Community Resources
The below links and items were curated by the Inclusive Romance Project to help educate and assist everyone in their writing journey. Please message the Slack Admin if a link is defunct, broken or outdated. If you have a resource to add, please message the Slack Admin with the link, and what topic does it cover so it can be organized properly.
Current List of Categories
Top Sites for Aspiring/Existing Authors
Named one of the 100 Best Websites for Writers, Jami Gold's site includes 1000+ posts about the craft, business, and life of writing, and she also shares many free worksheets—including the popular Romance Beat Sheet.
Helping Writers Become Authors
General Knowledge (Articles)
The 10 Biggest Mistakes New Authors Make (Huff Post)
Jane Friedman’s Best Books on Publishing (Jane Friedman)
GDPR Compliance (MUST SEE!) (Kharma Kelley)
Crafting your words (Writing Tips)
Writing Tips for Beginners (Alliance of Independent Authors)
How to Craft your Short Story (Now Novel)
10 Writing Rules you Can (and Should) Break (Publisher’s Weekly)
Keeping it Simple Guidelines for Writing a Novella (Romance University)
How to Write Character Arcs (Helping Writers Become Authors) <--Her workbook is awesome!
15 Grammar Mistakes that can Kill your credibility <--I’m not a fan of absolutes, but there’s some items to pay attention in crafting.
B4 You Hit Send (or Publish): Self-editing Course (Angela James) <--Editorial Director, Ms. James holds this course once or twice a year for a fee. I highly recommend!
Building your platform
Why Every Author needs a Website--not just a blog (Karen Woodward)
Engaging Your Audience [VIDEO] (Kharma Kelley)
Drip Campaigns [VIDEO] (Kharma Kelley)
20 Facebook Event Takeover Game and Activity Ideas
Social Media for Writers: Go where your readers are (Writers Cookbook)
How to Make Killer Promo Graphics in Canva (by David Gaughran)
Publishing
How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter (Traditional pursuits)
Start Here: How to Self-Publish your Novel (Independent pursuits)
50 Amazing Book Covers to Inspire You (Agnostic)
IngramSpark vs. Createspace (Independent pursuits)
How to find a Literary Agent (Traditional pursuits)
Marketing & Promo Tactics
Understanding and using AMS (Amazon Marketing Services) to market your novels (Dave Chesson)
Book Marketing 101 (Kindlepeneur)
The Psychology of a Great Book Cover (Draft2Digital)
300 Foolproof Fonts to use for your book by genre (Derek Murphey)
Getting More Reviews [VIDEOS] (Kharma Kelley)
Weighing your options: Traditionally Published, Indie Publishing or Hybrid
Pros & Cons of Traditional Publishing vs. Self Publishing (The Creative Penn) Thorough & fair take on the pros and cons of each career path. Definite must read.
Breaking Indie: Why I chose to be an Indie Author (Sam Linton)
Why I Chose to be Traditionally Published (Dharma Kelleher)
Benefits of Being a Hybrid Author (Publishing Crawl)
What is a Hybrid Publisher vs. An Author who is hybrid published? (Jane Friedman)
About the Inclusive Romance Project
We believe in the value of a unique voice as it reflects those of our readers. In this diverse ocean of talent, we seek to excel in the field of publishing, uplift fellow authors who struggle for visibility, and outreach to aspiring authors of marginalized identities in hopes to bring more amazing work to readers worldwide. Love is Love and we believe that everyone deserves an Happily Ever After. #representationmatters #ownvoices #WeNeedDiverseRomance