Tools, Courses & Resources for Writers
Each of the resources on this page has been reviewed and vetted by our team. We only work with companies, creators and products we believe truly help writers.
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Tools, ebooks and courses for making money as a writer
PUBLISHED. The Proven Path From Blank Page to Published Author (Free Ebook)
By Self-Publishing School. In this conversational and action-oriented book, Chandler Bolt presents a proven solution that will take from blank page to published author in 90 days.
71 Ways to Earn as a Freelance Writer (ebook):
By The Write Life. This is our premiere ebook on freelance writing jobs for beginners. It also provides all the practical information you need to get started, including how to pitch, land clients, set rates and create invoices.
Freelance Writers Den (community)
With Carol Tice. When you join the membership site, you get access to nearly two dozen courses (called “bootcamps”) that cover all aspects of building a freelance writing business, including how to find clients. Here’s our full Freelance Writers Den review. Enrollment opens a few times each year.
Social Media For Authors (course):
With Bella Pope, Content and Branding Specialist at Self-Publishing School. In this comprehensive course, you’ll learn how to effectively use your social media to consistently sell more books, gain more followers, and grow your author brand (without using ads or feeling salesy)
PUBLISHED. The Proven Path From Blank Page to Published Author (Free Ebook)
By Self-Publishing School. In this conversational and action-oriented book, Chandler Bolt presents a proven solution that will take from blank page to published author in 90 days.
71 Ways to Earn as a Freelance Writer (ebook):
By The Write Life. This is our premiere ebook on freelance writing jobs for beginners. It also provides all the practical information you need to get started, including how to pitch, land clients, set rates and create invoices.
Freelance Writers Den (community)
With Carol Tice. When you join the membership site, you get access to nearly two dozen courses (called “bootcamps”) that cover all aspects of building a freelance writing business, including how to find clients. Here’s our full Freelance Writers Den review. Enrollment opens a few times each year.
Social Media For Authors (course):
With Bella Pope, Content and Branding Specialist at Self-Publishing School. In this comprehensive course, you’ll learn how to effectively use your social media to consistently sell more books, gain more followers, and grow your author brand (without using ads or feeling salesy)
The Money Guide for Freelance Writers: How to Manage And Feel Good About Your Finances (ebook):
Most of us get into freelance writing because we love writing. But taxes, invoicing, saving for retirement, and all the financial to-dos of a freelance writing business can be confusing, even overwhelming. This comprehensive guide from the founder of The Write Life, Alexis Grant, and her accountant dad, walks you through it all.
Harvest (invoicing tool): An invoicing software that also allows you to record expenses and track your time. Test it out in a free 30-day trial.
BlueHost (website hosting): Used by top bloggers around the world, this web hosting company is known for its customer service, reliability, and wide range of packages available. Read our post about how to start a blog to understand how BlueHost might be useful for you. Blog hosting starts at just $2.95/month.
Freshbooks (invoicing tool): This easy-to-use software lets you create and automate invoices, and so much more. Read our full Freshbooks review, or try it free for 30 days.
Freelance University (course): With Craig and Kelly Cannings. Access 80+ courses that will help you with all aspects of running a freelance writing business, as well as social media management, content management, web design, digital media and more. Read our Freelance University review. Enrollment opens a few times each year.
Bonsai (invoicing tool): Create invoices, log expenses and track your time, plus take advantage of their integrated proposal and contract system.
Creative Class (course): With Paul Jarvis. This class covers the business side of freelancing so you can make a living from your writing. Here’s our full Creative Class review. Get $30 OFF with discount code THEWRITELIFE. If you use that code, you can enroll anytime.
Creative Class (course):
With Paul Jarvis. This class covers the business side of freelancing so you can make a living from your writing. Here’s our full Creative Class review. Get $30 OFF with discount code THEWRITELIFE. If you use that code, you can enroll anytime.
Proofread Anywhere (course):
With Caitlin Pyle. This course covers everything you need to make money as a proofreader. Not only will you learn the nuts and bolts of proofreading, but you’ll also walk away prepared to find freelance work in this field. Read our Proofread Anywhere review. You can enroll anytime.
Transcribe Anywhere (course):
With Janet Shaughnessy. Learn the ins and outs of transcription, so you can land a transcription job. Most of these positions allow you to work from home on your own schedule, so they’re a good income option for writers who want flexibility. You can enroll anytime.
38 Expert Tips for Writers on Medium (course):
With Dave Schools. Here’s your chance to make money by writing on Medium. The course teaches how to use Medium’s Partner Program, plus shares stories of writers who have been successful on the platform and what worked for them. You can enroll anytime.
Lead Magnets and Landing Pages For Authors
With Dave Schools. Here’s your chance to make money by writing on Medium. The course teaches how to use Medium’s Partner Program, plus shares stories of writers who have been successful on the platform and what worked for them. You can enroll anytime.
Tools and courses for writing well
ProWritingAid (editing tool): Easily spot errors in grammar, spelling, style and word choice using this web editor and plugin for Google Docs, MS Word and other writing tools (excluding Mac’s Pages). Here’s our ProWritingAid review.
Grammar Lion’s Grammar Refresher Course (course): With Ellen Feld. Writing well starts with good grammar, and this course will give you the foundation every writer and editor needs! It covers commonly misused words, contractions and possessives, punctuation, run-on sentences, and much more. You can enroll anytime. And she just dropped the price to only $67.
AutoCrit (editing tool): This tool for fiction writers analyzes your manuscript to identify areas for improvement, including pacing and momentum, dialogue, strong writing, word choice and repetition. They offer a free version, too! Our full review for AutoCrit is coming soon.
Grammarly (editing tool): An AI-powered product that checks online grammar, spelling and plagiarism. It’s also available as a Google Chrome and Google Docs plug-in. Read our Grammarly review to see if it’s right for you.
Personal Essay Writing Course:
With Amy Paturel. Learn how to write a compelling personal narrative and how to pitch editors to get your essay published. Our full Personal Essay Writing Course review has more details. You can enroll anytime.
Self-Publishing School’s Nonfiction Book Outline Tool
This powerful outline generator will make it easy for you to save time in your writing process, especially if you’re intending to publish it on online platforms such as Amazon.
Resources for publishing and self-publishing
Learn Scrivener Fast (course):With Joseph Michael. Scrivener is a popular writing software, but it can be confusing when you first use it. This course is a shortcut to getting the most out of the tool as you write your book. Here’s our full Learn Scrivener Fast review. You can enroll anytime.
Publisher Rocket (Amazon search tool): If you’re selling your book on Amazon, you’ll want to use this tool to optimize for the right keywords so you can see more sales.
Facebook Ads for Authors (course): From Mark Dawson. A course that covers — you guessed it — how to run Facebook ads to sell your book. Dawson also offers a more comprehensive self-publishing course called Self-Publishing Formula. Enrollment opens a few times each year.
DIY MFA, a Do-It-Yourself Masters in Fine Arts (course): With Gabriela Pereira. This creative writing course is an affordable alternative to a traditional Masters in Fine Arts. Learn the skills and habits to write a novel or nonfiction book, and walk away ready to promote your brand, expertise and career as an author. Check out our DIY MFA 101 course review. Enrollment opens a few times each year.
Vellum (writing software): Book-formatting software that’s popular with writers. Here’s our Vellum review if you want to learn more.
Scrivener (writing software): A book-writing software program that provides a management system for writers to document and organize notes, research, ideas, etc. Available for both PC and Mac. Check out our Scrivener review to learn more.
How To Write And Publish Your Book in 90 Days (free training)
By Self-Publishing School. In this training, you’ll learn how to write, publish and leverage your book to grow your authority, income, and business in 90 days.