Writing and publishing a book is hard enough.
Between all the planning, writing, and marketing, there is a lot to do.
There are only so many hours in a day.
That’s exactly why software was invented, in order to make complex tasks easier for humans (and make some money in the process!).
The author industry is no different, as there are tons of different software-based tools for you as an author to use.
Below, we’ll list a few of our favorites with distinct value propositions, and some notes on how they can be used, how much they cost, and more!
Let’s get right into it!
Table of Contents
Free Universal Book Links
- Boost international sales by geotargeting readers
- Book store links update automatically based on availability
- Advanced marketing analytics
- Increase clicks with trusted links
Best Author & Writing Software
Link Management Platform: Booklinker
We might be a little biased, but we had to include Booklinker on this list as we genuinely believe it’s a must for every author.
Why?
Well, a majority of authors have an international audience and most don’t provide links to a local store for their foreign readers.
It’s essential to provide your audience with links to the correct geographical storefront, as they will not be able to purchase your book if they land in the wrong store.
With Booklinker, you can host your book links under a custom vanity URL, improving the click-through rate and placing it under a beautiful landing page, that contains all locations your book is sold + automatic geotargeting
Did we mention that it’s a completely free service too?
What we Love
- Free service
- Increases the click-through rate of a link
- Increases conversion rate of incoming sales
What we Don’t Like:
- Limited customization options (Try Geniuslink instead?)
- Limited affiliate support (again, try Geniuslink!)
Word Processor: Atticus
Atticus is a book-writing word processor that makes it incredibly simple for authors to write their books all in one place. Atticus has a ton of quality-of-life features that ease the laborious book-writing process.
Examples of some quality-of-life features include:
- A book writing goal tracking system
- Automatic formatting settings (custom themes or templates)
- Reusable elements (Also Written By, Review Pages and CTAs, & More!)
Once you’ve entered a project, the interface can be split into three main sections. The third column can be set to show a preview of your book, which can be incredibly helpful to give yourself an idea of what your book looks like at any given time.
It comes in at a price tag of a one-time payment of $147, which might appear pricey, but it’s much cheaper than the competition and includes all future updates to the product. It’s also nice to not have to pay monthly for something.
Atticus is supported on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook. Lastly, books written inside of Atticus can be exported via ePub, PDF, and docx.
- Super intuitive UI
- Not a subscription
- Native spellcheck
- Incredible customer support (and team!)
What we Don’t Like:
- No Grammarly Integration
- Image formatting can be difficult
Introducing:
Booklinker Collections
One landing page for all your books. 100% free.
One link for easy sharing of your books across your backmatter, websites, emails, and social media.
Keyword Research Tool: Publisher Rocket
Next up on the list is Publisher Rocket. Publisher Rocket is another tool authors can use in the book marketing process, to help them sell more books.
Publisher Rocket is best known for its keyword research tool, which scans the Amazon search engine to give authors unique insights.
After supplying the tool with a keyword, it will extrapolate out more keywords for you to look at, giving you some interesting insights on keywords such as:
- The average number of pages books have under that keyword
- The number of competitors your book will have for the keyword
- The average price for books under that keyword
- Estimated monthly earnings
These insights are key when trying to pick the category for your book. Think about it, Amazon allows you to place your book under 10 different categories, but there are over 15,000 categories for Amazon.
Picking the right ones can really help to sell more books and increase your organic rankings.
What we Love:
- Intuitive user interface
- Fair price tag of $97
- Free lifetime software upgrades
What we Don’t Like:
- No Audible support
- Not all international geos are supported
Grammar and Spell Check Tool: Grammarly
Grammarly is the first non-author-specific software we’ll mention on this list. Grammarly is a spell checker on steroids.
Not only will Grammarly point out common grammar and spelling mistakes, but the software also makes suggestions based on the tone or level of professionalism you’re going for.
If you’re not already sold on Grammarly, it also has a plagiarism checker.
There is a free and paid version of the service, with the main difference being that the free version only including grammar, spelling, and punctuation suggestions. You can learn more about the plan differences here.
Grammarly works in most places you’d need it to, from Google Docs and email clients to Linkedin and Twitter.
What we Love:
- Free version
- Transforms your writing
- Great customer support team
What we Don’t Like:
- Requires payment monthly/yearly and is “expensive”
- Missing some key integrations
Email Marketing Tool: ConvertKit
ConvertKit was mentioned inside our email marketing services for authors’ post, so naturally, we’ll mention it here as well.
As an author, your email list is where superfans come to hear what you have to say.
Think about it, there’s a much larger commitment or interest level displayed by subscribers of your list as they have to submit personal information in the form of an email address to join.
It’s key to use the right tool to communicate with them, and ConvertKit is our pick.
ConvertKit is super easy to navigate compared to many other email marketing services which is why it took this slot on our list.
Within seconds, authors can put up high-converting landing pages in front of their audience, allowing them to start capturing emails. Bonus points if you use their lead magnet feature.
Lastly, ConvertKit has endless integrations making it easy for all your book marketing to fit together.
What we Love:
- Beginner-friendly email marketing service
- They will help migrate from other tools
- Top-tier customer support
What we Don’t Like:
- Not the cheapest email marketing service
- Automations can get very complicated
Online Graphic Designer: Canva
Canva is one of the most popular online design tools on the market today, with over 110 million active monthly users. Canva is used by tons of authors to create book covers and generate imagery for their online book marketing efforts.
Even if you don’t have much experience with design tools, Canva makes it so anybody can create their own professional designs in minutes.
There’s a free version and a paid version, as well as a free trial, so you can test it to make sure it’s a great fit for you before committing any funds towards it
What we Love:
- Free version and a free trial
- Incredibly intuitive user interface
- Endless integrations
- Great value
- Makes collaboration and sharing easy
What we Don’t Like:
- Not a lot of custom imagery on the free plan
- Online access only
Best Online Publisher: Lulu
Lulu is an online book publisher and print-on-demand service for independent authors. Think of it as the arch nemesis of Kindle Direct Publishing. Authors can choose from paperbacks or hardcovers.
The Booklinker and Geniuslink team recently used Lulu to print our book Mastering Amazon Associates and were very impressed with print quality, user experience, and delivery time.
Their fees are slightly higher compared d to other platforms such as KDP or Ingrahm Spark, but we thought they made up for this in spades and it was well worth the additional cost.
What we Love:
- Simple interface
- High print quality
- Incredible customer service
What we Don’t Love:
- Slight higher costs
Conclusion
That’s all the writer software we have for today, let us know what you think of the list, and if there are any inclusions (or removals!) we should make to the post.
To recap, here are our favorite author software(s):
- Booklinker (Best Link Management Platform for Authors)
- Atticus (Best Word Processor for Authors)
- Publisher Rocket (Best Keyword Research Tool for Authors)
- Grammarly (Best Grammar and Spell Check Tool for Authors)
- ConvertKit (Best Email Marketing Service for Authors)
- Lulu (Best Online Publisher for Authors)
Introducing:
Booklinker Collections
One landing page for all your books. 100% free.
One link for easy sharing of your books across your backmatter, websites, emails, and social media.
