Are you writing a book? Considering self-publishing? Here are some web resources that will help in all aspects of writing—from the first draft through marketing. This is Part 1; more next week.

These links are categorized by topic in alphabetical order. NOTE: as of September 14, 2016 all are active. No evaluation or approval is implied by the listing; you must evaluate the merits of any site you check on the list. On just a few listings there will be some pros or cons. Some items on this list contain lists of their own—links to other sites with more links. So there is a great deal of information to be gleaned here, some better than others. This is just a small sample of what’s available, but it’s a start. To update that old biblical quote—search the web and you shall find [some good stuff and some junk].

Advertising/Marketing

• Advertising/promo sites
  • 90 sites to advertise your book
  • 35+ Alternatives to BookBub
  • BookBub (a paid service that doesn’t take all submissions; for free or discount books only)
  • Book Promo Sites curated by Indies Unlimited
  • Book Promotion Opportunities (free, may be time-specific; see site) by Chris McMullin
  • Booklikes (based in Europe; authors can have a page once a book is published)
  • An Interactive List of Book Promotion Sites & Free Submission Tool—table with lots of information and links to sites
  • Snowflakes in a Blizzard—descriptive of what most books are; free promos of your book
• Email marketing
  • Beginners Guide
  • Email list building tips
  • MailChimp–more like the gorilla of email; up to 2,000 subscribers are free–check the site for details of what they do

• Miscellaneous promotion techniques
  • Building a book trailer on a shoestring—four part series on The Story Reading Ape site:   Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4
  • Talk radio—Gordon’s radio list is NOT free
  • Strategic Use of Book Giveaways—from Jane Friedman
  • Book Marketing Buzz—“book promotion and marketing tips for authors”

• Press releases, etc.
  • Free Press Release Distribution Service—check the site to see if this is for you
  • EMSI (Paid PR firm) does lots of stuff, may not be inexpensive

All of the above and more—special multifaceted sites

• Indies Unlimited—writing tips, marketing, publishing and much more; good site
• Michelle Rene Goodhew—primarily a good cover designer but also has articles for authors
• Publishing and other forms of insanity—author Erica Verrillo’s site with frequent info on new agents, publishers accepting submissions without agents, writing contests and more (great)
• Preditors and Editors—preeminent source for checking on agents, publishers, editors, etc.
• The Story Reading Ape Blog—guest posts on writing, marketing, design and much more including free author profiles and book promotions (a great site); follow/sign up
• Writer’s Digest—major source of information; not all free but check it out

Author blogs/sites of interest—most have many tips about self-publishing, writing, etc.

• Allen, Anne R. (with Ruth Harris)
• Best Author Blogs—link list from Writers Write
• Blake, Russell–can be a bit pessimistic/misanthropic but you may find helpful kernels here
• Colletta, Sue—crime fiction writer
• Cronin, Sally–has a very eclectic site which includes helping to promote other writers and offering tips on this and that
• Howey, Hugh—very successful self-publisher
• Kaye, D.G.—lots of tips from essayist/memoir writer Kaye.
• Rossis, Nicholas—fantasy/sci-fi writer
• Verrillo, Erica—great blog with tips on agents, contests, submissions without agents and more

Excerpted from Part 4 of Becoming a Writer, a series published in the Eagle Peak Quarterly.