These are a few of our favorite things ♬♪♫
We’ve curated only the tools and resources we love — and use! — so you can be confident that the things you see here will make your author biz easier, not harder.
Some of these links are affiliate links.
If you use them, we may get a small commission, which does not affect your cost (and might even reduce it).
List Management
Where price meets functionality. Mailerlite is surprisingly robust for the relatively love cost, and what it can do might surprise you. Great for those with straightforward needs. Start here if you’re new.
List Management
I can no longer recommend ActiveCampaign.
⬅️ If you’re looking for simple and cheap, try Mailerlite.
If you need something fancier and have a bit more money, try ConvertKit. ➡️
List Management
Also fancy and pricey. ConvertKit is similar to ActiveCampaign in price and features. It’s reported to be more user-friendly to the creative brain. Give it a look if ActiveCampaign doesn’t suit you.
List Management
While not as robust as other options, Flodesk creates elegant emails that look great on any device. Its drag-and-drop functionality and ease of use make it a favorite of many creatives.
List Management
Pricey but full-featured, Constant Contact is less common among authors, but has the ability to transform into a customer management tool and store, virtually replacing a website.
List Building
The first, and still the best, at seamless reader magnet delivery. Entirely author-facing and designed with your needs in mind. This is not an affiliate link; we just love them beyond reason.
Website design
Stop cobbling themes and plugins together to approximate what you need — author Caro Bégin of GoCreate.Me builds gorgeous, robust websites with all the features authors need.
Book Cover design
100 Covers creates gorgeous, professional-quality custom covers for less than the cost of many premade covers. Even if you already have a cover designer, consider them for reader magnets!
Product Descriptions
Book Blurb Magic offers affordable done-for-you product descriptions, as well as an inexpensive and comprehensive course on how to DIY yours. Highly recommended!
direct sales
Thrivecart is the solution to direct sales. It’s easy to use, integrates beautifully with Bookfunnel, and is available for a very reasonable one-time fee. (That’s right, no monthly charge.)
Highly recommended!
Utility
Backblaze is a reliable, inexpensive backup service for those oh-shit moments when Dropbox or OneDrive fails you. Include or exclude any file, directory, or file type — it will even back up your external hard drives.
Productivity
graphics & design
With thousands of fonts, templates, mockups, and more, the Creative Market online digital marketplace is invaluable when designing anything from ads to book covers.
GRAPHICS & DESIGN
There’s no easier way to whip up amazing graphics with virtually no effort. Hundreds of templates, a social media scheduler, and custom branding kits make Canva an absolute must-have.
video content
Loom is THE simplest way I’ve found to record engagement-boosting video. One click right from your Gmail inbox or any application, or screenshare with fans using picture-in-picture.
Just for Fun
I’m completely addicted to Hunt A Killer! They mail you a box full of clues and evidence every month, and you use them to solve a crime. It’s so fun. The button below gives 30% off your first box.
On a deadline?
If you’re crunched for time or just sick to death of your own cooking, consider cooking with HelloFresh instead of getting takeout. Save $120 on your first 6 boxes — including $40 off your first box!
what’s on my Non-Fiction Bookshelf?
(learn, grow, succeed)
what’s on my Writing & Publishing
Bookshelf?
(hone your craft)
what’s on my Fiction
Bookshelf?
(my all-time favorites)
