Self-publishing has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. It allows authors, especially independent or new authors, to exercise more creative freedom. It also allows them to get better royalties and avoid any rejections.
In this article, we’re going to talk about different resources for self-publishing in 4 broad categories: guidance, design, courses and ebooks, and software.
Let’s get right to it without further ado.
Guidance
- Alliance for Independent Authors: ALLi is a membership-based organization of self-publishing authors. It has three membership packages: $89, $119, and $149 per year. It’s a wholesome resource with plenty of guidance, advice, workshops, a service directory, and a forum.
- Mark Dawson’s Self-Publishing Formula podcast: The Self Publishing Formula aims at delivering meaningful and actionable guidance to those looking to making a living from writing. It’s great weekly education for self-publishing authors.
- The Independent Publishing Magazine: A magazine for independent publishers, it’s run by Mick Rooney – an investigative journalist, author, editor, and publishing consultant. He’s got plenty of information for self-publishing authors categorized into different topics such as digital marketing, traditional publishing tech, or self-publishing advice.
- Kboards Writers Café: The Writers Café is predominantly a group of forums with a couple of million posts. More than a community, it’s a haven for those seeking information in a more interactive and personalized manner.
Design
- Reedsy: Reedsy is a great place for hiring editors and talented designers. This platform is full of skilled freelancers adept at designing, among other things.
- CreativeMarket: CreativeMarket has a great selection of graphics, fonts, templates, photos, and more. From illustrations for your cover to entire templates for your needs – you’ll find a lot of useful stuff here. A little knowledge of design software might be needed if you wish to edit your downloaded assets. Most of the assets are pretty cheap.
- Depositphotos: Photos are important to tell a story better. Depositphotos is a great resource for royalty-free content including photos, vectors, and illustrations.
Courses and ebooks
- Nathan Barry’s Authority: Authority is a collection of strategies a self-publishing author can and should leverage to make money. It comes in multiple formats (PDF, epub, audiobook, and so on) with several add-ons such as templates, case studies, video tutorials, etc.