Indie Author Resources
When it comes to writing, publishing, and editing, it can be difficult to find resources that are trustworthy, and it can take hours to search around the web for something useful.
I'm here to make that easier for you! I have compiled a list of resources that I trust.
I will be updating these lists regularly, so please let me know if I should add anything or if there's a broken link. Some of the links are affiliate links, which help me with business costs. They do not affect my judgement of the resources; I only recommend resources I use myself!
Happy writing!
NAVIGATION: QUICK LINKS
Click the heading to go directly to that section.
Writing, Storytelling, Self-Editing
Conscious Language and Inclusivity
WRITING, STORYTELLING, SELF-EDITING
Brandon Sanderson (free): 2020 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU
Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses
Editing Fiction at Sentence Level by Louise Harnby
Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast by Savannah Gilbo
Kobo Writing Life Podcast by Kobo Writing Life
Louise Harnby Indie Author Resources
Mythcreants (Fantasy & Science Fiction for Storytellers)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Rabbit with a Red Pen: Writing Resources
Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft by Janice Hardy
Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing podcast by Mark Leslie Lefebvre
The Editing Podcast by Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carrier
The Magic of Fiction by Beth Hill
The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know by Shawn Coyne
The Tea Grannies podcast by Elise Volkman and Miraya Engelage
Unstoppable Authors podcast by Angeline Trevana, Holly Lyne, and Julia Scott
Wish I'd Known Then podcast by Jami Albright and Sara Roseett
Writing Excuses podcast by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Margaret Dunlap, Mahtab Narsimhan, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells
CONSCIOUS LANGUAGE AND INCLUSIVITIY
“Yes, You Should Be Afraid to Write ‘Diverse’ Characters” by Mo Black
Conscious Languate Toolkit for Writers by Rabbit with a Red Pen
Dot and Dash LLC Sensitivity Reading
Quiethouse Editing Diversity Readers
"Sensitivity/Authenticity Readings" by Melanie Magidow (includes a list of readers)
BOOK DESIGN
PUBLISHING
Jane Friedman’s Self-Publishing Resources
Jane Friedman’s “The Key Book Publishing Paths”
Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing Formula
Self-Publishing Advice Podcast
Sell More Books Show by Bryan Cohen and H. Claire Taylor
The Book Marketing Show by Dave Chesson
The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers by Joanna Penn
The Independent Publishing Magazine
The Rebel Author Podcast by Sacha Black
BOOK DISTRIBUTION
COVER DESIGNERS AND ILLUSTRATORS
BOOK BLURBS
Fiction Blurbs The Best Page Forward Way by Bryan Cohen and Phoebe J. Ravencraft
BUSINESS AND MARKETING TOOLS
Book Brush (social media graphics and mock-ups)
Buffer (social media scheduler)
Canva (social media graphics)
Hootsuite (social media scheduler)
Later (social media scheduler)
Louise Harnby’s free business tools booklets
Pablo (social media graphics)
Publisher Rocket (for researching categories and keywords)
ScribeCount (for tracking sales across platforms)
Trello (project management)
Toggl (time tracking)
Would you like more help with writing or publishing? Book a consultation session.