I'm often asked about getting started as a writer, what programs I find indispensable, and for writing tips, tricks, and more. The programs, apps, products, and books below I have found indispensable on my publishing journey. I've tried a lot of things, taken some wrong turns, and refined my processes. Your mileage might vary, but these are the tools I use to keep my business going. This page contains some affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission from sales, but that does not affect the price for you. Thank you for your support!
Scroll down for books I have found especially useful (evidenced by the amount of highlighting and notetaking I've done!)
Are you an aspiring writer or an author who wants to learn more about craft, publishing, and promotion?
My author bestie and I created Write, Publish, Promote, a FREE online course that takes you from page to print!
I have sent about 500 email newsletters using MailerLite and love it. They make sending attractive love letters to my readers easy and deliverability has been great. Not only that, the customer service is fantastic with a paid plan.
I've heard of several great courses that teach you how to build a direct sales shop. After a lot of careful research, I chose Cameron Snow's Author Accelerator program because of the online group support and the detailed step by step directions. Ten out of ten recommend! There are two options:
1. The Shopify Build Out program which helps you create your store.
2. The Author Direct Sales program which includes and expands on the build out above and includes everything from ads creation to best advanced sales tactics.
*I started with #1 to see if I liked the teaching style, then added #2 with a coupon found in #1 (available as of this writing 4/29/24).
The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writers” and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion! If you need inspiration for creating characters’ emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-don’t-tell guide for emotion can help.
*Part of a series of helpful books!
The Romance Writer’s Encyclopedia Series breaks down our method for categorizing tropes into four types of framework tropes – Character Tropes, Situational Tropes, Setting Tropes, and Relational Tropes.
*Part of a series of helpful books!
What makes a romance novel a romance? How do you write a kissing book? Writing a well-structured romance isn’t the same as writing any other genre—something the popular novel and screenwriting guides don’t address.
Writing a novel will change your life. It might not be in the way that you expect, but when you hold your book in your hand and say, “I made this,” something will shift. The process of getting to that point will light a spark in your creative soul and help you discover unexpected aspects of yourself. It will be one of the things you are most proud of in your life. This book will help you get there.
There are only, in my humble opinion, two kinds of readers: Readers who love your books and readers who don’t know they love your books yet. But how do you reach those readers in the second category, no matter what kind of writer you are? The answer to that question is…Universal Fantasy
*Part of a series of helpful books!
Romance novels aren't like other genres and hitting all the things that romance readers want can be tricky. How do you make your readers believe your characters are falling in love? How do you show that sizzle of attraction? How do you write a good kissing scene? How do you bring in the much-needed tension but still have your characters flirting and getting closer?