Welcome to the newest installment of Electric Speed, my personal newsletter where I share digital tools and resources for authors. I am not paid to recommend or advertise any tools or services; in rare cases when I do receive compensation, it is clearly disclosed. Have feedback? Send me an email.
A big list of free online courses for writers
Over at The Digital Reader you can find an extensive round-up of free courses. It includes some of my all-time favorites, such as Dave Chesson's Amazon Adverts for Books, Iain Rob Wright's Self-Publishing Mastery, and The Free Email Course by Kirsten Oliphant. Browse them all.
Find short (or long) books on any subject
ShortBooks helps you search for books based on length—identifying the quickest reads on the market when time is of the essence. Pretty neat. Conversely, you can use the same tool to find the longest reads (although such books will be tagged with a red warning, "too long"). I'm hoping the site improves its search and allows you to sort by length and customer rating.
110 type ornaments to use in your book
I'm one of those typography nerds who digs into Zapf Dingbats when I'm looking to have some fun. If you're similar, or love ornaments in book design, then check out Joel Friedlander's free chart. It'll help you find all the ornaments that reside in the free font sets you likely have on your computer—plus popular paid fonts, too.
Just for fun: Bongo Cat
Yes, really. With thanks to LL Barkat at Tweetspeak Poetry.
I'm celebrating the 3-year anniversary of The Hot Sheet (my other newsletter)
Three years ago, in a move that reflected a triumph of hope over experience, I launched a paid subscription publication, The Hot Sheet, in partnership with journalist Porter Anderson. Nearly 100 issues later, we're still going strong with our wonkish, business-oriented publication. It's not for everyone, but if you're interested in a drama-free, analytical eye on the publishing industry (delivered every 2 weeks via email), it's worth a look. We've got a special running in honor of our anniversary; use code 3YR through Sunday for 30% off. Also, everyone automatically gets a free trial to see if it's useful to them—great for the commitment averse. Learn more.
Most popular blog post this month:
Marketing Advice Roundup: Best of Last Year
Have an excellent weekend!
Jane
|
