21 services and apps to help you write a book

Services to help you write competently

1. "Spelling"

Platforms: web.
Cost: from 100 rubles for 100 thousand characters or from 300 rubles per month for using the service without restrictions.

Spelling scans the text added by the user and highlights any spelling, punctuation and stylistic errors found. No matter how well you know grammar, such a check will not be superfluous.

2. "Glavred"

Platforms: web.
Cost: free.

Glavred is a service very similar to Spelling, but intended mainly for non-fiction texts. It will help you get rid of unnecessary words and express thoughts simply, succinctly and energetically.

3. "Gramota.ru"

Platforms: web.
Cost: Free.

If you forget how to spell or what a word means, enter it in the check field on the site "Gramota.ru". The system will compare the request with the database, which consists of different dictionaries, and will return the result.

In addition, you will find useful all kinds of reference books on spelling, punctuation, phraseology, as well as "", which will find answers to difficult questions.

4. "National corpus of the Russian language"

How to write a book using the National Corpus of the Russian Language

Platforms: web.
Cost: free.

This is a kind of search engine for Russian-language books and articles. With its help, it is convenient to check the compatibility of words: if the algorithm finds examples of the use of the phrase you have entered in various sources, then you can also use it without fear of making mistakes.

5. "Wiktionary"

Platforms: web.
Cost: free.

This service on a wiki engine combines a thesaurus and a multilingual dictionary. It contains definitions of words, lists of synonyms, antonyms and related words, declension tables, etymological references, morphological analyzes, examples of use and much more. An invaluable source of information for the author.

6. Classes.ru

Platforms: web.
Cost: Free.

Classes.ru is a catalog of electronic dictionaries with the ability to search for each of them. Users have access to Ushakov's Big Explanatory Dictionary, Efremova's New Dictionary of the Russian Language and other resources. This platform will enrich your vocabulary and help you write rich and expressive texts.

Communities to ask other authors questions

1. The Question

Platforms: web, Android, iOS.
Cost: Free.

The Question platform is a social project, the participants of which ask questions on topics of interest to them and receive answers from experts or other ordinary users. For current and future writers, the sections about and may be helpful.

2. "Write.pro"

Platforms: web.
Cost: Free.

Pishi.pro is a Russian-speaking community of writers. On the site, you can communicate with other authors, participate in literary competitions, read materials about writing skills and complete interactive tasks.

3. Quora

Platforms: web, Android, iOS.
Cost: Free.

International analogue of The Question in English. You may be interested in the sections, and, dedicated to writing.

4. Reddit

Platforms: web, Android, iOS.
Cost: Free.

There are large communities on Reddit and where writing is discussed. Beginners and already successful authors from all over the world exchange useful tips and curious examples of creativity here. If you know English, you can join them and participate in discussions.

Educational services with courses in literature

1.4Brain

Platforms: web.
Cost: free or 790 rubles per month for access to interactive tasks.

At the 4Brain site, you can take courses in and. If you are a beginner author, you will surely glean a lot of useful information from them.

2. Arzamas

Platforms: web, Android, iOS.
Cost: free or 149 rubles per month for additional content.

Educational platform with many articles and courses on art, history and literature. Project materials prepared with the participation of Russian scientists will expand your creative horizons.

Radio Arzamas Arzamas.academy

3. Creative Writing School

How to write a book using Creative Writing School

Platforms: web.
Cost: from 10,000 rubles per course.

Creative Writing School is a paid online course platform for beginners and advanced writers alike. Students watch video lectures, then complete creative assignments and receive reviews from professional literary critics and writers.

Editors that are convenient for writing and formatting text

1. "Typographer"

Platforms: web.
Cost: Free.

"Typographer" helps to adapt texts for publication on the Internet: replaces hyphens with dashes, tidies up quotes, removes extra spaces, and so on. It can be useful if you are going to put a portion or an entire book directly on a web page.

2.iA Writer

Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, macOS.
Cost: free (Android), 379 rubles (iOS), 20 dollars (Windows), 2,290 rubles (macOS).

IA Writer, a cross-platform application, is a minimalist text editor made especially for writers. So that nothing distracts the authors from their creativity, the developers have removed almost all elements from the interface, except for a blank sheet.

In iA Writer, you can write without a network connection, and online, the program synchronizes documents with other devices via the cloud. Also worth noting is the night theme and the ability to save files in HTML, DOCX and PDF formats.

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iA Writer Information Architects GmbH

Organizers to help you keep important ideas

1. OneNote

Platforms: web, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS.
Cost: Free.

Service for storing notes from Microsoft. As you work on a book, you can save and structure your ready-made snippets of text in OneNote - they will be available on all your devices via the cloud. If you need to make edits, the built-in formatting tools come to the rescue. Plus, OneNote is integrated with Word and other company services.

Microsoft OneNote Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft OneNote: Organized Ideas and Notes Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft OneNote Microsoft Corporation

OneNote for Windows 10 Developer

2. MindMeister

Platforms: web, Android, iOS.
Cost: free or from $ 5 per month for an unlimited number of cards.

MindMeister is a convenient cloud-based mind mapping service. With its help, you can, for example, build a plot diagram or visualize the relationship between several characters.

mind mapping - MindMeister MeisterLabs

MindMeister MeisterLabs

Samizdat platforms

1. "Liters: Samizdat"

How to publish a book using "Liters: Samizdat"

Platforms: web.
Cost: Free.

Through this site, you can publish your book on the windows of the "Liters" book service and other digital stores. The author himself sets the price and receives money from sales. At the same time, the service displays statistics of views and downloads.

2. Samlib.ru

Platforms: web.
Cost: Free.

Samlib.ru is the oldest samizdat platform in Runet. By publishing your book here, you will make it available to the audience of the site. If publishers notice it, which is often the case on this resource, you may be offered a contract.

Other useful services

1. FocusMusic

Platforms: web, Android, iOS.
Cost: Free.

A very simple background music app for your productivity. You can switch between four channels: classic, rain sound, downtempo and electronic.

focus music Felucca Inc.

2. Cold Turkey

Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Cost: Free or $ 29 for the ability to block apps and additional features.

Cold Turkey's program helps fight procrastination. With its help, it is convenient to block distracting sites and applications for a specified period. Until the time runs out, they will be unavailable. And you won't be able to access them even if you restart your computer.