101 (More) Resources to Rock Your Freelance Writing World

You know, May can be a bit of a transition month, can’t it? You’re itching for summer, but you’re looking at an unruly weather forecast. Some of you got snow last week, some of you were sitting on your back deck sipping iced tea in the heat. It’s May, which has become (at least in my neighborhood) as unpredictable as April.

So I figured as you’re waiting for summer to finally make its full appearance, I’d leave this here. Gives you something to do while you wait, right?

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Resources list. I’m excited to bring you some pretty neat ones, too. I hope you agree.

1. Google Scholar. Where has this been all my life? What a super resource for locating the study, statistics, and corroborating data needed to make your life easier.
2. OneLook. You may not think you need a search tool that searches across numerous dictionaries, but you do. Oh, you really do.
3. Line. Free international calls. The price? Watch an ad. Limited to five-minute domestic calls and three-minute international calls, but .
4. Airtable. A client just introduced me to Airtable, and I love it. You can view all your projects in easy-to-see “app” tabs, color coded, and you have great control over your workspace.
5. Grammarly. I rather love the browser add-on idea, particularly for blogging.
6. Online Stopwatch. Want to see just how fast you actually work? Click the green “Start” button. It’s a great motivator.
7. Write or Die. You won’t have writer’s block using this. You just won’t.
8. Atlas Obscura. You know that one person who seems to have the most interesting things to talk about? You can be that person. Better yet, you can be that person who turns those ideas into article pitches.
9. Tweriod. Why tweet when no one is listening? Tweriod looks at your followers’ activity and gives you the perfect times to tweet.
10. Pew Research Center. Access to top-level topics, data, and publications from one of the most trusted sources.
11. OpenOffice. For everyone who either doesn’t like or doesn’t want to pay for Word, here’s your alternative. This one makes it on all my Resources lists because it’s tried-and-true. My sister uses it exclusively.
12. Hunter. Find that email address you just can’t locate. You have 50 free searches every month. Great for expanding your marketing potential.
13. Project Gutenberg. Search 58,000 free ebooks (copyrights have expired). Download them. Read them online.
14. Keyword Density Checker. Super way to get the most impact from your messaging.
15. Evernote. Still one of my favorite project management tools. You don’t need an education or any special training to see exactly where each project is in development.
16. Workfrom. People working remotely help you locate the best places to work from. Anywhere. Even in places where they say “no recommendations yet” exist, they’ll show you places with Wifi. Amen.
17. Submission Tracking Tool. If you’re like me and can’t get it together with tracking where things are, this online tool is ideal. Brought to you by the same people who created our next resource.
18. Writer6. Novel writers, rejoice! Here’s a simple, free way to organize your novel by chapters and scenes.
19. 750 Words. Speaking of writing, how about a website that can help you build or improve on a daily writing habit?
20. Correctica. Admittedly, this one is a bit weird. But if you need a proofreader, just email your work to them, and within minutes, you have a response showing any errors.
21. Readability Grader. Not sure if you’re conveying your message correctly? Let this tool help you decide.
22. Blog Idea Generator. I could have used this so many times over the years. When you’re stuck, plug in a few words and see what happens.
23. Twords. Another app that pushes you to write. A simple way to make writing a habit.
24. Calendly. I’ve had clients use this, and it’s fantastic. Your entire calendar is shared, so phone calls can be scheduled without the gazillion emails back and forth.
25. Unsplash. Gorgeous free images.
26. Performance Review Worksheet. What a great way to see how you’re doing with your business! Review and planning in one free sheet.
27. Wave Accounting Software. No more excuses — Wave gives you a free app to help you get your financial shit together.
28. TransferWise. A friend in the UK told us about this one. It’s not free, but it’s a great option since PayPal rarely reaches across borders.
29. Keep. If you don’t have access to a desktop-based sticky note app (my computers both have that), this is the next best thing. Reminders, too. Thank you, Google.
30. Canva. I’m not a designer, but I can pretend to be with Canva.
31. Google Trends. How can you not come up with ideas when they’re right in front of you? Great way to generate article pitches.
32. Notepad++ Source code editor. You more tech-savvy freelance writers are in luck — a free downloadable source code editor.
33. Freepik. Another free image source for vectors, photos, and more.
34. Writers’ Markets. There’s no reason to settle for just any gig when Jenn Mattern has gone to great lengths to bring you a vast list of magazines to pitch to.
35. Hourly Rate Calculator. Still the best there is. Thank you again, Jenn.
36. Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The place for style questions.
37. Tweetdeck. Are you among the folks who think Tweetdeck disappeared entirely? Not so. The app is gone, but the online version is the same perfection as the app was. I use Tweetdeck daily.
38. 30-Day Marketing Bootcamp. There’s a reason Jenn Mattern makes it on this list three times. She gives you valuable freebies. This is one of them.
39. Klok. Free time tracking. Boom. Done.
40. Coursera. This MOOC source will always be on my lists. Free courses from top universities, and now, earn certifications and degrees (paid) from home.
41. Wikiversity. Why not learn something new for free? Wikiversity can teach you languages, science, technology, you name it. For free.
42. Writer2Writer. Free e-courses on how to get your freelance writing career moving.
43. Duolingo. Right now, I can tell you how to say hello in Irish Gaelic (Dia duit!), what Ithiam means (I eat), and I’ve been “studying” Irish for three weeks. This is by far the fastest, easiest way to learn a language that I’ve ever encountered.
44. FreeEd.net. Another good source for free learning.
45. Strunk & White Elements of Style. An essential writing guide. Free.
46. Citation Machine. If you don’t use MS Word (which does this for you), here’s a free option for getting the right citation formatting.
47. Zoho. If you have five clients or fewer, this is your free online invoicing system. More than five clients? Nine bucks a month.
48. Wrike. Working with just a few people and need a way to organize the project? Wrike makes it simple.
49. Free Conference Call. What you get: a free dial-in number and passcode. Oh, and a recording of your call. Free. You keep the same number/code, so you’ll always have access to a free conference line.
50. Document signing. Oh, this is good. Esignatures. Audit trails. Oh my. Up to five documents a month, free.
51. Hello Fax. And yes. They do faxes, too.
52. Voice-to-Text Dictation. If you have Word, you already have it. In the latest Word version, there’s a Dictation icon up in the right corner of Word. And if you’re looking for more, honey, look no further than your computer. Windows Speech Recognition comes loaded on most, if not all, new PCs. But if you need a freebie, try Google Voice Notepad.
53. Calendars that sync. Google has one. If you use Outlook (and use Windows Launcher interface on your Android phone), you have it, too. I’ve found it a lifeline on many occasions.
54. TurboScan. I get it — you don’t want to buy a scanner. So use your cell phone. My favorite app is Fast Scanner, but TurboScan is another solid option.
55. oTranscribe. This little online app may have just saved me countless hours of transcribing. You can upload audio/video files. Are those angels I hear singing?
56. Bibisco. Another solid online novel writing software to help you organize your novel.
57. Windows Live Writer. Welcome to easier blogging.
58. MindMup. Free mind mapping tool. Scroll to the bottom to get started.
59. Anti-Social. Don’t you hate all those comments on YouTube videos and on article sites? Block them.
60. Autre Planete. Social media image maker that can really boost your tweets.
61. Slack. A good collaboration software that’s free for small teams.
62. Cold Turkey. If you’re not too chicken (pun intended), you can block your worst habits: Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit….
63. EssentialPIM. That’s a Personal Information Manager, and it can make sense of your calendar, tasks, notes, emails, even passwords and contacts.
64. TomatoTimer. Looking for a timer that allows you to choose from five-, ten-, or 25-minute increments? Here you go.
65. The Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary. If you need any more proof that using business jargon is a foolish idea, just visit this site. And share it with your clients.
66. MediLexicon. Find that medical abbreviation, look up drugs, equipment, hospitals, and more.
67. Acronym Finder. Sometimes the opposite word is exactly the one you need.
68. Words to Minutes Calculator. Great for writing scripts, commercials, etc.
69. Wridea. Brainstorming and idea management system.
70. FaxZero. Another great online fax option, including Canada, too.
71. Cloud Storage. You cannot go without some form of backup storage anymore. Cloud-based storage offers several free options, from Google to Dropbox to MediaFire to Box. I’d say MEGA has the best freebie, with 50 GB of free space at your disposal.
72. LastPass. Create and remember one big-assed password. LastPass then stores (and creates) every single password you have. And it’s an add-on to your browser. And it’s free. I’ve used it for years and can’t do without it.
73. Your Rate. The simplest rate calculator imaginable. And it shows you at a glance how much your current rate adds up to in a year.
74. Podio. Another free project management planner. Nice layout.
75. TinyLetter. By the MailChimp creators, this is a simple way to create emails and newsletters.
76. Launchrock. Billed as the fastest way to get customers, it’s also a great place to discover new business launches. And promote your site. And analyze results. For free.
77. Noisli. Ambient background noise. I’m listening to the “coffee shop” soundtrack right now.
78. Writing Schedule Calculator. The idea of seeing that if you write for 3 hours a day, 4 days a week that you’ll finish your book in 13 weeks is motivating. Seriously motivating.
79. Reedsy Book Editor. Use this instead of Word. Produce a professionally typeset book. For free.
80. Headline Analyzer. Type in your headline and get feedback. You have to give up an email address for it, but the results were impressive on my first try.
81. Lumen5. Imagine your blog post turned into a video. Yep, it’s free.
82. Keep Writing. This is brilliant — it works like an old-fashioned typewriter. You can’t erase, so you have to just keep writing. The serial editor in you will be grateful.
83. Written? Kitten! Set your writing goal and just write. When you hit your target, you get rewarded with an image.
84. MindMeister. More mind-mapping potential. Up to three mind maps for free.
85. Every Time Zone. Don’t miss a meeting again. The interface is a little Hello Color!, but worth wading through the neon.
86. Hively. Don’t wonder if your clients are satisfied. Let Hively give them a way to give you feedback.
87. Join.Me Video/Audio Conferencing. Yep, free conferencing that isn’t Skype.
88. Video Hosting. Wistia helps you create and share your videos. Plus they give you lead generation tools and video analytics to help you make the most of your productions.
89. Journo. Imagine a clean, unfussy way to create your online portfolio. Imagine it being free.
90. IFTTT. Get your shit together, virtually. IFTTT helps you organize your schedule in “recipes” that keep you on track.
91. Facebook Page Insights. You FB marketers, listen up. Here’s how you see what your customers are up to.
92. Clippings. Host your clippings here and stand back. You’re about to get noticed.
93. Keyword Tool. Want to find the best keywords? Use this.
94. MuckRack. Another great portfolio-building platform.
95. PutsMail. Test how your emails will look before you send them. Simple to use.
96. Scoop.It. Content curation and publishing application that helps you get your message out there quickly.
97. Cyfe. An all-in-one business dashboard for people obsessed with tracking their marketing at a pretty deep level.
98. Shake. Here’s an app (and web-based) option for creating, sending, and signing those legally binding agreements we freelancers need.
99. Duffel. Gmail users, here’s a way to download your emails as PDFs.
100. Boomerang. Schedule emails, get follow-up reminders for those that aren’t answered. For marketing, this is an excellent tool.
101. Rambox. This is one of those “Ohmygawd, where have you been all my life?” apps. Add apps to the browser-style app. Then easily switch between your email accounts, social media accounts, chat accounts….