12 Secret Tools for Authors + What I (Really)Use

10 + Free Tools for Aspiring Bestselling Authors

Plus What I Use

I was seriously tempted to call this “The Dirty Dozen”, but even though we are easy with the phrase quick and dirty, I thought that this list might not be taken seriously by you. So today, I’m giving you that much scorned blog post called a “listicle”. Just a list with links — sharing is caring!

• Gmail Account, Google Docs with Voice Typing (Chrome Browser needed), Google Drive to store your assets and resources.
  I create a new account for every new book and course just to keep it separate.
• Canva — Book Covers, website, animations, social media scheduling
  I have a Pro account, but for a long time I used only the free account. It gets better and better.
• Publishing — Amazon KDP
  This is my platform of choice, because it’s free, and also the largest marketplace for readers who want to buy books.
• Audio for podcast or audio from your books — Amazon Polly and Anchor.fm. So you need an AWS account — the free tier is adequate for authors.
  I still haven’t done an audio book, as Im still looking for good free or economical options. At this time Amazon Polly has amazing AI voices.
• PDF creation or manipulation — 1lovepdf.com
  You need this to generate pdfs of your advanced reader copies, and for a lot of other reasons, including creating freebies.
• Mailerlite — mail autoresponder free for the first 1000 contacts. I now use Sendfox, not free but one time payment and very efficient.
  You absolutely must have an autoresponder and learn to use it effectively. Your email list belongs to you!
• Diy Book Covers — 3D covers for your marketing. I also use BookBrush.com
  These are those nice images of your book nestling in various supermodel poses! You must have them at launch time, or for any time that you are promoting your book.
• Publishexpress — Free tool to create simple epubs. I also use Vellum and Atticus.
  The simple tool is enough to do quick generation of docs to epubs, and also for very simple book layouts. I use Vellum that is quite expensive, but Atticus is a great economical alternative.