My Top Five Free Things You Need To Have in Your Indie Author #Writerslife
What do they say, if you have lemons make some lemonade. Let's face it, your a new upcoming indie author and you don't have that much money. Well, if you have these five free things in you writers life it will make it easier on yourself. I want show you a run down list of my favorite freebie software or items I have managed to stumble upon in my last year of writing that helped lead me to become a published author.
1. Wix.com
Wix website creator has been a great way of providing me with the tools I need to help promote, market and shout out to all my fans and audience. The website design is flexible and easy to use. If you want to begin blogging its a great way to source and compile all you blogs here with a great SEO google search engine capability. So searches may find your blog with ease.
Wix.com does offer a pay monthly subscription for added benefits. I do not use this for any reason. My website does well on its own with a free base status. I have over 450 visits to my website to date and have received lots of positive feedback.
2. WPS writer
Can't write blogs or books or poems without some sort of software. WPS writer is a great value compared to Microsoft's disgustingly expensive Word Document. WPS is a perfect fill in and great for those who are familiar with Word Document. The comparisons between the both of them are unwell. Now this is a free based software but there is a buy in option available. I haven't even come close to be tempted to give it a try because I am able to manage just as well without it.
My one gripe about this software is your word count seems to track differently then that of Microsoft respective software. Other than that a tiny learning curve is necessary with anything new you take on. Once you've used this program for a few weeks you will never look back.
3. Grammarly
WOW, this app is crazy awesome. Is it even classified as a app, extension, or software? What is it? It's essential, especially if you want to edit some or your whole manuscript. This little guy will find all the little mistakes your eyes don't see because you have looked over your gold mine over and over again. Its okay to have a second set of eyes to scan through your masterpiece. Grammarly highlights anything that stands out and is incorrect. So I hope you can take criticism. I remember the first time using it and it highlighted over 60 mistakes in a chapter I thought was near perfect. You only see what you believe and this program opened my eyes. Love it, get it. Can't say enough about it.
Of course like all free software there is a payment option for the software to find technical advanced issues. But you gotta start somewhere, and ignoring the issues completely is not an option. So take the first step and grab this puppy.
4. Spotify
Without the universal language known as MUSIC I wouldn't get very far. If you love music and hate spending too much money on it. Or you download torrents and mp3's from w/e software you have. STOP NOW. Spotify is a free streaming service that allows you to listen to millions of songs for free. It's awesome and helps me keep calm and peaceful while writing countless amounts of pages per day. Helps my mind relax and imagine all the scenes take place when I go for walks. Inspires me and brings me to that happy place to enjoy what I'm writing. Sets that certain mood so you can adjust your style for that impactful moment in the biggest scene of your book.
Spotify is free but the premium offer they have so you can skip those annoying advertisements is a whole 10 bucks a month. This is about the only money I pour into my top 5 list here. To me its worth the price. I love music and how it twists my thoughts to push me further, and helping get the words on the page.
https://www.spotify.com/ca-en/
5. Kindle Direct Publishing
Which is owned by Amazon,is a sweet self publishing service for all us indie authors. Making it so streamlined and easy for authors to make content and produce via there off company Createspace for paperback copies, it would have been near impossible to distribute my paperback version without it.
I am a huge fan of statistics and this has a great interface for me to track all the sales and info I want. I am able to track sales with such ease and market my book so seamlessly its not even funny. Amazon lets me feel like I am in total control of the product I have to offer with the great user interface they have at there disposal.
Amazon has taken the industry and turned it on its head the last 5 years by buying Goodreads which is a huge part of the book readers world. Where readers and reviewer can chat and discuss and post review of the novels they are reading, what they have read and what they recommend. Amazon has so much to offer its so hard not to see the light in what they have to offer.
Its tough ride out there, and hopefully some of the writers who read this come out with a little bit extra after they read my top 5 list here. This isn't the end all be all list. It's only what works for me and I thought I would share it. Like I sad before, out of this whole list the only money I've put into some of the essential items needed for helping your writers life out is spotify and that is just my preference. Everyone is different, and that's okay.
So do you agree with the list or have something else you would add instead, start the conversation down below.
Destiny Book of Love wouldn't have been such a personal success if it weren't for the 5 freebies above. A story I had in my head for 18 years came to life with their help. Enjoy 3 chapters on me down below.
