With the new imprint, another website was needed. I had been wrestling with a bulky WP theme on BMP and didn’t fancy going back down that road. Then I realised our direct sales channel for DPP was on Payhip. It was straightforward enough to rebrand it to Bonafide Publishing and build out the store using their store builder.

Here’s a brief summary of my experience, along with the pros and cons of Payhip, and we’ll explore some of the key features and benefits of Payhip for self-publishing authors.

Payhip allows you to sell digital and physical products, memberships, and courses through secure payment gateways Paypal and Stripe. It is a simple and effective way for writers to monetise their work and reach a wider audience.

Pros of Payhip

Payhip is an intuitive and user-friendly platform, making it easy for authors to set up their online store and start selling their digital products. The platform offers various customisation options, allowing authors to create a unique and engaging storefront that reflects their brand and style using drag-and-drop tools and modules.

Payhip offers instant delivery of digital products, which means that customers can download their purchases immediately after payment.

It covers most of what you need to build your site: sliders, article sections, videos, collages and more.

You can implement social sharing (if not using the custom domain) and friend referrals for discounts and coupons.

Payhip integrates with Bookfunnel for the supported delivery of your products. Although this isn’t a necessary step, Bookfunnel offers readers direct support with onboarding your ebook files onto Kindles, Nooks, iPads and all the rest, potentially saving you a massive headache in support time.

You can also integrate with numerous email providers to add buyers to your lists, all GDPR compliant.

Cons of Payhip

I wanted to have direct sales of paperbacks using the Bookvault app. However, this requires a separate product page, meaning every paperback product would have its own product page, in addition to other variations to that product (ebook/audio etc.). So, you end up with multiple pages for the same core product.

Not great for the user experience as it requires an extra click or more, but not the end of the world. I will test this out very soon and use images of a 3D cover to distinguish it from the other product variations.

Simply adding a stand-alone button isn’t currently an option. You need to add a text/button module and then delete the text, which leaves a gap.

I also wanted some of our book products to link off to external retailers and not deliver a local file, but I was informed I’d have to include any file, even if it’s a blank text file. Not ideal.

By adding a custom domain to the store, I could no longer offer customers social discounts (for example, share on Facebook and get 5% off etc.), although the coupon code is still intact.

Costs. It’s not the cheapest, with a 5% cut from your sales on the free level, but this can be reduced if you upgrade.

Conclusion

I’m looking at this Payhip site as a simple first version of the website, and a more sophisticated version can follow as the Bonafide Publishing imprint grows. But overall, I’m happy with the Payhip store as a simple, quick solution, and most importantly, traffic tends to convert to sales pretty well.

If you’re looking to expand your book sales to direct using mainly ebooks and need a website set up quickly, Payhip is a good option. If you want to drive traffic to your books on Kindle or other retailers, then look at other options.

Getting your work published takes many steps, from writing the book to covering design, production, and marketing.

Self-publishing is a unique balance of business, knowledge, and creativity.

As a self-published author, you get complete control over creativity and pricing. But along with these advantages, there is a lot to learn. This is where self-publishing courses step in.

These courses save you plenty of time by making each step precise and easy to follow. As with any profession, you will need to invest in your education, and any of the courses below are well worth paying the price.

Self-publishing courses cut down the research time in the publishing industry. They teach methods that have proven to work for various authors, regardless of genre or considering the speciality. The learning also involves connecting with different industry professionals, other writers, and expert authors, and learning that can also be applied to many upcoming books.

With that said, which self-publishing courses are worth the money? Simply put, one that is less talk and more practice.

Self-Publishing Launchpad

The original course creator, Mark Dawson, is known for his thriller books, specifically his John Milton and Beatrix Rose series. He has sold more than an astounding figure of 4 million books. James Blatch isn’t just a course creator, he’s an active publisher who has scaled book catalogues to five-figure monthly income using the same methods he teaches in Self Publishing Launchpad.

Course content

• Building an online presence.
• Pre-publishing requirements.
• Increasing sales by generating organic traffic.
• Choosing offline/online retailers.
• Getting reviews.
• Benefits of Amazon v Publishing Wide.

Why enrol in Self-Publishing Launchpad course

• The material includes how to write brilliant copy for Facebook Ads and email communications for your subscribers to boost sales.
• The course also covers in detail how to effectively understand the Amazon algorithm.
• Features a tech library that covers major retailers, mailing list providers, and more.
• An active community on the Facebook group. Connect with others easily by sharing and discussing ideas.

Who is this course for?

The course has easy-to-follow steps, making it perfect for beginners and advanced authors alike. However, the ideal writers are indie authors who aspire to take their business to the next level and get as much return as possible.

Course details

• Price: 597 USD,
• Payment options: The payment can also be made in instalments of 54 USD per month.
• Availability: This course is usually open twice a year.

To read our full, more detailed review of Self Publishing Launchpad, click here.

Learn More

Authority Pub Academy

Steve Scott and Barrie Davenport conduct Authority Pub Academy course. With more than 70 books under his name, Steve combines his excellent writing knowledge with diverse marketing techniques.

His partner, Barrie Davenport, is famous for her self-improvement website ‘Live Bold and Bloom’. She is also the author of several books in the same category.

Together, these two experts have tailored this self-publishing course to meet the needs of people who want to learn both writing and marketing.

Course content

• Building healthy writing habits.
• Picking the genre/niche and how to do high-level research.
• Creating the book outline, writing the first draft, and book editing.
• Setting up your book for publishing.
• Strategies for launching the book, generating leads, and reviews.
• Marketing techniques and expanding your author library.

Why enrol in the Authority Pub Academy course

The Authority Pub Academy course can teach you how to use many platforms as a writer.

• Pick up on tech details. Learn to set up your WordPress blog and walk through the email process.
• Learn to use Evernote, Canva, and other apps to boost your productivity as a writer.
• Mode of learning includes high-quality videos that add to the fun and creativity.
• Examples of real-life proven case studies of bestselling authors.

Who is this course for?

Sign up for this course if you wish to create more content as an author. You might have published a book before and have a fair idea of marketing techniques in the publishing industry.

If not, you might have many book ideas at once or wish to expand your author portfolio. This self-publishing course is designed to help achieve balance and get things done faster for every ongoing project. Create your work more effectively and learn strategies that will help you market your books in the long run.

Course details

• Price: 597 USD.
• Payment options: One-time payment or in two instalments of 348 USD. It also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Availability: Available all year.

Learn More

Self Publishing School

Thus, the Self Publishing School course revolves around becoming a productive writer. The creator, Chandler Bolt, is a self-publishing entrepreneur who became famous for his book ‘The Productive Person’.

After that, he aspired to help other writers publish their books. And so, he designed this course to help aspiring authors self-publish in as little as 90 days.

Course content

• Turning your book into a bestseller as a non-fiction writer.
• Elements to write bestselling fiction books.
• Learn to write a bestselling children’s book.
• A mega program known as Author Advantage Accelerator consists of complete services for producing, publishing, and marketing your book.
• The writer’s conference boosts writers’ networking and book marketing strategies.

Why enrol in the Self-Publishing School course

• It offers multiple options for writers of both the fiction and non-fiction genres.
• A personal coach has been appointed for every type of program.
• You will get a professional workbook for your chosen course.
• You can discuss book ideas with your coach over a one-hour call.
• Weekly live sessions with Chandler Bolt.
• It consists of various premium courses.
• It makes your self-publishing process more accessible by offering done-for-you services.

Who is this course for?

You should sign up for this course if you relate to any of the following:

• Writers who are focusing on one book.
• You need some clarity on your book idea.
• You want a fast-track course that focuses only on a specific genre and necessary details.

Course details

• Price: Please visit the course website for details on pricing and payment options.
• Availability: This course is available to writers meeting specific requirements at any time. If you make it, you will be recommended a course that best suits your self-publishing goals.

Learn More

Conclusion

All in all, each of the above courses offers unique content. Before picking one, consider your budget, the course level, and if the modules fit your learning expectations.

Self-Publishing Launchpad is best if you want to excel at building and maintaining your online presence.

Authority Pub Academy focuses mainly on the art of becoming a bestselling author. If you’re writing multiple books simultaneously, this course will help balance your works’ creativity and publishing process.

Self Publishing School is perfect if you are working on a single book. The primary purpose is to take you through the entire process with precise and practical steps.

The evening before Day 1, I headed to a pre-conference meet-up at the Mad Hatter’s Hotel, which was a great move. Here was an opportunity to speak to some authors before the big show and make connections in smaller groups. I made plenty of new friends and re-connected with old ones.

Day 1: Tuesday 28 June

Over 800 authors gathered at South Bank for Day 1, and after coffee and chat, everyone headed into the main hall for the welcome session from Mark Dawson and James Blatch, who rocked on in a 60s pilot uniform. His second book, Final Flight, was cunningly launched on the same day and may have been mentioned a few times!

First up on stage were the ‘Queens of Kindle’, Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. They write in the Paranormal Romance genre and leverage the power of TikTok to gain incredible traction.

Nick Stephenson was due to present but had apparently injured his leg, so James Blatch stepped in with insights into his TikTok experiments this year.

Joanna Penn did a fascinating one on the Creator Economy with fascinating insights into the tools authors and creators can use, such as AI, NFTs and the blockchain. All this despite an absolute tech nightmare with the presentation screen.

Marc Reklau, Non-fiction bestseller, life coach and entrepreneur, gave us an uplifting look into his non-fiction self-help author brand.

Stuart Bache and John Dyer

After lunch came the slot I had been waiting for. Stuart Bache of Books Covered did a cover design makeover of one of our fiction books! It was a special moment to see the classic Bache design style, with my pen name, Jay Tinsiano, being created on stage in real-time. We’re now looking at ways to make the series relaunch happen with Stuart’s involvement.

Amazon Ads Targeting with Jane Margot. A very insightful presentation on using Amazon Ads to sell books by Jane, who worked at Amazon Ads for eight years. The platform is a complex monster, and Jane offered some valuable insights into taming the beast, that is Amazon Ads.

Darren Hardy and the Amazon KD Team. The panel fielded questions from James Blatch and the audience on the inner workings of publishing on Kindle.

L TO R: Jerry Holliday (AKA Jay Tinsiano), Mikey Campling, Jack Stainton, Lee Mountford and Joseph Sale.

Day 1 ended with a break that allowed time for dinner and freshening up before a party in the foyer. There were complimentary drinks to get into the spirit, and a band provided the music to get things rolling. Groups of authors did move on to pubs and bars after the close. This was, after all, London.

Day 2 Wednesday 29 June

The rise to Romance Stardom session was with Lucy Score, who has a huge dedicated following. If you want an idea of how big Romance is, look at this Wall Street Journal and national bestselling author.

Big Data Unleashed with Alex Newton. Alex runs K-lytics, which offers the facts and data behind the trends and sales on Amazon. He revealed that Indie authors account for 50% of the top 100 books on Amazon. Big cheers for that one.

Suzy k. Quinn gave us The five secrets of Bestselling Authors. After studying what makes a bestselling novel, Suzy presented her five secrets, and there were some very intriguing takeaways. Shhhh.

Self-Editing Masterclass with Hayley Millman, Head of Education & Community, at ProWritingAid came next. This session dove deep into the reeds of the craft of words.

Just before lunch, Author Inspiration came from Michael Anderle, head of LMBPN Publishing and one of my favourite speakers. He fired up the audience with antidotes from his meteoric rise to a $Million publishing empire. I love listening to this guy, so this was a big highlight.

Unfortunately, I had to leave during the lunch break and head back to Bristol, but I will be catching up on the recording for the following sessions that rounded off this fantastic conference.

What followed in the afternoon was Strategic Multi-level Advertising by Rachael McLean. KindleStoryteller Award winner. Then, a panel called ‘Quitting the Nine-to Five’ with Gary Ross Jordan, Tracey Green, Benedict Brown, Liz Hurley, and Meg Jolly.

Mark Dawson, James Blatch and John Dyer wrapped up the conference with thunderous applause. I have no doubt.

All in all, it was fantastic and am very much looking forward to the next one. I highly recommend the experience just for the connections you can make. I should also mention that the show sponsors were all in the Foyer making for a great opportunity to speak to people from the following companies: KDP Publishing, Draft2Digital, Reedsy, PublishDrive, Hello Books, Google Play Books, Kobo, Vellum, Digital AuthorsToolkit, W.F Howes, Written Word Media and Pro Writing Aid.

If you missed attending this live there will be recordings available to purchase. Just head to this link and Buy Digital Ticket Only. https://selfpublishingformula.com/spslive

Who is James Blatch?

James Blatch isn’t just a course creator; he’s an active publisher who has scaled book catalogues to five-figure monthly income using the same methods he teaches in Self Publishing Launchpad. He also started the Self Publishing Show, originally with Mark Dawson, Vinci Books (imprint) and Hello Books (for Book Promotion).

What is the course?

Ads for Authors is a selection of video courses supported with PDF downloads to help authors navigate the sometimes complex Ad platforms used to drive sales of their books.

What can the course teach you?

Some of the course bundles are taught by other experts.

Facebook Ads for Authors by Tom Ashford

Advanced FB Ads for Authors by Mark Dawson

Facebook Messenger Bots for Authors

Amazon Ads for Authors by Ricardo Fayet

Ad Design for Authors by Stuart Bache

Bookbub Ads by Caryn Robertson

YouTube for Authors by Garett Robinson

TikTok for Authors by Lila Dubois & Jane Reylon

How to write better, simpler ads by Bryan Cohen

You also get bonus SPF university mini-course bundles that include webinar workshops to help authors use key players in the industry such as BookFunnel, PublishDrive, ProlificWorks and more.

There are also additional mini-courses that you can purchase separately. Some examples include:

How to write a Bestseller by Suzy K Quinn

Cover Design for Authors by Stuart Bache (Books Covered)

Copy Editing by Hayley Milliman

..and more!

Is Ads for Authors for you?

It’s no magic bullet or click-button route to instant success. This course will only work for authors who are prepared to invest their time and money into actually going through the system and taking action.

So, going into the course, some writers underestimated the time needed to go through each subject. I focused on Amazon Ads and Bookbub ads rather than Facebook or YouTube as those platforms were the ones I wanted to focus on at the time.

You don’t have to do it all. Not at once, anyway. Perhaps try out one platform at a time and see what works for you.

After following the course materials, you’ll also need a budget for advertising your books on Facebook, Amazon, and Bookbub. It doesn’t have to be a fortune. Mark suggests toe-dipping with $5-10 days regarding Facebook campaigns. Ads for Authors is for writers who want to treat their book publishing as a business rather than a hobby.

What I like is that it’s a one-time, admittedly sizeable investment, so there are no recurring membership costs. The SPF guys add new material and keep it updated, which you’ll also get access to going forward. That keeps the course future-proofed with updates and changes in the industry.

Conclusion

If you’re an author starting on your first book and need to know the basics of self-publishing, I would first look at our free Ecourse: Indie Publishing Roadmap and Mark’s other course, Self Publishing Launchpad. Moving beyond publishing and platform-building basics, Ads for Authors is the next natural step in your Indie Author Journey. It is perfect for those who want to become full-time authors and publishers, as you’ll learn the essential skills to sell books online.

Join the waiting list or Sign Up Here

Full affiliate disclosure: If you sign up through any of the above links, I stand to receive an affiliate commission. This helps me pay the bills and keep producing content for you, so thank you!

It seems I only post to this blog in the new year so one of many new year’s resolutions is to fix that and post more often. I definitely need to redefine this blog a bit and refocus it on my journey as well as highlight the cluster of publishing, creative and marketing services and products I can offer.

The last few years have been up and down, as most people will have experienced with the ‘C-word and the subsequent tidal wave unleashed on us all. I focused on key areas in the business, keeping a few clients happy and chipping away at my writing. Alongside that, I have felt a general disconnect and really need to find my tribe again, both in personal circles and in my business.

A huge help in focusing on my personal and business journey has been joining Alex Louise’s Money Mastermind group. Highly recommended.

General overall goals

To get to financial freedom figure as soon as possible. This is the figure needed to not have to just scramble around to cover the costs of basic needs.

To continue learning/training to be able to effectively advertise our books.

Look at building more relationships and focus on personal health as a priority.

More fun stuff, and breaks to unwind and declutter the mind. I tend to go into an automatic workaholic mode for long periods and it’s not good.

The Business

I want to continue building Bonafide Media into a company and find a small trusted team to work with. This company is the umbrella to imprint brands such as Dark Paradigm Publishing and in the future other focused imprints. There’s a lot of potential for creative projects here and I still yearn to return to the drawing board and somehow link my love of scribbling into a project or two.

Online Brands

Build up Author Help Hub with additional eCourses and services as well as possibly branching into video/podcasting to grow our audience there.

Book Projects for 2022

Fiction: Projects under Jay Tinsiano:

Publish Black Horse
Write and possibly publish Pale Horse
Other Project(s) (undecided):

Options:
A new Frank Bowen book or volume. A recent poll of my readers indicated they wanted more Bowen stories.
A Cold War Thriller for Digital First Publisher. This idea is appealing. A fresh brand new world in an area that I’m fascinated by.
A Dystopian/PA/sci-Fi series I’m toying with that ties in with the Dark Paradigm Universe but hundreds of years in the future.

Other considerations:

Rebranding the Frank Bowen and Dark Paradigm series with new covers is tempting as I’m not sure they 100 per cent hit the mark in terms of market positioning. This would take considerable investment though so is a bit of a block.

Other Non-fiction Projects under Jerry Holliday

Expand Indie Authors Roadmap and publish as a paperback and Audiobook.

Work on second Author related project.

That’s it for now. I was inspired to write this by Joanna Penn’s New Year blog post here.

It really does mentally help to have defined goals to strive towards. The trick is not to forget them!

But, is this software truly worth buying, and is it as useful as we’re made to believe? Keep reading this 2022 Plottr review for authors to find out!

What Is Plottr?

The Plottr downloadable software is convenient for fiction writers for many reasons, mainly because:

●      It’s downloadable and compatible with Windows and Mac

●      You can write your outline in Plottr, download it, and use it while writing

●      It’s specialized for writers because it revolves around plot creation and writing

Plottr Features and Price

So, should you buy Plottr? Let’s review what Plottr for authors does and how much it costs:

What Are Plottr’s Main Features?

●      Clean simple design; easy to use. The software will give you a guided tour to demonstrate proper use, which you should take advantage of if you want to spare time and be more productive. I like its simplicity in comparison to Scrivener, which usually takes some time getting used to.

●      You can choose from a variety of plot templates. All you need to do to pick your best template is to click ‘File’>’New from Template,’ and you’re free to choose templates by type. Of course, this can be a bit overwhelming unless you’re familiar with all of the types and their best-intended purposes.

This would be too broad of a topic for this review, so I’ll recommend doing research on your story to discover the best plot form to follow.

●      Of course, if you don’t wish to use a template, Plottr allows you to work without it. Plottr allows you to come up with your own plots and subplots and lay them out across different chapters as you wish. This gives you a cohesive, comprehensive view of your plots.

Of course, the quality and consistency of these plots are all yours to monitor. Plottr, much like any other software, won’t monitor or tell you if there are plot holes or inconsistencies.

This software only provides a simple panel to write down, review, and analyze plots so you can create a good book outline.

●      For this intended purpose, Plottr allows you to add different colours to plots, which helps distinguish them.

●      It allows laying out characters and cards that serve to add notes and also mapping out different titles and subtitles. This can all help create a comprehensive map of characters and events so you can keep track of stories for their consistency.

●      Plottr’s series tab allows you to map out the main plot of the book series, its title, and premise. You can also add a book cover if it helps with writing. Once you’re done outlining and plotting, you can export your work, which is great if you prefer working in MS Word or Google Docs.

●      Plottr also assists in creating characters. The software’s ‘Characters’ tab allows you to add character names and all the relevant details, like personal traits, strengths and character flaws, roles and powers, and all other details that help place a character in a story.

You can make your notes either in short lines or paragraphs, whatever works best for you. Plottr features character templates that cover birth dates, bio and personal background, personality type, motivations, cognitive distortions, and their enneagram type.

●      Plottr also helps create different worlds for your story, but not in the extensive detail it uses to map out characters. To link different plots, characters, and worlds, you can use tags.

●      When it comes to the plot overview, Plottr does a great job with overviewing vertical and horizontal plot lines, looking at a whole plot from a specific viewpoint, and filtering tabs and characters so you keep track of your writing.

Plottr helps you track which character not only participates but is also familiar with each event and plotline, and this can be greatly useful to avoid plot holes and inconsistencies.

Try Plottr Here

What Is Plottr’s Price Range?

Plottr’s payment plan is great value as it allows you to make different purchases according to your needs. The lowest price option is $39 per year (or $139 lifetime) for 1 device only (Desktop or Mobile).

Installing the software on three devices will cost $49 ($149 lifetime)

A $99 per year Pro package ($299 lifetime) gives you access to the cloud version on unlimited devices, along regular updates.

Plottr Pros and Cons

Pros

●      Simple and easy to use

●      Great for creating well-rounded characters

●      Gives a comprehensive plot overview

●      Software installation comes with a 30-day free trial, meaning you have the opportunity to completely test out the software before you make a purchase.

I like this feature right off the bat, because it means there’s no way of ending up with a useless year-long subscription if you don’t find the software particularly useful.

Cons

●      One of the major downsides of Plottr is that it won’t let you write your story directly into the software. Instead, you’ll have to use other software for writing and then use materials from Plottr to guide your process.

●      Plottr does tend to glitch, and you might have to restart it. However, it will save your progress.

The Verdict

Now that you know how you can benefit from Plottr, it’s up to you to decide whether to commit.

My final verdict is that Plottr is great for seasoned fiction authors, but not so much for non-fiction writers or beginner fiction writers. If you work with Plottr as a fresh writer, you’ll really need to learn a lot about fiction outlining and plotting to get the most out of the software.

Fiction writers who create consistently or work on multiple book ideas will benefit from Plottr to keep track of universes, timelines, characters, and plots, and I believe it’s a value-add to keep the overall consistency in your writing.

The price is well justified with this software, and I think the pricing is really good value for such a useful tool for easier writing and better organisation.

Try Plottr Here

Click here and Try Plottr for your visual outline and book planning

Affiliate Disclosure: Commissions are earned for any paid sign-ups at Plottr.

So, what does this service do for you? Is it worth subscribing and changing your routines? I tried ProWritingAid out for you and here is the complete review.

What Is ProWritingAid?

ProWritingAid is, by many, said to be a great content editing program. It offers multiple solutions for proofreading and improving your writing, like:

●      Checking for grammar and spelling errors

●      Readability and word choice

●      Clarity and suitability of words and phrases

●      Consistency in your writing (past and present tense, spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation)

As you can see, ProWritingAid can help make your content easier and smoother to read; eliminate vague, unnecessary, and fluffy words and phrases; and make your writing grammatically impeccable.

But where does this service stand compared to others?

ProWritingAid Review and Features

I found that one of the major advantages is that you can integrate it into your web browser, MS Word, desktop, and Google Docs. This means your writing will be spell-checked in real time and proofread while you’re writing an essay, a blog article, or an e-mail.

It’s suitable for anyone who needs their writing to be particularly polished, whether you’re a student, a freelance writer (copywriter, eBook writer, blog writer), or an academic. It can even help you proofread office work and make sure your reports, presentations, and emails are error free and on point.

Similar to other editing tools, ProWritingAid features both a free and a premium version. But, as with other editing tools, a legitimate question is: Does the premium package offer distinct upgrades worthy of the investment? Let’s make a comparison between the two packages so you can decide for yourself:

●      ProWritingAid Free Package allows you to check up to 500 words at once, with a basic extension you can add to your browser to check your writing. Not bad, unless you need to quickly proofread longer pieces of content. This version of the online editor might be suitable for those who send out shorter pieces of writing, but if you’re looking for more serious inside into the quality of your content, you’ll need to upgrade.

●      ProWritingAid Premium, on the other hand, gives you access to a desktop app, extensions for Google Docs, MS Word, and Scrivener. It is fully web-based and gives more detailed reports on your writing style. It also doesn’t limit your word count and allows editing lengthy documents.

ProWritingAid Premium Review

You can subscribe and access the premium version in several ways, from purchasing a subscription to even grabbing a discount code from some of their affiliates. But, how does it work?

First, you’ll notice that errors of different categories are marked in different colours after you load your content into the editor. Grammar errors will be marked blue, spelling errors in red, and the yellow underline will signify style errors. Clicking on the underlined word or phrase will show you suggestions to edit, which you can accept or ignore. If your word or a phrase doesn’t need correction (e.g., a brand name or another specific word), you can add it to your dictionary, and the software will no longer mark it as an error.

The main reports you’ll get with the Premium version include:

●      An overall review of your content

●      How well is your style attuned to the document style

●      Grammar and word choice analysis

●      A list of overused words

●      A review of issues with pacing, sentence structure, and readability

●      A plagiarism check

With these reports, you’ll get pretty decent insight into the quality of your writing and changes you should make to improve it. On top of that, you can use the app and extensions to further check your writing.

ProWritingAid Desktop App Overview
ProWritingAid Desktop App gives you access to the editor software without the use of the web browser. This way, you can add .doc, Scrivener, open office, and RTF files to the app and edit straight from your computer. However, you’ll need internet access to run the app.

ProWritingAid Extensions Review

●      Microsoft Word plugin adds the checker to your MS Word if you are a Windows user. This way, you don’t have to write in Google Docs (or anywhere else online) to receive reports.

●      Google Docs extension gives you real-time reports on your writing while you’re writing in Google Docs. This is convenient because it allows editing without having to copy-paste back and forth between the document and the editor. You don’t have to worry about disturbing your formatting and the structure of the document, or having to do it after you’ve checked your content.

ProWritingAid Vs the Competition: Is It Worth It?

With a $70 yearly subscription, I found ProWritingAid Premium to be much more affordable than its competitors. A special-offer $100 subscription will give you two-year access to the editor’s full features, $140 for three years, and only $240 for a lifetime of using ProWritingAid.

Sounds outstanding, doesn’t it? But how does ProWritingAid compare to other popular grammar checkers, like Grammarly?

First, ProWritingAid Premium yearly subscription is much more affordable compared to Grammarly ($139.95) and gives a deeper insight into the quality of your writing.

According to users, it beats Grammarly by the number of detected errors, but at the cost of somewhat slower speed. ProWritingAid Premium will give you 20 in-depth reports on your writing, while Grammarly Premium only checks for a few additional style errors (hard-to-read sentences, engagement, and clarity) compared to its free version.

Another common complaint is about having to click on each error instead of being able to review all reports for the extension button. Like all other grammar checkers, there is a possibility of getting a suggestion that’s wrong for the context of your document.

Conclusion

The final verdict is that ProWritingAid tightly competes with other grammar checkers and editing tools. However, with a very limited free package, you will have to pay for some features you can get for free with other grammar checkers like Grammarly, but with many other benefits.

This tool is a great option for writers who rely on editing software, mainly because of its flexibility and a budget-friendly subscription.

ProWritingAid Review: FAQs

Can UK, AU, and CA Writers Use ProWritingAid Premium?

Yes! You can set up your software for different English versions, including Canadian, Australian, and British. You can do this by choosing the right version in the Account Settings. The software will also check for spelling consistency depending on the chosen version.

Can Screenwriters Use ProWritingAid?

Yes! Screenwriters can check their scripts using the desktop app. All you need to do is to upload your .fdx file to the app. The software will recognise the format and offer switching to Script mode. Doing so will allow the software to distinguish specific formats and won’t flag them as errors.

What Do ProWritingAid Reports Tell You?

ProWritingAid will generate 20 reports on your writing. These reports analyse different areas of your writing and suggest improvements. They will suggest potential issues you can work on depending on your judgement. Keep in mind that, while accurate, these reports don’t always reflect your writing quality accurately as it is an automated tool.

For those who don’t know, the Self Publishing Show (formerly Self Publishing Formula)  has been a fantastic and highly professional source of information and content for Indie Self Published authors since 20xx. They’ve produced a podcast as well as excellent courses including Ads for Authors and Self Publishing 101.

So after debating whether to go, considering Coronavirus was days away from been confirmed as a Pandemic, we loaded up on hand sanitizer and headed to London.

The Queen of Kindle

First up at the Grand Elizabeth hall on South Bank embankment was a Q and A with crime thriller writer LJ Ross, a seller of 4 million books. We heard an inspirational story from Louise of her author journey to massive success. Louise spoke about her taking inspiration from real locations, a good example is her first book: Holy Island in Northumberland.

Multiple Streams of Income

Joanna Penn treated us to a whistle-stop blitz on multiple streams of income for book indies – a theme later echoed by Mark Dawson dubbed ‘sweating your assets’ but more of that later. Joanna suggested authors look at their IP even if they were traditionally published authors who be leaving some tights in the table. One book or product can become multiple products beyond the standard ebook and paperback. Products like hardbacks, large print editions and translated versions. Joanna is currently offering Multiple Streams of Income as a course on Teachable.

1000 x £100K: Under the Radar

Next up was the 1000 x £100k under the radar panel, designed to highlight those quiet earning authors earning £50k and up as a ballast to the outliers that our community often hear about. As if to reflect the recent International Women’s Day all the panel were female. We heard from, amongst others, Kris Butler writing biker romance and Karen Ingris producing children’s books, all making good bank by utilising online advertising to promote their books.

Making a Living with Non-Fiction

Marc Reklau and Joseph Alexander fielded the questions on how they make a living from writing and publishing non-fiction. Marc is a lifestyle coach and has written multiple books in his ‘Change your habits, Change your life’ series.

Joseph Alexander has built a powerful brand called Fundamental Changes in the music learning space with books and resources by an expanding team of authors.

The New Publishers

My favourite part of the conference focused on how the new digital-first publishers are making waves in the ebook world. This has an incredibly insightful discussion on publishing in today’s market with Jasper Joffe of Joffe Books, Michael Anderle of LMBPN, Keshini Naidoo, co-founder of Hera Books and Oliver Rhodes of Bookouture.

These new Publishers are finding incredible success by bringing author talent to the market with much more generous terms than traditional publishers but also the advantage of a more agile operation.

10 Tools to Grow Your Publishing Business

Ricardo Fayet, from Reedsy, kicked off with a presentation of 10 Tools to Grow your Publishing Business. There were a few tools that would be very familiar to any indie who’s been knocking around for a while but also some unknowns.

There then followed a panel with Dan Wood (Draft2Digital), Ricardo Fayet (Reedsy), Corey Alderin (Book Brush.) Some great tips on each of their services and indie publishing in general.

10 Mistakes

Mark Dawson
Last but certainly not least came the SPS Maestro, Mark Dawson, as he wrapped up the day with a presentation on the 10 8 mistakes made. This was an entertaining run through starting with several excellent reasons why writers should dispel certain myths around Traditional Publishing based on his own experiences.

All in all it was excellent, full of great panels and talks and most attendees would probably agree to have been fired up afterwards. We stumbled through the rain to jump on board the Dixie Queen afterwards and enjoyed a glass of prosecco as Tower Bridge on the Thames raised to let us through.

All these types of events are usually about the other people you meet and network with. My big regret is that I didn’t reach out and meet enough fellow indie authors.

Until Next Year!

You can purchase a digital ticket to watch a full re-run of the conference here.

Squirrelled away behind the vast Children’s publisher section was the hidden gem of Author HQ. Sponsored by IngramSpark and KDP this little Indie paradise featured some great talk panels. Indie giants Mark Dawson, Rachel Abbot, LJ Ross and Barry Hutchison was led by Kindle UK Manager, Darren Hardy on the subject of self-publishing as a business. There’s a great insight at the beginning of this Self Publishing Formula podcast video on LBF and Author HQ in particular.

Later I also caught a good panel on Indies getting their books into bookstores with Amy Collins (New Shelves Books), Robin Cutler (Director of IngramSpark) and Orna Ross (Director of ALLi). I highly recommend the ALLI book on the subject for any authors wanting more of this.

I had also booked a meeting with Stuart Bache, book cover designer for a beady eye over the existing catalogue. Stuart has designed covers for notable authors such as Stephen King, John Le Carre, Mark Dawson and many more. The verdict was generally a thumbs up although there were pointers on improvements that could be made. I really hope to work with Stuart and his team in the future and can’t thank him enough for his time.

Lessons learned for next time is planning. There is so much going on you really need to have a schedule for any talks or seminars you want to attend as well as meetings. All in all, I loved my few days at the fair. The vibrancy and energy is amazing and if you have any interest in the publishing industry mark your calendar for next year.