What is the best software a writer can use to type up a manuscript?

Question

If you can give me the year as well, like Windows 98, etc. I need something that will help me catch grammatical errors especially.

Answer 1

First, there's no perfect software out there and you'll have to revise and proofread. Spell check is a particular problem since it will knot catch words used incorrectly and you could have all kinds of weird substitutions you wood catch if you took the time to proofread.

(check the above paragraph for an example)

There are two word processing software programs that really fill the need. Microsoft WORD (not Works) is the industry standard. I hate it, but nearly everyone has it on their machines so it's really the best choice.

Corell WordPerfect is far more flexible and easier for an advanced writer to use. I still use it for my own work knowing that I will have to convert the files before sending them.

Oh, the best reference book for grammar is "The Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. The best writing reference books you'll find is the Fiction Writing Series from Writers' Digest Books. You might pay extra attention to Dialogue, Characters & Viewpoint, and Revision.

The easiest trick for checking your grammar is to read your work out loud. You can "hear" where every period and comma should go and anything that is awkward will be painfully clear.

Don't make the mistake of paying someone to edit your work. Although you can get a lot of benefit by paying a published writer to critique your first ten pages (usually around $50), you get almost no benefit for paying someone to edit your entire manuscript for $500 or more. They don't do a good job and you don't learn how to do it yourself. Quite a few of them are scams, too.

Answer 2

Word is very good, any version will do.

Although the best way to catch grammatical errors is to have someone else read it, as Word and other programs will point out errors that aren't necessarily wrong in the given context, especially speech, which should be more natural rather than formal.

Answer 3

Microsoft Word is the best. I wouldn't recommend WordPerfect as I know many people who have had conversion problems with it.