Chances are that if you run an offline business you do a lot of writing. If you run an online business you probably do even more writing. There is no escaping writing in life, let alone business ventures.
But if you are still doing it the old fashioned way, then there are plenty of online tools, applications and websites to help you along the way. Here is a selection of 10 such writing tools that no wordsmith should be without:
TypingWeb
Recall those early typing tutor software from the 90s? Welcome to the 21st century. This is a free online typing and keyboard tutor that will teach you how to type quickly and professionally. And the best thing about this richly designed resource is that both pros and beginners can benefit from it.
www.typingweb.com
Garmmarly
Use this grammar corrector to you find out if you are wrong when you think you are right. Grammatical errors are the most embarrassing — they wreck credibility. This handy tool can detect well over 250 types of mistakes. Not foolproof, but useful. Not free either, but can be used for 7 days as a trial.
www.grammarly.com
The Free Dictionary
Everyone needs a dictionary now and then, but writers need to keep one handy. The Free Dictionary is a comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus, and as the name suggests, you get access to it without any sort of payment. Plus, it also comes with several other neat tools.
www.tfd.com
Online Stopwatch
Everybody also needs a stopwatch at some point. This is a tool that will help you speed things up, particularly if you are a blogger. More than this a simple stopwatch, this website also offers an online alarm clock, countdown timer, even a chess timer.
www.online-stopwatch.com
WordCounter
This online tool ranks the most frequently used words in a given body of text. The more you use a word, the less effective it becomes. You can use WordCounter to pinpoint repetitive words easily. Just enter a block of text, and it will reveal a list of overused words. Nifty.
www.wordcounter.com
Capital Letters
If your sentences are a mix of upper case and lower case letters, then this tool by TextFixer instantly repairs them. Simple paste your text in a block, click a couple of buttons and your revised sentences are delivered ready for use. Several other free writing tools are also on offer here.
www.textfixer.com
Copyscape
The most popular plagiarism detector on the web. If you have some text that you want authenticated, then simply sign up here, buy credits for 5 cents each, and run it through verification. A free version is also available.
www.copyscape.com
Citebite
This is a quote highlighter. Citebite allows you to link right to the quote in a given webpage. You do this by pasting your chosen text, along with the source URL, and receive a link that, when clicked, opens up that page and automatically highlights your quote.
www.citebite.com
WebNotes
And this is an annotator that adds stick notes to webpages. Comes rather handy when you are researching, and the notes are automatically saved, only to pop up every time you visit that particular page. A whole bunch of other features are available, with three plans, lite, pro and platinum.
www.webnotes.net
Penzu
Fancy name for a stylish online diary. Maintaining a personal journal is a brilliant way to record thoughts, ideas and other bits of information that may come in useful when writing. Sign up for a free or pro account at this website, and start writing a private diary that is accessible from everywhere.
www.penzu.com