With the dawn of a new year, it's a great time to pick up a new habit, hobby or skill. Then there's the bargains to be had with sales and discounts. Or perhaps you're more of a gadget and software fan. When it comes to the latter, there's a lot of tech and software at the indie author's disposal, so much so it can be overwhelming. Fear not, Tim Lewis, science fiction and fantasy author, social media specialist and host of ALLi’s weekly #indieAuthorChat on Twitter, threw this question to the ALLi Facebook members forum in preparation for the recent SelfPub conference. Nominations poured in, and the result is a definitive list of 100 must-have tools for writing, editing, design, production and distribution—this is the ultimate guide to tools and tech for indie authors.
Tim Lewis, ALLi Author Member and Twitter chat host
What is The #SelfPubCon?
The annual Self-Publishing Advice Conference (SelfPubCon) took place in October 2020. The theme was Tools & Tech for Indie Authors and included 24 sessions from amazing speakers. ALLi members can access the conference for six months as part of their membership.
Non-members can purchase a six-month or lifetime pass to all SelfPubCon conferences here.
The next SelfPubCon will take place on the 3rd and 4th July 2021 alongside The London Book Fair. This conference will centre on Writing Craft and will be our most interactive conference to date! Sign up to find out about the FREE 3-Day pass here.
Writing and Editing Tools and Tech for Indie Authors
Scrivener word processing and book organising app
What you said “Love the drag-and-drop function as I never write in order. I use the inspector for plot notes, the research folder for each project, and the project targets keep my manuscript on track.” literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
Plottr book planning and story outlining software
What you said “So visual and it works on Windows and Mac. Turbo-charges novel creation.” getplottr.com/
OneLook dictionary search
What you said “Power tools for wordsmiths. The versatility of its conceptual thesaurus puts Roget to shame.” OneLook.com
Phrase Express keyword text expander and autotext tool
What you said “Expands a short piece of text into a longer text. Especially useful for writing difficult and long character names and placenames as well as for repetitive text sections in non-fiction books.” PhraseExpress.com.
Zotero research management software
What you said “Top tool for organising non-fiction research.” Zotero.org/
Trello listmaking software
What you said ”If you're a visual planner, Trello is a great way to organise your writing, with different boards for each of your books or writing projects. It also has lists and cards to help you organise your tasks.” Trello.com
DokuWiki note organization software
What you said ”I use it as a private wiki to organise all my notes on writing and marketing.”
Vintage Parker Lady fountain pen
What you said “Although I’m a fast touch-typist, nothing taps into the creative part of my brain as readily as writing by hand.” ParkerPen.com
Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard
What you said ”Eliminates RSI pain in hands and wrists.” Microsoft.com
Goldtouch ergonomic split hinged keyboard
What you said “Totally adjustable to fit your body’s particular preferences. A life-saver for a lifelong RSI sufferer.” Goldtouch.com
3M joystick ergonomic mouse
What you said “A much more natural hand position than a conventional mouse.” 3M.co.uk
Reedsy’s editing and formatting tool
What you said “Great writing and formatting tool for authors.” Reedsy.com/write-a-book/book-writing-software-faq
Writemonkey distraction eliminating software
What you said “Leaves you alone with your thoughts and words.” Writemonkey.com
Fictionary creative editing software
What you said “Enables novelists to DIY a developmental edit, saving time and money.” Fictionary.co/
Evernote note-taking app
What you said “Multitasking app extraordinaire available across all platforms. Integrates with everything.” Evernote.com
Mycelium creativity game
What you said “For anyone who wants to expand their creative capacity.” Rogueinterrobang.com/
Feedback
Hemingway Editor
What you said “Shows authors how to simplify and clarify their prose.” hemingwayapp.com/
BetaBooks beta reader management software
What you said “Key timesaver for authors, keeping your beta-reader feedback organized, directed and searchable.” BetaBooks.co/
AutoCrit online manuscript editing tool
What you said “Helps authors on their journey from first draft to publishable novel.” Autocrit.com
Grammarly online writing assistant
What you said “For highlighting obvious errors and giving advice to help you become a better writer.” Grammarly.com/
ProWritingAid grammar checker and style editor
What you said “Because it’s designed with authors in mind.” Prowritingaid.com/
ThePenFactor
What you said ”Round-the-clock writing competition that will give you fast and friendly feedback on your story.” PenFactor.com
Bookboro writers and readers community
What you said ”A great critique service and sharing space for works in progress.” Bookboro.com
Author Accelerator book coach matching service
What you said ”Matches authors to book coaches and trains book coaches to understand what authors really need.” AuthorAccelerator.com
Design Tools and Tech for Indie Authors
Joel Friedlander’s book design templates
What you said “they make doing your own book layout and formatting so much easier.” BookDesignTemplates.com
Vellum design software
What you said “For clarity, flexibility, responsiveness and producing beautiful books with minimal effort.” Vellum.pub/
Acrobat Pro PDF management software
What you said “The best way to send, track and store signed documents. And it makes editing of PDFs easy too.” Adobe.com
Affinity Publisher and Affinity Photo design software
What you said “Does everything Adobe can, with professional results, much more cheaply.” Affinity.serif.com
Jutoh e-book convertor and creator
What you said “User-friendly wizards and feature-rich editing tools allow expert users to tinker with any aspect of the final ebook format.” Jutoh.com
Canva online graphic design tools
What you said “Makes it so easy to create beautiful, eye-catching graphics for online marketing.” Canva.com
Book Brush online graphic design tools
What you said “Simplifies the process of book graphic design and takes it to a whole new level.” BookBrush.com
NounProject image library
What you said “Superb collection of iconography for any type of communication – email, newsletter, book – and a visual diversity and inclusion mission. Fab!” TheNounProject.com
Production and distribution
Draft2Digital
What you said “Allows you to go wide with professional-looking, elegantly formatted e-books – including MOBIs that you can upload to KDP – all at no upfront cost.” Draft2Digital.com
IngramSpark
What you said “Game-changer for indie authors and micro-publishers.” IngramSpark.com
Kobo Writing Life
What you said “Unrivaled links with global booksellers, great promotions tool… and the famous Kobo world sales map.” Kobo.com/us/en/p/writinglife
PublishDrive
What you said “Wide range of e-book stores and unique author programs.” PublishDrive.com
Leanpub
What you said “Great for creating, publishing and selling e-books. Also for online courses.” Leanpub.com
Smashwords
What you said “Pioneer in the field and still providing fast, free and easy e-book publishing.” Smashwords.com
Wattpad
What you said “The biggest and best place for aspiring and experienced authors and poets to write, discover and share stories.” Wattpad.com/
StreetLib
What you said “Unrivalled global reach for indie authors.” Streetlib.com
ApplePages and Apple Books
What you said “Makes creating great beautiful books effortless and fun.” Apple.com/uk/pages Apple.com/uk/apple-books
Amazon KDP
What you said “The most innovative self-publishing service for indieauthors … and the largest retail store.” KDP.Amazon.com
Blurb Books
What you said “Enable indie authors and photographers to create beautiful books and custom wall art.” Blurb.co.uk
BookBaby
What you said “Does the lot: cover design, book printing, e-books, distribution, web creation and more.” BookBaby.com
Google Play author partner center
What you said “More than 2 billion readers in more than 75 countries — and recently raised the commission rate paid to authors.” Play.Google.com
Bookalope
What you said ”Streamlines book production.” Bookalope.net
DartFrogBooks
What you said ”For selecting and distributing self-published books to independent booksellers around the world.” DartFrogBooks.com
FCI Digital
What you said ”Great for short-run, high-end digital color print.” FCIDigital.com
PH media
What you said ”For high-end reprographic services.” PHMedia.com
BBeBooks
What you said ”For quality formatting at reasonable prices–by an author for authors.” BBeBooksThailand.com
Audio Tools and Tech for Indie Authors
Adobe Audition audio editing software
What you said “The best software for authors who want to record and edit audiobooks and podcasts.” Adobe.com
Auphonic audio post-production software
What you said “Quickly and easily removes noise and auto-levels volume. Open source and with a free level too!” Auphonic.com/
Amazon ACX Audiobook Creation Exchange
What you said “Audible's marketplace where authors and publishers connect with narrators and producers to create audiobooks.” ACX.com
FindawayVoices audiobook creation platform
What you said “Enables authors to create great audiobooks and directly reach listeners around the world on a non-exclusive basis.” Findawayvoices.com/
AuthorsDirect marketplace for authors to sell audiobooks
What you said “A way to sell directly to listeners.” Authors-Direct.com
ListenUpAudio production
What you said “Supports authors in creating high-quality audiobooks.” ListenUpAudio.com
DeepZen text-to-speech technology
What you said “Exciting ways to use artificial Intelligence and new emotive speech technology in publishing.” DeepZen.io/
AudioHiJack recording app
What you said “Versatile, easy to use, easy file organization.” RogueAmoeba.com.audiohijack
Krisp.ai noise cancelling technology
What you said “Eradicates all background noise so you can podcast or meet in peace.” Krisp.ai
Descript audio and video editing technology
What you said “Especially for its overdub feature, where editing the audio also edits the accompanying transcript text. Also has powerful reader analytics.” Descript.com
Marketing and Promotion Tools and Tech for Indie Authors
What you said ”Its social media tools and advertising platform make it easy for authors to reach readers in their genre and niche.” Facebook.com
Goodreads
What you said ”The largest site for readers and book recommendations.” Goodreads.com
BookFunnel reader engagement tools
What you said ”Delivers reader magnets, sends out ARCs and fulfils books sales and giveaways.” Bookfunnel.com
Chris Well’s Build Your Brand Academy media training
What you said ”If you want to leverage media coverage for you and your book, he’s your man.” BuildYourBrandAcademy.com
Amazon suggestions, also-boughts and bestseller rankings
What you said ”Invaluable source of marketing data.” Amazon.com
Prestozon Amazon ads tool
What you said ”Makes managing your Amazon ads easier.” Prestozon.com
TheLitRing author giveaways tool
What you said ”Connects readers and authors with great books through giveaways.” LitRing.com
PubVendo online marketing agency
What you said ”Has unparalleled insights into social media marketing for authors and small publishers.” Pubvendo.com
Dave Chesson’s Publisherrocket keyword tool
What you said ”Dave consistently produces great tools for indie authors.” Publisherrocket.com
K-lytics marketing tools
What you said ”Gives indie authors the e-book market intelligence they need to succeed.” K-lytics.com
Amy Vansant’s AuthorsXP marketing resources
What you said ”Helps authors build email lists and get reviews.” AuthorsXP.com
WordPress website and blogging platform
What you said ”Makes it so easy to create great author websites on a budget. Simple to use but so powerful.” WordPress.org
Blueinkreview reviewing service
What you said ”Honest, credible paid-for reviews for your book.” Blueinkreview.com
Prolific Works reader engagement tools (formerly Instafreebie)
What you said ” Offers great ways to engage with current readers and reach new ones.” ProlificWorks.com
Gleam app marketing platform
What you said ”For organizing author contests and giveaways.” Gleam.io
Patreon crowdfunding platform
What you said ”Allows authors to earn continuous funding directly from readers. You can segment different tiers of readers very easily.” Patreon.com
Tweetdeck social media tool
What you said ”Helps you use Twitter on full power. Track hashtags, users and phrases.” Tweetdeck.Twitter.com
Streamyard livestream tool
What you said ”Live stream across Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and other platforms, with a simple, powerful interface.” Streamyard.com
ConvertKit email marketing platform
What you said ”A one-stop shop for forms, landing pages and email marketing automations.” ConvertKit.com
Planoly Instagram scheduler
What you said ”Clean and simple tool for setting up, planning and scheduling Instagram posts.” Planoly.com
Later social media scheduler
What you said ”Create one image and set it to schedule across multiple social media platforms, with people tagging, hashtags and more.” Later.com
BookBub book discovery service
What you said ”The biggest and best book discovery engine for readers. Also, a great blog with bookmarketing tips and publishing insights.” BookBub.com
TubeBuddy browser extension for YouTube creators
What you said “Lots of extra functionality and easy to use.” TubeBuddy.com
SurveyMonkey free online survey tool
What you said “Ask your readers what they think.” SurveyMonkey.co.uk
Booxby AI analytics
What you said ”Uses natural language processing to find your book’s target markets.” Booxby.com
Rights Licensing Tools and Tech for Indie Authors
PubMatch book rights network
What you said ”Allows indie authors to present books to rights buyers.” PubMatch.com
Business organization and miscellaneous
Vervante order fulfilment for direct sales
What you said “Send them an order from any shopping cart, and they'll print and ship to your readers. Not just books but also CDs, DVDs and more.” Vervante.com
Linktree one-stop link tool
What you said ”Enables you to direct your fans from social media platforms to your sales site, sign-up forms, retailer websites, or any other online platform with just one link.” Linktr.ee
Xero accounting software
What you said ”Super-easy to use, gives me a run-down of each month’s income so I can track and invoice from my phone, while in the barbers having a haircut… true story!” Xero.com
QuickBooks accounting software
What you said ”Much better than a spreadsheet.” QuickBooks.intuit.com
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software
What you said “So much more than just a spreadsheet package.” Microsoft.com
Things notes app from Cultured Code
What you said ”Clean notes app for ideas, notes, planning schedules, to-dos and other reminders.” CulturedCode.com/things
Asana team management software
What you said ”Unbeatable organizational tool for managing teams and complex events. Like SelfPubCon!” Asana.com
PayHip payment tool
What you said ”Brilliant for authors and other creatives who want to sell direct.” PayHip.com
The Hot Sheet from JaneFriedman
What you said “Subscription newsletter telling you everything you need to know about publishing.” HotSheetPub.com
BookLikeABoss automated calendar app
What you said “Take appointments, sell your services and manage your author business, all in one place.” BookLikeABoss.com
Calendly online appointment software
What you said “Brilliantly easy way to let podcast guests and consultancy clients book an appointment with you.” Calendly.com
Airtable cloud collaboration service
What you said “Visually appealing spreadsheet that doubles as a database–great for managing reader relationships and everything you use spreadsheets for.” Airtable.com
Airmail email client
What you said “Lightning fast mail client for Mac and iOS.” Apple.com
Bookworm translations agency
What you said “Expert in literary translations. Also translates websites and other copy.” BookwormTranslations.com
Thank you for the list and the feedback!