5 Essential Online Tools for Writers and Publishers

Writing a newsletter or article can be very time consuming.

First, you have to create your content. Then you have to organize it. Fortunately, there are plenty of great tools online you can use and don't require you to clog your computer with more software.

Best of all, each of these tools is absolutely free to use.

Here are five tools you can use to help you with your newsletters and articles:

1. Newsletter Template
Formatting your newsletter will probably give you more headaches than anything else.

You want to make it easy for your readers to read, and you want it to look professional when you send it out.

This site solves the problem. All you have to do is select the parts you want to include in your newsletter, cut and paste the elements, and hit submit. It will completely format your newsletter for you, and you can even get some great tips and resources to help you with your newsletter.

http://www.ossweb.com/ez-ezine-template.html

2. Email Formatting Utility
Ever gotten a really great forward in your email you wanted to use, but it was too time consuming to take all of the >> out of it?

You don't have to do that anymore. This email formatting utility will strip any unecessary tags for you. You can also use it to format your newsletters and emails to the right character count.

http://www.formatit.com

3. Article Formatter
Ok, I admit it. Before I found this utility I used to cut and paste my articles into my word processing program just so I could get a word count.

Now you don't have to do that. Not only will this online tool give you a word count, it will also format your articles in an attractive format for submission.

This site is offered by the Freelance Writing Organization Int'l a large database of information for freelance writers.

http://www.fwointl.com/FWOFormatter.html

4. PDF Creator
This may seem like an odd tool to recommend to a publisher or writer, but wait a minute.

Have you ever wanted to give away copies of your articles and newsletters to site visitors? What about the $249 price tag for Adobe Acrobat?

Then you have to consider your readers computers. What if they have a MAC?

Unless you have a format that can be read by both MACs and PCs you'll exclude certain readers from downloading your documents.

Besides, giving away copies of your articles and newsletters is a form of viral marketing for your business.

This site allows you to convert documents to both HTML and PDF. http://www.gohtm.com/

This site converts text to PDF.
http://www.sanface.com/createpdf.html

5. Good Research Tools
There are tons of places you can do research on the Web. That's the beauty of the Web.

That's also what's horrible about the Web. There's just too much great material online to find it quickly and easy.

Ref Desk - http://www.refdesk.com - is like having your own book shelf at your fingertips.

You can do searches in the major search engines, find dictionaries, word of the day, quote of the day, and more. There are so many resources located here, you may even want to make this your start page.

Find Articles - http://www.findarticles.com - is a large collection of print articles archived on the Web. It boasts over 300 print publications in its database.

Writing and publishing can become a time consuming task. Not only will these tools save you time, they'll save you money too.

Jinger Jarrett is the author of "20 Websites Every Writer Needs". Get your free copy of her ebook by subscribing to her newsletter. Visit her web site: http://www.marketingforwriters.com

---

Top Stories - Google News Updated : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:07:14 GMT+00:00 Militant linked to attack on CIA killed - Los Angeles Times India Talkies Militant linked to attack on CIA killed Los Angeles Times The Al Qaeda operative was suspected of having a major role in the December suicide bombing at a US base in Afghanistan. He was killed last week in a drone strike in Pakistan, officials say. By David S. Cloud A senior Al Qaeda operative being hunted in ... CIA director says secret attacks in Pakistan have hobbled al-QaedaWashington Post Drone Strike Said to Kill a Leader of Al QaedaNew York Times US raid 'kills al-Qaeda plotter'Aljazeera.net BusinessWeek -BBC News -St. Louis Post-Dispatch all 431 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:35:13 GMT+00:00 Virginia AG Warns Pelosi: Don't Bypass Direct Vote - FOXNews Washington Post Virginia AG Warns Pelosi: Don't Bypass Direct Vote FOXNews AP Republican Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli says the so-called "deem and pass" rule would expose President Obama's signature domestic initiative to a constitutional challenge. RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's attorney general urged US House Speaker ... Va. set to challenge federal health-care reform legislationWashington Post Cuccinelli cites risk of health-care maneuverRichmond Times Dispatch McDonnell Overrides Cuccinelli On College NondiscriminationThe Breeze Charlottesville Daily Progress -UPI.com -Education Week News all 147 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:23:12 GMT+00:00 Reagan 'GE Theater' tapes restored, go to library - The Associated Press The Hindu Reagan 'GE Theater' tapes restored, go to library The Associated Press SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — All 208 episodes of television's "General Electric Theater," hosted by then-actor Ronald Reagan, were delivered to former first lady Nancy Reagan on Wednesday as part of the two-year celebration of the late president's 100th ... US Must Revive Exports, Optimism, GE's Immelt SaysBusinessWeek This just in: DMX sentenced to six months in jail; Ronald Reagan's "GE Theater ...Washington Post (blog) Defending the dream: 2000 activists gather in DellsSauk Prairie Eagle 89.3 KPCC (blog) -Ventura County Star all 294 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:18:55 GMT+00:00 Obama's 'Blueprint for Reform' in Education Goes to Congress - Voice of America BigNews.biz (press release) Obama's 'Blueprint for Reform' in Education Goes to Congress Voice of America Goal is for all students to be able to graduate from high school "ready for college and career" by 2020. But teachers unions and other groups object to parts of the plan. Photo: AP To download a copy of this story, right-click on the MP3 link at the ... No Child Left Behind rule changes raise questionsKnoxville News Sentinel Education reform: Can poor test scores get a teacher fired?Christian Science Monitor Array of Hurdles Awaits New Education AgendaNew York Times WIBW -Washington Post -CNN all 160 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:29:54 GMT+00:00 Would more women in Catholic Church reduce abuse? - CNN International Reuters Would more women in Catholic Church reduce abuse? CNN International (CNN) -- With the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church spreading, a leading religious scholar said Wednesday that a greater female presence in the church hierarchy would have helped prevent the crisis from worsening. ... Merkel demands "truth and clarity" on abuse scandalReuters Germany and Ireland call on Catholic church to hold child sex abuse inquiriesThe Guardian Pope bids to calm child abuse row in IrelandAFP The Associated Press -BBC News -Washington Post all 1,642 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:11:08 GMT+00:00 Another Aide to Paterson Steps Down - New York Times New York Daily News Another Aide to Paterson Steps Down New York Times ALBANY — The exodus of top aides from the Paterson administration continued on Wednesday when Marissa Shorenstein, the governor's press secretary and acting chief spokeswoman, resigned and, like other departing senior advisers, ... NY governor's press secretary quits amid ethics probesWashington Post NY gov.'s press aide quits in scandal; 4th to fallThe Associated Press Paterson's Press Secretary ResignsWENY-TV NBC New York -Philadelphia Metro -Newsday (subscription) all 588 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:11:34 GMT+00:00 Obama denies crisis with Israel - BBC News CBC.ca Obama denies crisis with Israel BBC News US President Barack Obama has denied there is a crisis in Washington's ties with Israel over its settlement plans, as a war of words continues. "Friends are going to disagree sometimes," he said, days after one of his top aides strongly attacked plans ... Problem with East Jerusalem? Not enough constructionHa'aretz Clinton to attend Mideast session amid crisisThe Associated Press Obama: No crisis in Israel-US tiesJerusalem Post New York Times -AFP -Xinhua all 6,997 news articles » Publ.Date : Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:44:32 GMT+00:00 RSS Parser Backlinks

Emerging Trends in Web Content and Web Publishing

Content is King but the web pages are still littered... Read More

Self Publishing At The Speed Of Thought

Publishing, both electronic and hard copy, from articles to books,... Read More

Does Your Subject Line Do the Job?

It's proven that the FROM field of your emails is... Read More

Review of Ezine Announcer

The most critical piece of software in my article submission... Read More

Publish Articles Online: Start With Your Own ezine

So, you want to publish articles online? It's really quite... Read More

Don?t Distract Readers from What They are Doing

I'm working on a report for a company that puts... Read More

You Can Publish an Ezine

Publishing an Ezine can be scary to the newbie. But... Read More

Your E-zine 13 - A Formatting Checklist

While sending out a text e-zine may seem like a... Read More

How To Make Money Online With A Newsletter

Many online internet marketers tell us "its all in the... Read More

Should You Upgrade Your E-zine From Text to HTML?

A few years ago, when I first started seeing HTML... Read More

Email Newsletter Software

Should I create my newsletter in a word processor or... Read More

10 Ways, How To Get Significant Exposure For Free

Ezine are one of the best source of information on... Read More

How to Build Your List ? 7 Powerful Strategies

If you have been an internet marketer, or had any... Read More

Location, Location, Location

The first thing you should consider in advertising is the... Read More

Email Newsletters: The Header

Managing Subscriber addresses: At the top of your email message... Read More

Why Arent You Writing Ezine Articles?

I'm amazed!Everywhere I go on the Web, people are desperately... Read More

American OverDrive - LCDs in LDCs

OverDrive - an e-commerce, software conversion and e-publishing applications leader... Read More

5 Ways to Make More Money With Your E-zine

Have you been publishing an e-mail newsletter for at least... Read More

The Quick Ways To Increase Your E-zines Subscriber Base

1. Give Incentives Give people an incentive to subscribe to... Read More

Ezines and Newsletter Software - How to Drive Traffic and Improve Your Business Cashflow

So how do smaller businesses use the internet to drive... Read More

Coping With Those Dreaded Ezine Publishing Deadlines

Time, of course, doesn't stand still and never did, and... Read More

PublishAmerica - Publishing Parasites

I have to admit to being readily impressed by company... Read More

What Makes An Ezine Worth Reading?

What makes your ezine hot stuff? With literally thousands of... Read More

Create An Ezine To Get People Back To Your Site

I know you've worked hard on your website. I know... Read More

Subscriber Incentives: Are They Effective?

Peter Boulder of Pepper and Rodgers Group tells a story... Read More