Here is a list of resources we recomend. Affiliate links are marked.
Indie Publishing
Amazon KDP
For most authors, this is the best choice for indie publishing. You have to have a good reason not to go with Amazon KDP.
Ingram Spark
Better if you plan to “go wide” also sometimes better for specialty books like some kinds of children’s books.
BookBaby
A full-service indie publishing platform. BookBaby helps with the cover and editing for a fee. This is more expensive than Amazon KDP or Ingram Spark but for some authors, the added cost may be worth it.
Website Hosting
BlueHost (Affiliate Link)
This is the hosting we recomend for most authors. It is the best cheap hosting out there. It is very WordPress friendly
WP Engine (Affiliate Link)
This is the hosting we use. It is designed for websites that get a lot of traffic. It is a lot more expensive for a reason. If you plan on writing viral blog posts, this is the level of hosting you want.
Website Templates
Divi by Elegant Themes (Affiliate Link)
We use and recomend this WordPress theme because it gives you the drag and drop ease of use of a platform of Squarespace or Wix while preserving the power and flexibility of WordPress. It really is the best of both worlds.
WordPress Plugins
MyBookTable
This plugin got its start right here at Author Media! It is the most comprehensive and robust bookstore plugin for WordPress.
MyBookProgress
This plugin helps you track your writing progress publically to build enthusiasm about your book and keep you motivated to keep making progress. There is no other plugin quite like it. This plugin also got its start here at Author Media.
Podcast Hosting
Blubrry (Affiliate Link)
This is the service we use and recomend. If you use coupon code “novelmarketing” at checkout, you will get a free month of hosting.
BuzzSprout (Affiliate Link)
This is the service we recommend if you don’t use WordPress. They have some of the prettiest podcast pages and beautiful stats pages. They show downloads by the week in their charts. BuzzSprout also has some of the best podcast tutorials in the industry. They also offer a free option!
Transcription
Sonix.ai (Affiliate Link)
This is the service I use to turn our podcast episodes into raw text. We then edit this text into the blog posts that appear with each episode.
Podcast Gear
We have a complete gear guide available here. It covers various levels of podcasting from the occasional guest interview all the way to a major studio.
Here are the highlights:
Samson Q2U Microphone (Affiliate Link)
This microphone has amazing sound, especially considering its low price. It can plug directly into your computer via USB, saving you the need to buy a separate mixer or interface. It can also plug into a mixer, making it the perfect starter mic. It can grow with you. This is a dynamic microphone which means it will bring in less room noise than condenser microphones like the Blue Yeti or Blue Snowball (which we recomend avoiding).
Samson SR350 Over-Ear Stereo Headphones (Affiliate Link)
These are the best studio headphones you can get for less than $20. They are good at isolating sound and will give you crisp, easy-to-hear audio without leakage.
Neewer Adjustable Microphone Scissor Arm (Affiliate Link)
A microphone arm attaches to your desk and allows you to quickly put the microphone right where you need it, and get it out of the way. This is optional, but it makes life a lot easier.
Market Research
K-lytics.com
This site has some of the best reports giving you a state of the kindle ebook industry, including the book covers of the best selling books in each category. This is an invaluable tool for any author who is ready to use data to help them make more money with ebooks.
Email Marketing
MailerLite (Affiliate Link)
MailerLite has the best-priced email marketing platform. While not as powerful as ConvertKit, it is easier to use than MailChimp and cheaper too!
ConvertKit (Affiliate Link)
This is what we use, while more expensive than MailerLite it has more powerful features, particularly when it comes to automations. It is also easier to use.
MailChimp (Affiliate Link)
This is what we used to recomend for almost everyone. Now we only recomend it for authors who are just getting started and want to use it for free. It has the most generous free level. But once you have to start paying, we recomend MailerLite or ConvertKit instead.
Webinar Platforms
Crowdcast
This is what we use for our webinars and it had been one of the biggest sources of growth for our email list. It is powerful, flexible, and reliable.
