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I use Microsoft word, dragon professional for dictation, and Fiverr for things like illustrations, covers and transcriptions.
I added this to my recommended links page.
https://www.thewritingking.com/recommended-links/
Richard, I’ll have to look up dragon professional, I’ve wondered about something for good dictation.
And thank you for recommending this post on your site! I’m honored 🙂 I hope your readers find these resources useful
Thanks for the list, Amy. I may try some of these for my own work. 🙂
Glad you like it, Linda! I hope a few of these are gems for your editing process <3
I’m a freelance editor. I rely on my eyes to edit my client’s work, though I do let Word do its thing as well to double-check anything I’ve missed.
But for my own novels (which I’m always more nervous about because I read them far too much), I’ve long been interested in the editing programs that read to you. Have you tried one?
I haven’t tried one yet, but I love the idea because I catch mistakes quicker when I read out loud than in my head. Right now I’m working on big picture edits, then I plan to try it out. if you try one, let me know what ya think!
I will. 🙂
Thanks Amy; helpful post as always!
Thanks Jessica! I’m glad to get some info out there to help other writers 🙂
Wonderful list, Thank you!! There are some great links and suggestions there! ☺
Thanks, I’m glad you like!
Maybe you could consider turning that post into a permanent page on your site?? It garnered a good response and it’s a very valuable source of information. 🙂
That’s a great idea! I have on my to-do list to kinda reconfigure the blog pages and categories a bit, so I’ll consider that option when I do that project 🙂
Hi Amy – – I nominated your for a blogger award! Check out my site for rules if you choose to participate. I’m looking forward to reading more of your blogs! Thank you for your insights.
Wow, thank you so much for nominating me, and for commenting to make sure I’d see 🙂 I’ll have a look
I’m definitely interested in Natural Reader. I’ve never heard my work read by someone else. I’m dying to hear how it sounds differently than in my head. I had never even thought of doing this before.
There are no tools that I use besides the WordPress editing and my own knowledge of English grammar. There are times when the editor doesn’t point something out and I am uncertain about its detection skills. The worse part is that I can’t pinpoint the problem. I sometimes cringe calling myself a writer because there are more grammar-savvy writers out there picking out all of the numerous errors in my work, or style, or consistency. But hey, we’ve all got good and bad days and we’ve got to start somewhere. Like sometimes, I don’t hit publish for days because I’m editing and then the moment for the piece has passed, and I have to wait for its next moment to come. I think that most times, life gives us multiple moments.
That’s a beautiful philosophy, that life gives us multiple moments <3
And editing is slightly over-rated! (Only slightly lol.) Important yes, but it's not what makes a writer. Obsessive strict editing can kill a piece but magical writing will shine thru even with a couple grammar mistakes. Us writer souls do the best we can, then let the story do it's thing regardless 🙂
I'm intrigued by natural reader too. It's the one I'm most eager to use, just waiting til I finish my big-picture edits.
I totally agree that too much emphasis on absolute grammatical correctness can, at least for me, take away some of the joy and/o freshness from the piece. I do love to revise though. It’s one of my favorite things. But magical writing, as you say, will always shine through. The story should have a little room to move about.
I feel the same about natural reader. I want to give it my best and see what my best sounds like.
Thanks for the great list. When I start editing I use index cards. One scene as it actually exists in my draft goes on each card, then I lay them all out on the floor and wait for the cat to start rolling around on them. Once he gets off I straighten them and analyse the structure. I figure out what to cut, what to add, and what to move. It’s much faster to do it on cards than in the draft. Index cards are awesome. 🙂
I’ve recently heard about using index cards of each scene for outlining, never thought about using it in the editing phase. I like that idea. Would especially come in handy for my WIP that has two intersecting timelines it jumps between – lots of parts I could see moving around there.
And ha, the pesky cat! <3
I tend to write simple and linear, but I can imagine index cards (did you know they come in different colours?) would be great for keeping everything straight in a more complex story. You do need a large space to spread them out in, though.
Yes, I was thinking one color card for one timeline, one color card for the other timeline, and maybe a third color for random notes of like turning points and inciting incidents and things I want to make sure I have in certain spaces.
I’d love to hear how it works out if you do try it.
I’ll let ya know!