Writer Resources
We will continue to build this list—check back periodically!
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As You Write Community
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Join our As You Write Facebook community! Dive into storytelling and self-publishing with fellow authors. Whether you're seasoned or just starting, find inspiration, support, and collaboration here. Let's celebrate successes, navigate challenges, and nurture your authorial dreams. Your words are powerful here! Join us today!
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Organization Tools​
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Xmind is a terrific mind mapping tool. There is a limited free version in the app store. You can also find a web version here. https://www.xmind.net/
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Todoist - Quite possibly, the world's most perfect list-making app. It allows you to also set dates and deadlines, organize your content into projects, and it has a simple layout. It offers tons of integrations, working with almost any other app, including Google Assistant. Mobile app available.
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Evernote - Helpful organizational tool for keeping notes.
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Editing Tools
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Grammarly.com I cannot survive without Grammarly! I use this tool every day. You can use the free version for the basic spell checks, but the paid-for version is stellar. I also have it as a chrome extension and in my MS Word (no extra charge) so I don't have to upload my manuscript every time I want to edit. It does it for me in real-time. My grammar and punctuation have improved tremendously since implementing this service.
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Quillbot.com This tool is incredible for a quick rephrase of your wording. It's totally free and there is an upgrade if you want to go deeper. I love it to do a quick check on a difficult sentence to make it more impactful.
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Autocrit.com This powerful tool is fantastic at evaluating your content to see if it answers the age-old question. Is my writing good enough? This is a free service with an upgraded option. It helps with overused words, fillers, adverbs, and more. It will even tell you what grade level a person needs to complete in order to understand your content. The big hint here, it's not college level. I am so excited about this tool. I'm checking my blogs and all kinds of things. It's helping to improve my writing and it will do the same for you. If you have the chrome extension of Grammarly, you can actually use these two services in tandem! How cool is that?
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Formatting Tools
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Designrr.io OMGosh! This is my favorite tool ever! There is a deal going on now for $27 lifetime access for this online tool. It turns your blogs, word docs, and copy and pasted content into beautiful PDF and Ebooks using a variety of customizable templates. You don't need a bunch of technical know-how to use the program.
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You don't have to download anything or have special software. I was reluctant to share in the past because it was so expensive $300+. When I found this deal for myself I was over the moon, so I wanted to share it with you as well.
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Adobe Acrobat Pro DC: https://creativecloud.adobe.com/ If you are going to do a lot of formatting I would recommend the monthly Adobe Acrobat Subscript to edit your PDF's.
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Marketing Images for Your Book
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Mockupshots is excellent and easy. You can make those awesome 3D images of your books in 100's of different settings. We have a special deal with them if you use our link here.
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Book Launch Tools
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KDSpy: Will help you pick those categories you need to make your book a best seller on Amazon. You will be able to see how many downloads free or paid are needed in order for you to rank your book and get seen on amazon. Check it out at this link. KDSpy
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Platforms for Creating Your Own Online Course
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Thinkific: This is a great way to get your information to the world on a professional online teaching platform. It's really inexpensive and can make a huge difference with your brand as a teacher and thought leader. You can create an online course that goes along with your book and cross-promote your book with your course and vice versa. Check it out here. Thinkific
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How to Find Writing Topics
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https://www.quora.com/ You can answer questions that people have on your topic or find out what people are searching for and get ideas. It's almost like a mini-market research space for writers and entrepreneurs.
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https://answerthepublic.com/ You can type in a keyword from your topic and find out in an instant what people are searching for around your topic. You will get some great title ideas and you know people are already looking for what you are offering.
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https://www.amazon.com/ Search the bestseller lists and find out what people are writing about. Use the "Look Inside" feature of your favorite books and scan the chapter headings, see if something sparks your creativity.
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