Recommended Products, Services and Courses
This is a list of my favourite resources and things that have helped me along the way in my journey as a self-published author. If you have read a number of my posts, then you have likely come across most of these and seen me mention them.
Services & Tools
Fiverr is a website that connects people who provide services to do things like edit writing, proof-reading, voiceovers, illustration, or cover design with people who need those services.
What really makes Fiverr stand apart from its competition is that it’s (mostly) honest people doing honest work and enthusiastic about what they’re doing. I love this platform as you can find some real gems on there for some very competitive prices. I have recommended Fiverr in several blog posts for the above services.
My first book was designed by an illustrator on Fiverr!
Canva is a web-based program that makes graphic design easy and accessible to everyone, not just professionals. I use Canva for 95% of the graphics you see on this site as it is quick and easy to use and also comes with a library of millions of royalty-free stock photos!
Of recent, I have also used Canva to compile some children’s books for print (works for projects under 100 pages) and to create logos.
Canva is both an online software and mobile application that enables users to create their own designs for projects in minutes. If you are not familiar with more complex design programs like Photoshop or Illustrator, Canva is a good shout!
You can also use it to build images with preformatted layouts and templates.
Grammarly is an AI writing assistant that identifies grammatical errors and spelling errors for ultimate clarity. It is presently the world’s most accurate grammar checker.
Many authors, myself included, use Grammarly to help edit and proofread books, so it is an invaluable tool in any author’s toolbox.
It provides suggestions for corrections both on-screen and in a written document space, underlines potential issues within the text with a dotted red line or green underline according to how likely the issue could be an error, tells writers when they have used words incorrectly – automatically suggesting replacements from its global synonym resource bank of 25 million word pairs.
Adobe InDesign
IngramSpark is a platform that allows you to self-publish and distribute your book. They also walk you through each step of the process and break everything down for you. Although my go-to publishing platform is Amazon KDP, I also highly recommend IngramSpark, especially for first-time authors.
You will learn all about getting your books on bookstore shelves, and in libraries, too!
My Tools For Illustration
Of course, there is better and newer on the market but these are what I use and have created many books on. They have not steered me wrong yet!
- Apple iOS 10, A10X Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture Embedded M10 coprocessor
- 10.5 inch Retina Display, 2224 x 1668 Resolution, Wide Color and True Tone Display
- 23 MP iSight Camera, True Tone Flash, Panorama (up to 63MP), Four-Speaker Audio
- Apple Pencil features the precision, responsiveness, and natural fluidity of a traditional writing instrument and the versatility to become so much more.
- With Apple Pencil, you can turn iPad into your notepad, canvas, or just about anything else you can imagine.
- Compatible with iPad (6th, 7th, and 8th generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad mini (5th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st and 2nd generation), iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad Pro 9.7-inch
Last update on 2021-11-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
