for the errors it detects, editing your content using this tool can become a breeze. You won’t have to spend long hours thinking about how to improve your sentence construction or make your ideas clearer because the tool will do all of these for you!
Focus Booster
Facing your computer and typing words for hours can become very monotonous when you’re a freelance writer. You will have the same routine every single day, which can drain out your creative juices.
If you want to have the same amount of enthusiasm even if you have been working as a freelance writer for years, consider using Focus Booster. This tool is an online timer that tracks your progress based on the Pomodoro technique. This method relies on spending 25 minutes of work and then 5 minutes of rest and so on.
By using this tool, you’ll know how long you should work and when you should take breaks. Using a tool that can separate your tasks will help you stay on track, continue to become productive, and avoid experiencing burnout.
ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is a comprehensive tool for freelance writing that offers more than just grammar checks. It provides detailed reports on style, readability, and overused words, making it perfect for refining and strengthening your writing. It integrates with various platforms, including Google Docs and Microsoft Office, making it a versatile choice for freelance writers looking to enhance their work’s quality and coherence.
Google Docs
Google Docs offers a robust platform for freelance writers to create, edit, and collaborate on documents in real time. Its accessibility from various devices and integration with other Google services like Drive and Calendar streamline the writing process. The ability to share documents with clients and receive feedback directly makes it a highly efficient tool for freelance writing.
Scrivener
Scrivener is a specialized writing software designed for long-form projects like novels, research papers, and scripts. It excels in organizing research, structuring drafts, and compiling writing projects. The corkboard and outlining tools are especially useful for freelance writers managing complex projects, making Scrivener a vital tool for freelance writing.
Hemingway Editor
The Hemingway Editor is a straightforward tool that emphasizes simplicity and readability in writing. It highlights complex sentences, passive voice, and adverbs, encouraging more direct and forceful writing. For freelancers looking to improve the impact and clarity of their text, this editor is a perfect tool for freelance writing.
Trello
Trello is a project management application that helps freelance writers track their projects, deadlines, and workflows. Its card-based layout allows for easy organization of tasks and subtasks, making it simple to manage multiple writing assignments simultaneously. As a visual and intuitive tool for freelance writing, Trello helps keep everything on schedule.
Evernote
Evernote is an app designed for note-taking, organizing, task management, and archiving. It’s particularly effective for freelance writers who need to jot down ideas on the go, save web pages, or clip articles for reference. With its versatile note-taking capabilities, Evernote serves as a comprehensive tool for freelance writing.
Be Ready To Learn
Using all of these tools as a freelance writer will require adjustment to your routine. Depending on its usability, you might have to spend days or even weeks to familiarize yourself with the features offered by every tool mentioned in this article.
Learning how to use these tools might be a time-consuming and demanding task, but if you truly want to succeed as a freelance writer, learning should become innate to you. Besides, the time and effort you’ll spend on learning will surely provide big rewards to your career in the future!
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Samantha is an HR practitioner who has worked with several companies to help them improve their HR practices. Samantha has gained decades of experience in handling all HR facets that include managerial relations, labour relations, training and development, recruitment, and compensation and benefits.
When Samantha is not busy at work, she writes articles about the importance of effective HR practices and why startups should always prioritize this area of the business.