The honest paragraph is the one readers screenshot.

Reviews that say who should skip the thing, not only who should buy it.

Reviews written after a month of daily use

Everything here sat on my desk for thirty days before I wrote a word about it. The things that did not last that long got the shortest reviews.

A newsletter about the business of writing

One issue every Tuesday on rates, contracts, and the tools I use to get paid. Read by 9,400 working writers.

One email a week. The tools I kept and the ones I returned.

No sponsor slots, no roundup filler. Unsubscribe from the footer of every issue.

Write reviews people act on

A six-week course on testing products, keeping notes, and writing a verdict you would defend in the comments.

  • Twelve lessons, none longer than twenty minutes
  • The testing log and scoring sheet I use for every review
  • Two rounds of written feedback on a review of your own

A new group starts on the first Monday of each month. Full refund within 14 days.

Search eleven years of reviews

More than 600 reviews and buying guides. Search by product, by brand, or by the problem you are trying to solve.

Tools tested for months, not for an afternoon.

Every recommendation here was paid for out of my own pocket and used every working day before it got written up.

Notes on writing, tools, and the business of publishing.

Start with the most read essay

Notes on the tools of the writing trade

Keyboards, editors, newsletter platforms, and the habits around them. Pick a topic to see everything I have written on it, newest first.

Browse by topic

Tools I pay for

The software behind this site, what each one costs a year, and what I would cancel first.