Author Resources No One Talks About

Time Stamp: 0:00-4:39

This episode is going to be on the longer side, and so is the blog lol. There are so many resources and programs that new authors have to search high and low to find when starting out, so I figured I could put most of them in one place. These are the ones that I started using fairly early on, or have switched to throughout my time releasing books. Time stamps are listed at the start of a new subject or program, and there will be more in-depth information in the podcast if you want to hear more of what I thought about each thing.

I talk a lot against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in this episode and blog. I often find that newer authors and even readers don’t know the harm that AI has on most. Generative AI pictures, art, voices,  and words come from none other than REAL people. (*BOLD, ITALICS, UNDERLINE that one*)

Simple terms: it’s theft.

One of my biggest concerns with AI is the use of images/art.  Images are fed into AI to train it. An example I bring up frequently is on the darker side of AI but something people often don’t even consider. Revenge porn. And even worse, repurpose material of children. Read it again and again—any picture or video you post of your child’s face, you run the risk of it being fed into AI, which can be used to make CSAM. Please, if you take anything from this podcast or blog, do not support generative AI. I’m not one to tell you what to do with your kids either, but be aware that there are sick people out there who will use anything they can get their hands on to create CSAM.

With all that being said, AI, especially generative AI is not good for anyone. There are cover artist, editors, and many other service providers that will work with you when it comes to finances. Please do not use AI. And this includes the new AI voice narration that Amazon’s trying to roll out.

Real writers.

Real voices.

Real artist.

We have to stick together y’all, and that starts with educating consumers as well. Talk about it. Don’t be mean, they may not know what all of it means, but take the time to explain it, and for the love of all things holy don’t use generative AI.

Time Stamp: 4:40-10:12

Reedsy is a great free resource that I don’t see enough people talking about. It is a formatting and writing platform that you can use. It is an online program, so please download a copy of your work after each time you write, since this is an online platform and you can easily lose your work. So instead of formatting in Word and taking so much of your time, Reedsy can do it all for you and it does it super fast! It’s not super in depth, but it gets the job done for paperback and eBook, and all for free!

Google Docs and Microsoft Word are very similar. Google Docs is free, so I tend to use it when I need it. I think Microsoft charges for this, but I could be wrong, and it can also be an online cloud version, so you can still lose your work. Be sure to download it to save a copy. By the end of this you will have one thing stuck in your head: SAVE YOUR WORK.

I use Google Docs for Alpha readers to read chapter by chapter, and then Betas get into the doc once it’s finished. I also download copies here and there, which include the comments in Google Docs. Once Alpha and Beta readers have been through it, that’s when my editor gets in there. Some editors want the transcript emailed to them, aka downloaded and sent as a file, but Sadie happens to go through edits in the actual Google Doc. I am always sure to download here and there as she’s editing or I’m accepting edits, to ensure we don’t lose any work.

Time Stamp: 10:13-22:55

If the online programs stress you as much as they do me, Scrivener is a great option. It saves to a spot on your computer, and also on the cloud. It took me a long time to get the back end of the program to be what I wanted it to be and to look the way I wanted it to look. They do have templates you can use for fiction novels, and then mess with it from there—I was sure to save the template once I had it to the way I wanted. I love it so much now that it’s built to my needs.

You can write offline while traveling or if you don’t have WiFi, and you won’t have to worry, plus it autosaves. There are other programs like this one, but I don’t like them as much because they require a subscription payment each month, like Dabble. Scrivener is one payment of I think $59, and then it’s on your computer from there on out.

Vellum is a paid formatting service, but you must have a MacBook to access the program. I love Vellum and its simplicity, particularly the back end. It doesn’t glitch or freeze, or waste your time. YouTube will be your bestie when learning how to use Vellum. It’s my understanding that Scrivener also makes it easy to transfer into Vellum, although I haven’t tried this yet.

Last topic while we’re on formatting and writing programs. I don’t like talking badly about businesses… but Atticus, the other big formatting program, I’ve had first-hand experience with. I struggled with this program for so long, wasting a significant amount of time and had to reformat multiple books because of it (I write this blog before recording, and I already know there’s a couple minute rant when it comes to Atticus lol). If you stick with more basic formatting, no full-header pictures, or anything too elaborate, then Atticus might be okay, but I would recommend Reedsy over it, in my honest opinion. This was about a year ago I dealt with this, as well, but I can say it was indeed a waste of money for me, sadly.

Time Stamp: 22:56-31:02

Canva Pro is definitely the first thing that you will invest in when you’re starting out as an indie author and wanting to start marketing for your books. You can use it for absolutely everything, and again, YouTube is a great way to learn how to navigate Canva, as well as following TikTok creators that create Canva tutorials..

 Etsy is a great place to find templates specifically designed for romance authors that are ideal for creating social media content. Please be careful and cautious to make sure the creators are not using AI images or any other types of generative AI to create these. Other than that, go wild!

The Word Weavership by Sam is such a good resource! I was subscribed for a while before Anna took over creating my graphics. But Sam helped me out beyond words when I was starting out as a new indie author! She has Canva templates, newsletter templates, a slew of stock photos, book mockups, and tons of other resources that she updates throughout each month!

Book Marketing with Courtney is on Patreon and includes Canva Templates, Stock Photo Curation, and more for authors that are updated often!

There are so many more options, but these are the ones that I’ve used and can recommend!

Time Stamp: 31:03-38:46

For websites, there are lots of options. Do you need a website when you’re first starting out? Not necessarily, but it’s a great thing for readers and other business owners to discover. I only started one initially because of the content warnings in my first couple of books and didn’t want them to get pulled from Amazon just because of the triggers. I ended up going with a Square website template that I bought off Etsy, and that made it a hell of a lot easier to get things going on there. It was still a significant amount of work, and I continue to update and refine it to this day.

I’ve used Square from the get-go because my hair business was through Square, and I knew the back end of it already. I will say it’s pricey, but it’s an all-in-one place where you can also have a signed shop, if you want to. If you can pay the yearly price it makes it so much cheaper as well.

Carrd is another platform that offers a free option, and even their paid tier is significantly cheaper than other platforms and will still give folks somewhere to land when they’re looking for you.

There is also Beventi. I haven’t used their direct sales option, but they have it on there. I use this website for my pre-orders for signings. They’ve really done a great thing with this website. It makes my life so much easier for signings, but the direct sale option for signed copies would be a great free option as well! They just take a percentage of the total sale, but so does Square for processing so not too bad of a con.

As far as domains go for your website, I also use Square Domains. I haven’t had an issue with them, and I swear by Square, which you know by now. 

Time Stamp: 38:49-40:34

I’m new to Airtable, but I track my writing word count & my writing schedule with it. Everything is under one big page and even has an option for forms, so it’s pretty much Google Forms, Sheets, and Calendar all in one place. Slowly, I’m trying to switch everything from Google over to Airtable because I love the interface so much more.

Time Stamp: 40:35-48:20

Flodesk is the newsletter platform I use to send out my own newsletter. With an unlimited number of emails and subscribers, there's no beating the price either. There are options on other carriers that are free up to a certain subscriber amount, but once you’re past the threshold, these mass email companies charge hundreds of dollars a month to send newsletters out. The interface of Flodesk scratches something in my brain that the other providers didn’t. Newsletters are a very important marketing resource to lean into. Social media can be snatched away in the blink of an eye, newsletter subscribers and emails cannot. 

Newsletter Ninja isn’t a platform but it goes hand-in-hand with the topic. This book is one of  the best things I’ve listened to for my business. That audiobook (also available as an eBook, if you’d rather read it on your screen) changed my outlook on newsletters significantly. I used to hate writing them, but then I listened to the book, and I no longer hate sending them. The setup is super hands-on and time-consuming, but once you have your workflows up and running, you just update them every few months. It made me open my eyes to how important it is to have a newsletter & not look at it as a chore—we make it fun.

Time Stamp: 48:21-52:15

Bookfunnel is incredibly versatile, and most people don’t realize what it’s fully capable of. I didn’t dive super deep into it until I listened to Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque, as mentioned above in the newsletter section.

Advanced Reader Copy—ARC—send-outs are the thing Bookfunnel is known for, primarily, in my opinion, and they do a great job. They’ve got ARCs figured out to a T, and it’s been a seamless process with the seven-plus releases I’ve been through so far.

Advanced Listener Copies—ALCs—can also be sent out as audiobooks on this platform too. It’s an upgraded cost, but it makes it very simple, and you can sell the audiobooks through your website, and Bookfunnel can automatically send the listener their own specific link for download.

Group promos are easy to offer via Bookfunnelif you have a newsletter short story you can share (Reminder: This can not be a story in KU. Sierra and I took one of our anthology pieces and used it for a newsletter freebie now.) This is where I gain the majority of my newsletter subscribers now. 

Newsletter swaps (I don’t care for this feature as much; some of the authors I’ve worked with have been flaky with this). You can also do these outside of Bookfunnel if you’re close with other authors in your genre. Just reach out to them and see if they have a newsletter swap form. Let me know if anyone would like me to make a template of my newsletter swap form, I’m sure I can do that somehow lol.

Bookfunnel also holds webinars and trainings all the time, they usually send emails explaining what they are, and the ones I have attended have been so informative!

Time Stamp: 52:16-56:00

Artists are top-tier, and the talent they hold, being able to bring our characters and stories to life, is something I never could’ve imagined possible. But… there are A LOT of scammers out there. I’ve been burned more times than I would like to admit when it comes to artists, and if you don’t know the industry standard, then you literally don’t know better.

There is also a lot of AI usage that we all have to be cautious of nowadays, and even if the artist claims they don’t use it, you should get it in writing—preferably in the form of a contract—that they don’t use it. The best thing to do is ask for references from author friends, or really deep dive into their socials. This is the only time I use a follow count or how many pictures and things they have posted, when looking for a trustworthy artist. I’ve become very calloused when it comes to new, random artists. It’s not all of them, but I have been burned, and I don’t want that to be the case for you.

With all that being said, Fiverr has become my go-to platform, but please check each artist's rules and what they offer you access to. Ensure you check if the artist provides a commercial license for the art or if you need to purchase one additionally, allowing you to obtain prints and sell them if desired.

If you made it this far, you’re a trooper! That was a lot of information, but all super great stuff that I wish I had known from the beginning days. Comment down below if you want me to go over anything or make a part two of maybe the more niche things I use or find handy. I may receive a commission if you click on the links and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!

Here’s to happy releasing! 🩷

Find episode one here on Patreon.

Find episode one here on Spotify.

Edited by Sadie at Dot the i Edit

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.