So I was just having myself a look around the Internet today and I came across some cool free stuff for writers. Then I decided to look around and see what else I could find. Have a look…
- Free 2008 Writers E-Calendar – Personally, I prefer my giant wall calendar so everything is right in front of me. But you might appreciate this free e-calendar.
- Free Screen Writing Class – In light of recent events, this might be a handy thing to know.
- Norton Anti Virus 2008 - Free After Rebate.
- A free skin for your HP Laptop. Hey it’s free. I’m just listing them.
- Vista Print – Offers free business cards, desk calendars and more. You only pay for shipping.
- Free ebooks from Fictionwise.
- Free creative writing prompts at Once Written.
- Free Publishing Basics and Publishing Basics for Children’s Books ebooks.
- Here’s a free bumper sticker from Fear of Writing.
- Open Office – A free alternative to Microsoft Office. Totally compatible. I know lots of writers who use the free Open Office versions of Word & Excel.
Hope there’s something there you find useful.
- Deb
Thanks! I’ll be sure to publish the link for the creative writing prompts on my blog for local writers.
Yea! I got some free business cards! I’m going to drop them around downtown Nashville to try to recruit some business clients!! Thanks Deb, and happy new year!!
Cool list of freebies for us. Although, I must warn people against using Norton Antivirus–even if it is free. It is the slowest program I’ve ever had the displeasure to use.
Free business cards! I am totally in – thanks for the links, Deb
I will agree with Matt on the Norton. It’s slow and a v. poorly conceived program. I spring the extra money for Eset’s NOD.
For free computer maintenance, google “Spybot S&D” and “Ad-aware” – they’re awesome programs and a great addition to existing virus protection!
Nice list. I use Open office for few years now and I’m really happy with it. In some feature it’s even better than MSoffice, and in some is not but it’s free…
@RLD – I use Spybot and Ad Aware and agree they’re a great addition. I also use a great free program called “Crap Cleaner” which will clean all the Internet nasties from your hard drive.
Great list! I blogged about this three days ago and we share Julie Hoods calendar – the rest of the stuff on your list beats out mine, though! LOL This will be a regular Tuesday “thing” in my blog, so maybe I’ll be able to harvest up some other goodies, too.
I used Open Office for awhile. You do have to convert your files to Word format, I couldn’t find any employers who had Open. It’s an extra step, but still manageable.
I finally stopped using it only because it required me to update the program for the latest version. That download wound up hanging and that left me in limbo because it wouldn’t let me install it again and wouldn’t run the uninstall so that I could reinstall it. I finally handed my computer over to the pros – had them take it off and went back to Word.
I love OpenOffice–I hear Ann’s point about having to convert to Word for clients, but it’s well worth it to me. It’s visually cleaner to me than Word. (no little light bulb guy popping up and asking me if I need help..did I ask for help??)
Thanks for the list. I actually am going to use the calendar. Going to put in in my “notes” notebook and use it to plan out an editorial calendar.
As for anti-virus, the best Windows one out there is AVG from Grisoft. Just go to http://www.grisoft.com/free and download it. Very small footprint, easy to use, and doesn’t slow down the machine like a lot of expensive products do.
From a writing forum that I belong to, I’ve heard tale that some of the Norton 2008 products are better about the resource hogging than they have been previously.
I’ve used AVG ever since it was in Consumer Reports that it is one of the best products out there. It was #3 on the list I believe – Panda was #1 but isn’t cheap. What made me switch is that I was using McAfee at the time – came free with the computer and AVG rated better than McAfee, so I dumped them. Since then, McAfee has been a pain in the butt. For two years running, they’ve renewed my subscription even though I’d cancelled the account. So I have to spend time on the phone getting them to refund the charge. I’m waiting to see if the same thing happens this March.
I used Open Office for a while when I first started freelancing, and I’ve recommended Open Office more than once. For anyone just starting out who can’t afford to make a full Microsoft Office investment, it’s a really good option in my opinion.
You can also try http://www.dcp-print.com for free business cards. I’ve checked few sites offering this promotion and found this one to offer the best design options.