I’m cheap. Like really cheap. I’ll spend hours finding a free way to do something when I know I could have spent a few bucks to solve my problem. But as a new author, I don’t have a huge stream of income flowing in from royalties, speaking gigs, merch, etc. I have to find the cheapest way to write. And the good news for me (and you) is… 5 essential free writing tools for authors can help us with writing and publishing our books!
1. Google Docs
Google is everywhere. You might as well accept it. Embrace it, even. Google Docs is Google’s word-processing software. It’s their version of Microsoft Word. It might not have absolutely every feature one might need in word processing software. But I am yet to encounter a limitation. I use Google Docs for 2 primary reasons:
- It’s free. Nuff said. Don’t worry, cheapskate, I’m right there with you.
- It’s web-based. In other words, you can access it anywhere you have Internet connectivity. If you suddenly remember an anecdote you want to add to your novel in Chapter 3, page 21, you can just grab your phone. Open the Google Docs app, add your stuff and it’s automatically saved. Next time you access the file, from ANY location, your update will be there!
Gone are the days of waiting until you get home, when let’s face it, you will have forgotten your anecdote by then. No more emailing yourself a file or carrying around a tiny USB drive with your work. (OK, no one has needed to do that since like 2011, but it sure was a pain then.)
2. thesaurus.com
Thesaurus.com is a partner site to Dictionary.com. It provides a one-stop shop to tell you what a word means and then suggests other words to use to describe that original word. Because let’s face it, that original word was BORING! Thesaurus.com touts itself as ” the world’s largest and most trusted online thesaurus for 25+ years.”
What is a thesaurus? A thesaurus is a resource that groups related words and synonyms. But if you don’t know what a thesaurus is, you probably shouldn’t be here anyway. This is supposed to be a resource to help new and aspiring authors. Learn what a synonym is first, then come back here to learn more.
Some writing styles discourage the use of flowery language. If you’re writing a technical document, you probably don’t need to find 17 different synonyms for “installation”. But as a creative innovative essay writer essayist, I like to use thesaurus.com to find discover uncommon infrequent, yet still recognizable distinguishable words, especially if I feel a sense that I’ve used the same word too many times. Variety Diversity can make the piece more interesting stimulating!
3. Grammarly
Grammarly is sort of spell-check, but for grammar. There are paid versions that go as deep as checking your piece for plagiarism! But I primarily use Grammarly’s free web-browser extension. And since I use Google Docs (hello, online/web-based word processing), the browser extension can highlight errors and suggest changes immediately! (You should have seen Grammarly in action during my brought draft of this post. Yikes!)
4. ChatGPT
Yes, I’m advocating you use A.I. in your writing. ChatGPT shouldn’t do the writing FOR you. But ChatGPT is a fantastic idea generator. If you’re unfamiliar…
ChatGPT is an advanced conversational A.I. model developed by OpenAI. It’s based on the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) architecture, specifically GPT-3.5 in this case, and is designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. ChatGPT can engage in natural language conversations, answer questions, provide information, offer suggestions, and assist with various tasks across various topics. It’s capable of understanding context, maintaining coherence in dialogue, and generating responses that mimic human conversation to a remarkable degree.
(I asked ChatGPT: “What is ChatGPT?” and it returned the exact paragraph above! So I guess I used ChatGPT to do the actual writing for me. Oops. If there ever was a time to let A.I. write for me, this seems like the appropriate case.)
5. Reedsy Book Editor
Reedsy Book Editor is an online writing and formatting tool designed for authors to create and edit their manuscripts. Developed by Reedsy, a platform for authors and publishing professionals, the Book Editor offers a user-friendly interface that allows writers to focus on their writing without worrying about technical details. It provides features such as customizable formatting options, real-time collaboration capabilities, and an easy-to-use interface for organizing chapters and sections. Additionally, the Reedsy Book Editor integrates with other Reedsy services, such as professional editing and publishing assistance, making it a comprehensive tool for authors at various stages of the writing process.
Darnitall, ChatGPT, that’s enough! Let me do the writing here!
Reedsy Book Editor isn’t the fanciest manuscript editor. It lacks some flexibility that other premium tools might have. But again…it’s FREE. And it worked perfectly fine as a book formatting tool. I was able to export in a professional format used for my paperback and ebook versions.
I’m a new author. And I’m a cheap human being. If you’re cheap like me, you’ll scour (thanks thesaurus.com!) the Internet for ways to save money on publishing your first book. Thankfully, there are great free writing tools for authors that can help in that quest. Long live the literary cheapskates!