We are in the process of replacing the dirt and rocks in our backyard with grass for the children to play in. At first, things went well using the shovel but then when we got to the final rocks, the shovel just did not work well. Then we tried a rake, and boom! Suddenly we could rake all of the gravel into a pile just right for shoveling.
If you feel stuck in your writing or marketing, it could be that you don’t have the right tool for the job. In this episode, I am going to talk about a dozen different tools to help you with your writing or marketing. And the best part? They are all on sale right now.
Writing & Publishing Deals
ProWriting Aid
If you are using the built-in spell checker, you are doing yourself a disservice. ProWritingAid (Affiliate Link) is a popular grammar checker, particularly with novelists. Grammarly (Affiliate Link) has more of a nonfiction focus while PWA has more of a fiction focus. Both are dramatically better at helping improve your writing and educating you as an author than the default spell checker.
Grammar checkers like these help you improve faster as an author and can save you money with editing. They don’t replace human editors, but they can save the human editor time.
Plottr
Plottr (Affiliate Link) is a great tool to help you plot your books better and faster. It also helps you keep your timelines straight.
You can hear my episode about Plottr here.
Affinity Publisher
Affinity Publisher is a powerful alternative to Adobe InDesign and much cheaper. At $37.99 it is also way cheaper than Vellum so well worth your consideration.
Website Deals
Divi WordPress Theme
The Divi Theme from Elegant Themes is the WordPress theme framework I personally use and recommend for authors.
Divi by Elegant Themes (Affiliate Link) gives you the drag and drop ease of use of a platform of Squarespace or Wix while preserving the power and flexibility of WordPress. It really is the best of both worlds.
They also have some cool Divi Add-Ons (Affiliate Link) if you already have Divi.
Bluehost
BlueHost (Affiliate Link) is the hosting we recommend for most authors. It is the best cheap hosting out there. It is very WordPress friendly.
How to Build an Amazing Author Website
Learn how to build your own amazing author website even if you are not a techie person. You will also learn how to craft the kind of website your readers will love. Best part? This course is 100% free.
Students who have never built a website before discover that by the time they’ve completed this course, their own website is live on the internet. Sometimes they do it in a single day. The best part? The course is free!
My hope is that you will use my affiliate links, but either way, the course is yours to keep at no cost to you.
In this course you will get:
- Step by step video guide on how to get started with Bluehost
- Step by step video guide on how to set up the Divi theme.
- Video tour of the WordPress dashboard.
- 7 Secrets of Amazing Author Websites
Marketing Deals
Bookmarks & Business Cards
VistaPrint (Affiliate Link) is an easy-to-use interface for making your own business cards and bookmarks. They even have a square business card that is particularly good for podcasters.
You can find my episode about business cards and bookmarks here.
Publisher Rocket
PublisherRocket (Affiliate Link) is a great tool for doing market research, and it is particularly useful for helping you pick keywords for your book so that more people can find it.
You can find my interview with Dave Chesson, CEO of Publisher Rocket, here.
DepositPhotos
DepositPhotos has a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal for 100 image credits for $39. This is where I get most of my stock photos for my presentations and blog posts. The credits never expire.
I have purchased and used over 700 images from DepositPhotos over the years.
Podcasting Deals
Riverside.fm
Riverside.fm (Affiliate Link) is the tool I use to record podcast interviews. It uses Double Ender technology to make the guest sound “in-studio.” This is much better than using Zoom.
Podcast Microphones
The microphone I recomend for podcasters is on sale right now on Amazon.
The Samson Q9u (Affiliate Link) is a broadcast-style microphone that can plug directly into your computer via USB, saving you the need to buy a separate mixer or interface. It can also plug into a mixer, so it can grow with you.
I expect this to sell out, so if you see it out of stock let us know in the comments.
The Sure SM7b (Affiliate Link) is the microphone I use and is considered the gold standard for podcasting. Just realize to use this with your computer, you will need an interface like the Scarlet 2i2 or Rodecaster Pro (Affiliate Links).
Sponsor:
If you want help with platform building, I am building a course to help you with every aspect. It is called Obscure No More and it is currently in beta release. The course is now in open beta. Beta students will be going through the course as I make it. Those of you who sign up during the beta window can save 65% with coupon code beta.
Featured Patrons
Shauna Letellier, author of Remarkable Advent
Rediscover the wonder of the first Christmas in this Advent devotional. Through twenty-five daily readings for individuals or families, the Christmas story comes to life. With breathtaking imagery and captivating storytelling, Remarkable Advent will prepare your heart to celebrate God’s greatest gift.
You can become a Novel Marketing Patron here.
If you can’t afford to become a patron, but still want to help the show, you can! Just use one of the affiliate links in this post or at AuthorMedia.com/recommendations.
