The Best Proofreading & Editing Software In 2021

Let’s begin by answering: what is proofreading software? Simple: editing software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to proofread your work. 

AI is a computer programmed to behave and think as humans do and while it is at the top of its game, there is still much more work that needs to be done to get it to where the programmers want. If you’d like to learn a lot more about AI, check out this in-depth article here.

While you have your basic spell-checker on Microsoft Word, it doesn’t even come close to what editing software can do for you. It looks over not only typos but grammar and style checks as well! And there is free software out there available to use.

Before we dive right into the rankings, we should look at what types of proofreading software there is out there.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROOFREADING APPS

1. Chrome Extensions

Just as you would with any other web browser, you can download free extensions that will check your spelling as you type on any site and possibly offer suggestions towards spelling, grammar and style of your works.

2. Online Tools

The internet is a vast space of unlimited resources and tools and you can easily find it for free at a website that’ll proofread your work (spelling, grammar and style) by copying and pasting it into a text box. Keep in mind though, you get what you pay for.

On the other hand, you can get full-service online apps, like Grammarly (spoiler alert! We will be talking about this app later on, so stay tuned), though limited in its formatting tools, nonetheless is still significantly better than using just a spell-checker and can drastically improve your written work.

3. Mobile & Desktop Apps

There’s always an app for something out there, so no doubt there is one made for proofreading outside of your typical spellcheck on your mobile or computer. Especially if you’re typing away on your mobile device, you’ll want one.

4. MS Add-Ons

For those who use MS Office products (Word, Powerpoint etc.) you can get an add-on that will proofread your work as you continue to make progress on it. But keep in mind, these only work for those on Windows computers.

Now let’s get to the nitty gritty of what’s out there and which one has the best features and performance.

RANKINGS & REVIEW

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is easily one of the best proofreading software to exist out there, and guess what? It’s free. Sure there are paid plans for their services, but the free version is still pretty substantial in terms of what it is able to do. Not only does it offer browser extensions, a full-service online app, add-on for Windows but also works across both Windows and Mac platforms. It also allows for intercrossing between apps such as Google Docs.

For this program to work, you’ll need to be connected to the internet so that the program is able to communicate with the AI as it is still learning. Though this can be seen as a flaw with the system, the more feedback it gains the more it learns and will be able to pick up on any, if not all 

Otherwise, it offers all the different types of proofreading software mentioned above.

While the MS Add-On only works on Windows computers, if you are a Mac user, you can still use the desktop app and insert the .docx file into it and it’ll do the same thing - it’s just not real-time editing.

• Is offered as multiple versions and is consistent

• Super easy and user-friendly interface, its almost as if there’s no learning curve

• Quick one-click suggestions

While the basic suggestions are free, meaning your standard spellcheck, grammar and style check, there’s a premium version with paid plans that you can choose to pay for based on your needs.

2. ProWriting Aid

ProWriting Aid is one of the only apps that even comes to a close second to Grammarly. Just as with most, if not all proofreading apps, it does need internet to run. It can also run on web browsers such as Chrome, Google Docs, and as a desktop app. Like Grammarly, it does not run on MS Office with Apple.

While it runs like Grammarly, it lost in the battle because its features were not as useful. Rather, its suggestions cluttered the screen, the interface was not as clean and simple to use, and unlike Grammarly, it offered less one-click corrections - something that is a key aspect of Grammarly’s software due to its convenience.

3. Hemingway App

As for the Hemingway App, its purpose is more for bloggers rather than authors and didn’t do so well in the tests. But, one of the features it has that Grammarly and ProWriting Aid do not have is the ability to work offline. This can work in your favour but it also means a less smart AI as there needs to be an internet connection for the computer to communicate with the AI and for it to gain feedback to learn from.

While it does offer an online version, if you happen to lose internet connection, your computer randomly shuts down or even if you accidentally close a tab, then you can say goodbye because it doesn’t save any of your progress.

It also does not offer the same amount of features, rather when it gives you suggestions they’re very general as opposed to specifics, no one-click corrections, and is more catered towards sites like WordPress and Medium.

4. Ginger Software

Though Ginger Software’s marketing and sales strategy seems top notch, the software itself doesn’t even come up to par with Grammarly. However, like Grammarly it does offer a free Chrome extension with the option of paid premium plans. 

When you open their site, they give you the option of copying and pasting up to 300 characters (including spaces) for a quick grammar check.

5. LanguageTool

While Language Tool offers plenty of extensions and add-ons, and you can try it for free online but its AI, just like the rest of the proofreading softwares is not as smart as Grammarly’s. The online can be useful though it doesn’t offer one-click corrections and when undoing an action, you’ll have to go through your entire paper again.

6. Slick Write

Slick Write isn’t too bad at finding any errors or mistakes, but it sure isn’t a great tool for actually fixing the problem. In a sense, this can be seen as a more advanced option for a proofreading software because when asking for an explanation, it’ll be too complicated to understand unless you’re already knowledgeable in grammar and sentence structures - which isn’t particularly useful when you’re trying to edit a paper.

7. WhiteSmoke

Right off the bat, White Smoke is a paid software that doesn’t give you a free or trial version of the app. To see their plans you’d sign up for their email list and that’s when you’ll get an overview of their prices. Not to mention, the ‘demo video’ doesn’t really show anything to do with what the app actually has to offer and how it works. So, this one isn’t really an ideal choice unless you’re willing to risk it with some actual money spending.


8. PaperRater

PaperRater is supposedly a tool to help students with their papers - or at least that’s what they tell you. It doesn’t really do anything for you, and when you click on ‘advanced analysis’, expecting a detailed report, it’ll take you to - you guessed it: Grammarly.

BONUS: Google Docs

More recently, Google Docs has come to light with a new, already installed proofreader. It does your basic spell check as well as grammar checks, ensuring that you make sense and aren’t too wordy. Though it doesn’t necessarily have the same features as Grammarly, no explanations just simple suggestions in style, grammar and spelling, but for a quick simple edit it works well.

Simply go through your ‘Tools’ tab and click on it to activate this new tool!

CONCLUSION

There are plenty of editing softwares out there and though imperfect, Grammarly is the best one by far, and its AI is only continuing to learn from here on out which means it can only get better from here. However, if your goal is to write a book and become an author, you should still find a human editor since proofreading softwares only do the more simple, technical things.

Now that you’re all set, all that’s left to do is to get started (and don’t forget to download a proofreading software along for the ride, it’ll just make things easier for you as you type along)! That being said, what editing software will you be using? And how did it go? Let us know!

Once you’re done writing your book, think about looking into different formats and platforms to be able to sell it! One way that’s been rapidly growing are audiobooks.

Written by Tina Phong

If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Listen to some of our audiobook samples here to get started.

How Authors Make Money

Knowing where to start when it comes to publishing a book and making money as an author can be difficult. It can be hard to decide whether to go with traditional, self, or hybrid publishing methods. 

If this sounds like you, keep reading. I’ll be breaking everything you need to know about making money as an author below. 

TRADITIONAL

A blog from Reedsy describes traditional publishing as working with a third-party publisher to publish your book. If you decide to go with the traditional route, your publisher will take care of the cover design, marketing, editing, etc. When the book is released, the publisher will then pay you, the author, a small percentage of the royalties. 

Traditional publishing means that you will give up full ownership of your book, but you don’t have to worry about paying for extra expenses out of your own pocket. 

Literary Agents

Before we get into making money with traditional publishing, it’s important to understand the role of an agent in getting money for your work.

Agents represent authors and help them secure deals with publishing companies. When the author makes money from their book, their agent also receives a commission. 



Book Advancement

A Book advance is an amount of money that a publisher offers an author in exchange for the publishing rights to their work. An author keeps the advance no matter how many copies of their book may or may not sell. 

The terms of the publishing contracts must be fulfilled for authors to receive their advance.



Authors typically receive pieces of their advancements after things such as signing, delivery and acceptance of the final manuscripts, hardcover publication, and softcover publication, are complete. 

Advances are paid to the author's agent, the agent takes their portion of their commission, and then the rest is paid to the author.

Royalties

Royalties are revenue from book sales. Royalties are either based on the list price of the book or the net amount received from the publisher.

Let's break that down:

List price royalties are 10% of whatever the list price of the book is. If a hardcover book is listed at $20.00 then the royalty will always be $2.00, no matter how much the book is purchased for. 

The net amount received is when the royalty is based on the amount of money the publisher receives from the retailer for the copy sold. This still may not relate to the actual price the book is purchased for. It’s usually based on whatever split the publisher has agreed upon with the retailer. For example, if the publisher receives 30% of the list price for every copy sold by the retailer, the net amount received is based on the publisher’s 30%.

First royalties pay off the advance. If the author is given a $20,000 advancement, their book has to earn more than $20,000 in royalties for the author to start receiving them.

Subrights Through a Publisher

Royalties are put in place when the publisher publishes an author’s work themselves. If the publisher decides to sell the rights to a third party to publish, subrights are put into place. 

A subright is the right to publish the material in a different format than the original work. For example, adapting a book to become a movie. 

When a subright deal is made, the author will still receive royalties from it. 

Subrights include things like:

• Television

• Movies

• Foreign Publication/Translation

• Merchandise

Subrights Retained by the Author

Agents will try to hold onto as many rights as possible so the author does not have to split the proceeds with a publishing company. This also allows the author to sell subrights directly to third parties on their behalf. After the agent receives their commission, the author will receive the rest of the money. 

SELF-PUBLISHING

Self-publishing is when you, the author, take on all the responsibilities of publishing a book yourself. Well you won’t have the industry connections that come with working with a publisher, you will have complete control over what happens with your book, and therefore, keep a larger percentage of the money from your book sales. 

There are two ways to self-publish: Direct distribution and self-publishing via a distributor. Let’s break those down. 

Self-Publishing Direct Distribution

Self-published receive a percentage of every book sold when they go directly to the platforms that publish their books. Each platform has a different percentage that the author receives. You can find an extensive list here.

Here are some examples:

• Barnes and Noble Press

  • Paperback: 55% of sales

  • Ebook: 40-65% of sales

• Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing

  • Paperback: 60% of sales

  • Ebook: 35-70% of sales

Self Publishing via a Distributor

Working with distributors will make it easier for an author to get their work in places that would be difficult for them by themselves.

Check out this video to learn more about traditional versus self-publishing.

HYBRID PUBLISHING

Hybrid publishing is a term to cover all new models of publishing that are joining the industry. Hybrid publishing can include elements from both traditional and self-publishing. You can read more about it here.

Authors make money from hybrid publishing with royalties.

Written By: Leah Gerber

CONCLUSION

Are you ready to start making money as an author? Which method sounds more appealing to you, traditional, self, or hybrid publishing? Let us know in the comments below. 

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If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Listen to some of our audiobook samples here to get started.

8 Tips for Creating a Professional Author Page on Amazon Author Central

Are you an author searching for an effective way to boost your book sales? Look no further than the Author Page feature on Amazon Author Central. Your Author page is the perfect place to tell readers more about you, share book related content, prove your legitimacy as an author, and sell your books. With these 8 easy tips you’ll be on your way to creating an impactful Author Page on Amazon Author Central.

By the time you’re done reading this article, your Author Page will have:

• An effective bio

• An author photo

• Blog posts and videos

• A clean shareable URL

• All your books claimed

• Editorial Reviews

• International accounts

Getting Started

Before we dive into the tips, it’s important to understand what Amazon Author Central is and How an Author Page works. An article from feedvisor explains that an Author Page on Amazon Author central allows any published author to sell books that have an ISBN. it is free to use and a very successful marketing tool. 

As a new author using Amazon Author Central, you’ll want to follow these step-by-step instructions for creating an account.

1. Visit Amazon Author

2. Click join for free

3. Enter your email address and password

4. Verify your email

With 4 easy steps you’ll be on you way to creating an effective Author Page. Once your account is created, you can search for your books using their ISBNs, and then begin creating your Author Page. 

Tip 1: Create an Effective Bio

Your author bio is the first place readers will go to learn more about you. It should be a way for readers to connect you to your books. 

Things to include in your author bio:

• Interesting facts about you

• Relevant awards

• Hobbies

• Your social media handles

• Your Website

Below is an example of an effective bio from author Rodney Curtis. He includes details about his personal life and career, as well as his website. 

Tip 2: Include an Author Photo

Adding a photo of yourself to your Author page is a great way to personalize your page. This allows readers to put a face to a name and feel more connected to you and your work.

Your photo should be in high definition, colour, and include your whole face. Make sure it is well lit so readers can tell exactly what you look like. 

You can include up to 8 photos on your Author page so don’t be afraid to attach a relevant photo of yourself to different books.

Tip 3: Share Blog Posts and Videos

Adding blog posts and videos are a great way to keep your readers up to date with news surrounding you or your books. 

You can add a blog post by:

1. Selecting add blog from the blogs section of your Author Page.

2. Add the RSS address for your blog. Make sure it’s the RSS and not the URL

3. View your blog under the Author Updates section of your Author Page

You can add a video by:

1. Selecting add video from the videos section of your Author Page

2. Select browse and choose the video you would like to upload

3. When the video is done uploading, you will have to select approve

The videos you upload to your page can include things like book trailers, readings, and any other content related to your books. 

Some things to keep in mind:

• Videos need to be mov, mpg, avi, flv, or wmv format

• Videos need to be smaller than 500MB

• Videos need to be less than 10 minutes long

Tip 4: Customize Your Shareable URL

Your shareable URL should look clean and professional. People will be less interested in your author page if the URL is filled with a bunch of random letters and numbers. 

Changing your URL is simple. All you have to do is select Amazon Page URL, and then edit it so it is clean and simple. Sometimes the URL you choose is already in use so be prepared to have a couple different variations if your first choice is unavailable.

Tip 5: Claim More Books

When you first set up your Author Page, you’ll have already claimed your books. If you’ve written books under a different pen name or as a collaboration with other authors, you can also claim those! 

Here’s how to claim more books

1. Select Add More Books under the Books tab of your Author Page

2. Search for your other titles

3. When you find them, select this is my book

4. A dialogue box will appear where you then select this is my pen name

Once you complete these sets you will have a new Author Page created for that pen name. It will all be linked with the same Amazon Author Central account, and you can have up to 3 pen names for each Author Central account. 

Adding books that you collaborated on is also very easy. All you have to do is click add more books and select your name as author.

Tip 6: Add Editorial Reviews

Do your books have lots of glowing reviews? You can add them right to your Author Page and show them off to your followers

Here’s how to add reviews

1. Select the books tab

2. Choose the book you would like to attach a review to

3. Select add and then follow the formatting guidelines to add your review

4. Preview and then save changes

Kindle copies of your books can have an unlimited number of reviews and physical copies are limited to five reviews, so make sure you are choosing reviews from reliable critics. 

Tip 7: Update Your International Accounts

Amazon Author Central is available in multiple countries, so make sure you set up Author Pages in other countries where you have books published. 

If you have an Author Page set up on Amazon Author Central in a country that speaks another language, it’s a good idea to translate your page to that language. Make sure to hire an actual translator and don’t use google translate.

Try utilizing LinkedIn, one of the largest professional networking sites in the world. With its expansive database of professionals from all industries and backgrounds, you have access to a wide range of potential translators who might be able to help you out with your project. Once you’ve identified a few potential candidates, use an email finder tool to quickly look up their contact information so you can reach out and discuss the project.

Tip 8: Keep Your Author Page Updated

The most important, and probably the most difficult thing to do is keep your Author Page updated. Add new books, update your bio and photos, and remove anything that becomes irrelevant, you don’t want viewers to get caught up in the unimportant things. You should be updating your Author Page at least once a month to keep content fresh and readers engaged.

Final Outcome

After putting all these tips into play on your author page, you should have the following:

1. A detailed and effective bio

2. All your published books listed, including ones you have collaborated on

3. Photo and video related content

4. A linked blog that is updated regularly   

If you’re still feeling a bit lost, check out this short video on setting up your Amazon Author Page.

Written By: Leah Gerber

Conclusion

An Amazon Author page is an effective tool for any author to use and it’s easy to set up as well! You’ll be able to grow your following on your Amazon Author page in no time with these tips. 

Are you an author with an already established author page? Let us know in the comments what you did to create a developed Author Page!

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If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Listen to some of our audiobook samples here to get started.