For Authors

These are some of the courses and tools I personally use as an author and highly recommend. Everyone's author career and experience is different but these have personally worked for me and my goals. The below contain some affiliate links and I may earn commissions on purchases which helps sustain my author career but in no way is a conflict on how I feel about using these products, services or books.

Kate Hall's TikTok for Authors Course

KATE HALL'S TikTok for Authors Course has been a GAME CHANGER for me. I was stuck trying to figure out what works and how to generate sales and Kate gave me the tools to do just that. I took the course in December, then started putting things into motion in January. I ended up DOUBLING MY SALES for the one book that I was marketing on TikTok.

Kate Hall's TikTok course

Blurb's by Bel

Anyone else hate writing blurbs??? That was me until I found Belinda who takes that pressure off to write the perfect blurb. She is thorough, professional and prompt. She'll work with you until you're satisfied with the results. There are certain things I leave to the experts; Cover design, editing, and blurb writing. Highly recommend Blurbs by Belinda.

Blurbs by Belinda

Vellum - Book Formatting Program

I use Vellum to format my own eBooks and Paperbacks which has been unquestionably the smartest purchase I ever made. Having control over changing back matter whenever I need is a must have for any author. I have created beautiful interiors for my books and it was easy to learn how to use.

Please note: Vellum can only be used with a Mac.

Purchase Vellum

Lori Jackson Design

Lori is not only talented but she's also wonderful to work with to design the perfect cover for your book. I was lucky enough to find Lori early in my publishing career and she has designed ALL of my book covers. People really do judge a book by it's cover and that is one thing you should leave up to the experts. Highly recommend Lori.

Lori Jackson Design

Elevenlabs - AI Voice (Audiobook Creation)

I have used Elevenlabs to create AI generated audiobooks and found the program to be easy to use with a variety of voices to choose from. The program is subscription based and incredibly economical, allowing you to cancel your subscription once you have finished creating your audiobook. It's a great inexpensive way to provide audiobooks to readers.

Check out Elevenlabs

Convertkit
Newsletter Provider

Having a newsletter is a great way to connect with readers and it's something that you as an author control instead of relying on social media to serve your latest release to followers. There are a lot of options out there with varying cost. I use Convertkit because I love the customer service, ease of use, and deliverability rates. It's easy to create templates and visual sequences.

Convertkit

Strengths for Writers with Becca Syme

1. Relator

2. Harmony

3. Developer

4. Input

5. Intellection

What does all that mean? This is something you will learn in Becca Symes Strengths for Writers class. It's all about understanding your top strengths so that you can use them to help you be a better writer. I can't recommend this class enough as it has helped me to make those little changes that make a big impact.

Strengths for Writers

Consultation with
Erin Wright

If you are thinking of becoming a WIDE author (listing your books on ALL retailers) or if you've been WIDE for a while but not having any success, I highly recommend a consultation with Erin Wright. She is one of the admins for the Wide for The Win Facebook Group and Circle Group.

She offers one on one consultations as well as classes for different aspects of being WIDE - which she posts about in the Facebook and Circle groups. If you use my affiliate code (PD11) when signing up, you get 10% off a consultation and/or $10 off the cost of a class.

Consultation with Erin

Write Better Faster with Becca Syme

Having the knowledge of what your stregths are is a big part of this course and the lectures are geared towards helping you understand how your personality/strengths impact your writing. We all want to be better and faster at writing but how we get there is a different journey for everyone. I highly recommend this course not only for the valuable information you get in the lectures but the one on one coaching and follow up calls that support the learning.

Write Better Faster

Bookfunnel

Bookfunnel is essential to my author career goals. I use it to distribute Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs), and deliver ebooks, and audiobooks for my direct shop. I also join promo's using my reader magnet, which is offering a free book for joining my newsletter as well as joining sales promos. I also deliver bonus material for my books. So, you can see that I use Bookfunnel for so much of my business and find their customer service excellent as well as being easy to use.

bookfunnel

Wix Website

Having a professional website for any author is a must have. It allows your readers to have one place to find information about you and your books.

The website I use is Wix. I have easily created a professional site with the use of a variety of templates that are offered.

Wix's customer service is excellent and anytime I've had a problem or quesiton, the support staff have been great to work with and solve my problem every time. Wix has a variety of plans that fit your needs.

I also used Wix to create a business email that I use for my mailing list.

Wix Website

Canva

Canva is a tool I use to create professional graphics, teasers, videos, and slideshows for my various social media platforms.

The tool is easy to use and there are lot's of resources available to learn some tips and tricks. I've even created book covers and paperback wraps using Canva that are not only beautiful but very professional. Canva is a subscription based program for their Premium tier, which is reasonably priced but their free version has lot's of options.

Create beautiful designs of all kinds using Canva. You can check out my social media to see how I use Canva.

Canva