A guest post from Jennifer Harshman from Harshman Services.

If you’ve never written before, it can be scary to step out there and begin. But don’t worry, there are tools out there to help you. I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about some of them. The following list is not exhaustive and is not meant to overwhelm you. If you want to write with a notebook and pen, know that you are not alone. Many writers do. The key is to find what helps you in your writing. 

Research tools

Research is important for both nonfiction and fiction authors. If you don’t get your facts straight, not only will that reflect in reviews, but you could lead people to believe things that are false. That’s something everyone should find reprehensible, especially people of faith. Research must be taken seriously. Doing due diligence, as a writer, is important.

Here are some websites and tools that will help you research and organize that research. 

Wikipedia: While Wikipedia should not be cited for scholarly research, it can still be helpful to writers. Wikipedia is a good website to be used as a springboard for your research. 

Look up your topic there, and scroll to the bottom of the entry page. At the bottom of each page, you will find a references list. This reference list is a wonderful place to begin your research because it provides a list of the sources used in writing the Wikipedia entry. Here’s a screenshot of what that looks like. This reference list was taken from the article on the Apollo 7. 

Cost: Free

Listly: If you love lists, then listly is for you. At first glance, it looks like a type of social media where people make lists and share them with other people on the platform. However, it can be more than that. Listly can help you plan your writing by keeping track of your research in a visual way. On Listly, you can also plan your fictional story by creating lists for your characters, setting, and specific plot points. What’s really cool about it is that you can share this information with other Listly users as a way to grow your reader base. You can also attach the lists you make to your blog, which is an easy way to create a listicle. It’s a fun way to get some hard work completed. 

Cost: Listly is free but does have premium features that you may find helpful. 

Endnote: Endnote is a program built for serious research. If you are a student, scientist, or the author of a research-heavy book, this program will be beneficial. It is a platform that “accelerates your research process so you can focus on what truly matters—conducting and sharing groundbreaking research.” EndNote makes it easy to store your citations and organize sources. It is a great way to keep track of your research. 

Cost: You can try Endnote for free for 30 days. If you decide that it’s helped you, choose from packages that start at $100.   

Zotero: Zotero helps you collect, store, and organize your research. It connects with your browser and allows you to export citations, PDFs, notes, and images. You can easily import it all into a Word document. This program can help make your research and writing go more smoothly. 

Cost: Free.

Planning 

Plot Factory: Planning and plotting your story can be hard, but Plot Factory is a tool that can help you. With Plot Factory, a writer can plan, plot, and write the first chapter of their book with the spirit of collaboration (if desired). It also has a word tracker where you can set your daily, weekly, and monthly goals and see your progress in a visual way. If you are having problems fleshing out characters or building your world, Plot Factory’s tools will be helpful to you. 

Cost: Free for basic usage and $19.00 otherwise.

MindNode: If you need a visual representation of your ideas, or if you simply need a place to brainstorm where it all becomes clear to understand, MindNode may be the application for you. Take a simple thought and grow it into your next masterpiece. Author Abigail Wild, one of my team members, is in awe of this program. Having it on her phone is perfect for those times when her brain decides to plot an idea in the middle of the night. This app is only available for macOS and iOS. 

Cost: $2.49 (monthly) or $19.99 for premium features.  

CarbonFin Outliner: CarbonFin Outliner helps you to organize your thoughts in an outline and planner. It will create your to-do lists and outlines, then import them into OneDrive and Dropbox when needed. You are also able to collaborate with others. Unfortunately, it’s only available in the Apple store. If you have an iPhone or iPad, it’s worth looking into. 

Cost: $4.99

Organization Tools

Microsoft OneNote: OneNote is a tool often used for collaboration. With it, you can gather your thoughts, notes, images, audio and video files, and citations, and share them with those you might be writing with. It also helps you with productivity and can be used to organize information to be used in your writing. 

Cost: Free

ToDoist: ToDoist is a great place to keep track of projects you are working on. While it was created for small businesses, it’s great for writers as well. You can keep track of blogging schedules, interviews, and deadlines. You can even set up your publishing schedule. It gives you a checklist for everyday, which can give box checkers a sense of peace. 

Cost: From free to $5.00 per month per user

Asana: Asana is a project management and collaboration tool that allows you to collect information, organize it, and share with a team. This program is visually appealing, using cards or lists to organize your work. You can move the cards from column to column, which makes it appealing to those who need a visual representation of where things stand and what they have completed. You could plan each section or chapter of your writing project on a card, then once it is written, move it to the completed pile. Doing this might be an effective way of outlining for you. 

Cost: From free to $25/mo per user

Milanote: Milanote is an interesting organizational tool that gives you a visual way of organizing your work. Its website claims it is the “the EverNote for Creatives.” You can create a file that holds all the information you need, but it’s all visual. You can create to-do lists, upload images and files, save text and links, and add comments from your phone. The image structure reminds me of Pinterest but in a more appealing way. 

Cost: Free to $49.00 a month, depending on your needs.

Writing 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs are so ubiquitous that I don’t think they need explaining. I’m going to move on to some lesser-known writing options that work well for writers. 

LibreOffice: (libreoffice.org) LibreOffice is an open source, free office suite. You can use it to write, create presentations, and utilize spreadsheets. You can even create simple vector drawings, establish a database, and do mathematical formulation. The key here is FREE! If you are looking for an alternative to Word, this may be what you need. It claims to be compatible with Microsoft Word, but moving between the two is definitely buggy, especially where Tracked Changes and comments are concerned, so keep that in mind. Cost: Free

The Novel Factory: When I say that I would like to dig into the Novel Factory website, I am not kidding. There are so many tools available to members—plot templates, character builders, writing guides... It also includes word count charts, novel statistics, and interactive drag-and-drop tools for planning and editing. It seems to be laid out intuitively and is visually appealing. Out of everything I’ve written about in this blog article, this may be the one I am most excited about. The cost might be a bit steep, but it might just be worth it to you. 

Cost: From $6.25 to $50.00 a month. 

Ulysses: Ulysses boasts a clean and intuitive workspace to help you write without distraction. Many writers say the program helps them to focus by minimizing what they see while they write. You can set your outline, research, character development, and world-building documents aside while you focus on the task of writing. It also helps you to target your word-count goals and keeps track of your successes. The only drawback is that it was created specifically for Apple products. 

Cost: $5.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly. 

Scrivener: (www.literatureandlatte.com) If you’ve spent any time with novelists, you’ll have heard of Scrivener. You have probably noticed that either writers love or hate this program. Scrivener boasts a robust number of options for a writer including storyboarding, outlining, organizational tools, and of course, writing. You can even research right from the program. There is a long learning curve, so if you plan on using this program, set aside some time to learn. YouTube tutorials and Joseph Michael’s Learn Scrivener Fast course are helpful. 

Cost: $49.00 for Mac and Windows users, and $19.99 for ios.

Editing

I wanted to make a note about editing before getting to the list. While the following applications are important to a writer, you should hire a professional editor after you’ve made your piece as good as you can on your own. Harshman Services is a full-services agency. You can find more information or set up a free consultation at HarshmanServices.com.

Grammarly: You’ve probably seen the ads and heard the commercials for Grammarly. This program checks for errors. It scans your writing while you are actually writing. It looks for punctuation, spelling, awkward wording, and verb tense issues. It’s a good tool for catching some blips; however, it cannot detect your tone, and it often gets things wrong. Please do not blindly accept any suggestions it or any other tool gives. If you’re in doubt, make a comment to your editor. You can do that right in your Word document using the Comment tool. 

Cost: Free to $12.50 per user a month. 

Hemingway: Hemingway is a writing and editing tool that will help you improve your writing, especially when it comes to readability. The writing mode will help you concentrate on your writing, distraction free. When you switch to the editing mode, it will allow you to see its suggestions. What that means is that you will not see them as you write, and that is a beautiful way to keep moving forward in your word count. 

Cost: Free for use on its website. It won’t save your writing, so you’ll have to make sure to copy and paste what you’ve written during each session into another program. It’s $19.99 for the desktop version. 

ProWritingAid: ProWritingAid is a grammar and mechanics checker that can be added directly to Microsoft Word as a plugin. Not only does it check for typos and grammatical errors, but it also checks for issues with plagiarism. If you plan to make a living writing, take a look at it. 

Cost: $20.00 for a monthly subscription, $59.99 for a yearly subscription, and $299.99 for a lifetime subscription. 

Page Layout

Adobe InDesign: Adobe InDesign is the industry standard desktop publishing software for graphic designers, layout artists, and publishers. There is a learning curve associated with it, and it might not be worth your time to learn it, but you should expect your interior designer/formatter to use this tool. InDesign was created for, and caters to, print media; eBooks are not its focus, and other tools are needed for electronic media. 

Note: InDesign is not a word processor. You must write your work in a word processing program, such as Word, then import it into InDesign. 

Cost: InDesign alone currently costs $20.99 a month. If you would like the entire Adobe Suite, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and a host of other programs, it will cost $52.99 a month. There are special rates for students and teachers. If you fall into this category, it behooves you to check it out.

eBook Layout

Canva: (canva.com) Most people think of Canva as an app to make social media images or ads, and perhaps cheap book covers. But did you know you can also lay out an eBook with it? They have preset layouts that are easy to use. This may be the perfect application for creating that colorful recipe book. 

Cost: Free to $119.00 a year for the pro version. 

Vellum: (vellum.pub) Vellum is a lovely program that helps you layout the interior of your book. It can handle both eBook and print, but I include it under this section because I believe this is where its strength lies. Vellum is incredibly intuitive, so the learning curve is not bad. Cost: $249.99 if you plan on using it for both print and eBook, but $199.99 if you will only use it for eBooks. 

Kindle Create: If you are planning on publishing for Kindle, you can download Kindle Create for free. It’s the interior formatting tool specifically for Amazon Kindle. As of June 28, 2021, Amazon will no longer allow the variety of formats it did before, and will only allow EPUB, DOC/DOCX, or KPF (Kindle Create Files). It is severely limited when it comes to styles it will allow you to use, so many authors will want to have their books done in InDesign instead, but it’s good for a free tool.

Cost: Free

Platform for blogs

Note: Please stay away from all “free website” platforms. Although this appears to have been scrubbed from Google and other search engines, I was in the online publishing world and aware of the information back when it was available: sites built on those platforms historically have—without the content creators’ knowledge—distributed malware, stolen identities and financial information, and, using invisible links on the site pages, supported pornography and sex trafficking. Here is a list of other reasons to stay away from free website providers. 

A self-hosted WordPress site only costs about $120 a year if you host it at Dreamhost, where you can conveniently register and automatically renew your domain name. It works better for you, serves your site visitors better, and helps you avoid supporting unsavory and sinful practices.

WordPress: WordPress is the most popular platform for personal websites, as well as small businesses. It is perfectly set up for blogging, but you can create any kind of site you want with it. WordPress has a host of beautiful templates for you to choose from, it gives you the ability to customize those templates. 

Cost: There are many pricing options for a WordPress account. Self-hosting it on your Dreamhost or other web hosting account is free and the smartest option.

Squarespace: (www.squarespace.com) Squarespace provides website building and hosting and allows users to use pre-built templates with drag-and-drop elements. With Squarespace you can set up an online store, have clients make appointments, or add third party extensions easily. If you plan on having a blog that is heavy on visual content, then this may be the provider for you to check out. Squarespace is known for its good customer service.  

Cost: Plans range from $12.00 to $40.00 a month, depending on the services and capabilities you need. 

Site Build It!: This robust platform has amazing tools, and I highly recommend it. From tools that help you make decisions to tools that help you show up in search results, it’s packed with great stuff. The keyword research tool alone is worth the $400/year membership fee.

Cost: $400/year for the regular version, or $99/year for the WordPress version.

You now have a substantial list of tools for writing. If you need help, simply email Jennifer @ HarshmanServices.com, tell her DesireJesus.com sent you, and let her know what you need.