Free Resources and Tools for the Freelance Writer

Making a living writing freelance is a tough job. No one who thinks working from home, as a freelance writer is easy has tried it for very long. It takes hard work and dedication. It takes focus and discipline. Freelance writing requires creativity. You have to provide needed information in new, interesting and intriguing ways. There are some tools available to the freelance writer to make his job a little easier. Here are just a few.

Online Thesaurus

Use a thesaurus to find new and creative ways to relay information. You can say the same thing everyone else has already said repeatedly; but if you say it in a new way, people will pay attention to your writing. With the online thesaurus, you can find synonyms (words of similar meaning) and antonyms (words of opposite meaning). Dictionary.com is also a handy tool to have around the house or office. If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, always look it up. Nothing will ruin your credibility as a writer faster than using a word with an ambiguous meaning.

Spell and Grammar Check

Spell and grammar check is a freelance writer's best friend. Microsoft word offers an excellent built-in spell and grammar checker. I never write without it. However, if you have another document program besides Microsoft word, there are free online sources that offer a spell and grammar check. One such program is Spellchecker.net. This program offers an instant grammar checker, spellchecker and thesaurus.

Search Engine Optimization Tools

Any freelance writer who has been in the game very long knows that even well written content can sometimes be overlooked by search engines. Without effective search engine optimization, your writing may find a home somewhere in the never land of the back pages of Google searches. There are tools that can help you properly use keys words with the properly prescribed density to be recognized by search engine results. One helpful resource comes from Webconfs.com. From this page, you can access links for "similar page checker," "search engine spider simulator," "backlink anchor text analysis," "keyword density checker," and "Alexa ranking tool" among many other helpful links.

Freelance writing is hard work, no matter what you may have heard to the contrary. You should access any free resources and tools that are available to help make your job as a freelance writer a little easier. May you have a long and very successful writing career!

Sources:

Thesaurus.com | Find Synonyms and Antonyms of Words at Thesaurus.com

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com

Spell Check | Online Spellchecker

SEO Tools - Search Engine Optimization Tools