After being a freelance writer for almost two decades, many people have asked me how to be a better writer. After all, when you’re skilled at what you do, you can make more money writing online.
I’ve read plenty of other writers’ work as well as my own. Now, I have an English degree to go along with my extensive professional experience, and I can tell you one thing. Even when you know all of the language rules, you rock at Scrabble and you scored almost perfect on the verbal portion of the SAT, accidents happen.
Maybe you write too fast and accidentally leave out a word. Maybe you mistakenly used the word “luckily” four times in your last two sentences. Perhaps you wrote “wrote” instead of “rote.” These things can and do happen.
Then, of course, you may not always remember the grammar rules. Let’s face it, your last English class was probably more than a few years ago. It isn’t all fresh in your head. I sometimes do a quick google when I need a refresher, but that doesn’t mean that I always catch when I need a refresher.
The bottom line is that no writer is perfect.
How to Be a Better Writer
However, as a reader, it seems like I notice all of those misplaced commas, word repetitions and misspellings. I imagine you do, too. These are bothersome to readers. They pull the reader’s attention away from your message or story. As a result, your work is less impactful.
More than that, these silly mistakes affect your reputation and image as a professional freelance writer. If you publish a blog post riddled with grammar and punctuation errors, some people may assume that you actually don’t know how to write properly. Why should they pay attention to your message when they question your ability to write?
More importantly – why should they hire you for their freelance writing jobs? Typos and poor writing are detriments to your writing income.
How to Write Better – Essential Writer Resources
Thankfully, there are several excellent writer resources available that can dramatically reduce your typos and other errors. Now, Word has a built-in tool, but don’t always trust it. You need to pay attention to the suggestions and decide if they are actually right.
I use Grammarly a lot. With a free account Grammarly does more than identify misspelled words and punctuation errors. It also comes with security features and offers AI-generated prompts to assist with writing.
There are also paid service plans. While one of these plans is suitable for businesses with teams to use, the paid service plan for individuals offers key features that can really elevate your writing. Collectively these features can improve your tone, assist with citations, improve fluency, make your word choices more inclusive and even identify accidental plagiarism.
You can access both the free and paid versions of Grammarly on your mobile device, your laptop or browser.
Other Resources to Write for Money
Now, you can combine Grammarly with other excellent tools to get better at writing. For example, ProWritingAid has both free and paid versions. It is similar to Grammarly in that it catches misspellings and punctuation. It also is available as an extension to MS Word and Google Docs, in addition to be available for use as browser extension. This application offers rephrasing and style suggestions using AI.
If you are writing longer works, Scrivener may come in handy. This tool is available with a one-time fee. It allows you to easily move chunks of text around and edit them. In addition, it can store your research and notes. By placing them on the screen next to your work, you can focus more on writing and less on sifting through papers on your desk.
if you need to use search engine optimization strategies, SEMRush is helpful. It allows you to identify profitable keywords, find opportunities for link building, analyze your competition’s SEO strategies and more. This is a robust tool that is available with both free and paid accounts.
These are some of the best tools I’ve found for freelance writers, bloggers and authors. Grammarly has a universal function and is beneficial for all writers regardless your niche. The same holds true for ProWriting Aid. Regardless of the types of projects you are working on, I recommend using these tools to fine-tune your work.