As freelance writers, we are left to our own devices to scrounge enough energy and motivation to dominate our projects. And over time, you may lose that spark to get ‘er done.
But, help is here, dear freelancers.
Thanks to technology, like apps for writers, we can manage several responsibilities, like:
- Time
- Workload
- Finances
- Note-taking
- Story development
While it’s hard to whittle down the list of iPad apps for writers, we scoured over the gamut and found a few gems that you can’t live without.
1. Toggl for time-keeping
Time is money, especially with freelance work. For time-keeping on hourly projects, consider downloading the Toggl app to track billable time. With it, you can create a project, set up tasks within the project, and simultaneously record time spent on each activity.
And that’s not it. With Toggl, you can download reports so your clients have visibility into the time you spent on each task, what days you worked, and glean insights into the effort you put forth on each project. And you can even track events from your calendar. All in all, with this app, you will never have to do manual time-keeping again!
2. Simplenote for remote note-taking
Inspiration strikes anywhere. And with the portability of an iPad, you can easily whip it out and take notes on a story idea or thought. Using Simplenote, a note-taking app, you can let the words fall out of your head and onto a screen.
Simplenote also allows you to sync to other platforms with cross-platform capabilities, so once you are in front of a computer again, you can see what you notated on your iPad in the app and get to writing!
3. QuickBooks Self-Employed for balancing your budget
For many right-brained freelancers, financial management doesn’t come easy or naturally. Yet, it’s an essential part of the job, because you have to get paid. So, download the QuickBooks Self-Employed app to balance your budget.
It’s excellent for freelancers because you can track your income and expenses, procure and send invoices, develop profit and loss sheets, and even estimate quarterly taxes. Accounting and bookkeeping is a typical time suck, but with this tool, these tasks are quick.
4. 1Password for password storing and sharing
How much time do you spend tracking down passwords each month? If you tally it up, for some, it’s a lot.
Enter 1Password. This iPad app allows you to share passwords with a client securely so you can give your clients peace of mind in knowing hackers out there aren’t stealing their (or your) information. Not only that, but 1Password also is an excellent password-storing tool for you, so you’re not wasting non-billable hours tracking down them.
5. Story Planner for Writers for story plotting
All the best content produced has one thing in common. It has a defined story structure. When once you relied on a pen and paper to outline stories, now there’s an upgrade… Story Planner for Writers. This iPad app allows you to organize your content by character, location, plot, scene, and more.
This app prompts you to fill in each appropriate story element so you can quickly build upon the basics to create an illustrious story.
6. Grammarly for effortless proofreading
Whether you’re penning a blog post for a client or crafting a fiction novel, Grammarly’s AI-powered iPad app can help you catch the errant typo. While Grammarly has an integrated AI writing tool that can rephrase content and handle basic commands like “make it friendlier,” its grammar and typo checker are where it shines.
Run all of your content and copy through this tool to keep it typo-free. And as always, take other suggestions, like sentence structure (and some grammar corrections) with a large grain of salt. Grammarly isn’t always right but it is a very handy tool for catching basic errors so clients and readers are never the wise.
These iPad apps will help writers master their craft
The iPad apps for writers listed above can aid you in so many angles of the freelance hustle. From developing story ideas to plotting your story and securely sharing information, take advantage of them to enhance and streamline your freelance efforts in 2025!
Want more practical advice? Read our Freelancing Tips post.
