Writing the novel is the easy part. It's the fun part. I'd say "it's the free part," but it's really not.
I am on the cusp of beginning a new writing venture with a new pen name, and with that probably comes a new newsletter and new review campaigns. So here I am listing all my options, and some things that were once free are now charging nominal fees (like $10/month), and that got me thinking about how all the little things just start adding up. While it looks like I'll be putting out this book for relatively little money invested, I can't discount all I've already invested to make this a success. So I made this list of software and resources that's I've invested in over the years to help with my self-publishing career.
Writing/ Editing
- MS Word
- MS Excel (for plotting, but also scheduling, book keeping, and organizing)
- Plottr (as a pantser, I'm shocked how much I love this)
- Google Docs (free)
- Scrivener (this was not the program for me)
- Grammarly (free version)
Cover Art
- Gimp (free)
- Shutterstock (subscription or pay per download)
Layout
- Vellum (so easy)
- Calibre (free)
Marketing
- K-lytics (subscription or pay per report)
- Publisher Rocket
- KD Spy
- Kindletrends Also Bought Tool (free)
- Instant Data Scraper (free)
- Author Ad School
- Story Origin (previously free, now subscription)
- Booksprout (previously free, now subscription)
- Book Sirens (pay per campaign)
- Mail Chimp (free if under 1000 subscribers)
- Doteasy (subscription)
Ads and Promos
- For paid advertising: AMS Ads, Facebook Ads, Book Bub Ads
- For Promos: Too many to list.
Paid Pros
I have enlisted the help of industry professionals in a number of areas. Some areas, I have learned to take over on my own, but when you're starting out, it never hurts to use and learn from pros.
- Beta Reading
- Editing
- Cover art
- Layout/ Formatting
- Blurb writing
- Ad hook writing
- Social media blasting (do not recommend)
