Resources for authors

This is a page with a list of links to various resources for authors that I personally find useful. Books, articles, websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, and anything else I’ve enjoyed or used over the years to help me in my writing career. I hope that anyone reading this page will find these resources just as useful as I do.

I will update this page as I think of or discover new useful resources for writers.

Books:

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain (a useful and practical guide to writing the kind of interesting fiction readers will want to read)

How to Write Pulp Fiction by James Scott Bell (another useful and practical guide on writing interesting fiction, although all of James Scott Bell’s writing books are well worth the time to read)

Write to Market: Deliver a Book That Sells by Chris Fox (a good guide about how to find and write to a market that is big enough to support you financially)

Dear Writer, You Need to Quit by Becca Syme (possibly the most important book on this list because Becca Syme helps you understand why different things work for different writers)

Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque (awesome book on how to use newsletters to market your books to readers and build a fanbase)

The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer’s Journey by Joanna Penn (good book on how to deal with common author mindset issues such as self-doubt, although like James Scott Bell, all of Joanna Penn’s writing books are pretty good)

Writing in Overdrive: Write Faster, Write Freely, Write Brilliantly by Jim Denny  (excellent book on writing quickly)

Write Like a Boss: From a Whisper to a Roar by Honoree Corder & B. Hale (good book on going from a hobbyist to a professional mindset)

The Copyright Handbook by Nolo Press (a must-read book for all authors if you want a basic understanding copyright law, especially in the U.S.)

Writing Faster FTW by L.A. Witt & Lauren Gallagher

ADVANTAGE: Harnessing Cumulative Advantage in the Winner Takes All Publishing Market by Joe Solari (amazing book that teaches a subject you don’t hear about too often in most how-to books on writing and publishing, possibly just as important as the Becca Syme book. Also check out his YouTube channel The Business of Writing below)

Writing and Selling Your Novel by Jack M. Bickham (a student of Dwight V. Swain above. Lots of good craft advice, but writer beware that his business advice is somewhat out of date due to coming out before self-publishing took off)

YouTube/podcast:

Six Figure Authors (from the same people who brought you the now-defunct Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast. Great interviews with successful authors with tons of great tips)

Wordslinger Podcast (lots of interesting interviews with authors and other people from the publishing industry. Always worth a listen)

The QuitCast/Becca Syme (podcast building on the ideas in Becca Syme’s book, which you can find above)

Self Publishing Formula (good podcast with some interesting guests)

The Business of Writing (probably the single best business-focused writing channel/podcast on YouTube. Tons of great videos with rock-solid advice for looking at your publishing/writing as a business. Joe Solari knows what he’s talking about)

Wish I’d Known Then Podcast (another fun podcast with a unique take where the interviews, Sara Rosett and Jami Albright, ask their guests what they’d wish they’d known when they first started)

Behind the Mask (superhero-oriented podcast where author Franklin Kendrick interviews various superhero indie authors, including yours truly. Interesting guests and interviews, even if you are just a superhero fan and not a writer yourself)

The Pulp Writer Show (podcast hosted by author Jonathan Moeller. Short episodes that are sweet and to the point with plenty of good advice and tips for indie authors)

Websites:

The Passive Voice (good news site for indie/self-publishing news and publishing news in general)

Monster Hunter Nation (personal blog of SFF author Larry Correia. Has a lot of great articles on writing, plus his fiskings are rather entertaining)

#Audiblegate (related to the Fair Deals FB group below and run by the same people)

Software:

Jutoh (great ebook formatting software)

Scrivener (great for writing books)

LibreOffice (not as good as Scrivener, but a good free alternative to most word processing programs)

eSpeak (good free text-to-speech software. Extremely simple, but great for proofing your books by having your computer read them aloud)

Facebook groups: 

Wide for the Win (THE Facebook group for any author who wants to learn best practices for going wide, rather than being exclusive to Amazon in KU)

Patty’s Dragons (good group for SFF authors, wide and exclusive, who want to discuss promotion and promotional techniques and the writing biz in general)

20Booksto50K (huge but interesting group for indie authors in general, but especially helpful if you’re just starting out)

Six Figure Authors (the companion Facebook group to the podcast by Lindsay Buroker, Jo Lallo, and Andrea Pearson)

SPF Community and SPF Mastery (both groups related to Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing Formula. Think you need to buy his course first before you can join, but good groups with a heavy emphasis on advertising, especially pay per click ads like FB and Amazon ads)

Fair Deal for Rights Holders & Narrators (good group discussing some of the current problems with publishing audiobooks with ACX, with special emphasis on their returns policy, though there’s some good advice on marketing audiobooks, too.)

Tools:

BookFunnel (the gold standard for delivering ebooks and even audiobook files to readers, along with tons of other cool features. A must-have for any indie author serious about their business)

ScribeCount (hands down the best multi-platform sales tracker on the market. NOTE: I am a ScribeCount affiliate and this is my affiliate link. You will not be charged any extra money for signing up through this link, although I will earn a commission)

BookBrush (useful tool for putting together ad images for Facebook ads, BookBub ads, etc.)

Organizations:

Novelists, Inc. (AKA NINC. The only writer’s organization I am a member of. Difficult to qualify for, but if you do, it’s well worth for the awesome conference in Florida every year)

Equipment:

Bluetooth Keyboard (Decent foldable bluetooth keyboard. Very compact and have had no issue with connecting or keys being input correctly. Useful for travel)

KitchenClouds Standing Mat (Very comfortable for long periods standing at the desk. Makes a good footrest also)

Siducal Mobile Standing Desk (Great for both sitting and standing. Very sturdy)

Homall Ergonomic Gaming/Office Chair (Very comfortable and ergodynamic)

Copper Compression Arthritis Gloves (Highly recommended if you suffer from finger pain)

NexiGo N930AF Web Cam (Easy to use and high quality picture)