Writers have always been looking for ways to write faster, more efficiently or easily. First, it was the paper, then the pens, typewriters, first computers and now we have so many things to choose from. Some writers still use old tools like notebooks or typewriters, some stay in the happy middle with just using their laptop and a word processor but some have completely embraced new technologies and started using them for their own benefit.

Along with writing on a desktop device we now have the option of writing on our mobile devices like tablets or smartphones. But not only that, we also have a ton of useful software solutions that can handle any problem writers had in the past.

Here are some of the best Web apps that a writer can use.

Google Docs

Over the years there have been many word processors made available online either for free or as a paid version. Some of them were good, some of them less so, but Google Docs has made a significant improvement over the past few years. There are so many familiar options that you can use to format your text but there are also many more that differentiate this web app from all of its competitors.

You can edit your document with your coworkers simultaneously, sharing is made incredibly easy with their link share and so on. You can save the document in many different formats and the editing is made easy with the spell check and various other tools that you can add into your Docs account.

While there are many other web apps out there that work just as well, this one is completely free and reliable – it`s Google after all.

Grammarly

Grammarly is an excellent tool which comes in both free and paid. With a free version, you get a full edit – it fixes your grammar and spelling mistakes as well as some of your style mistakes. With a paid version comes even more in-depth style edit together with a plagiarism tool which checks all of your writing for plagiarism.

But, for an average writer, the free version will be the most available one. You should definitely use it for all of your writing. All you have to do is an import of type in your text and the software will quickly deduct any mistakes and help you remove them. However, do not fret, you’ll be able to approve each change as they happen.

Evernote

For organization and saving various images, sites, and other media, this is the best app of all. It can help you with everything from organizing and keeping to your schedule of saving documents and so on. The best part about it is that you can also use it as an app on your phone.

Coffitivity

Coffitivity is a great app from the same people who made Scrivener. It plays the sounds of a coffee shop during different times of day – for instance, morning, lunchtime, evening and so on. They have recently included many more sounds so you can enjoy different environments while writing.

Web apps are definitely the future of writing. You can use them for various purposes and make your writing better and more efficient.

Any successful freelance writer will tell you that being a freelancer requires a lot of marketing, promotion, and effort. After all, you are selling your services, your expertise – you need to do your best to reach people with it.

However, what most freelance writers don’t realize is that they also have to build a brand around their writing. This means a lot of things but mainly figuring out what kind of writer you want to be and sticking to it.

This can lead you to success because you’ll be instantly recognizable across channels to your current and potential clients.

Here are some tips on building a successful freelance writing business brand.

Find your voice

The first thing you need to do as a writer is finding your unique voice. Every writer has a different style in the words they use, how they use those words and so on. You will probably be unable to really tell what your style is but you should stick to your voice in all writing. While some clients may ask you to write in a friendly or formal way, you should still maintain the steadiness of your general voice.

The clients will hire you because of that tone and they will expect to see it in their copy or content. Hone your voice because that is the only thing making you different in the world where there are millions of writers.

Find your niche

Just like finding your voice, figuring out what your niche is important as well. Every person has a niche that they prefer. For example, some might like medical writing and some might like financial writing. There are so many different niches in the world where you could be a successful writer.

Explore them and pick one or two to stick with. However, if you like multiple niches, you can still write in all of them.

While experts recommend writing for just one or two niches because the pay is much higher with such a narrow market, you can still make a decent income with serving all of the niches. The most important part is to find a niche that you love – because you will spend a lot of time working in it and you don’t want to hate it – but make sure that it can pay off.

Build a portfolio

Once you figure out your niche and your voice, it’s time to build a portfolio. This step might be a bit difficult, especially if you have no experience.

Writing just for yourself and displaying it in your portfolio doesn’t carry any weight because the content didn’t have to pass any criteria. This is why you might want to consider pitching to guest posting sites or even clients if you are willing to charge way less, just to get a bit of experience. You could also work on UpWork on moderately paid jobs and get some content and reviews under your belt.

Building a brand as a freelance writer isn’t easy but it pays off later when you start working with big names. Hopefully, these tips will help.

Writing is an act of creation. Any person committing to this act on a daily or at least regular basis can be called a writer. However, most people want to get paid as well, and this is the difficult part of the journey.

While most writers dream of becoming well-known authors, this doesn’t pay off that easily. This means that any person willing to work on becoming an author should consider other paths that could lead them to be published quicker.

Even though the kind of writing that could get you paid probably differs from what you would like to write, consider some of these ways to monetize your writing:

Make money blogging

Blogging definitely isn’t the quickest way to get paid but it could a profitable one if you stick with it through the beginning which can get pretty rough. At first, you`ll feel like you are just writing for yourself but as the time goes on, you`ll see that you are also gaining some audience.

There are many ways to make money blogging, especially if you get a professional website.

The first way would be to sign up with some ad services like Google AdSense or similar and set up ads on your website. You can earn money from them every time someone clicks on an ad. At first, that income won’t be much but as you gain more audience you will receive a considerable amount. Next, you can sign up with affiliate marketing services. This means that you will share links of certain products in your posts. You can also write sponsored posts on your blog, sell products or your books and so on.

Be a freelance writer

Becoming a freelance writer can be a difficult decision to make but it’s well worth it. Experts usually recommend that you keep working at your day job while you develop a freelance writing business. For one, you`ll need a professional website that would contain your portfolio, contact information and enough copy for you to be persuasive. You could also display your rates, add a few blog posts and so on.

Next, you will have to learn how to pitch your clients. You could do what is called cold pitching – sending an email to the client offering your services, some samples and showing interest in working with them. This can happen even if you`ve never actually spoken to the client before. There is also warm pitching where you start a conversation with a brand through various channels, not asking for work immediately but rather for advice, help and so on. At the right time and when a relationship has formed, you can then make your pitch. While there are many other ways to find clients, these are the most popular ones and they usually work – just pick the one that works for you.

Next, you should develop some kind of contract, promote your services and work your way to the top.

You can also start working on job platforms like UpWork. All you have to do is sign up and build your profile. The platform puts clients and jobs in front of you and handles the legal side of the work as well.

There are many ways to make money writing but these are the most reliable ones you can do. The income is steady and considerable which means that you can invest more in developing your skills and audience.