Linux for writers
This is interesting: a version of the Linux operating system specifically for writers. Nothing needs to be installed — you can run it off of a CD. It comes with a word processing/typesetting application that includes “templates for novels, screenplays, articles, and letters.”
The main drawback for many writers is that the editing tool (called LyX) can’t output Word or even RTF files, which are the formats generally prefered by publishers. LyX, however, can create PDFs.
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LyX actually exports text, HTML, PostScript, LaTeX, and PDF. Publishers, if they wish to make money from what you have written, will even accept just your words, printed on paper. Redmond is neither Hollywood nor NYC, as any real writer knows.