The Following are books and products I recommend for Authors and Writers.
*Some of these are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase something through these links I will get paid a commission for that at NO extra cost to you! It helps support my family and my work. Thanks for your support. If you bought something because of this page, please leave your own experience of it in the comments section below!
Here is an ever increasing list of books, tools, and resources that can help writers.
Tools (Systems, Apps, Etc.,)
- Scrivener, by Literature & Latte - $40
- Michael Hyatt (here) first turned me on to this program. It is absolutely the best thing I've seen for writers who want to publish any book Fiction or Non-fiction. He even uses it for publishing blog posts, and other content.
- This program allows me to write my scenes in any order they come to my mind. When it comes to Story Structure, I'm a Pantser or Edit-As-You-Go, not an Outliner. So this tool allows me to move scenes around, re-organize whole sections, and see the story through cork-boards at every level 1 inch view and 10,000 foot view.
- Thanks to Michael Hyatt (and his Affiliate Code: MICHAELHYATT) I got it at discount.
- yWriter 5 - Free
- This program pretty much does what Scrivener does, but for free. But being free, it's a bit less User Friendly. Think "Open Office vs Microsoft Word". They both get the job done, but the user experience is way different. I used yWriter happily until I could afford Scrivener.
- This program also has one feature I didn't find in Scrivener (maybe it's there, but I didn't find it), a timeline broken down by POV.
- yWriter is a word processor which breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create. It will not write your novel for you, suggest plot ideas or perform creative tasks of any kind. yWriter was designed by an author, not a salesman!
- Grammarly - Free and Paid/Month
- The free version is MORE than I need right now, but in the future, I may start using the paid version. That depends on how much I'm writing, and how much it's paying me.
- This is an App/Extension that checks your grammar, in outstanding ways.
- There is a Chrome Extension, that checks your grammar from within your browser, no matter what site you are typing on (Facebook Twitter, Comments, Etc.,).
- There is a Microsoft Extension for Word and Outlook. I'm using it right now to edit my first novel. I'm seriously considering publishing my first novel without an Editor thanks to Grammarly.
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| Grammarly |
Write Better - Learn Your Craft - Books
- Writing Fiction For Dummies, By Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy. This was the first book I ever read on writing, and still one of my all time favorites. It breaks down the elements of the craft into easily digestible chunks. Combined with books from KM Wieland and Lisa Cron, you have a total writers degree.
- Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story Paperback, by K. M. Weiland (Author). K.M. Wieland, through her blog, podcast, and books, has become like my writing professor. If you want a PhD in writing craft, just sign up for her stuff!
- Wired for Story, by Lisa Cron. One of the three best books I've read on writing craft. It gives you the key to unlocking your reader's emotions, and providing them with stories they crave! Amazingly simple answers to Writer's hardest challenges.
- The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling the Christian Novel, By Penelope J. Stokes
- On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction 30 Anv Rep Edition, by William Zinsser (Author)
- The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition 4th Edition, by William Strunk Jr. (Author), E. B. White (Author),
Write Better - Learn Your Craft - Websites
- Randy Ingermanson also offers a ton of help for writers through his blog, including:
- K.M. Weiland runs a website and podcast called "Helping writers become authors".
- Website: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
- Her Story Structure Database (here) outlines movies and books you've probably read and breaks them down into their story structures. This helps writers understand story structure for the own writing.
- One Stop For Writers also has some great resources.
Write Better - Choosing a Character's Name:
Publish Better - Platform Building:
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, by *For more great books and resources for writers, see my Amazon Store (here).
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I may also have received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” A Big Thank You to Michael Hyatt for helping us Bloggers with these new legal disclosure requirements.
