Writer's Resources

Didn’t find what you were looking for here? Pfftt. Fine. Be that way. Seriously though, here are some resources you might like. Never let it be said that we’re not helpful.
​Writing
  • The place for writers is Writer’s Digest. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there...well, you’ve got a big problem.
  • Why not study at the feet of the master? Read Stephen King’s On Writing.
  • It’s called the Writing/Romance project, but the tips you’ll find in this blog will help you no matter what your preferred genre.
  • The all-kinds-of-awesome Jennifer Crusie has tons of great essays about writing in her non-fiction section.​​
  • One Stop For Writers: A Powerful Description Library + Unique Resources and Tools
  • Power Thesaurus: Must-have tool for all writers, which helps to find relevant synonyms for all words which you type in.
  • Urban Dictionary: Keep up-to-date
  • Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus: Another map for words
  • Google Ngram: Chart the frequency of words used in books over time
Self-publishing
Ebook Creation & Publishing
Editing (from joshspilker.com)
  • ​Writefull: Checks your languages against commonly accepted constructions and also offers suggestions for  rephrasing
  • Grammarly: Catch mistakes and make edits before sending or publishing. Works in Chrome for any type of writing–such as emails, social media and more
  • Penflip: A writing editor and collaborator from the makers of GitHub
  • Draft: Version control and editing with collaborators
  • Poetica: Suggest inline changes (rather than sidebar comments!) on a WordPress-based collaboration tool
  • Wordcounter: Which words do you overuse?
  • ClicheFinder: Locate phrases that are cliches.
  • Grammark: Set percentages for allowed errors, such as for academic tone, passive voice and more. Get help with wordiness and sentence variety.
Safety
Finding an agent
  • See examples of good and terrible query letters critiqued by super agent Janet Reid.
  • This article in Writer’s Digest gives you the 11 things you’ll need to do to get an agent.
  • Try this Forbes tool designed to help you find your perfect agent
Word processing (from joshspilker.com)
  • AutoCrit: Manuscript editing software for fiction writers ($5-$12 per month)
  • BlankPage: Geared towards novelists, it focuses on distraction-free writing, with motivators, prompts, outline help and more
  • ByWord: Simple and efficient text editing for Mac, iPhone and iPad ($11.99)
  • Calmly Writer: Distraction-free writing ($2.99)
  • Focus Writer: Distraction-free writing with a hide-away interface. Donation-based
  • Haven: Writing app for Mac, with extra features for creatives like character trackers, writing goals, prompts and different “scenes” for writing
  • Hemingway App: Helps with readability and syntax (Free and $9.99)
  • iA Writer: Plain text editor to keep your hands on the keyboard and your mind in the text (Desktop $9.99)
  • Ilys: Promotes a writing flow. It only shows one letter at a time, then you can edit after you’ve finished your session
  • Novelize: A web-based word processor with a knowledge base for tracking character, story points and more ($5 per month)
  • ​Paragraphs: Minimalist writing for Macs
  • Scrivener: Works well with long pieces, such as books or screenplays
  • Ulysses: Clutter-free interface, with a useful organizational system ($44.99)
  • Writer: Old-school green on black full-screen writing interface. (Free and premium)
  • WriteRoom: Yet another distraction-free, minimalist writing interface ($9.99)
  • Write Space: Customizable full-screen text-editor that is a Chrome Extension. It is designed to minimize the distractions that come between you and your writing
  • Zen Writer: Yes, more distraction-free, but this time with peaceful music and natural scenery ($19.95)
Notetaking (from joshspilker.com)