Budget Resources

Note: The following article was written by New Forest Books founder, Eibhlin MacIntosh, and originally shared at what is now her fine art website.

Writing books can be a feast-or-famine occupation.  I’m in favor of steering it towards the “feast” side of things, as quickly as possible.

That can be easier said than done.

Budget writing resourcesWorse, you may not have the financial resources to hire the support services you’d like. You might have more time than money, or you could be running short on both.

I get it. If you’re struggling financially, time may be the asset you can most easily make use of.

Too many self-styled publishing gurus try to convince you to spend money anyway, even if it involves running up steep credit card bills.

In most cases, I disagree, heartily. My philosophy has been “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” (Teddy Roosevelt said that, and it’s among my favorite quotes.)

So, assuming you’re not eager (or able) to spend a cent on your writing and publishing career, here’s what I recommend.

Plot ideas

Plotter or pantser?

There are plotters (people who plan their stories before they start writing them) and pantsers (people who just sit down and write in a “fly by the seat of their pants” style).

I’m a plotter. I’ve tried pantsing and all the editing drove me up the wall.

This article at Medium may help you decide which you are: Are You A Plotter or Pantser?

Prompts and other starting points

You may want to look for sites that list plot suggestions and writing prompts. Here are a few among hundreds, possibly thousands. You’ll also find books at Amazon (etc.), filled with prompts.

Characters names and personalities

Whether you need just a name or a fully developed character, these links can help. But – be forewarned – some are better than others, depending on your needs.

Crafting your plot

Writing your book

Editing your book

    • Crutch words – A list of words that are really easy to overuse in your stories. Search your story, and then find better words!
    • Better verbs – A list with overused verbs, and some powerful alternatives that can save your readers’ interest. (If you like these kinds of lists, visit Writers Helping Writers for more free PDFs, plus some reference books worth owning.)
    • Grammarly free works well for fiction. ProWritingAid free is excellent for nonfiction. And Linguix free is a gem at recognizing when you used the wrong word, so I rely on it daily. All have fancier, paid versions as well.
    • The free Hemingway App can be a nuisance to work with. All that cut-and-paste can take time, but it’ll catch many errors and it’s one of the simplest if you just want to glance at the page and see what really needs fixing. It’s kind of “old school,” but I still love it.
    • Did your book sound better in your head than it does on the page? Find out easily. Listen to what you wrote, using the free Read Aloud extension. It’s available for Chrome and for Firefox. You may find other text-to-speech readers, but I think this one is the best.

Proofreading your book

Frankly, most (if not all) of the free editing tools I mentioned are also good for proofreading.

Or, put your book aside for a few days (at least three) and then go back and read it, preferably with a spell-checker (in your word processor like OpenOffice writer, or LibreOffice, or Word).

Creating a book cover

    • Dave at Kindlepreneur explains cover design really well.
    • Lots of people love Canva. If you haven’t a clue how to design a book cover, that’s a good (free) place to start. You can do this. Really.
    • Amazon will provide you with a free, fill-in-the-blanks template for both Kindle and printed books. You’ll find that in their Kindle Direct Publishing site. It’s part of the process of publishing your book.
    • Reedsy has a good, older article about designing book covers. (I like Pexels.com for free photos.)
    • If you need a printed book cover template, Amazon provides them, but I prefer the free Bookow cover templates. They seem to fit printed books better.

Uploading your book to Amazon (and alternatives)

    • Amazon explains the process fairly clearly, and they provide free software. Look for KDP at Amazon. (Your country’s KDP link may be different.)
    • Draft2Digital is wonderful to work with, too, and they’ll publish your books (for a small commission) with many other booksellers in the US and abroad.
    • As of 2021, you may want to look into “going wide” with your books… but, if you’re new to indie publishing, start with Amazon. Or Draft2Digital. Either will work, and keep things simple.

Pricing your book

    • For now, see my “Marketing on a shoestring” section, below.

Your book blurb

    • Here’s one resource: How to Write a Blurb. (I also recommend entering “how to write a book blurb” in Google or another search engine, and checking the latest/newest advice from reliable sources. <- In other words, don’t jump on some get-rich-quick offer that promises a shortcut to success.)
    • To be sure your blurb looks great at Amazon, use Dave’s Kindlepreneur Amazon book description generator. It’s free. And it works.

Marketing on a shoestring

Free v. 99-cents v. more

There was a time when a free book (using Kindle Unlimited’s “free for up to five days” plan) was a smart marketing approach. It can still work for some categories. In July 2020, one of my “based on a true story” books reached the top 10 in its category with nothing more than three free days to get word-of-mouth buzz started.

99-cent pricing can be great or it can mark you as an amateur (or worse).  See prices on other books in your category – with a similar page count – before making a decision. But, even if most books in your category are $2.99 or higher, running a 99-cent “introductory special” can work, if you use social media (or ads) to get buzz and income. And then mark your book up to the range where it belongs.

Plagiarism

Reader Dayna mentioned the issue of plagiarism, which has increased in recent years. Here’s a good article reviewing free plagiarism tools: 5 Free Online Plagiarism Checkers – Which Work in 2021.

Mailing lists

Mailing lists are a way to bypass all other advertising methods and reach your readers, your way, with your latest book links.

The problem is, most of them cost money. Or are filled with their own ads.

The following resource has changed how it’s managed. I’m not sure if it’s still a useful tool, or even if you can sign up for it now.

I’m using Feedburner. It’s free. If you have a website (see below), make sure your readers know they can hear from you, every time you post a fresh announcement on your site. (I’ve used Feedburner for at least 10 years. And most of my readers think I’ve emailed them, personally, when they get an update/announcement  from my site via Feedburner.)

And, when you’re ready to switch to a paid mailing system (like Aweber, etc.), Feedburner will show you the email addresses of everyone who’d signed up at your site.

(Also, when you have your own mailing list, you can arrange to swap marketing with fellow authors. Just be sure their books will appeal to your readers, and not offend them or bore them silly.)

Social media

It’s okay to shamelessly mention your book, and do your best to get your work in front of others who might genuinely like it.

Just don’t overdo it, or try to coerce (or guilt-trip) anyone into reading your book or reviewing it. (The latter can jeopardize your Amazon account. Do not do that.)

The problem is, social media posts can require time.

Lots of time. (But, hey, if you have far more time than money, social media can be your best friend.)

Find ways to reduce the time you’ll need to tell friends, family, and fans about your latest book: Use a free tool like HootSuite to start with. (I’m not sure it’s still free, but – as of July 2020 – it had a free plan mentioned in 15 of the Best Social Media Posting and Scheduling Tools.)

Later – when you have the budget for it – switch to something like PromoRepublic. (Meanwhile, watch AppSumo for similar products at the best prices. That’s how I got an affordable, lifetime deal on PromoRepublic.)

Your author website

Are you using throwaway pen names?  Are you churning out pulp novels that earn quick money and then fall off Amazon’s charts within months? That is one business model that’s been popular over the past few years.

If that’s what you’re doing, you probably don’t need a website. A Facebook page or Twitter account or Instagram account (etc.) can be enough.

On the other hand, if your aim is to write wonderful stories that readers fall in love with – and then tell their friends about – give yourself credibility with a website. You can start with a $10 (or less) domain name (I suggest Namecheap) and they’ll show you how to direct traffic to free WordPress.com or free Blogger, or another free hosting service.

Getting reviews

Just three rules for now:

  1. Do not ask your mother (or sister or spouse or kids) to write reviews for you. See Amazon’s rules. Don’t trust anyone else’s advice about this.
  2. Do not hire anyone to write Amazon customer reviews* of your books. Not at Fiverr, even if the person claims “everyone does this.”
  3. Do not read your reviews until you’ve written and published at least three books. Instead, ask a friend to skim your reviews and see if there is anything you absolutely, positively, need to know right now. Do not allow anyone to tell you anything more. Some (many?) reviewers are trolls who’ve never actually read your book. They’re just sad, abusive people who love to post nasty things to upset people.

*Note about reviews: An editorial review is different. It’s not a customer review.  It’s a review from a newspaper, magazine, or a (usually respected and impartial) website.

It could be from a fellow author who’s posted his/her/their review of your book.

Quotes from editorial reviews may appear in the same vicinity as your book blurb, on the Amazon sales page. I’m pretty sure you can include them in your book blurb, too.