Writing & Publishing
Curated Resource List for Fiction Authors
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Articles & Blogs
"Designing Thriller and Mystery Twists That Work", Samantha Skal via janefriedman.com.
"How To Write A Suspense Novel", Joslyn Chase, The Write Practice.
"Stop chasing original ideas—here's what actually makes you creative", Lofi Cinema, YouTube. "It's not the literal story. It's your experience, disguised as a story."
"Perform your own Developmental Edit: A Step-by-Step Guide", Fictionary's Polly Watt, via writtenwordmedia.com.
"How to Structure Your Entire Series", Fictionary Co, Writers & Artists.
"Five Ways to Get Your Protagonist to Realize They're the Problem", Marissa Graff, Writers Helping Writers.
"Commercial and Literary Fiction: What's the difference?", Spread the Word.
"Colin Walsh discusses Kala with Juliet Grame", Barnes & Noble via YouTube; a fascinating insight into writer Colin Walsh's creative process.
"What is the Setting of a Story: Tips and Examples", Melanie Conklin, The Novelry.
Helping Writers Become Authors, K.M. Weiland - K.M. has an extensive catalogue of useful writing and editing resources, with particular in-depth exploration of story structure, characters and character arcs.
Writer Beware - Blog highlighting the latest author and book industry scams and pitfalls; also offers writing advice and industry news.
Writing & Editing Tools
ProWritingAid - Comprehensive writing and editing software; works best when used for the tasks you need help with most, otherwise it can become overwhelming, e.g. I find it most useful for its repetition and echoes tools, which highlight where I've used the same words or phrases in close proximity. (Affiliate link)
Scrivener - Novel and book writing software; I've found Scrivener to be invaluable when writing my own novels, particularly in the brainstorming, planning and first draft stages where I can easily view the book's structure in its entirety, and shift chapters or scenes around accordingly. (Affiliate link)
Recommended Books
Note: The following contain affiliate links, but are books I've purchased and found useful or inspiring myself, and trust might be beneficial to you too.
Save The Cat! Writes A Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need, Jessica Brody; useful for story structure and planning.
The Art of Fiction, David Lodge
The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot, Charles Baxter
The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin
The Healthy Writer: Reduce Your Pain, Improve Your Health, and Build a Writing Career for the Long-Term, Joanna Penn & Dr Euan Lawson
The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life, Noah Lukeman
The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human, and How To Tell Them Better, Will Storr; if you buy only one book on fiction writing, make it this one; stories are nothing without great characters to embody them, and Will Storr's book is an eye-opener on what makes people tick and how we can transfer that understanding to our fictional characters and stories.
The Successful Author Mindset: A Handbook for Surviving the Writer's Journey, Joanna Penn
Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work, Steven Pressfield
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Articles, Experts & Organizations
"The Complete Guide to Query Letters", Jane Friedman - A clear, comprehensive guide to preparing your query letter, from a trusted industry source.
"How to Write a Synopsis Agents and Publishers Will Love", Dave Chesson, Kindlepreneur - Key components of a synopsis, and what to leave out.
"Creating An Author Brand When You Write Multiple Genres", June Stevens Westerfield, Writers in the Storm blog.
"6 Book Marketing Strategies for Standalone Books that Boost Sales", Diana Urban, BookBub.
"Pinterest Is My Best-Kept Author Marketing Secret", Melissa Bourbon, via janefriedman.com - a breath-of-fresh-air article if you're looking for an alternative to the usual social media merry-go-round.
What Type of Deal is That?, Society of Authors - Link to download a PDF explaining the pros and cons of five publishing approaches, to help you decide which might be best for you.
The Society of Authors - UK trade union for writers, illustrators and literary translators.
The Authors Guild - Professional organization supporting US writers and their rights.
Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society - UK organization advocating for authors' rightful payment wherever their work is used.
Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn - Joanna's podcast includes an extensive backlist, her indie publishing knowledge is second to none, and she's written a number of highly informative non-fiction books; every indie author's go-to source for guidance and the latest industry news.
Alliance of Independent Authors - Association for self-publishing authors; a hive of information, and on your side in all matters self-publishing; join the community and become a member for additional support.
Publishing & Design Tools
Print Cover Caluculator and Templates, Kindle Direct Publishing - Tool for calculating the spine size your print book will require.
Publisher Rocket - Invaluable tool for optimizing your book on Amazon; helps you research keywords, categories, and your competition. (Affiliate link)
Canva.com - For multiple design purposes, such as promotional materials and ad copy, website content, and even book covers.
The Cover Collection - Premium premade and custom book cover design (for multiple formats). Budget-friendly; professional designs based on current market trends; great customer service, fast turnaround.
Beetiful Book Covers - Wide array of genre-specific premade covers (for ebook, paperback, hardback, audiobook). Budget-friendly; simple, efficient process; exceptional customer service and super quick turnaround.
Book Brush - For book-specific design purposes, such as covers, mockups, promotional and ad copy.
BookFunnel - An essential book-delivery tool for authors; integrates with your email marketing provider when new subscribers download your reader magnet, and also with your online store when you sell direct.
Free Book Cover Mockups, by DIY Book Design - A handy mockup tool I've used for many years and still find useful.
Pixabay - Free royalty-free images, for your book cover, promotional materials or website.
Shutterstock - Paid, royalty-free, high-quality images.
Tinypng.com - Tool for compressing PNG and JPEG images; useful for ensuring images don't slow your website loading time.
Marketing & Promotion Resources
Written Word Media - A popular paid book promotion hub; includes email promotions, promo stacking (e.g. around a new book launch), and promos on Facebook and Amazon; takes the burden of organizing promos off your hands and delivers results.
BookDoggy - Reasonably priced paid book promotion for free and almost-free ebooks.
The Fussy Librarian - Reasonably priced paid book promotion for free and bargain ebooks.
bknights - Quick and easy book promotion for a fiver on Fiverr; perfect if you're just starting out, your budget is tight, or you're stacking multiple promotions together; trustworthy, been around for a while, and gives a nice little bump in downloads.
David Gaughran - A digital book marketing guru; David is generous with his knowledge - his website and blog is loaded with practical, useful information, and he has a number of excellent non-fiction books too.
"Recommended Book Promo Sites", Nicholas Erik; a trustworthy source, with top tips and useful resources.
K-lytics - Alex Newton analyzes Amazon's genre categories on an ongoing basis, and provides in-depth reports on the latest top categories, sub-categories, keywords, cover design, and competition. Detailed and useful information if you're researching which markets to target and how.
Recommended Books
Note: The following contain affiliate links, but are books I've purchased and found useful or inspiring myself, and trust might be beneficial to you too.
How to Market A Book, Joanna Penn
Let's Get Digital: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should, David Gaughran
Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert, Tammi L. Labrecque
Successful Self-Publishing: How to Self-Publish Your Book in Ebook and Print, Joanna Penn
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