15 best tools and resources to become a professional writer

Writing isn’t the easiest job in the world, but with the right tools and resources, it can be a lot easier.

Rather than trying to do everything yourself, you can rely on certain tools to help you with the process. In fact, using these tools and resources in this list will likely help you become a better writer and get more clients.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to go the ” smart ” way instead of the traditional way. For example, there are tools to help you be more organized with your clients and projects, and tools to help you come up with great headlines.

If you continue to do these tasks manually, you will not only be wasting your time, but you will also fall behind other writers in the industry, which is not good for your career.

I agree. There’s very little to do manually, but the solutions on this list are literally urgent needs for writers. You probably want to start using everything right away. So let’s go straight into the list.

grammatically

We are all human, so no matter how well we understand English, we are bound to make grammatical mistakes. Once you’ve finished writing, you can go back and proofread everything manually, or use Grammarly to make the task 100% easier.

This is a very smart tool that can help you polish your written work in a variety of ways, including:

• grammar
• spelling
• punctuation mark
• concise
• format
• vocabulary

You can also check your content for plagiarism and see if the written tone is appropriate. You can download it as an extension for Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or access it directly from the website.

Dropbox paper

As the name suggests, Dropbox Paper is just a piece of paper, but it’s useful for a variety of tasks, like quickly writing creative briefs to send to clients or brainstorming ideas for new content. It can also be easily used for a wide range of activities other than writing.

So if you want to prepare meeting notes or product launch plans, you can do it all in just a few minutes. You can also integrate different apps to enhance its functionality and download the smartphone app to jot down exciting ideas on the go.

zoho lighter

If you’re tired of your traditional word processor, try Zoho Writer. It has all the features of a traditional word, but it has many more features that will help you in the long run.

Thanks to the writing assistant’s clean and elegant interface, you can write out words with much less effort. Detects grammatical errors, improves readability, and suggests better writing styles.

Additionally, you can post content directly to WordPress and integrate with Zoho CRM.

headline analyzer

If you’re like me and have trouble coming up with good headlines, CoSchedule Headline Analyzer can help you. Start by entering your headline and see if it is strong and capable enough to grab attention and improve your SEO rankings.

I love the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer. Now I use it every time.

— Michelle Warner (@gratefulone11) December 17, 2019

Not many people realize that headlines play a huge role in grabbing the reader’s attention. One small mistake and you’ve already lost your chance to engage your audience. So, the next time you write content, be sure to use this tool to come up with great headlines.

Sharethrough Headline Analyzer

Sharethrough Headline Analyzer is another tool that helps you pack the perfect headline. We included two headline analyzers because you may want to cross-check and verify the strength of your headlines across different sources. More options are always good.

Enter your headline, see the strengths and quality scores, and consider the suggestions to come up with a better one.

iA writer

As writers, we often get distracted by small things, which affects the way we write. To potentially avoid this, you can use iA Writer. Plan your writing space by creating a full screen so you can take your time and focus without distractions.

The interface is very obvious and simple, so there’s not much to say. It’s all you and your text, that’s it. iA Writer is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone/iPad.

professional writing aid

If you’re looking for something that can perform a variety of tasks all within one tool, ProWritingAid might be just the tool you’re looking for. Quickly check your grammar, improve your style, and give tips to become a better writer.

One of my favorite features is the ability to use the word explorer and context thesaurus to find the right word when you can’t think of it.

Overall, it helps you avoid repetition, confusing words, long sentences, etc. Eliminate any errors and end up with a clean, professional-looking work that’s ready for publication.

homme lighter

Similar to iA Writer, Ommwriter also helps you focus on writing and avoid distractions. The editor opens in full screen mode with a natural background and minimal functionality, which is enough to get your work done perfectly.

It also has an audio track and key sounds so you can focus solely on the words you’re typing. We hope that all the elements in Ommwriter will inspire your creativity and help you produce great content.

It could be a song, a book, a love letter, anything. This tool is made for all kinds of writers.

milan notebook

It’s a well-known fact that writers don’t think linearly. Their ideas are always jumbled together, and in the end, those ideas are completed into beautiful works of art. With that in mind, Milanote has developed this writing software that helps you save all your ideas and unfinished content in one place to work on your final work.

Instead of storing your ideas all over the place, you can keep them all under one roof to avoid conflicts and confusion. With Milanote you can:

• Add an image
• Add a mind map
• embed video
• Please enter text
• Assemble the characteristics of the characters in the story
• Prepare an outline quickly

There’s so much more you can do with this software, so be sure to sign up and start using it for free.

concept

Being organized is just as important as coming up with messy ideas. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting your time wandering around trying to remember where you saved your drafts. Notion helps you write, plan, collaborate, and help you be more organized.

Having everything in one place will help you avoid confusion and hair loss. It has a great editor so you can create content and add over 30 different media types. You can also assign tasks, add a calendar, and keep track of everything.

I just discovered that @NotionHQ and OMG are taking my money. This is great.

— T (@thomaswde) February 25, 2020

Another great feature is that you can add a knowledge base to seamlessly find all your answers. If you want to stay focused on your writing and be more organized, Notion is a great option for you.

Content SEO checker

Ask any online marketer, “What is the most valuable traffic source?” And they’ll say it’s Google.

If you’re looking to get more traffic from Google but are struggling with search engine optimization (SEO), Content SEO Checker may be of great help.

Once you enter your keywords, this tool will suggest LSI keywords and other valuable tips that will help you rank better in search engines. You can then continue writing your entire content in the editor, and you will always be guided if you make any mistakes that could affect your rankings.

Finally, you can evaluate the SEO score and publish it to your blog/website if you are happy with it.

copyright

Copywritely is also a great tool for SEO purposes. It helps you hone your content to the best of your ability to rank high on search engines. When you paste your content into this tool, it will detect any issues that could prevent you from improving your rankings, and it can also suggest or remove certain parts of your content to help it pass your quality score.

Additionally, you can:

• Detect plagiarism
• Research profitable keywords
• Prevent keyword stuffing
• Improving readability scores

Our support team is available 24/7, so you’ll never be left behind if you run into any issues. This is very good news.

Write using your talent

No matter how good a writer you are, there is always room for improvement. This Udemy course by former Wall Street Journal editor Shani Raja is called “Writing With Flair” and aims to teach you how to transform into a great writer in no time.

Learn the basics divided into four easy-to-understand modules. After completing the course, you’ll be able to apply these strategies to any work you write, including books and blogs.

With over 85,000 students registered and a total rating of 4.5/5 stars, you can be sure you’re diving into something really good.

Kamba

When it comes to content, visuals are just as important as text. If you have huge blocks of text with no visuals in between, readers will have a hard time reading it all. That would be too boring. To avoid that, use a tool called Canva.

If your business is relatively new and you can’t afford to hire a UI/IX designer, or if you’re interested in Photoshop/Illustrator, take a weekend and learn Canva.

Canva is extremely user-friendly and allows you to create beautiful designs and graphics in minutes.

— 🌎 (@jasminexETH) February 19, 2020

You can design a variety of graphics for your content, including charts, featured images, graphs, and tables. Just name any graphic type and you’ll know Canva has it. No design skills are required to use it. Just choose a template and customize it to suit your requirements.

pixabay

Who doesn’t love free stock photos, graphics, and super high quality?

Pixabay is a large hub of free graphics and photos that can be used without necessarily attribution, but are always appreciated.

On this site you can find all kinds of royalty-free elements and use them in your personal and commercial projects. If you have specific size requirements, you can choose from several options and download the one you want. How cool is that?

conclusion

We hope the tools and resources listed above will help you become a better writer and land more projects.