The Master List: Daily Use Items for Freelance Writer Kaleigh Moore

These are all of the things I use in my freelance writing business (and have since 2013!) I hope you’ll find this list helpful and discover resources, tools, and other things that’ll make your day-to-day life, well, better.

Home office Other items

A solid desk chair. I went with the Herman Miller Aeron, and while it’s quite expensive, it’s a worthy investment: I spend hours every day sitting here. My back pain caused by crappy chairs of the past is long gone.
An iMac with a large monitor. I write using split screens, so this big monitor makes that super easy. Not cheap, but this is the machine that runs my freelance writing business, so…WORTH IT. Plus the operating system is so easy to use!

Other items

These notebooks (stenos forever)
This whiteboard (my task management system that hangs on the wall in my home office)
This lamp (has different color and intensity settings, which is awesome)
This microphone (for podcast interviews)
This wireless printer (it’s black and white ink, but gets the job done)

Writing Tools

Grammarly: Great for catching errors and suggesting improvements that make your writing stronger and more clear. Use the browser extension!

Google Docs: Seems kinda duh, but I use Google Docs--the Google suite, really--on a daily basis. From planning to writing, most of my content lives here. It’s free and cloud-based, which is all I could ever ask for. For those of you who want an outlining tool that’s a bit more robust, I’d recommend Airstory.

Em dash shortcut: If you write in Google Docs and lean on em dashes like I do, this is a godsend.

Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t reference Verve Coffee, which fuels my writing each day. Seabright is my favorite blend.

Freelancing Tools

Crowdcast: Easy to use for live video trainings and it’s affordable. Plus, it’s what most freelancers I work with also use for their live demos/webinars.

Squarespace: My website runs through a Squarespace, and was built out by my business partner/husband/bff. It’s super simple to use and update, the hosting is very reasonable, and it’s completely customizable.

ConvertKit: For years my newsletter ran through Mailchimp, but I migrated over to ConvertKit because it was better suited to my needs.

Fathom Analytics: Great analytics without the creepy data collection.

Wave: I use Wave for all of my invoicing and electronic payment processing. It’s free (aside from the standard payment processing fees), it allows me to brand my invoices, and it helps me track my income with a clean, organized dashboard. I recently signed up for their bookkeeping service and am LOVING it.

Slack: Another freebie, but great for going back and forth with content teams and fellow freelancers (to fight the lonely feels.) Bonus: It keeps your email inbox a whole lot cleaner.

Helpful books on writing

Write Better Right Now: 10 easy lessons and how-tos on different types of writing (by me!) Consider this your writing crash course to get you up to speed on a variety of topics in a short amount of time.
On Writing Well: A foundational book for anyone interested in being a better writer.
Bird by Bird: More for fiction writing, but good writing lessons nonetheless.
10 Rules of Writing: Super basic; if you’re a beginner, start here.
On Writing: A must-read for anyone who writes. I’d call this “required reading.”
Elements of Style: More technical; if you’re a novice, start here.

Helpful blog posts on writing (free!)

Helpful blog posts on freelancing (free!)

Other Freelance Writing Resources

Freelance Writer Template Bundle: 5 templates you can use to improve your freelance writing business right away

I believe in transparency, so I want to disclose that some of the included products and links mentioned here are affiliate-based. This allows me to earn a few cents (maybe a little more sometimes) if you decide to purchase something. Keep in mind, though, that I only recommend items I personally stand behind and actually use on a day-to-day basis.