Helpful links

Helen Bolam is an experienced author, editor and writing coach. She has made a ton of great stuff available for free. The thing we like the most is she just exudes practical experience. It's obvious she really knows her stuff, and anyone can learn from her. We really like the quotes section, if you need a really quick and inspired note on how to be a better writer.

We are pretty sure C.S.M. is a person. We only know him by his initials. Very mysterious. He's like Charlie of Charlie's Angels except through posts instead of a primitive speakerphone. Seriously, we recommend this newsletter. There is always something great. He posts summaries of books on writing to help you decide if you should buy them. Very helpful. He also studies best-selling novels and shares techniques for your own stories. Very generous.

David has a lot going on. He has a podcast (complete with studio), a writing school and all kinds of other endeavors. The one immediate thing we have noticed is an honesty. He is straitforward and does not let his ego get in the way. He is also generous, sharing tons of knowledge. You can tell he has a real passion for writing that is rarely seen. He has tons of stuff that is worth your time.

The interviews are great. He is really good as asking the right questions and encouraging people to speak freely. We really love his mailing list too. Each time we get one we learn something. Often not some technical skill, but a way to improve our mindset, which is just as important.

J.F. Lawrence's author page is beautifully designed, showcasing a splendid array of book covers. In addition, there are a great number of blog posts that we think are great. Very specific to a particular subject that authors (particularly self-published) would find invaluable.

Note that many articles are applicable to more than one category, so you may notice some duplication on each page. That seems to be based on the subject tags and makes sense.

K.M. Weiland is the award-winning and internationally published author of several acclaimed writing guides. Her podcast and blog are a treasure trove of great tips for writers. Her books on writing are some of the best out there. All her work is highly recommended.

We switched from Grammarly to this. There were two main reasons:

First, they don't store everything you do in their databases. Grammarly has copies of things you have written while it is active. That is totally unacceptable. Here is the part of the Linguix privacy policy we love: "We do not store your content and texts you type when using our browser extensions. Data is sent to our servers to get checked, and vanishes forever with no option to restore it even for us." This fits with our extremely strict privacy policies at Word Weaver Pro.

Second, it is finding a lot more things to fix, with much better explanations of what is wrong, and with more options to improve it. Also, you get synonyms by selecting a word and clicking the little floating Linguix icon. That's really cool.

David Badurina is a high-energy author who also has a great YouTube channel and Discord focused on supporting up-and-coming authors. His YouTube interview format is fast-paced and a lot more than just a book promotion. Any author can learn something new and be inspired by the positive energy.

David also contributed an insightful blog post concerning his real-world experience with the ROI of self-publishing.

Peevish Penman is the sole independent publisher of OA Allen fiction and art, a unique fusion of esoterica, conspiracy theories, and the lore of ancient cultures. The whole site has a great vibe!

We really love the Ancient Secrets of the Writer Secret Society. Fantastic stuff. They also have a quarterly newsletter filled with giveaways and select content.

Very helpful tool. qtCritique allows you to exchange critiques with other writers. Through the use of heatmaps, qtCritique streamlines the critiquing process, making it faster, easier, and more educational for everyone involved.

You start by critiquing the work of other writers. This will earn you points, based on the size of the piece being critiqued. The longer the piece, the more points you'll earn.

After you earn enough points, you can post your own work for others to critique.

By far the most helpful resource we have found on the web to enhance an author's craft. It is for seasoned authors as well as newbies. We find the YouTube channel especially helpful. They have amazing resources from the beginning to the end of the publishing journey. We can't recommend them highly enough.

One of the great things about Reedsy is the depth of the content, and the willingness to provide help without charging for every little thing. I have yet to want to know about any aspect of writing and publishing that is not well covered by Reedsy.

Not sure how we missed this before. Tons of great articles. This is truly a site you can come back to over and over and always find something to make you a better self-published author. Expert advice, success stories, tips, and interviews to help you master the game of writing, editing, self-publishing, and marketing your book.

From the About page: "the result of a seed planted in the spring of 2015, at The London Book Fair. Listening to the success stories shared by top-selling indies, a young author realized the potential held by the burgeoning self-publishing industry. She dreamed of an online platform that would report the realities, opportunities, challenges, and success stories of the self-publishing industry. A platform that would fulfill the triple role of educating, empowering and connecting indies from around the world and become their virtual home. And she called it Self-Publishing Mastery."

With 15+ years of writing books, stories, emails, crypto content, and blogs, Rich Rubio, owner of Shogun Services agency, carries the bushido code of honor and purpose into his works for clients, and seeks to passionately bring storytelling & victory to the forefront for all who work with him.

Rich also contributed a great blog post concerning his unique method of ghostwriting.

We have been getting Tim's emails for a while, and honestly, they are in the top three for usefulness and inspiration. And we get a LOT of email newsletters. His site has amazing stuff, and his YouTube channel is a goldmine. He sells some workshops, and we can't really recommend those because we have never attended one. However, we would wager they are well worth the money.

Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works. Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

The Writing Community Chat Show. This is a great resource! The Writing Community Chat Show, where brings together some of the brightest and most talented writers from around the world to discuss their craft, share their stories, and offer advice and inspiration to fellow writers.

Each week they delve into the fascinating world of writing, and learn from the experts as they share their insights, experiences, and wisdom. Whether you're an aspiring writer, a published author, or simply a lover of words, the Writing Community Chat Show is the perfect place to connect with other like-minded individuals and discover the power of the written word.

This is the best site for finding just the perfect word.

WordHippo is an online website and application providing a range of tools related to the use of words for creative and recreational purposes such as writing, poetry, translations, word games, etc.

We stumbled upon this and while the site is not super-slick, we were struck by its openness. They seem to be a really straightforward self-publishing service provider and are very honest about how they work. They even have a page that lists the reasons NOT to work with them. How often have you seen that!? If you poke around you will find a goldmine of articles and advice. Of particular interst is the article on hand-selling books. I have seen enough authors who buy a booth at a show and don't do such a great job with this. If you sell at sci-fi or writing cons, it is a must-read.

WritersWeekly.com is one of the oldest and most respected sites on freelance writing. It has been published continuously since 1997. It’s part of the BookLocker.com, Inc. family of businesses, which includes POD and ebook publisher BookLocker.com, Abuzz Press and Pub Preppers.