I’ve linked the best free resources I’ve found (so far 😉) for everything from craft through to book marketing below. Feel free to scroll the page, or use the quick links to jump to the section most relevant to you.

Quick Links

Editing🖍… Querying📨Publishing📚Author Platform🏗… Book Marketing 💰…


Character Crafting

Character Arc Guide -blog series by @KMWeiland

8 Types of Character, by Jerry Jenkins.

Personality Test by 16 Personalities

Character Craft Blogs by @AmeliaWiens. Character Craft through to PublishingCrawl.com

Photo by:

Writing Diverse Characters

Homophobia Index -LGBTQI+ stereotypes to avoid

Writing Trans Characters -youtube series by @AuthorDrost

Writing Characters With Autism, a 3 part blog by Elizabeth Bartmess.

9 Tips For Writing Characters Unlike You, by Michael Gallant

Writing With Colour -avoiding racial stereotypes.

White Authors Writing Poc. If you’ve heard the phrase ‘stay in your own lane’, this unpacks the why’s of that. It also details the research white author’s can do to include POC characters authentically and respectfully.

Writing the Other’s Resource Page is a fantastic collection of resources for writing a range of diverse characters.

Plotting & Story Structure General Advice

Story Structure -blog series by KM Weiland.

6 Scene Dilemas, by KM Weiland.

KM Weilan’s Story Database -popular films and books for which she’s outlined major plot points, handy for understanding story structure.

How to Write an Insanely Good Ending, drawing on Emotional, External and Philosophical Arcs -learning from screenplays by screenplay writer Michael Arndt.

Overcoming Writers Block and managing Self Discipline by Custom Writing Org (scroll down about 1/3)

3 Act Structure Introduction -youtube video.

Plotting Methods

Bringing Structure to Pantsing -blog (with language warning) by @jaelrbakari

The Snowflake Method, a Plotting Technique by Randy Ingermason.

The One Page Plot Formula -an outline template and blog post on using it.

Save the Cat (by Blake Snyder), is plotting beats illustrated with Avengers Infinity War in a video by Studiobinder. Save the Cat beats defined by NYC Screenwriters Collective.

Story and Scene level Beat Sheets by Jamie Gould, including Save the Cat, for Scrivener and others.

Podcasts & Youtube Channels Covering All Things Craft

iwriterly is a youtube channel by Meg Latore. It covers a range of writing craft (+querying and other) topics

Campfire Technology (Yeah, random name but I promise it’s about writing craft). This is a youtube channel with Hero’s Journey & Character videos, plus a great one on pacing.

Editing & Critical Readers

Girl reading in early morning sun
Photo by Yuri Efremov.

Self Editing Chapter Checklist by K.M. Allan

Basic Self Editing Tips, by Editor Karin Cox. Comma Usage.

Self Editing for Fiction Writers (a book you’d need to purchase) has been recommended to me again and again.

5 Compelling Ways to Begin a Chapter, by the Historical Quill.

4 Dialog Editing Tips, by Cheryl Burman.

Finding and Working with Beta Readers by @LombardEmma

Critical Reader Checklists from Chapter One to Act 3, by yours truly.

The First 5 Pages Workshop -MG & YA Only, runs monthly, participation by ballot

Sensitivity Readers

What are Sensitivity Readers? explains the benefits and process of working with a sensitivity reader, from Reedsy.

Confessions of a Sensitivity Reader, gives insight into how a sensitivity reader will work with you, from Salt & Sage Books blog.

Editors

5 Things Author’s Need to Know Before Hiring an Editor, an interview with editor Staci Frenes by Mixtus Media

Different Levels of Critical Reader & Editing Services, by Amelia Wiens

World Building

Ice cavern, Iceland.
Ice cavern, Iceland, by Elise Carlson.

Brandon Sanderson’s Free Lectures five & six

Magic Systems: Power Escalation and Character Development, Hard Magic, Soft Magic -youtube videos.

Social Class Systems -youtube videos.

Why Orcs & Evil Races can be problematic, by Salt & Sage Books

Querying Resources

Alexa Donne’s Youtube Channel gives thorough coverage of all things querying (+writing advice)

Literary Agency BookEnds Youtube Channel

iwriterly has a few great querying videos, including top reasons agents reject queries

All Things Querying Links: My blog of resource links for Query Letter & Synopsis Advice, Successful Query Examples. It also includes Resources to Find and Advice on Communicating with Literary Agents.

Twitter Pitch Parties

Which parties can I pitch my novel in? blog of ever-growing number of pitch parties listed by type, with 10 Tips for Optimal Pitching and 3 mentoring program links.

Crafting a Pitch -another blog by yours truly

Party Tips & Info -blog (language warning) by @StorySorcery

Publishing Information

Avoiding Dodgy Operators

Writer Beware’s Thumbs Down Publishers List of infamous publishers

Writer Beware’s definitions and pros and cons of Hybrid Publishers v.s. Vanity Publishers (the latter being on my blacklist)

Choosing a Type of Publisher

Publishing Paths; Big 5, Traditional, Indie, Self Publishing, by Jane Friedman.

Types of Publishers/ Publishing & Choosing One by Joanna Maciejewska.

Self Publishing

How to Get Your Book Self Published by Jane Friedman

Self Publishing & Promo Steps -youtube series by D.C. Ferguson

Self Publishing Advice Podcast by the Alliance of Independent Authors

Why Self Publishing Authors Should Consider Having Their Own Imprint (best considered before you do book promo)

Facebook Group 20 Writers to 50k has an All Star Thread packed with marketing tips for self published authors.

General Info & Publishers Taking Un-agented Submissions

Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity has a comprehensive list of publishers accepting unsolicited submissions (in multiple countries). It also features a long list of articles about self-publishing and other useful resources like contests, and where to get reviews.

Author’s Publish is a mailing list. One of their regular emails is a comprehensive, free ebook guide to publishing. Their emails contain reviews and lists of publishers and magazines accepting unsolicited submissions. They also have querying and general writing advice.

Profit and Loss –How Publishers Decide What to Publish, by Jane Friedman.

Small Presses

Small Presses defined, their pros and cons by Writer Beware

3 Unique Research Methods for Identifying Small Publishers by Jane Friedman

If you publish directly with a publisher, The Society of Authors and Authors Guild both offer legal advice on publishing contracts to their members.

Bookstall.
Photo by Maico Pereira.

Building an Author Platform

General Resources

Finding Your Target Audience by Marc Guberti

Building a Platform as an Unpublished Writer by Jane Friedman

Building an Author Platform by @LombardEmma

Author Platform Action Plan Worksheets by Jane Friedman

Marketing Without Social Media by Carol Michel.

Author Newsletter

Author Newsletters: the Basics, by me.

Unpublished Author Newsletters -blog by @LombardEmma

Social Media

Social Media Tips by Marc Guberti

Facebook for Authors by Jane Friedman

Social Media for Writers, by yours truly

#WritingCommunity Hashtag Guides -Twitter & Insta, by yours truly

10 Ways to Promote without tweeting links, by Lee’s Hall of Information.

Book Tok Ideas by Never Enough Novels

Website & Blog

Author Site Set Up Tips, by me

Blog v.s. Newsletters, pros & cons plus Jane Friedman articles on developing both.

Site SEO Optimisation, Thomas Umstattd Jr. 

Visitors Your Author Site Needs To Thrill, podcast by Novel Marketing.
NB: you’ll need to enrol in the course for access, b enrolment is free.

100 Blog Ideas for Unpublished Authors by @mixtusmedia

Growing Your Blog and Tips to Make Readers Continue Reading, 3 More Blog Tips & Being a Guest Blogger by Marc Guberti

Graphic Tools

canva.com is great for making author related graphics. (I use it for posts, newsletter headers, Pinterest pins ect.)

unsplash.com has high resolution photos (the main source of photos illustrating this blog), and makes it easy to credit the photographers for their work.

bookbrush.com allows you to design 20 book marketing images for free, and paid designs after.

Help with Book Marketing

Where Do I Start?

50 Book Marketing Ideas Every Author Needs to Know, by Reedsy

Book Marketing 101 by Jane Friedman (see her blog for more marketing advice posts)

KDP Select or go Wide? Another Reedsy blog linked to more resources to help you decide whether to distribute ebooks exclusively with Kindle Select or not.

Writing Attention Grabbing Promo Copy by Bookbub

24 Things David Kadavy Learnt From Self Publishing, including about KU

How to Develop an Indie Author Marketing Plan, by Emma Lombard.

Book Marketing FB Groups

20booksto50k -marketing strategies discussion and support for self published authors

Wide for the Win -dedicated to marketing strategies for going wide

Free Marketing Courses

Starting From Zero, course by David Gaughran

Amazon Webinar by Brian Cohen

Amazon Add Challenge, 7 Day Course by Brian Cohen

5 Day Amazon Add Course, by Dave Cheeson (Kindleprenuer)


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Promo Tools & Advice

127+ of the Top Free and Paid Book Promo Sites, by Kindleprenuer

Shout My Book, offers 21 days of book promos on Twitter & Facebook

Free & Paid Book Promotion Services, curated by Reedsy

How to Market your Book to Get World Wide Exposure, by BookBub.

Promo Sites

Bookbub
Bookfunnel
All Author

Quick Links

Editing✍️. Querying📨. Publishing📚. Author Platform🏗. Book Marketing 💰.

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