What is your one favorite editing tool? (other than Grammarly!)

Throughout my career in journalism and public relations over the past 20 years, I have been tasked with editing, and proofreading marketing materials, press releases, print magazines, promotional items, and much more. While online editing tools certainly have tremendous value, I still go the old school route as part of my proofing process. By printing out copy and putting my red pen to paper, it frees me from all of the distractions that can come with staying tethered to my at-home Mac or at-work PC. It also allows me to get into the mode of really proofreading the copy instead of relying on the electronic editing tool to do it for me. I find that taking this approach has caught many errors along the way, and it has also allowed me to truly hone in on the voice of the written piece and then make the necessary edits to amplify the tone and messaging.

Call me old-fashioned, but I really love to edit content by getting my hands dirty in Google Docs. My top tip for proofing/editing in Google Docs is to read the piece backward. Start from the last sentence of the conclusion. It helps you look at the piece with fresh eyes, which is a must after mulling over your content for what feels like too long!

As an avid blogger, I really think that writer.com is massively underrated as an editing tool. It's not even that it differs massively from some of the other editing tools, it's just very visually soothing! Sounds strange I know, but I just really like how easy it is to navigate and how clearly it highlights aspects of the content that need to be updated or amended.

My personal favorite editing tool has to be ProWritingAid. With built in extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Google docs, ProWritingAid helps me focus on the writing and easily covers all of my editing needs. It has a built-in plagiarism checker, grammar, as well as a nifty style editor tool that can actually help you become a more confident writer. Although there are paid options, the free plan is more than enough to get started with and is what I recommend to anyone looking for a new editing tool that works and won't break the bank.

This is my go-to tool to make my content more readable. Literally, in the past year, there is not a single piece I have published without running it through Hemingway editor. Most of my editing takes place through this editor as I get a chance to read every single line, and analyze the sentence structure, tone, and readability. I aim to get to a 6 or 7-grade readability for all my articles.

Frase helped us improve the content outlines as its briefing tool is just magic. Now our team can create detailed outlines without missing a reference on a specific topic or keyword. We also use Frase as content quality measurement tool. Helping rate writers and their work according to the scoring mechanism they provide.

Surely, most editing tools can not beat Grammarly in terms of the level of all-round polishing that can be achieved in terms of clarity, accuracy, and engagement. And yet, I find Grammarly's "plagiarism" feature quite limited, which is why I prefer "Duplichecker" to run a thorough scan of all content. The tool is amazing, as you can check any content up to 1000 words for free! No logins or membership is required. What's more, the tool scans your text word by word- checking for the remotest similarity to any previously published content. The duplicate phrases get highlighted in one column, while the other column displays the links to the original content. This way, you can ensure that your posts are 100% original, delivering value to the readers without being a copy-paste of other published content.

Editing is such an important part of the writing process, and there are so many different tools out there to help with it. It can be tough to choose just one favorite, but if I had to narrow it down, my top pick would definitely be ProWritingAid. ProWritingAid is an online editing tool that helps you improve your writing by identifying grammatical errors, inconsistencies, and areas for improvement. In addition to being a great grammar checker, ProWritingAid also provides targeted feedback on things like sentence structure, overused words, and style. Basically, it's like having a Virtual Writing Coach at your side every time you sit down to write!

I'll be honest, I hate writing titles. I end up wasting way too much time during editing trying to make a title more descriptive and less, well, boring. That's why I love Co-Schedule's Headline Analyzer tool. I can put in my boring, bland title and get ideas to make it more engaging right away. The tool might recommend adding stronger descriptors, using better verbs, or even adding a clause to make a title longer. While the suggestions vary in focus, they do all end up helping--making my titles better and saving me time during editing.

The best advice on writing I ever received was "Nobody owes you their attention." And in this world of unlimited content, earning your readers' attention means sticking to the 3 Cs. Keep it 1. Concise 2. Compelling 3. Clean For this, I use Hemingwayapp.com. It helps you channel your inner Hemingway. The app – which is free – picks up on over-complex language, use of passive voice, unnecessary punctuation and overuse of adverbs. That allows you to trim the fat from your writing and write copy that compels the reader to consume every word.

We love the Hemingway Editor app since it helps to check any text's tone, grammar, and readability for free. It also allows you to edit a preexisting text, check how much passive voice you're having and how you can simplify your content for better understanding.

An increasingly popular practice for companies is to hire a third-party proofreading service company (like Proofed) whenever employees are submitting reports to clients. Attorneys often hire outside editors and proofreaders to read briefs and affidavits before they’re filed. Those companies strictly adhere to deadlines, even tight deadlines, because they’re business depends on it. They can be very useful for any company that generates leads and acquires new business based on written submissions, whether it's research-heavy reports or email marketing. If the written word is your business’ lifeblood, consider relying on a third-party proofreading service to make your submissions better.

The Hemingway Editor is perfect for those of us who tend to beat around the bush or write “garden path sentences”. I use it for eliminating unnecessary words or fluff from first drafts. It helps to gauge reading difficulty and reading time, both very helpful metrics for content creation aimed at a target audience. This editing tool has helped me produce more dynamic content that drives conversions.

It depends on the style of writing you're doing. For example, for more long-form writing, QuillBot is an excellent option. There is a strong emphasis on making each sentence more effective to add value to the piece you're writing, in addition to assistance with grammar and spelling. You should choose an editing tool that applies to the style of writing you're working with.

The Word Counter is a free online platform which tracks not only your character and word counts, but also gives grammar tips. I have found the website super helpful for any writing work I need to do. By writing more effectively, I feel like my content resonates more with my target audience. Next time you are thinking about using an editing tool, check out The Word Counter!

Sapling is my personal favorite editing tool because it combines everything you would expect with next generation AI to help you become a better writer. Using advanced machine learning algorithms, Sapling is able to detect far more nuanced issues than its competitors, speeding up your overall workflow. With a free option to get started and premium only costing $25 a month, it is a very affordable tool with a wide range of applications regardless of the type of writing you do on a daily basis.

Sentencecheckup.com is a free online grammar checker that is a great grammarly alternative, especially when working online. There isn't anything particularly difficult with this one. You can simply copy and paste your text into the given text box and run the check, simple and easy. The tool is currently only for the English language, though it does separate American and British English for more clarity, and while it does have some deep dive correction functionality, it may not be as comprehensive as suite like Grammarly. Still, this tool works well as a second or third pair of eyes, during a workday, especially if you have to do a lot of corresponding. It's a great and quick way to double check an email or blogpost before you publish or send.

My favorite content creation platform is Google Docs. It simplifies collaboration among teams of SEOs, content writers, editors, and web formatters. This is much easier than passing MS Word documents back and forth through email as so many people do. Additionally, it comes with a robust set of editing tools, including spellcheck, word count, redlining and commenting. Just make sure you give everyone on the team access to edit or add suggestions to the documents they need. Generally I'll set permissions at the folder level, and then organize content either by author or by month depending on the size of the project and how I have my project management and billing systems set up.

I think other than Grammarly, ProWritingAid has to be my favourite editing tool. Actually, in certain places, it works better than Grammarly. The suggestions provided by ProWritingAid are sophisticated yet pretty understandable. It gives the choice of editing a document according to the work type, professionalism level, etc. The lines that appear below are clearly indicated and realistic. The premium subscription comes at a cheaper price than that of Grammarly and has more integrations. I hope this answers your query satisfactorily. If so, I would love for you to quote it. All the best for your piece.

Copyscape is essential when content has been heavily researched or unduly influenced by other sources we’ve unintentionally memorized in the creation process. Being able to detect for plagiarism before distribution serves as a checkpoint for reliable sources as well as aligning with a brand’s voice. Editing is not reduced to checking grammar and spelling alone, and Copyscape is one tool to help creators stay original when drafting quality content.