Six handy (and free!) mobile apps for editors

By Deepi Harish

No matter what type of mobile device you have, there is a virtual app store you can get lost in: Windows Marketplace, Blackberry App World, Android Marketplace, and Google Play, to name a few; and, of course, the mother of them all, the Apple App Store. With over one million apps in the Apple App Store alone, you may be wondering how many might have something to offer us bootstrapped writers, bloggers, and editors. The answer is many!

Below are some great mobile tools that content creators and editors can benefit from. And best of all, they’re free.

LooseStitch (iPhone, or any desktop) is a collaborative text editing tool. It allows users to stitch together ideas and outlines from anything like to-do lists or site maps. How it works: 1) Create your outline, 2) Collaborate with friends and get feedback, and 3) Export your work onto your blog. Anyone who loves to use outlines for stories or novels can really get into LooseStitch.

File Explorer (Android) is designed to let you quickly and easily manage all content on your phone or tablet. A file manager provides a convenient way for writers to create, edit, rename, copy, delete, and modify files and folders. However, with File Explorer you can do all that and manage a file with optional media, networking, cloud (accessing your files remotely, from anywhere, the way Dropbox and Google Drive do), and root capabilities (to overcome limitations that a phone carrier puts on some devices—similar to “jailbreaking” a phone, but in a legal way). You can even open up new windows that can be viewed in split screen for easy file comparison.

Poetreat (iPhone) is for all you poets out there. This app is a poetry editor that suggest rhymes as you write. If you’re writing a haiku, Poetreat also comes with a syllable count for each line. Once you are ready, you can easily share your poems on Twitter and Facebook.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (iPhone, iPad, Android) is for writers and editors who care deeply about using the appropriate words at all times. Of course, a dictionary app is an essential part of any digitally savvy writer’s toolkit. The free version contains the complete Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, plus synonyms, antonyms, and more.

Wattpad (Android, iPhone) consistently receives high ratings and has been featured in publications like The New York Times and MacWorld. Thousands of free ebooks and stories are available, including the best of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mystery, romance, classics, poetry, and more. You can chat and comment about your top reads and get story updates directly from authors like Margaret Atwood. Wattpad also functions as a digital writing app so that you can instantly e-publish the books you write.

Bonzoi (Android, iPhone) is a self-publishing tool that allows multi-author collaboration in the cloud, while streamlining writing, reading, and publishing. You can create and customize digitally interactive textbooks and novels. The best part is Bonzoi allows multiple authors to work together and edit each other’s works.

Deepi Harish is a seasoned digital marketing communications professional who has helped promote over 50 startups. She is also a freelance writer and editor. 

This article was copy edited by Joe Cotterchio.