I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. I’m incredibly grateful to the many authors who’ve offered advice in the past and led me to some wonderful online resources. Be warned, some of these will take over your life.
Not all of them are free. Whether they’re worthwhile will be an individual decision. I advise using them as a reader, where applicable, before deciding if they’re right for you.
Online book mock-ups
https://diybookcovers.com/3Dmockups/# (free) This is a fantastic resource. Highly recommended and incredibly easy to use.
https://www.mockupshots.com (not free – but heavy discounting available from here
Marketing, book cover creation, social media scheduling
https://www.canva.com (there are free options. I only purchased a subscription when I wanted to start scheduling social media posts).
https://www.coffeepotbookclub.com Cathie Dunn runs exquisitely well organised blog tours, amongst other promotion services, based in the UK – (fees apply)
https://www.hfvirtualbooktours.com Book tours with a slightly more international flavour. Host is based in the US. (fees apply)
https://www.rachelsrandomresources.com Book tours and other promotions, not just historical fiction. (few apply)
https://thehistoryquill.com A book club, with an ever growing portfolio of writer tools, from cover design to editing, with the added bonus of offering both an ARC service and a beta readers service, as well as writing courses. (fees apply)
https://www.flintlockcovers.com My first experience of having a cover made from the ground up (The Custard Corpses, The Last King and Pagan Warrior). Genuinely, an amazing artist. (fees apply)
https://thebookcoverdesigner.com/product-category/premade-book-covers/ Where you can buy ready-made book covers, with some wiggle room for changes (fees apply). (The Dragon of Unison book covers, amongst others)
Universal links for your book(s)
https://books2read.com Website where you can link book and ebook platforms for one link so that readers can decide where to buy your book from. Remember to customise your link to make it easy to remember.
You can also run an Amazon affiliate account for Amazon only links. Amazon now also offer links to run on other websites. Check in your Amazon Campaigns dashboard – not sure if this is worldwide, but certainly in the UK.
Stock images for advertising or book covers
https://www.dreamstime.com (subscription required for most images)
ARC services – get your book out there before release
https://www.netgalley.co.uk (access the service via Books Go Social, and also via The Coffee Pot Book Club)
This service is also available with The History Quill, who also offer a Beta reading service, as well as editing options.
Promotion services
BookBub Even if you don’t promote with them, it’s worthwhile having an author account with them. Offers promotions to the US, UK, AU, CA and India (You can just do the US or just do International). Promotions can be expensive and you have to apply for them.
TheFussyLibrarian Mainly US based (I think). Here, you book and pay for your promotion. You get to decide on the date.
Do it Yourself Editing Services
Grammarly Software you install on your PC/Mac to catch those pesky mistakes. (Fees apply, or I think there’s a free version as well. I’ve been using this for year. It thinks I’ve checked 10,000,000 words with it:))
I will be adding to this as I discover new resources.
M J Porter 