Table of Contents
- Conquering Fear and Doubt as a Writer
- Learning How to Write Well
- Tools to Write With
- Resources for Traditional Publishing
- Self-Publishing Resources
- Marketing Resources and Crafting Your Career
- Tools to Build Your Online Presence
Conquering Fear and Doubt as a Writer
- How to Tame Your Inner Critic
This is one of the best posts I’ve ever seen on conquering that nasty voice that tells you you suck. - Stop Waiting to Feel Unafraid Before You Create Your Best Work
Life-changing advice from Jeff Goins: stop waiting to be picked. - 5 Reasons Writing Is Important to the World
Yes, what you have to say matters – and you need this article in your armory for the times you feel it doesn’t. - Repeat After Me: There Is No Right Way to Write a Book
This post by Victoria Schwab is one of my absolute favorites. - Writer’s Doubt: The #1 Enemy of Writing (and What You Can Do About It)
Bryan Hutchinson’s deeply encouraging work. - You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One)
Jeff Goins delivers a much-needed kick to the pants. - Imagining your future projects is holding you back.
This article on “idea debt” is transformative. - How Long Should You Keep Trying to Get Published?
- Nothing Takes the Place of Just Doing it. Dr. David Mack, the writer of Daredevil, gives four simple and poweful steps to writing.
- Haves and the Have-Nots: Surviving Writer Envy
- 10 Solutions for Writers Who Worry too much (like me!)
- How to Keep Writing Even When You Feel Like a Fraud
- 12 Uncomfortable Feeglins That Show You’re On the Right Track
- The Rilke Test: How to Know if You Have What it Takes to Be a Writer
- Struggling to Write Doesn’t Mean You’re Not a Writer
- The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers
- Why Your First Draft Isn’t Crap
- Just Write the Damned Book Already
- 16 Quotes From Writers on First Drafts
- The More Books You Write, the Harder it Gets (the Secret to Writing Mastery)
- Keri Smith’s excellent Artist’s Survival Kit
Learning How to Write Well
- On Writing the Comics—and Queer Characters—We Need
Neil Gaiman and N.K. Jemisin in Conversation (ignore Gaiman, obviously, but Jemisin is amazing) - The Scene Book: A Primer For the Fiction Writer
Sandra Scofield transforms the way you may understand writing scenes. - Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story
K.M. Weiland’s incredibly useful resource lays it all out. - The Better Novel Project
Deconstructs best-selling novels to find common elements - The Write Practice
Articles every other day on characterization, pacing, grammar and punctuation, and more. - How to Create Awesome Scene Arcs That Surprise Readers
- If You Want to Be a Writer, Neil Gaiman Says You Should “Get Bored”
- World-Building Resources from GeekGirlCon 2015
Including handouts and the full audio recording of the panel. - Becoming Writer
The best (in my opinion) writing community on the internet. - How I Self-Edit My Novels: 15 Steps From First Draft to Publication
- Finish your doggone story!
This page has some of the BEST ADVICE on finishing your story I’ve ever seen. - WHEN THERE IS NO TEMPLATE, Writing on Pixar’s INSIDE OUT
“You need to find a way to accept failure. To be okay making mistakes, or better, to welcome it, because that means you are out on that edge. It’s hard not to be “right” and perfect and brilliant! But no one always is and playing it safe only gets you safe stories, not thrilling, original ones.” - 5 Ways to Keep Writing When Life Intervenes
- 15 places to find a beta reader.
- 40 Words For Emotions You’ve Felt, But Couldn’t Explain
- A couple handy lists for describing bodyparts:
- How to Maximize Your Word-Count and Write More Every Day
- 6 Golden Rules For Writing Middle Grade
- Ten Hand-to-Hand Combat Myths Writers Need to Stop Using
- The Most Common Writing Mistakes
This is a GREAT resource from KM Weiland. - DIY Your Edit: 10 Tips to Shape Up Your Manuscript
- Write Like a Comparative Mythologist
- How to write the perfect plot in 2 easy steps
Tools to Write With (no AI!!!!)
- Ulysses
This one is Apple-only, but it is my absolute favorite. It works in Markdown, which is text—which means no proprietary file format, and no chance of losing your work to weird glitches in someone’s vibe coding. Organizes your books by part and chapter, and exports as Word, ePub, PDF, etc. - Obsidian
Very similar except it isn’t designed for novel-writing, so you may need a few plugins to get it working right—but it’s still free, safe from AI, and has a vibrant community who can help you get started. Also, importantly, it works on all platforms. - Novlr
The best web-based one I know so far. Secure, fantastic support, a vibrant community on Discord. - Ellipsus
Incredible for collaborating. Actively being developed, it can publish online to sites like AO3 and your blog as well.
Resources for Traditional Publishing
- Understanding Advances in Publishing
- 25 Steps to Being a Traditionally Published author: Lazy Bastard Edition
This. Is. PERFECT. Delilah S. Dawson has explained the traditional-publishing process with alacrity (and some adult language). - Writing the perfect query letter
- Writing the Novel Synopsis by Jane Friedman
- Preditors and Editors
Useful to make sure the agency is legit. - Beware of Sharks in Publisher’s Clothing
A horror story and simple ways to check if that publisher’s legit. - How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter
- Query Shark
This awesome lady rips your query apart. Painful, but helpful. - The Complete Guide to Query Letters That Get Manuscript Requests
- When a Literary Agent Says Yes: Evaluating an Offer (or Offers!) of Representation
- Publisher’s Marketplace
The best place to come to see if the agent you’re looking at has actually sold anything in recent years. (Surprisingly important!) - Open Q&A by a Reader For a Literary Agency
This is incredibly helpful. Give it a read! - Understanding Ebook Rights
Self-Publishing Resources
- All About Publishing – and Why I Chose to Go Indie
Traditional? Indie? What the heck does that mean? - The Self-Publishing Checklist
- Five Reasons to Self-Publish
- How to Find an Editor
- Why I Left Smashwords
- My Experience as an Indie Author
- Ten Steps to Perfect Cover Design
- Jane Friedman on How to Self-Publish Your Book
- Beware of Sharks in Publisher’s Clothing
A horror story and simple ways to check if that publisher’s legit. - Joanna Penn: How to Publish a Book
- Opinion: Indie Authors Need To Think About Publishing Rights
- Setting the Price for Your Novel — What You Need to Know
- Writing the Perfect Blurb
- A Tax Cheat Sheet for Kindle eBook Self-Publishing
- Cover Design by WillowRaven
Some particularly good design at affordable prices
Marketing Resources and Crafting Your Career
- Your First 1000 Copies
The best resource I know for setting up your initial marketing efforts, including website, newsletter, and social media. - Every Writer Needs a Tribe (Have You Found Yours?)
A free ebook by Jeff Goins - So You Want to Be a Writer
- Book Marketing 101
- How to Get Blurbs: A Case Study
- Author Website: Examples, Templates, and How-to Build One
- 16 Principles for Building and Leading a Tribe
- The Introvert’s Guide to Book Marketing
- It Isn’t Amazon Publishers Should Fear. It’s Bookbub.
- How Long Should You Keep Trying to Get Published?
- The Most Successful Creative People Say Constantly Say “No”
- Feet on the Ground: developing your street team
- 50 Book Marketing Ideas Every Author Needs to Know
Tools to Build Your Online Presence
- How to Build a Website (for authors)
- WordPress
- Photoshop
At the time of this listing, $10.00 per month. - The 10 Best Photoshop Alternatives
- Mailchimp (they let you do it for free!)
- SumoMe
A simple, free way to start building your mailing list. - Professional Media Kit Template Bundle
Not free, but VERY worth it.