A Huge List of Helpful Resources for Self Published Authors!

Written By Abigail Hammond

This past year, I’ve written four books and self published three. I started my self publishing journey in 2023, and, not having had anyone in my circle who had self published before, I was on my own to research, learn, and figure out what on earth I was doing! That being said, I wanted to compile a list of the most helpful resources I’ve found in case they might help anyone else. These are the resources I point people to whenever other new authors message me with questions. :)

Now, let’s get to the helpful stuff!

1. The Process and Technical Aspects of Self Publishing:

• The most helpful resource I’ve found that I have referenced constantly since I first read it is this article by Ryan Cahill. Ryan Cahill is a fantasy author who makes a full time living publishing his books through KDP. The article is extensive and covers every topic you can think of, from marketing, to pricing, self publishing as an amazon exclusive vs going wide, and etc. Seriously, I go back to this article about once a week!

• There is also an interview with Ryan Cahill on YouTube in which he covers much of the same information: How to Become a Successful Self Published Author

• David Gaughran is another authority on self publishing. This article, How to Self Publish a Book in 10 Steps, covers a little bit of everything! The only reason I recommend Ryan Cahill’s article more than this one is because Gaughran tends to link most sections of the article out to his courses, books, and other articles on his site. All of those resources are useful, but much more time consuming. Cahill’s article is an exploding fire hydrant worth of information delivered in a no nonsense, to the point style, which I prefer.

• Lidiya Foxglove is another self published author whose videos I’ve found to be very helpful. Her Youtube channel is called The Cozy Creative, and she’s very open and candid about her experiences as a self pub author, how much she has made, everything she’s tried, the mistakes she’s made, and etc. I’m linking the videos I found most helpful from her here:

- I wrote 40 books in four years: here’s what I learned

- My 7 biggest self publishing mistakes: what I learned

- how much I've made in self-publishing in 8 years // lifetime indie earnings deep dive

• One other Youtube channel I’d be remiss not to mention is Jenna Moreci’s YouTube channel, Writing With Jenna Moreci. Her channel has been around for years, and she’s answered pretty much any question you can think of when it comes to writing and self publishing. And, she’s absolutely hilarious, to boot!

•A Few Miscellaneous Videos/Channels:

-Mandi Lynn Stone Ridge Books is one I reference for technical questions when it comes to things like ISBNs, copyright, formatting software, and etc.

-This video by Seth Ring is a quick, less than ten minute overview of the self publishing process. Just some good basic info and reality check.

-I use Adobe Indesign for formatting my books. There are several formatting program options, but if you choose to use indesign, these videos are very helpful for learning the basics: • How to Create a Book Template Adobe Indesign Basics beginner Tutorial

• Using InDesign to Format the Interior of a Book

• And for general information on formatting: How to Format a Book

2. Writing:

This section is the shortest I’ll write about, as this is probably the easiest aspect of self publishing to find resources for. I’ll just highlight a few of my favorites!

  • First and foremost, the best writing resource available online (in my opinion) is hands down Brandon Sanderson’s writing course. Here’s the YouTube playlist: Brandon Sanderson Writing Course

  • My favorite YouTube channel when it comes to crafting stories is Local Script Man. His stuff is great.

  • I’ve read a few different writing books, but the two I’ve found most helpful are On Writing by Stephen King and The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. Save the Cat is recommended everywhere and could also be a good resource, but I personally have some qualms with teachings on strict act structures and just skimmed the book.

  • Lastly, I wanted to include a playlist of videos about writing and self publishing that I’ve complied from several different YouTube channels. These are videos I go back to and reference often, or just find inspiring. Here’s my playlist: Favorite Writing Videos

3. Marketing:

This is the part where every author cries in frustration, including me (lol!). Unfortunately, marketing is essential, especially for us self published authors! I’m going to list the most helpful resources I’ve found first, then share some tips and what I’ve learned from my personal experiences.

Here I’ll mention David Gaughran again. His entire website is full of useful and helpful marketing information. For starters, he offers this free course that walks you through marketing and selling books, beginning with the very basics. It’s helpful, especially if you have no prior experience in marketing. I recommend checking it out.

The most effective and useful marketing tip I’ve found is one I learned from Gaughran, and that is utilizing free book promotions and free book promotions newsletters. I would scream this from the rooftops to every indie author if I could. So, here I’ll explain how these free promotions work and why they are beneficial: Making your ebook free and giving it away for a limited period of time may seem counterintuitive, but, it’s a great way to get your book in front of new readers, possibly garner more reviews, and, if done strategically, it’s a great way to get eyes and attention on your other books and/or preorders on your upcoming releases. There are several email newsletters, such as Freebooksy, that specifically list books that are free on kindle (or other ebook providers) each day. Authors can pay for their book to receive a spot in these emails for anywhere between $9 to $100, depending on the newsletter and your book’s genre. The more books you have available, the more useful this strategy is.

This specific page on David Gaughran’s website goes into more detail about this strategy, as well as promo stacking. He also lists the best newsletters to book spots in to advertise your free book: The Best Book Promo Sites for 2024

Here is the strategy I used when setting up my next upcoming freebie day:

1. I made one of my books free for a set number of days. I’ve already run this type of promotion with my first book, so this time, I’m making my second book free.

2. During the same time period, I set a Kindle countdown deal and drop the price of my first book to $0.99. I keep my third and latest book, which just released less than a month ago, at its regular price of $2.99.

3. I will make my fourth book available for pre-order a few days prior to the freebie promotion. That way, anyone who downloads my other books will also see my newest planned release, and may pre order it or add it to their to-read list.

4. Lastly, using Canva, I’ve prepared a couple of graphics to post on my Instagram and Facebook pages to advertise when my book is free. Even if you don’t have a huge following, it’s still worth sharing. You’d be surprised how many people will repost your post when your book is free!

Last thing regarding freebie promotions—yes, it’s true that many people will download your book to their kindle or eReader and not read it right away, maybe not ever. However, that doesn’t make this tactic any less useful, and, if you want to decrease the likelihood of someone downloading your book, then forgetting about it, make sure you make the cover and blurb as good as you possibly can. I can’t tell you how many people have told me they gave one of my books a shot solely because of the cover.

Okay, back to resources!

My personal experiences and thoughts on marketing strategies I’ve tried:

1. Social Media Marketing: This one is debated a lot. What I’ll say is this: I believe that it is important to have a social media presence, at least an instagram page, as a self published author. I am not someone who posts every day, or someone who creates lots of TikToks or reels. I tried that with my first book, and quickly burned out. Most of the time, I’m writing in my pajamas and a messy bun, so really, there’s nothing influencer-like about my “author life,” lol! However, through Instagram specifically, I’ve met several other indie authors and several readers who I have personally connected with, and those connections have been huge when it comes to morale and staying encouraged/excited to keep going. On that note, I’ve found my more personal posts (whether it’s a photo from a book signing event or a behind the scenes picture of my dog laying his paw on my laptop when I’m trying to write) and a thoughtful, genuine caption do better than the countless videos I’ve created in an effort to market my books. Like I said, Instagram has been invaluable for me in connecting with readers on a personal level. I’ve met some wonderful and kind people who have genuinely enjoyed my books, and I’ve ended up having several fun conversations not only about my books, but all sorts of book-related topics. It’s not about going viral, it’s about making real connections. So if you’re like me and struggle with social media, thinking of it in that regard may help. :)

I’ve experimented with paid ads on Instagram and Facebook as well. This experience was a bit of a toss up. On one hand, I did more than double my following of 500 people on IG to somewhere around 1400 during the time I was running paid ads. Since I stopped, my growth has been minuscule, maybe 1-2 followers every now and then. However, I’m not sure those paid ads translated to more readers. I know for a fact that a few of my best readers came across my books from these ads. And by best readers, I mean those I’ve connected with personally who ARC read and review every book I write, and get excited and share about my books, especially when I announce a new release. So, there are positives. But overall, I don’t believe the outcome is worth the cost when it comes to actually selling books. If you just want to build your following and get your name out there, then sure, this might be a good way to do it, but your ad needs to be solid and targeted well. I tried several ads, and while some flopped, others hit the sweet spot and performed excellently.

2. Online Book Tours: I ran a book tour on the release of my first book. The tour was with a company that came recommended pretty much across the board. It was a five day tour that cost just under $200 and had about twenty-six “stops” or influencers involved, give or take (I say give or take because not all scheduled posted). I also had to send physical copies of my book to most of the influencers involved, which was costly. The stops for the tour were mainly on instagram and TikTok, but some involved blog posts. Now, the experience wasn’t a total bust. Most of the influencers ended up writing reviews on Goodreads and Amazon after they read it, which was a good boost, especially for my first book. However, I don’t believe the tour was worth the cost. After doing some research, I found that the most all of the influencers involved in the tour partook in “engagement groups.” If you haven’t heard of those, they’re basically groups of people that all agree to like and comment on each others’ posts each time they have a new post up. That means none of the engagement is organic, and most people who engage with the content don’t read the caption or care what is being posted. I researched some other book tours as well, and it seems it’s a common occurrence. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine if people want to use engagement groups, and I understand the thought process. Social media has severely gone downhill the past year, especially when it comes to organic engagement. It’s nearly impossible to get any content noticed. However, when paying for a service that’s meant to get your book noticed, accounts using engagement groups are not cost effective. I believe marketing dollars are best spent elsewhere.

3. In Person Events: The best experience I’ve had all year was my first book signing just a couple of weeks ago. As authors, we spend a lot of time holed up writing in our own little world, and even after publishing, most of the involvement we have with readers is over the internet and behind screens. Being at an event where you get to meet real people in person who are genuinely interested in your books is the best feeling in the world, and, it’s another way to get your books out there.

Okay! That was a lot of information and resources, but I sincerely hope it’s helpful to someone! I spent so many hours the past two years scouring the Internet, watching videos, reading articles, and trying different strategies out. I hope maybe I saved you some time so you can get back to the best part of all of this: writing! :) If there’s anything I’m just totally off on, or if you have more/better insight into some of these topics, please feel free to correct me! Like I said, I’m no expert, just wanted to share what’s been helpful for me.

Don’t give up! There are so many ups and downs in this process, and so many times it’s easy to get discouraged. But if I can do this, you can too! :) God bless!

Abigail Hammond
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