Contradictions collide,paradox paints perception.Here, duality dissolves,revealing a universalsum of parts-each alone complete.The parts are weavedby fabric unnoticed,until swallowed at once.On the surface,projections vaporizeand reform incessantly.T.. |
It was a wonderful morning, second day of autumn. The golden sun strode playfully across the blue sky. Not a cloud to be seen! My little boat sailed slowly on 'The Sea of Life'. Ripples gently kissed its sides as we passed by. I was divinely .. |
All the years you looked down the road and watched the steps that I strodeYou could see much farther than me upcoming joys and tragedyon your back a heavy sack of the provisions that would bring us backbut to carry me, you dropped the bag with the ke.. |
When young, nursery rhymes we sung Around my neck reckless arms you flung You pretended I was king, I gave you a broken ring promising to make you queen In your fright you held me tight I chased away your monsters in blac.. |
He sits by the fire, head bent low buried as in the sand. She sits at the table, head resting lightly on her hand. He cannot face the fact that something is wrong between them. He cannot acknowledge that they have a probl.. |
Wish I could find myself... My small self, so many years ago... |
A brief poem I wrote about two seemingly unconnected events I experienced this summer |
It feels like I know everything that is going to happen now |
On Tuesday, July 2, 1995, I was parked in a car at the top of a hill with a gun and a bottle of Xanex.I began thinking about all those broken pieces I didn't know how to fix, which made me behave a certain way. Suddenly, I could feel all that shame m.. |
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Home » Writing » 50 writing websites and online resources
6. evernote.
This bookmarking tool is a great way to collect moments of inspiration and ideas for your story together in one place, where they can be filed and organized, ready to be put to good use. It might be a ‘how to’ article you want to read, a quote that reminds you of one of your characters, or an image that would be the perfect setting for your next scene. Inspiration strikes in the most unexpected places, but as Evernote is available on almost every platform, you can collect notes wherever you are. You can choose to have one notebook that you throw everything into, or you can set up separate notebooks to help you organize your thoughts and ideas as you go. If you’re working on a novel, why not set up separate notebooks for each character or each chapter?
While some writers prefer to stick with the traditional pen and paper or word processor, for others, technology can be a game-changer. Scrivener is a powerful writing tool that allows you to organize your notes, research, and writing all in one place. You can create separate documents for each chapter, scene, or character and easily move them around as needed. You can also set word count goals and track your progress, making it an empowering tool for both planning and writing your work.
Another popular writing app is Storyist , which offers a wide range of features for novelists, screenwriters, and playwrights. From corkboard view to character and plot development tools, Storyist helps you bring your stories to life in an organized way. It also has a distraction-free writing mode, making it easier to focus on your writing without any distractions. Plus, with its built-in formatting tools, you can easily export your work into a professional-looking manuscript when it’s time to self-publish.
For those who prefer a clean and minimalist interface, Calmly Writer is a great option. This writing app allows you to focus on your writing without any clutter or interruptions. You can also save your work as you go, making it easy to come back to where you left off. And with its auto-save feature, you don’t have to worry about losing your work in case of any technical issues. It’s available on both desktop and mobile devices.
For writers who need a tranquil and calming environment to get their creative juices flowing, Ommwriter is the perfect writing app. With soothing background music, minimalistic design, and customizable backgrounds, this app offers a meditative experience for writers. It also has a “focus mode” that allows you to hide everything on your screen except for your writing, helping you stay in the flow and avoid distractions. Ommwriter also has a mindfulness timer that reminds you to take breaks and practice self-care while writing.
In the realm of writing, the adage “It takes a village” is extremely true. Having a community as a writer isn’t just important—it’s essential. While writing is often seen as a solitary endeavor, there’s nothing like the support, inspiration, and feedback from fellow wordsmiths. It’s about belonging to a group that gets the highs and lows of the creative process and turns struggles into shared successes.
Here are a few of our favorite sites to find your village.
The blog Don’t Write Alone was created by the team at Catapult, a publisher and magazine dedicated to nurturing and enhancing writers’ talents. Founded in 2005, Catapult showcases a diverse range of literary works and is now sharing its vast knowledge. The platform offers a huge collection of content, including insightful interviews, detailed essays on the craft of writing, and explorations of the writer’s life. Its mission is to offer comprehensive support and inspiration to writers at any stage of their journey.
Are you a novelist seeking motivation, accountability, and encouragement? Look no further than Gutsy Great Novelists , a free online community just for you. With the tagline “where serious creative writers gather to finish their novels,” you can’t really go wrong. Award-winning novelist Joan Dempsey founded this platform to help writers feel less isolated. Members get access to critique groups, lots of online resources, and events and classes that will keep you on track until your novel is complete.
For writers and readers alike, Lambda Literary is a community-driven organization that champions LGBTQ+ literature. With a mission to elevate voices and stories that have been historically marginalized, this platform offers various resources for writers, including workshops, literary events, and publishing opportunities. It also hosts an annual writing retreat for emerging queer writers, providing a safe and supportive space for creative expression. Sign us up!
Writing.com is one of the largest online writing communities out there. It’s a super supportive environment for writers of all levels—and you have a portfolio to store and share your writing. You can also join various groups based on your interests or genres, providing opportunities for networking and collaboration with other writers. Plus, Writing.com regularly hosts contests and challenges to help improve your writing skills and gain recognition for your work. Whether you’re seeking support or looking to expand your audience, this community has something for everyone.
If you’re a Reddit fan, you probably already know about r/WritersGroup . This subreddit serves as a testament to the strength of community in the writing process, offering a space where writers from all walks of life can share their drafts, seek advice, and provide constructive criticism. Whether you’re battling writer’s block, seeking feedback on a new chapter, or just in need of inspiration, this is your go-to sanctuary.
Created by women, for women, She Writes is a supportive community that celebrates their diverse voices and experiences. With more than 32,000 members and 350 groups, it’s the largest online community of women writers in the world! With forums and tons of articles, this platform provides a safe space for women to share their work and receive feedback from other writers.
For science fiction and fantasy writers, SFF Chronicles is a valuable resource for learning, connecting, and honing your craft. With forums dedicated to discussing the latest trends and tropes in the genre, as well as sections for feedback and critique, this is your virtual writing workshop. It also hosts contests and interviews with established authors, if you’re seeking insight and inspiration.
Imposter syndrome is hard to battle alone. Step into the Insecure Writer’s Support Group , where those whispers are drowned out by the resounding voices of support, encouragement, and understanding. This haven is dedicated to writers at any stage of their journey, providing you with resources, advice, and, most importantly, a community that gets it. Conquer your insecurities by reading their blogs and monthly newsletters, joining their social media groups, and joining their pitch event to find an agent or publisher (every January).
Formerly known as Figment , Underlined is a website that provides story starters, writing inspiration, and advice from published authors . You can also join a community of aspiring writers, share excerpts of your work, and provide feedback to each other—all valuable parts of the creative life.
Now that you’re equipped with a plethora of platforms to connect and expand your creative horizons, it’s time to take your writing to the next level. Improving your craft is a continuous, evolving process—whether you’ve just penned your first poem or are on your tenth novel.
Here are the resources you need to refine your skills, find your unique voice, and perfect the art of storytelling. From grammar guides to story structure tips, these sites offer the tools you need to elevate your writing.
As with any skill, the best way to improve your writing is to practice, practice, practice. The website 750 Words provides a daily nudge to get your creative juices flowing. Based on The Artist Way ‘s morning pages , the goal is to write 750 words (roughly three pages) every day, without any distractions. By just writing without an agenda and without judgment, you’ll make writing every day a regular productive habit and steadily build your confidence.
The Helping Writers Become Authors site, created by award-winning author K.M. Weiland, offers practical tips and advice on story writing, from structure and plot to character identity and dialogue. It’s a great, regularly updated resource to take you from writer to professional.
Get a grip on the quirks of language and the rules of good grammar with this entertaining and useful podcast based on the hugely popular blog by the same name. Top listened-to Grammar Girl episodes include “Affect Versus Effect” and “Active Voice & Passive Voice.”
Looking for a more structured approach to learning? Coursera offers online courses on writing, from writing your first novel to academic writing . With options from top universities such as Stanford and Wesleyan, you’ll have access to expert instruction and peer feedback to hone your skills.
Masterclass brings together some of the biggest names in writing, like David Sedaris , Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman , for online video courses on pretty much any aspect of writing you’re looking to learn. With a subscription, you’ll have access to their wisdom and techniques for crafting powerful stories that captivate your readers.
Join a community of writers, both published and aspiring, on Critique Circle to get feedback on your writing and provide critiques for others. With tools for tracking your progress, finding beta readers, and connecting with fellow writers, this platform offers valuable resources for improving your craft. Plus, the supportive atmosphere encourages growth and development as a writer.
For those looking for a more structured approach to writing, Now Novel offers personalized coaching and guidance throughout the writing process. From outlining and character development to editing and publishing, their team of experts will provide valuable feedback and support to help you bring your story to life. Whether you’re just starting or need help revising, Now Novel offers a community and resources tailored to your specific needs as a writer.
We’re betting you have more than one favorite character from more than one book. Characters like Elizabeth Bennett, Albus Dumbledore, and Bilbo Baggins live on in our minds long after we’ve turned the final page. Your characters should become like old friends that you know inside and out to add depth and humanity to your story. These are the resources you need to make it happen.
Subscribing to the Writer’s Digest mailing list gets you access to this free worksheet designed to flesh out each of your characters. Working through a series of questions, you’ll develop their key hopes, fears, and skills, their personality quirks, how they might act in different situations, and how all of this will be revealed to the reader throughout your story.
This free course from The Write Practice guides you through seven key steps to creating memorable characters, covering important character archetypes, character motivations, how not to introduce a character to your story, and much more.
Building on the idea of character development sheets, The Novel Factory offers a comprehensive list of over 150 questions to help you fully flesh out each character in your story. From physical appearance and background to their biggest secrets and flaws, this resource will help you create well-rounded and dynamic characters that readers will connect with.
Ever come across a character or plot twist that seems oddly familiar? That’s because many writers use common tropes and archetypes in their stories. TV Tropes is a user-edited wiki page that outlines these common patterns and themes found in media, providing examples and analysis for each one. It’s a helpful resource for understanding how to effectively use, subvert, or avoid these tropes in your writing.
Need some guidance in creating a fictional world for your story? This list of 123 questions from Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America can help you think through all aspects of your world, from its physical laws to its social structure and cultural customs. By taking the time to fully develop your world, you’ll make it feel more immersive and believable for readers.
When you’re stuck on where to take your story next, Reedsy’s plot generator can help spark new ideas. Simply select a genre and hit “generate” to receive a random plot outline that you can use as a starting point for your own story. It’s a fun tool for getting unstuck and exploring new directions for your plot.
In addition to proofreading for spelling, language, and grammar errors, two other forms of editing should form part of your review process. Developmental editing, which is editing for the structure, flow, and consistency of your story, and substantive editing, which is concerned with clarity, accuracy, and reader comprehension.
When your manuscript or first draft is complete, let it sit a while before reviewing. It also helps to have a second and third set of eyes on your work. Even better, if your budget allows, hiring a professional editor can give your story the polished finish it deserves.
Available as a Google Chrome extension or device app, Grammarly works across your web pages and documents as you write to help you catch common writing errors. It highlights and fixes grammar, punctuation, and contextual spelling mistakes. The premium version can also suggest alternative vocabulary choices.
Remember not to rely on online spell checks alone to proofread your work. Always give your text a thorough check yourself, too.
ProWriting Aid takes your writing beyond mere spell checks, offering a holistic approach to improve your writing style, tone, and clarity. What sets it apart from Grammarly is its in-depth focus on your writing’s overall readability and engagement level. It provides detailed reports on style, overused words, sentence length variation, and even readability scores, making it invaluable for writers looking to polish their manuscripts to perfection. While Grammarly excels at real-time grammar and spelling corrections, ProWriting Aid is the go-to tool if you’re looking for comprehensive feedback on your structure and style.
As the name suggests, Hemingway Editor is an online editing tool and website that will help make your writing clearer, bolder, and more direct—just like the author it’s named after. Simply copy and paste your text into the tool to check for overly complex sentences, overuse of adverbs, and the passive voice. It will also highlight instances where a shorter word could serve the same purpose.
Every writer needs a good editor, and Reedsy only works with the best. Their hand-picked, experienced, professional editors can review your story development, structure, consistency, and style, helping to perfect and polish your manuscript. Reedsy also offers a tool to easily write and format a book , the same way a professional typesetter would. (You can print from their tool with Blurb, too!)
AI gets a bad rap, but in our digital age, its emergence is nothing short of a revolution in creativity. Whether you’re battling writer’s block, seeking the perfect synonym to elevate your prose, or plotting a novel, AI-powered writing assistants can offer a wealth of resources at your fingertips. These innovative tools are not doing the writing for you—they’re about enhancing your creativity and offering insights and suggestions that might not have crossed your mind.
Using artificial intelligence, Sudowrite offers suggestions and ideas to help you improve your writing. It can generate plot twists, character names, and even entire paragraphs based on the information you provide. While it’s not meant to replace human creativity and imagination, Sudowrite can be a helpful tool for sparking new ideas and breaking through writer’s block.
Claude has emerged as a dynamic counterpart to ChatGPT, due to its ethical and safer approach to AI. What sets Claude apart is its focus on nuanced, open-minded text generation—working to understand context and intent before replying. It can help you with brainstorming, research, structural analysis, line edits, critique, and even productivity—with writing sprints, prompts, word count, and positive reinforcement. It’s not replacing creativity, but supporting you from blank page to final polish.
Jasper is another AI-powered writing tool that can assist with plot development, character creation, and even research for your story. Jasper also has a feature that allows you to collaborate with other writers in real time, making it a useful tool for team projects or brainstorming sessions. What’s great about Jasper is that it has a document feature, so you can write, edit, and save your work like you would in Word or Google Docs, rather than chatting back and forth with AI.
Once your masterpiece is polished and ready to shine, the next thrilling chapter of your author’s journey begins: promoting and marketing your book. This can seem like a Herculean task, especially in a world flooded with content. But with the right tools and strategies, you can cut through the noise and get your book into the hands of eager readers.
We’ve lined up the best resources to transform you from a writer into a savvy marketer!
Use this storytelling platform to connect with writers and readers around the world, build an audience, and even get discovered. On Wattpad , you start by sharing a story, and then if you build a big enough fan base, you may have a chance to work with entertainment companies and publishers looking to feature your work. Just remember, some publishers won’t print work that appears online, so be sure to do your research before uploading your entire novel!
On this writing and reading hub, you’ll find stories, articles, and inspiration that are curated to your taste and written by people like us. Want to share your own writing, photos, or videos? You can do that on Medium —and potentially earn money. The platform lets you see how your stories are performing and what kinds of readers like your writing. It also offers tips for starting a newsletter, submitting to publications, and curating your work.
Kindlepreneur is a treasure trove of resources for authors, especially those venturing into self-publishing. From book marketing and advertising strategies to optimizing your Amazon sales page, author Dave Chesson has got you covered with his helpful blog posts, videos, and courses. He also offers free downloadable templates and worksheets to help you plan and execute your book marketing strategy.
Need help proofreading your manuscript or marketing your book? NY Book Editors provides editing and proofreading services, as well as an extensive blog full of helpful advice for writers. They also offer a free guide to writing the perfect query letter to help you attract agents or publishers—and plenty of other useful publishing and marketing information.
If you want to get an agent or a publisher, use Agency Query to build your list of potential agents and publishers. The website also provides features like tracking the status of pitches sent out to agencies, keeping notes on each agency’s submission requirements, and more.
The Creative Penn is a website run by bestselling author Joanna Penn . It offers a wealth of information on how to, “write, publish and market your book—and make a living with your writing.” Penn also has a vibrant YouTube channel and podcast where she shares advice for authors, helpful if you are a visual or auditory learner.
Stay up to date on the publishing industry and get insider tips from publishers, editors, and literary agents with Publishers Weekly . This website offers news, reviews, job postings, and other helpful resources for writers. They also have a dedicated section for independent authors if that’s you.
Storiad is a tool designed to help you promote and market your book through social media, website creation, book trailers, and more. They offer various packages for authors at different stages of their careers, from beginners to established writers. Storiad can also help you create a professional author website with built-in marketing tools.
BookBub is a popular platform that lets you promote your book to millions of readers through daily email newsletters, targeted ads, and featured deals. You can submit your book for consideration or use their blog for free marketing advice and trends in publishing. BookBub also offers webinars, courses, and other resources for writers.
Author Marketing Club is a community of authors helping each other promote their work through free and paid book promotion tools, tutorials, webinars, and more. They also offer a powerful search engine that allows you to find relevant blogs, websites, and book promotion sites to submit your work for exposure. Joining this club can help you reach a wider audience and get more readers interested in your writing.
From collecting inspiration to the final finishing touches, there’s a whole world of tools , websites, support, and advice out there to help you with every stage of writing your own story and making your own book. You have all the tools you need. Now write!
And when you’re ready to publish and share your work with the world, Blurb can help. Our self-publishing platform allows you to turn your manuscript into a professional-quality book, whether it’s a novel, memoir, poetry collection, or any other genre. With customizable book formats and design tools, as well as tons of options for distribution, we make it easy to bring your writing to your fans.
So what are you waiting for? Start creating and sharing your stories with the world today. We believe in you!
Blurb is your platform designed to turn the dream of publishing your book into reality. Whether you’re crafting a photo book, a novel, or a poetry collection, we’ve got the tools and support to help you professionally design, self-publish, promote, and sell your work.
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NovelEasy is the online writing platform for writers of all skill levels. Whether you’re a published author or budding talent looking for life beyond status updates, you can get away from the noise and focus on telling your story with NovelEasy.
You want to write but you get distracted when you go online. Humans are creative. We have ideas and incredible stories to tell, but often we end up scrolling instead of writing. Is the next Shakespeare out there fishing for “likes”? Is the next Dickens sharing memes?
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Just start typing into the distraction-free text editor and NovelEasy will automatically and securely save for you. Click on a title for quick inline edits, then jump right back into your writing. Best of all, NovelEasy is 100% FREE to join.
Easily add, reorder, delete, and navigate chapters . Start using them to build an outline, then add text to flesh out your story. All the flexibility of a three-ring binder, but a whole lot easier.
Spruce up your writing with NovelEasy's convenient Markdown buttons in addition to typing in your own tags. The built-in Markdown renderer will display your styling right in your browser. Best of all, everything you type is preserved exactly as you entered it.
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Monitor your book's length using NovelEasy's word counter . Review your novel in Reading Mode then, when you're done, export it as a Markdown document that you can open with most text editors.
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Guides • Book Marketing
Last updated on Oct 25, 2022
About the author.
Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.
Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.
Most professional authors will have their own website, both as a way to market themselves and connect with their readership . It's the one corner of the internet that the author fully controls — without interference from publishers or social media rules.
In this short guide, we'll show you some examples of effective author websites before giving you a step-by-step process for building your own. By the end, you'll be ready to take on the world (wide web).
Here are 13 examples of excellent author websites:
New York Times bestselling author Austin Kleon identifies himself as “an author who draws” and uses his website to talk not only about his own books, but also about art and writing in general, offering creative inspiration to fans and casual visitors alike.
Simple to navigate, and signposting all the relevant information — from blog posts, to his books, a newsletter mailing list to stay in touch , an author bio, and contact information — one of the main advantages of Kleon’s website is that it’s kept up-to-date with seasonal posts and frequent life updates.
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Knock, knock. Who’s there? You should be. Unless you’ve got a ghostwriter on your team or you can uncannily churn out quality books constantly, you probably won’t always have new bookish updates. However, when people visit your site, you don’t want it to seem like it’s been idly collecting dust for years between publication dates. You want it to seem as though someone is home.
Austin Kleon’s website achieves this with fresh blog posts displayed front and center. Straight away, you know that he’s active behind the keyboard. Not only does it feel like he’s talking directly to you, but it also incentivizes you to come back, which can be handy for your next book launch. Studies confirm this: businesses that run blogs have 55% more website visitors than those that don’t.
Something as simple as an up-to-date Twitter feed or a list of upcoming events can keep your website fresh and show that you’re committed to interacting with your readers. If you're able to blog regularly, all the better! If your blog gets popular enough, it could become the foundation for your next book.
How to Build an Amazing Author Blog
10 lessons to help you start your blog and boost your book sales.
You’d expect nothing less than a well-designed website from the queen of Instapoetry herself, Rupi Kaur . Her elegant homepage immediately exudes “Rupi Kaur” and the message she wants her readers to receive. It’s on brand — aesthetically pleasing, with short guiding phrases, and creative with form — and much like her poetry, it sticks to the essentials to deliver a core message in just a few words.
But make no mistake; this is no minimalist, bare-bones version of a website. With customized stickers, an integrated webshop for merchandise, and links to both an Amazon Prime special and a world tour, it’s clear that Kaur has invested some time and dollars on making this a comfortable browsing experience for her readers.
Granted, not every author can inject cash into a website like social media sensation Rupi Kaur. However, her online presence features several practices that are good takeaways for any author website. Kaur, for instance, doesn’t send her subscribers “newsletters” like Kleon does. Instead, she sends “love notes”. Readers can also follow the journey of her third book, Home Body , as it travels across the US, “sisterhood of the traveling pants” style. These touches make her website feel authentic and true to her brand.
Paying a bit extra to get a custom-made website that fits your needs perfectly and appeals to your readers can improve user experience significantly, making it not only pleasing to the eye, but also easy to navigate.
It'll only take a minute!
You can make your website stand out from the crowd by adding dynamic and interactive elements, and self-published author LJ Ross is no stranger to this strategy. Just like in her bestselling mystery series DCI Ryan, LJ Ross’s website takes inspiration from the atmospheric landscape of Lindisfarne (also known as Holy Island), located on the northeast coast of England.
This eye-catching website is brought to life with some well-chosen dynamic elements: a bird flying across the landing page, mist rolling in as you hover your cursor, and a hamburger menu that folds out to direct you where you need to go, to name a few.
LJ Ross also gets a bonus point for subverting the expectations for what a crime and mystery author’s website should look like, with a sunny background picture and a lighter color scale throughout the site.
If your site is a pretty-but-static thing, you may be missing an opportunity. With some simple dynamic elements that draw the eyes, you can elevate your website and give visitors a reason to extend their session on your site. And the longer they stay, the more likely they are to engage with what your website offers.
Start by capturing people’s attention with cool visuals, highlighting what you want visitors to see first (in this case: Ross’s different books series and a link to an audio drama production on Audible), and then invite them to engage by linking to your social media.
Another author who incorporates some movement into their author website to really bring it to life is Miquel Reina . This can be a risky maneuver — more often than not, flashy gifs and scrolling text scream “tacky.” But when it pays off, it creates a beautiful effect that will impress and entrance readers who stumble upon your page.
Upon first glance at the homepage of Miquel Reina's author website, nothing appears out of the ordinary... until the first image begins to change. As you can see, each translation ( and gorgeous new visual ) of Reina's book Lights on the Sea morphs into the next, providing a beautifully comprehensive sense of his accomplishments.
If you’re not a web designer , this tactic could easily go awry, but Reina ensures that all his images are carefully sized and timed to create a calibrated effect. The transitions are calmly paced to give you enough time with each cover , but not so slow that you risk missing the effect entirely. He also wisely avoids cluttering the rest of his homepage with additional text and images, so the viewer focuses solely on the slow-moving book covers.
Again, it's easy to go overboard with this tactic; you don't want your author website to look like a carnival. To keep things interesting yet professional, bring your site to life with just one or two smoothly transitioning GIFs.
Fun fact: You can find Miquel Reina, who designed his own website (!), right here on Reedsy. Click here to check out his other projects .
💡Pro tip: Keep site speed in mind! On the technical side, a simple setup will help your site load faster. Heavy images will slow a site down and frustrate visitors. They came to find out about your book, not wait around watching their fingernails grow.
Authors sometimes make the mistake of thinking that people visit their websites just to read their bio. Are you, the author, important? Sure, but your books are way more important. Let people know they’re on an author’s website by making your product the star of the show, as David Sedaris does. A minimalist setup makes it impossible not to notice the main event: Sedaris’ newest book.
If a reader visits your site and doesn’t immediately realize that you’re an author with a book to sell, you’re probably doing something wrong. Placing your book front and center announces that, whatever else you may be offering through your site, you’re first and foremost an author who wants to share their stories with the world.
Also important are the buttons that urge people to buy your book and steer folks to their retailer of choice. For the perfect user experience, it’s vital to generate retailer links to your books and make sure people can easily add them to their basket.
Another author who has embraced the idea of putting their book front and center is Brit Bennett . Her hugely successful novel The Vanishing Half is clearly the star of the show as you enter her landing page, and unlike David Sedaris’ lengthy book description, Bennett focuses on some strong endorsements in the form of quotes to sell her book — and clearly has no trouble doing so.
There’s nothing quite as effective as word-of-mouth marketing when it comes to book sales. With a well-chosen quote from the right person, you may see your book sales soar, so it would be wasteful not to use the prime real estate of your website to let others highlight your writing prowess through testimonials and reviews.
💡Pro tip: Testimonials and reviews are a great way to market your work and authorship so make sure to leave some space for that on your website.
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When you first land on Lesley M.M. Blume’s website , you are met with an old, faded picture of an atomic bomb, held up by tape and a short journalistic description This documentary approach quickly envelopes readers into the topic material that Blume — an award-winning journalist — has written about in her latest book, Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed it to the World .
Within moments of arriving on Lesley’s site, you become aware that she is a writer and journalist. This quick preview of her book grabs your attention and sets the tone.
As an author, your medium of choice is often the written word, but your website is an excellent opportunity to expand on the imagery you’re trying to capture and make your messaging more vivid. By focusing on the visual aspects of your website rather than the textual, you allow readers to get an idea of what your book is all about straight off the bat — and you can present it in a way that is quicker and easier to consume than a full synopsis.
Is your book a fluffy romcom, or is it hard facts? Offer a glimpse of what readers can expect of your writing, and don’t fall for the temptation to clutter your website with too much text; instead, use the power of images to elevate your message.
Your author website should always include a good reason or two for visitors to offer up their email addresses. When you navigate your way to Maggie Stiefvater’s website , you’re immediately presented with the opportunity to sign up for her newsletter. But the opt-in choices on her email list are plenty. For instance, you can sign up for an 8-hour seminar to improve your writing craft, led by Stiefvater herself!
In marketing, this is known as lead magnets 一 offering something of genuine value in return for an email address — a marketing strategy we highly encourage authors to use..
In publishing, a lead magnet usually means offering free content in exchange for an email address, such as downloadable PDF prints, exclusive interviews, or bonus chapters of your upcoming release. This helps you build your mailing list so that when you publish another book, you already have a group of people to advertise it to.
💡Pro tip: A free sample does more than just incentivize people to offer their contact info. If you’ve read our Reedsy Learning course on how to run a price promotion , you’ll know that offering a free book is also a great way to hook readers and create a loyal fanbase for future publications. A free preview can work similarly, giving readers a commitment-free chance to get drawn into your book, leaving them more likely to pay to read the rest.
Using images is perhaps even more essential when you’re writing a children’s book. The illustrative style on the Judy Moody website gets the brand across almost immediately: fun children’s books! And if there were ever any doubts, it cements the message that the best author websites are extensions of the author’s novels and wider brand.
The creators of the website know the Judy Moody audience, with nudges and winks in the direction of teachers and parents, as well as younger readers with playful phrasing such as “Way-Not-Boring Stuff,” which links to several fun lead magnets, in the shape of games and downloadable PDFs, perfect for kids’ birthday parties.
When designing your own website, some of the questions you should ask yourself, like Judy Moody’s publicist clearly has, are all about personal branding:
Judy Moody's authors have chosen to highlight the eponymous character of the series rather than themselvces, but whichever way you lean, there should always be a recognizable red thread that runs between your books and your website. Keep the voice and tone of your website distinctive and consistent, so people immediately recognize the relation to your work.
🎨 If you’re thinking about how you can develop your own author brand, check out this article about how Lara Coates enlisted a Reedsy designer to help establish hers.
One way to ensure that you’re speaking to your target audience is to match your website to the genre you’re writing in. Fonda Lee leaves no room for doubt with her Y2K style logo and dark color pallet. But just in case you missed it, she makes sure to signpost herself as a “science fiction and fantasy author,” and uses a gallery of pictures to highlight her catalog of published works.
While many visitors to your website may already know what genre you’re working in, it’s always a good idea to make sure you match your website to the content you’re publishing. This goes hand in hand with author branding, but the visual elements of your website can also add another dimension to the worlds you’re building in your books.
Whether you’re a maximalist or a minimalist when it comes to design, the use of bold or contrasting colors is another way to make your website pop and highlight something particularly important you want to draw attention to. And you don’t have to have a name like Neon Yang in order to do so. But choose your colors wisely, and stick to one or two for the best effect.
The psychology of color can have a big impact on how people perceive something, but don’t make the mistake of trying to catch ‘em all; using all of the colors of the rainbow together at once is unlikely to have the desired effect of drawing the eye to one thing. Instead, too many colors can be distracting and more confusing than helpful, making the message you want to communicate murky and sometimes even hard to read.
When using bold colors, one or two is enough to draw visitors’ focus toward the most important things. Neon Yang fittingly uses neon lime green to contrast against a darker background, which effectively highlights key information, fits their unique brand, and adds a tongue-in-cheek touch to the whole website.
💡Pro tip: When using accent colors, choose them carefully, and avoid writing huge chunks of texts in colors that are hard to read to make your website more accessible to all visitors.
Speaking of accessibility, no matter how beautiful and well-crafted your homepage is, or how nicely your logo fits on the corner of that picture you’ve chosen, here’s your official reminder to make your website compatible with all types of devices. Brené Brown has made sure her website will meet everyone’s needs, regardless of their browsing weapon of choice.
Nothing is as frustrating as a clunky website that you can’t read, especially when you’re on the go. Today mobile traffic accounts for almost 60% of all web traffic , so your website should be made to fit all devices to make it as easy as possible for visitors to explore.
Finally, one of the biggest reasons people visit author websites is to get a better sense of who the person behind the words on the page is, so don’t be afraid to show your face. Angie Thomas goes straight for the kill with a beautiful, professional headshot that is both inviting and confident. This, paired with some hand-picked words to the left, is a strong introduction to Thomas both as a person and as an author.
Whether you want your brand to focus on you as an author or on your books, it’s a good rule of thumb to use your website to introduce yourself to the world. Unless, of course you’re a ghostwriter or writing under a pen name and prefer to work in anonymity . But even then, your website should include an avatar at the very least.
You don’t have to place your author photo front and center, but your site should contain some indication that your work was written by an actual human and not an AI. Your ‘About’ section is a good place to start, but sprinkling a few photos that show who you are throughout your different sections is a good way to make your readers feel connected to you.
In the next part of this guide, we'll show you how to create your very own website using some of the most popular tools in the internet.
Brent Jones says:
02/06/2017 – 12:29
Well, never did I ever think I'd appear on the same list of authors as JK Rowling for something. Wow! You guys over at Reedsy made my day. Thanks!
Kristen Steele says:
21/06/2017 – 15:29
Great examples! Branding is a powerful element, but works best if all of your books follow a specific theme.
arushi says:
30/08/2018 – 05:47
Nice Article www.booksoul.in
Zain Khan says:
06/12/2018 – 09:28
Thanks for the awesome blog post. keep it up. Recycling Media
Michael Barrett says:
05/03/2019 – 15:00
mbbarrett.com
christopher sparacino says:
08/05/2019 – 12:28
I wrote a book i'm trying to get out there, feel free to read it! it's free, about 70 pages... http://bit.ly/evolveordiebook enjoy
Oohgirlbybk says:
Good info! Thank you! My website is live, but I will be contacting my web designer :)
Sayli@digitalmarketing says:
22/05/2019 – 10:25
This the list every digital marketer and web designer should have! Thanks for this amazing list!
Paul Nieto says:
23/05/2019 – 17:00
Thank you for the ideas and examples. I signed up for the checklist also.
amber says:
05/09/2019 – 09:50
wow, what a great example. branding is the most powerful tool. I am also an author
David Evans says:
17/11/2019 – 10:05
The Lesley M. M. Blume site and the Austin Kleon site are pretty good , i often find that alot of sites go for design over typography which mostly doesnt work , your right about having blog posts front and centre , problem is most authors ive encountered never want that ( customer is always right etc ) .. which is a shame
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BY Doug Aamoth 2 minute read
If you spend most of your day pecking away at a keyboard, the process of putting together words can become tedious and challenging—even if you’re an otherwise great writer.
Whether you’re crafting emails, blog posts, press releases, or meeting agendas, having a little artificially intelligent help can make a huge difference. Here are six free AI tools that can elevate your writing and save you time.
It’s not the prettiest tool on our list by any means, but Regem AI Writer is a versatile AI content writing tool that’s truly free—no account required.
You can have it generate articles, blogs, emails, social media posts, and more. It’s a great tool for anyone looking to produce high-quality writing on the fly, without the hassle.
Another free, no-account-required offering, Agenda Runner is an AI-powered tool designed to streamline the process of creating meeting agendas.
Feed it your meeting details and preferences, and Agenda Runner generates a customized, PDF-downloadable agenda to send around.
Don’t put anything too juicy into the tool, though, since agendas are made public once they’re generated.
Write Release is a powerful, simple, and free AI tool that takes the tedium out of crafting press releases. It’s great for small businesses looking to get more coverage without hiring a PR team.
Answer a handful of quick questions about your company and messaging, and Write Release generates a professional press release. It may feel dry and templated—but hey, so do the ones written by highly paid humans.
Twain helps you craft attention-grabbing sales messages by providing real-time suggestions and granular rewrites, ensuring your messages are impactful and engaging.
It can improve your overall communication strategy as well by helping you focus on tone, sequencing (intro, follow-up, reply), and personalization for each message.
The free version lets you generate up to five messages per day, with unlimited plans starting at $25 per month.
Henshu is an AI-powered editor that takes bland content and spices it up a bit. It focuses on refining your initial drafts into improved versions of their former selves, making it a useful tool for overhauling existing content.
Available with 21 writing styles, eight different tone settings, and in four languages, there’s a little something for everyone here.
The free version offers up five revisions per month, which should be enough for smaller orgs looking for some polish. Paid plans start at $15 per month for 100 revisions.
Not to be confused with responding to someone on AOL Instant Messenger (RIP), AImReply helps you craft clear, professional-sounding email replies.
Paste in the email you receive, tell it how you’d like to reply, and it’ll generate something for you to send back.
It can also analyze the context of the emails you want to send, providing suggestions to improve clarity, tone, and engagement. It’s ideal for busy professionals who need to respond to emails quickly and effectively, without thinking too much about the actual structure of each message.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doug Aamoth is a 20-year veteran of the tech industry and has written extensively about trends in Big Tech; innovative, new products; and personal-productivity tips.You can connect with him on Twitter/X and LinkedIn . More
The 10 best free ai tools for writers in 2024.
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Not too long ago, AI burst into our writing universe like a tech tornado, reshaping how we create, scale, and tailor content for different platforms.
Companies everywhere jumped on the AI bandwagon, and guess what? It paid off big time!
Today, 43.8% of businesses that use AI content generation tools reported experiencing a very successful content strategy.
Yes, and it’s not just any content – we’re talking about high-quality, engaging pieces that have supercharged the productivity and creativity of different teams.
In fact, a recent survey by McKinsey revealed that companies leveraging AI saw a 20% increase in content production and a 15% uptick in audience engagement. Impressive, right?
So, if you’re a writer, marketer, or just someone who loves to create , you’re in for a treat. Today, we’re unveiling the 10 best free AI writing tools that can transform your writing game.
If you’re a writer looking to set up a US LLC from anywhere in the world, then doola is your one-stop shop for all things business formation and tax compliance.
We’ve categorized these tools by their key features, standout functionalities, pricing, availability of free versions, user feedback, and limitations.
Ready to dive in? Let’s get started!
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that offers real-time grammar and punctuation checking, style and tone suggestions, and plagiarism detection. It’s designed to help users improve their writing quality across various platforms, including emails, documents, and social media posts.
With both free and premium versions available, Grammarly is an essential tool for anyone looking to enhance their writing skills and ensure error-free communication.
Grammar and punctuation checking: Grammarly scans your text for grammar and punctuation errors, suggesting corrections to ensure your writing is grammatically sound.
Style and tone suggestions: It provides recommendations to improve the style and tone of your writing, making it more engaging and appropriate for your audience.
Plagiarism detection: Grammarly checks your text against billions of web pages to ensure it is original and free from plagiarism.
Contextual spelling corrections: It identifies context-specific spelling mistakes, such as commonly confused words.
Real-time writing feedback: Grammarly offers instant suggestions as you type, helping you correct mistakes and improve your writing on the fly.
Can be overly prescriptive, sometimes suggesting changes that alter the writer’s voice.
Yes, with limited features.
Users love Grammarly for its user-friendly interface and accurate corrections.
It’s often praised for its detailed explanations and suggestions that help improve writing skills over time. However, some users feel the premium version is necessary for comprehensive feedback.
Jasper AI is a versatile content generation tool that uses artificial intelligence to create high-quality written content for blogs, ads, emails, and more.
It offers customizable tone and style options and integrates with popular platforms for SEO optimization.
Although it lacks a free version, Jasper AI’s powerful capabilities make it a valuable resource for marketers, writers, and businesses looking to generate compelling, long-form content efficiently.
AI-generated content for blogs, ads, and emails: Jasper can create high-quality content based on your inputs, saving you time and effort.
Customizable tone and style: You can adjust the tone and style of the generated content to match your brand or personal voice.
Integration with various platforms: Jasper integrates with popular tools like SurferSEO to help optimize your content for search engines.
Long-form content generation: Jasper excels at generating detailed, long-form content with minimal input from the user.
The quality of generated content may require additional editing.
Not yet, but offers a free trial.
Jasper AI is highly regarded for its efficiency in generating content quickly. Users appreciate its versatility and the quality of the content it produces. The main drawback is the cost, as it can be pricey for those needing continuous access.
ProWritingAid is a comprehensive writing assistant that provides in-depth grammar and style checking, readability reports, and writing style suggestions.
It integrates seamlessly with popular writing platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs, offering detailed feedback to help users improve their writing.
With a free version available, ProWritingAid is an excellent choice for writers seeking to enhance their text’s clarity, engagement, and overall quality.
In-depth grammar and style checking: ProWritingAid analyzes your writing for grammatical errors and stylistic improvements.
Readability reports: It provides detailed reports on the readability of your text, helping you make it more accessible to your audience.
Writing style suggestions: It offers suggestions to enhance your writing style, making it more engaging and effective.
Integrations with popular writing platforms: ProWritingAid works with tools like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Scrivener.
Detailed writing reports: ProWritingAid generates comprehensive reports that help you understand and improve your writing style and readability.
ProWritingAid is favored for its comprehensive writing reports and suggestions. Users appreciate the depth of feedback, though some find the interface slightly overwhelming due to the abundance of features.
Hemingway Editor is a user-friendly tool focused on improving readability by highlighting complex sentences, passive voice, and adverbs.
It offers real-time readability scoring and formatting options for web writing, making it ideal for bloggers and content creators.
The free online version provides essential features, while the desktop app is available for a one-time fee, helping writers produce clear, concise, and engaging content.
Readability analysis: Hemingway highlights complex sentences and suggests simpler alternatives to improve readability.
Suggestions for simplifying complex sentences: It helps you shorten and clarify your sentences, making your writing more concise.
Highlights passive voice and adverbs: Hemingway identifies passive voice and excessive adverb usage, recommending changes to make your writing stronger.
Formatting options for web writing: It provides basic formatting tools to prepare your text for publication on the web.
Real-time readability scoring: Hemingway scores your text’s readability, helping you ensure your writing is clear and easy to understand.
Desktop app requires a one-time purchase for offline use.
Yes, the online version is free.
Hemingway Editor is praised for its simplicity and effectiveness in making writing more concise. It’s a favorite among bloggers and writers looking to enhance readability. However, some users find the lack of advanced grammar checks a limitation.
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Copy.ai leverages artificial intelligence to generate high-quality marketing copy for various purposes, including social media posts, ads, and email campaigns.
It offers a wide range of templates and collaboration features, making it a versatile tool for different writing tasks.
With a free plan available, Copy.ai is especially useful for brainstorming and overcoming writer’s block, helping users create effective and targeted copy quickly.
AI-generated marketing copy: Copy.ai generates high-quality marketing copy for various purposes, including social media posts, ads, and email campaigns.
Blog and social media post generation: It creates engaging blog content and social media updates tailored to your needs.
Various writing templates: Copy.ai offers templates for different types of content, making it versatile for various writing tasks.
Collaboration features: Teams can collaborate on content creation within the platform.
Wide range of templates: Copy.ai provides numerous templates for different content types, making it easy to generate targeted, effective copy.
Copy.ai is appreciated for its ability to generate marketing copy quickly and efficiently. Users find it especially useful for brainstorming and overcoming writer’s block. However, the free version’s limitations can be a drawback for some.
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Writesonic is an AI-powered content generation tool designed to produce high-quality blogs, ads, and product descriptions.
It features SEO optimization and a unique AI article summarizer, along with multi-language support.
The free plan offers limited features, but Writesonic’s versatility and ease of use make it a valuable tool for writers and marketers looking to enhance their content creation process and improve search engine rankings.
AI-powered content generation for blogs, ads, and product descriptions: Writesonic generates various types of content tailored to your specifications.
SEO optimization: It helps you create SEO-friendly content that ranks well in search engines.
AI article summarizer: Writesonic can condense long articles into shorter summaries without losing key information.
Multi-language support: It supports multiple languages, making it useful for non-English content.
AI article summarizer: Writesonic’s summarizer condenses content while retaining key points, making it easier to digest.
Quality can vary depending on the topic complexity.
Writesonic is well-received for its multi-language support and SEO features. Users appreciate its ease of use and the quality of content produced. However, some feel the free version is too restrictive for regular use.
Quillbot is an advanced paraphrasing tool that helps users rephrase text to avoid plagiarism while maintaining the original meaning.
It also offers grammar checking, summarizing capabilities, and a citation generator.
The free version provides basic features, making Quillbot an excellent resource for students, writers, and professionals who need to reword content, enhance clarity, and ensure originality in their work.
Paraphrasing tool: Quillbot rephrases your text to make it unique while maintaining the original meaning.
Grammar checker: It checks for grammatical errors and suggests corrections.
Summarizer: Quillbot condenses long articles and documents into concise summaries.
Citation generator: It helps you create accurate citations for your references.
Advanced paraphrasing tool: Quillbot’s paraphrasing tool rephrases content while preserving its original meaning, making it a valuable tool for avoiding plagiarism.
Paraphrasing can sometimes result in awkward phrasing.
Quillbot is highly valued for its paraphrasing capabilities. Users find it especially useful for rewording text and avoiding plagiarism.
The main criticism is that the free version has limited functionality, especially for larger texts.
ShortlyAI is a powerful content generation tool that assists with long-form article creation and creative writing projects.
It features content expansion capabilities and a user-friendly interface, allowing users to turn short prompts into comprehensive articles.
While it lacks a free version, ShortlyAI’s ability to generate detailed and high-quality content quickly makes it an invaluable tool for writers seeking inspiration and efficiency.
AI-generated content for long-form articles: ShortlyAI helps you create detailed, long-form articles with minimal input.
Creative writing assistance: It assists with creative writing projects, providing inspiration and content generation.
Content expansion features: ShortlyAI can expand on your ideas, turning short prompts into comprehensive articles.
Easy-to-use interface: Its simple interface makes it easy to generate content quickly.
Content expansion tool: ShortlyAI’s expansion tool helps you lengthen articles by adding relevant content and details.
No free version, only a trial period.
No, only a free trial.
ShortlyAI is praised for its ability to expand and generate long-form content. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and creativity in writing assistance.
The main downside is its high cost, making it less accessible for some.
Rytr is an AI writing assistant that generates content for emails, blogs, and ads. It includes a built-in plagiarism checker and SEO-friendly content generation, with support for multiple languages.
The free plan offers limited monthly character counts, but Rytr’s affordability and quality make it a popular choice for writers and marketers looking to produce original and optimized content efficiently.
AI writing assistant for emails, blogs, and ads: Rytr helps you create various types of content quickly and efficiently.
Built-in plagiarism checker: It checks your content for originality, ensuring it is free from plagiarism.
SEO-friendly content generation: Rytr generates content optimized for search engines.
Multiple language support: It supports various languages, making it versatile for different writing needs.
SEO-friendly content generation: Rytr’s ability to generate SEO-optimized content helps improve your content’s visibility on search engines.
Generated content may need significant editing for quality.
Rytr is well-liked for its affordability and quality of content. Users find it useful for generating SEO-friendly content and appreciate the built-in plagiarism checker.
However, some feel the AI-generated content sometimes lacks depth and requires additional editing.
Scribe offers transcription services, note-taking assistance, and speech-to-text capabilities, integrating seamlessly with platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
It converts audio and video files into written text accurately, making it ideal for creating transcripts and notes.
With a free version available, Scribe is a valuable tool for professionals and students who need efficient and precise transcription and note-taking solutions.
Transcription services: Scribe converts audio and video files into written text, making it easy to create transcripts.
Note-taking assistance: It helps you take notes efficiently during meetings or lectures.
Integration with various writing platforms: Scribe integrates with tools like Microsoft Word and Google Docs for seamless writing.
Speech-to-text capabilities: It converts spoken words into text in real-time, perfect for dictation.
Accurate speech-to-text conversion: Scribe’s speech-to-text feature provides highly accurate transcription and note-taking capabilities.
The free version has limited transcription minutes.
Scribe is highly appreciated for its accuracy in transcribing and note-taking. Users find it particularly useful for turning spoken content into written text efficiently. However, the cost of the premium version and the limitations of the free version are common criticisms.
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If you’re a creative writer, journalist, or blogger, one of these services can help you avoid linkrot..
By Barbara Krasnoff , a reviews editor who manages how-tos and various projects. She’s worked as an editor and writer (and occasional sci-fi author) for more years than she cares to admit to. She can be found on Threads as @barbarask.
While the notion lingers that “the internet is forever,” it can also feel like it’s written on water. If you’re an internet-based creative, the company that publishes your writing or exhibits an online gallery of your work can suddenly fold (see: Gawker or Game Informer ), migrate content management systems, or simply unpublish older work. In that case, the article you researched for a month, the story you carefully constructed, or the gallery of photos that you painstakingly put together could, in that moment, be forever unavailable. And if you’ve linked to your work in a blog or social network, that link has now become useless.
So what do you do? You can save a PDF of each of your works to a local drive, an online storage service, or to your preferred productivity app . You can create your own website to showcase your favorite works. You can use the paid tier of bookmarking services such as Pocket Premium or Raindrop Pro , which automatically save copies of the sites you bookmark.
Or you can archive and / or exhibit your work using a service created for that purpose. These archiving services offer a place where you can exhibit some or all of your work to potential fans or employers, and even (for a price) automatically find and save your work for you.
In this article, I’m going to concentrate on resources for writers and other text-based creatives. There are also resources out there for photographers and other visual artists, such as Flickr and 500px . We’ll cover those separately in the future.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has been archiving webpages since 1996, and if you’ve been putting your work online that long — or longer — there’s a good chance you can find it somewhere in the archive. However, not everything has been archived, and archived pages can be removed if the owners of the site request it.
You can request that a specific page be archived by using a browser extension (for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, iOS, or Android). The extension saves the page to the archive, allowing you to access it later, even if the original disappears. However, since the publisher of the site can, as mentioned, ask that the archive be removed, you may want to use the Wayback Machine to find pages you may have missed and archive them using a safer method.
In addition, at the time this was written, it was possible that the Chrome extension could itself disappear — when I last looked, a notification on the download page read, “This extension may soon no longer be supported because it doesn’t follow best practices for Chrome extensions.” (Part, no doubt, of the change in Google’s extension specification .) There are other, if less handy, ways to save your work to the archive, detailed in a blog written in 2017 .
The Wayback Machine is free to use, although you can donate if you choose .
Authory is a long-standing app used by writers to preserve their writing. (Note: I’ve been using Authory for several years, ever since one of the publications I had written for decided to pull its archive off the internet and a colleague told me about the app.) Authory will automatically back up links to your material along with the actual text by scouring the online publications that you’ve specified; because it picks up anything you’ve written for those publications automatically, you don’t have to worry about losing any of your work. Authory also archives videos, podcasts, and individual social media posts or emails.
You can also use Authory as a portfolio to exhibit your content to others. By default, people who click on an article link in your portfolio are sent to the original source, but you can also choose to have them read it from the Authory backup — very useful if that source no longer exists.
Free plan: 10 items max, no auto-import
Paid plans: Standard plan ($15 / month or $144 / year) includes unlimited items, automated import of past and future items, searchable content, and more. Professional plan ($24 / month or $216 / year) adds custom domain support, Zapier app, and higher updates frequency.
Free trial: 14 days of Standard or Pro plan
Despite the name, Journo Portfolio touts its ability to be used by almost any creative who wants to show off work, including visual artists such as photographers and videographers. The emphasis (as can be guessed from its name) is more on creating a portfolio site than archiving, although, if you subscribe to its Pro or Unlimited plan, it will automatically back up saved articles, create an archive of screenshots, and let you import older articles.
And Journo Portfolio does offer a lot of resources for individualizing that portfolio: you can choose a theme for your homepage and, afterward, tweak that theme by adding blocks of content types, including images (with a gallery, if you so choose), quotes, maps, subscriptions, and a wide variety of other features. Its Unlimited plan even allows you to sell your art or other products from your site.
Free plan: A homepage with your name in the URL along with 10 portfolio items
Paid plans: Plus plan ($8 / month or $60 / year) offers a five-page site with 50 portfolio items. The Pro plan ($12 / month or $96 / year) adds the ability to store 1,000 portfolio items and do article backups as well as up to two collaborators, automatic article imports, and more. The Unlimited plan ($18 a month or $168 /year) gives you unlimited pages, portfolio items, collaborators, and more.
Free trial: A seven-day trial of the Plus plan on signup
Conifer , formerly called Webrecorder, is a web archiving service maintained by Rhizome , a nonprofit arts organization. This service works a little differently than Authory or Journo Portfolio, which archive screenshots or PDFs of your articles but can lose links and other interactive parts in the process. Instead, Conifer saves your pages as clickable “sessions” — including workable links — and organizes them into collections. According to Conifer, “viewers of a collection should be able to repeat any action during access that were performed during capture.” You can either keep your collection private or create a public listing of specific items from a collection in order to create a portfolio.
Conifer feels like a work in progress. It’s not as simple to master as either Authory or Journo Portfolio, and it doesn’t provide any kind of automated saving, but its free plan makes it a viable alternative, especially because it lets you save as many items as you can fit in 5GB of space, while Authory’s and Journo Portfolio’s free plans limit you to just 10 items.
Free plan: 5GB of storage
Paid plans: For $20 a month, you get 40GB of storage and the option to add more for $5 / month per 20GB. For an annual payment of $200, you get the same 40GB, along with the option to add the 20GB for $50 a year.
Free trial: N/A
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Post you'll like: Writing The Second Half Of The Second Act. ⭐️ 3. The Freelance Beat. Chicago-based freelance journalist Tatiana Walk-Morris has written for notorious magazines like The New York Times, Vice Magazine, Harvard University's Nieman Reports and more — that, alone, tells you she's an expert to learn from.
31. The Creative Penn. Besides being a bestselling author on various topics, Joanna Penn is also a leading voice in self-publishing. On her punnily named site, you'll find abundant information related to writing, self-publishing, marketing, and everything else you might need to make a living as a writer.
Articles from Hopkinson and guest bloggers share the latest opportunities for writing contests, journals and other publications that pay. They'll also help you become a better writer and a savvier submitter. Post you'll like: 16 Paying Lit Mags — Deadlines: Dec. 15 - Jan. 16, 2020. 2. Elna Cain.
Add notes, share your work, and focus on your writing, without distraction. Set goals, track your writing streaks, and get success nudges. Write wherever you are on any device with seamless online word syncing. Get access to the Academy, Community, Writer Discounts, The Reading Room and more.
Sep 8, 2021. Over the past several weeks, we've shared our 101 Best Writing Websites for 2021. Originally featured in our May/June 2021 issue, these websites will help inspire, educate, and connect you to other writers as you start or continue on your writing journey. Click each image to be taken to the respective lists. Best Creativity Websites.
The Reedsy Book Editor is a free online writing tool allowing any author to format and create professional ePub and print-ready files in seconds. The @ReedsyHQ Book Editor allows you to write, format, edit and export - for free! reedsy. Connect. reedsy marketplace. Assemble a team of pros.
Over the past several weeks, we've shared our 101 Best Writing Websites for 2023. Now in its 25th year, the Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers aims to guide writers of all ages, genres, and skill levels to reputable and useful resources to inspire, educate, and support them in every stage of their writing journey. Whether you are using writing as a creative outlet, looking to find ...
This selection represents this year's creativity-centric websites for writers. These websites fuel out-of-the-box thinking and help writers awaken their imaginations. 1. Creative Thinking. creativethinking.net. Here, "creativity expert" Michael Michalko shares creative exercises, thought experiments, and explanations of the workings of your ...
Top online writing communities. 1. Absolute Write Water Cooler. With over 68,000 members, this is a large and highly active community. Here you can find threads on every genre imaginable, as well as discussions about freelance writing, the publishing industry, pop culture, writing prompts and exercises, and much more.
Build Book Buzz is one of the best writing websites with just the right ratio of figures and statistics vs. insider tips on how to build an online presence. 11. Language is a Virus. With writing games and exercises galore, Language is a Virus makes a perfect playground for word enthusiasts.
7. Contena. Contena is an invite-only online program and a suite of job-search tools aimed at helping budding writers land freelance writing and remote work. The site says that its self-paced program has helped its members earn millions from remote writing.
The tips provided here are free, but if you want to gain some additional features, a $5 monthly price can be paid to get premium access. This includes comprehensive courses to help you improve your writing. 4. Kristen Lamb. Best-selling author Kristen Lamb runs a blog that offers tips, advice, and help for writers.
Teen Ink is a literary magazine and website for teens that helps them use their voice and make a difference through writing. This great site is devoted entirely to writing, art, and photos by teens. This site is best for teens who are interested in writing nonfiction essays, articles, poems, and short stories. 3. One Teen Story.
WritersCafe.org is an online writing community where writers can post their work, get reviews, befriend other writers, and much more.. Post your poetry, short stories, novels, scripts, and screenplays. Get reviews and advice from thousands of other writers. Enter hundreds of free writing contests. Join writing groups or start your own.
20. Underlined. Formerly known as Figment, Underlined is a website that provides story starters, writing inspiration, and advice from published authors. You can also join a community of aspiring writers, share excerpts of your work, and provide feedback to each other—all valuable parts of the creative life.
Write Your Novel Online Now. NovelEasy is the online writing platform for writers of all skill levels. Whether you're a published author or budding talent looking for life beyond status updates, you can get away from the noise and focus on telling your story with NovelEasy. "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.".
Start quiz. Author websites tip #2: Invest in branding and user experience. Click to tweet! 3. LJ Ross. (Screenshot: ljrossauthor.com) You can make your website stand out from the crowd by adding dynamic and interactive elements, and self-published author LJ Ross is no stranger to this strategy.
Writing.Com welcomes writers of all interests and skill levels. Whether you're a writer looking for the perfect place to store and display your poetry, stories and other writing or a reader willing to offer feedback for our writers and their writings, this is the website for you. Meet and bond with fresh creative minds!
Each year we scour the web for our annual 101 Best Websites for Writers, a comprehensive collection of online resources for writers. Year after year, we review dozens of reader nominations, revisit sites from past lists, consider staff favorites and search the far-flung corners of the web for new additions—aiming for a varied compilation that will prove an asset to any writer, of any genre ...
Focus on your words. Write.as is a pared-down blogging platform — a distraction-free place for you to write, and a clean space for your audience to read. Instead of content management, we focus on writing. You'll see our editor screen first, every time you open the app. You can write in Markdown or switch to our friendly Rich Text editor.
Take your pick from electric or mechanical typewriter sound effects to complement your writing. Get into the flow and zen out. Or turn off the sounds entirely. Choose paper and text colors, fonts, sounds, and line spacing. You can make Writer your own by customizing it so that it looks and feels exactly the way you want.
As a writer and editor, I have used many word processing apps. Zoho Writer is by far my favourite of them all. I work predominantly with authors on their full-length books. It is so easy to import their entire book and set up a table of contents. Once I have their chapter-style headers, Writer automatically populates the Table of Contents.
Available with 21 writing styles, eight different tone settings, and in four languages, there's a little something for everyone here. The free version offers up five revisions per month, which ...
The free online version provides essential features, while the desktop app is available for a one-time fee, helping writers produce clear, concise, and engaging content. Key Features: Readability analysis: Hemingway highlights complex sentences and suggests simpler alternatives to improve readability.
If you're an internet-based creative, the company that publishes your writing or exhibits an online gallery of your work can suddenly fold (see: Gawker or Game Informer), migrate content ...
My Hero Academia: You're Next: Directed by Tensai Okamura. With Kaito Ishikawa, Yûki Kaji, Kenta Miyake, Mamoru Miyano. Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired.
In this draft kit, you'll find everything you need to prep for draft/auction day: rankings, projections, sleepers, stock watch, dynasty advice, player profiles and training camp reports from The ...
Musk, who has endorsed Trump, blamed the difficulties on a distributed denial-of-service attack, in which a server or network is flooded with traffic in an attempt to shut it down.
15. TOMI ADEYEMI. tomiadeyemi.com. Writing coach Tomi Adeyemi offers free video courses on mastering plot, along with a library of downloadable writing tools: structure and character worksheets, backstory templates and planners, writing prompts, and more. Her accompanying blog is full of advice on plotting and revising.
Writers Digest Staff. Jul 27, 2022. Over the past several weeks, we've shared our 101 Best Writing Websites for 2022. Originally featured in our May/June 2022 issue, these websites will help inspire, educate, and connect you to other writers as you start or continue on your writing journey. Writer's Digest Best Creativity Websites 2022.