Must Have Marketing and Writing Resources – plus Facebook Groups – For Indie Authors
As a new Indie Author, it’s hard to know where to go to find great information. There’s a lot of good – and bad – advice out there. Believe me. I know! Since first publishing CAMINO WANDERING, I’ve scoured so many online sites, trying to find answers. So today, I’m sharing what works for me. These are the most useful marketing and writing resources, plus Facebook Groups I find the most helpful, that are great for Indie Authors!
Keep in mind, this is a living, breathing document, so check back for updates as I add (and possibly subtract) sites.
MARKETING RESOURCES
https://davidgaughran.com – the man is a God. His books, his newsletters are FULL of helpful information. He tends to ramble a bit, but stay with him. He’s content is gold.
Mixtus Media/ Book Marketing Simplified – Jenn Hanson-dePaula focuses all her marketing knowledge on helping authors. I have gotten so much out of her free advice, via YouTube, Podcast and Instagram, that I joined her Author Circle. It’s like the inner sanctum and a direct line to a marketing pro.
MailerLite – I’ve tried a number of mailing list management sites and after 10 years, find Mailerlite the best one. And before you scoff, all author’s need a mailing list because you never know what your social media moguls will do to your ‘followers/likes’.
StoryOrigin – expand your mailing list/subscribers, send reader magnets, review copies for ARCs/Beta Readers, create Universal links for your books. This is a great resource for authors.
BookFunnel – Another tool to expand your mailing list etc. I love doing promos through BookFunnel and newsletter swaps through StoryOrigin.
MockupShots – for creating mockup marketing images. It’s a bit clunky, but it gives you good images to use for marketing.
CANVA – I will recommend this graphics application until my dying breath. I LOVE CANVA and it’s amazing for so many things.
Fussy Librarian – A cheap marketing option for your releases.
Bryan Cohen – The 5-Day Amazon Ad Profit Challenge. A free course that teaches you HOW to create Amazon ads that will save you a TON of money. As a newbie author, it’s great in teaching basics.
Bookbub – I’ve determined (through research) that it is better to have a backlist before signing up for this because it’s not cheap. Worthwhile, but not cheap. You can do ads, which is cheaper, OR you can apply for a deal. The deal is the expensive one.
Bklnk.com – For working out the best categories for your book, if you publish on Amazon.
Kindlepreneur – also handy if you publish on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Offers some great tips.
BookReport – If you want a realistic update on your KDP sales, BookReport is a great resource!
IngramSpark – surprisingly, Ingram Spark have a lot of marketing and publishing information on their website that is useful. Here’s one such guide: The Ultimate Book Marketing Timeline for Indie Authors
WRITING PROCESS RESOURCES
https://www.charactercountonline.com – when your advertising (like Amazon) have character limits.
https://relatedwords.org/relatedto/ – for when your brain freezes
https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/ – another tool for brain freezes.
WritersWrite – a great website for writing tips.
Reedsy – a great resource for finding editors/book designers/PR folks.
FACEBOOK GROUPS TO JOIN:
Alessandra Torres Inkers – a great group for asking questions and the admins run great webinars as well.
Wide for the Win – Going “Wide” means selling online OTHER THAN just Amazon. If that’s you, this is the group you want to be on.
David Gaughran – as I said, this man is a god.
StoryOrigin Authors – if you sign up for StoryOrigin, you definitely want to be on this group. The app developer is very active and helpful.
Indie Writers Unite – if you go Indie, this is great group for sharing information and learning too.
Writers Unite – another ‘support’ group.
Fiction Writing – and another support group, with all stages of the fiction writing process.
Tasmanian Indie Authors – if you’re a Tasmanian resident and self-published or hybrid-published author, we’d love to have you.
Your Local NaNoWriMo or Writers Centre group. Often times they have Facebook groups that meet throughout the year.
And of course, my author page, where I share tidbits as well.
Do you have a website you love? Leave a comment and I’ll try it out. If I find it helpful, I’ll add it to the post.
