TeenageTells- Site recs

As an author, you almost need to use websites to write and publish your book. here are some of my favourites, along with popular options. The ones I have used are highlighter in yellow and all the names are also links to the site.

Writing

• Word-

  "a word processing software within the Microsoft Office suite used to create, edit, format, and print text-based documents like reports, letters, and résumés."

  note: I really like it. I wrote my first book in it, and it exported seamlessly. I understand how everything works and I use my school account which is great so I can write at school. Also, you can export your book to kindle to read it on your kindle, phone, tablet, etc.

  
  

• Google Docs-

  Is used to create online documents and edit PDFs. Collaborate in real-time from any device and use AI to generate drafts, templates, and more.

  note: it's very good and I like how you can have seperate tabs, however, I started on word so I probabl won't be switching programs anytime soon.

  
  

• Scriviner-

  "Is widely regarded as one of the best software for book writing. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for outlining, writing, etc."

  note: I want to use it, but don't want to pay for a subsciption. The price: varies but at least £60.

Sharing work

• Fortelling-

  "Is a tool to simplify the creative process by helping you organize your ideas, stay motivated, and maintain a clear project overview."

  note: I've talked about this site before. Go read about that in this blog post

  
  

• Critique Circle-

  "A site used to continuously improve your writing by critting the works of others and building relationships with other authors who will help you with your own manuscript."

  note: very good. i've not been on the site for long but it has been super helpful, especially when receiving critiques. with a premium subscription, you can write a novel.

  
  

• Critique Match-

  "an online platform that connects writers, beta readers, and freelance editors."

  note: it was good in the begining, but then I had to pay to do literally anything. Don't recommend, especially for teens on a budget.

Editing

• Grammarly-

"is an American English language writing assistant software tool. It reviews the spelling, grammar, and tone of a piece of writing"

note: it doesn't work on word and you can only upload a file up to 100,000 characters long (and it messes up all formatting). But it does work on docs.

• Plus, the main editing will probably be done on whatever writing app you use (fortelling, critique circle, word, docs, scriviner, etc.)

Marketing

• Wixsite-

  "is an intuitive web platform for creative, fast-paced teams at agencies and enterprises to create, develop and manage exceptional web projects"

  note: this is what I use to build my website. I do not use premium, though I am looking to do that in the future.

  
  

• WordPress-

  "is a web content management system. It was originally created as a tool to publish blogs but has evolved"

  note: I think it's good (and it's cheaper than wix with a premium subscription) but I think it's a bit more complicated.

  
  

• Any Social Media Platform

  Youtube, facebook, tiktok, instagram. Anywhere is great to promote.

  
  

• Goodreads-

  "the world's largest site for readers and book recommendations. Our mission is to help readers discover books they love and get more out of reading."

  Note: I'm having trouble getting Goodreads to recognise me as the author of my book. I gave all the confirmation they asked for but it still didn't work. You might also have this problem.

• Ads

Cover

• Adobe Acrobat-

  "is a productivity and collaboration platform that brings together powerful PDF tools, AI features, content creation, and seamless sharing"

  note: I'm not a fan of it. I use it because there's no other way to do it. Because when you publish your book through Ingram Spark, you need to meet some very specific requirements.

  
  

• Powerpoint/Slides-

  "originally designed to provide visuals for group presentations within business organizations, but has come to be widely used in other areas"

  note: I know it sounds weird, but you can re-arrange images and change the size of the page to match your cover and it's easy to export. It's great to make your cover here then export to adobe to do the professional part.

Other

• Babynames-

"your trusted source for baby name meanings, unique baby names, and the latest in baby naming trends"

note: a great place to help name your characters. you xcan search by meaning, origin and first/last letter(s).

• Spotify-

"a digital music, podcast, and video service that gives you access to millions of songs and other content from creators all over the world."

note: if you don't want ads you need premium

• Youtube music-

music-playing platform

note: if you don't want ads you need premium

Publishing

• Ingram Spark-

"an online self-publishing company that allows you to print, globally distribute, and manage your print and ebooks. Self-Publish Like a Pro."

note: I really like it but it is hard to meet all the requirements (but i'm guessing it's like that for all publishing journies). I recommend because there's so many how-to guides and videos online to help you.

• Amazon KDP-

  note: I tried to use it, but I couldn't connect it to my Ingram Spark account so I gave up. But that's a very specific circumstance. The general public says that it's very good.

If you found this week's tips for teenage writers helpful, enjoyable or you think someone else will love to read it, share it with others! Let's help more teen writers achieve their dreams. Together.