Writing Resources I Recommend (Redux)

A little over eighteen months ago, I wrote a post where I talked about writing resources that I discovered while working on my first book that I recommend. Well, now I've written two books, I'm in the middle of working on a third, and I've found my fair share of additional resources that I'd like to share. Today, let's go over my revised list of "to-go" websites, tools and services that I'd suggest to anyone who asked.

(Some of the resources I mentioned in my initial post reappear on this list, because I still think they're fantastic, just FYI.)

General Resources:

Author Friends: One of the best resources is also the most overlooked one. Making author friends and joining the writing community is invaluable. It's great having someone to hype you up/like your posts, but they can also serve as a sounding board or recommend sites or sources to you. I avoided a sketchy offer, and learned about a very helpful website for line edits (more on that later) thanks to two author friends.

Writer Beware - Writer Beware reports on scams and other shady behavior in writing and publishing. It also has articles with great advice for newbie writers. If you ever come across some advertisement or offer that sounds too good to be true, Writer Beware is a good first place to check and see if it's legitimate.

Kindlepreneur - The website has a number of great "how-to" articles that outline the steps for some important, but potentially confusing things to take care of before you publish, such has how to submit your work for copyright. It also has a number of useful tools including a hashtag generator for social media and royalty calculator.

The Creative Penn - The Creative Penn, run by Joanna Penn, has a wealth of helpful resources and advice for authors, particularly authors in the self-publishing space. Joanna shares tools, tutorials and more, plus there are plenty of podcast episodes delving into not only her indie writing experience, but others' as well.

Writing Software:

Atticus - The Atticus software also allows you to write and format your book in one place. The style options are a little more varied as well. Atticus costs a one-time payment of $147 and works on both Mac and PC. If you're working on multiple projects, you can also save Master Pages, such as your author bio or list of other works.

Reedsy Studio - The Reedsy Studio site allows you to both write and format your book, all in one place. It tracks how much you write each day, and if you want to finish by a set deadline, will tell you how many words you'd need to write to make that deadline. And it's free, which is always a plus. There are only a handful of style options for your formatted manuscript, but the interface is very easy to navigate.

Finding Freelancers (Editors, Cover Artists, etc):

Social Media - It should go without saying that you can find plenty of freelancer editors, artists and more on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, etc. I found my current editor, cover designer, and merch artist on Instagram. I would urge caution if someone reaches out to you, out of the blue. Ask to see their past work, or a sample edit, as needed.

Reedsy Marketplace - Reedsy has a marketplace where you can find editors, cover designers, marketers and so on. On their platform, you submit a brief and a writing sample, and can send it to up to five freelancers at a time. You can also check their previous work, and see reviews from other clients.

Books I Recommend:

Save the Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody - This book is great for knowing how to put a story together and pace it well. It's not an end-all-be-all resource, but it's a great starting point for knowing how to craft stories in a digestible way.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss - This book helped me improve the technical and grammatical aspects of my writing. I'd recommend utilizing it once you're several drafts into your manuscript, but it's unbelievably helpful at cleaning up some of the messiness that might be lingering before you proofread.

For Writing/Word Choice:

Descriptionary - I've used this website to help me find words to describe everything from fabrics to feelings to fight scenes. It offers up not only definitions and synonyms, but also sensory details to enrich the writing or examples of how emotions and the like can be shown, rather than told.

WordHippo - I often run into the problem where I feel like I reuse certain words too often. WordHippo is an awesome website that gives you plenty of alternatives for commonly used words. It goes beyond a typical thesaurus with things like an adjective dictionary and tools to check and correct verb tense.

For Characters:

Behind The Name - This website has a name generator, which is handy for coming up with character names, with plenty of filters to get the kind of name you want. It also provides history and other information about every name in its database. It's especially useful if you want to give characters symbolic names.

Writing With Color - this website is a very helpful resource for writing a diverse characters in a respectful way. It delves into a wide variety of topics from tropes and stereotypes to how to properly describe features like skin tone or hair texture. The moderators also share a lot of information about conducting your own research as needed and how to evaluate sources as you do so. It's a great starting place for writing characters outside your own experience or identity.

Random Name Generator - If you need to name a random one-off character, and you can't think of one, this website is simple and easy to navigate. You can generate a list of names, and pick and choose from there.

Novel Software Character Questionnaire - this questionnaire is a great resource for getting to know your characters, and pushing yourself to write more complex ones. As I worked through this list of questions, I found myself considering aspects of my characters that I previously hadn't, and the answers helped me develop more nuanced backstories for some of the major ones.

Marketing & Newsletter:

Canva - I use Canva to create social media graphics, such as my Instagram posts and some other promotional materials. I also use one of their whiteboard templates for brainstorming and keeping track of my ideas. Canva does have some AI elements, but they can be avoided easily.

Unsplash & Pexels - I use both Unsplash and Pexels to find royalty-free stock images and videos for my social media posts. Both sites make it easy to find and credit the respective photographer/videographer as needed, and they don't allow generative AI.

EmailOctopus - I switched my newsletter from another provider to EmailOctopus earlier this year. The platform is very easy to use, with drag-and-drop editing tools and an intuitive interface. The transition from my old site to the new one was quick and easy as well.

Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque - this book, and its sequel, has a wealth of helpful tips and tricks for writing a successful and valuable-to-readers author newsletter. The author breaks down the information in a digestible way, and gives you solid steps to follow.

Until next time!

Magic & Murder in the Holler is available at most book retailers. I'm also selling signed copies directly on my Ko-Fi shop. Death & Destiny in the Mountains is available for pre-order now.

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