Featherstone 
Best Black Friday Bargains & Tools for Authors & Writers
In ‘Look-It’s Your Book’, one of the tips I share is: Writing and publishing don’t need to be expensive: if possible, plan purchases and marketing material buys around the big sales dates such as mid-year and Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
And guess what?! Black Friday is here and there are lots of great bargains out there for writers and authors. Here are my top tips for what writers and authors might want to stock up on now. (nb: some of these products I may receive an affiliate commission for, but it won’t cost you anymore and you’ll be getting a bargain, so thanks!).
First up, is your computer about to expire? If so, it might be good timing to upgrade. Do you need marketing material such as bookmarks or postcards, they might be on sale from your supplier right now too. How about a standing desk? Or even a restock of your favourite pens? Or what about tools and services that can help you be a better author? My pick are:
IMPROVE YOUR WRITING
ProWritingAid 50% off yearly and lifetime plans !
I’ve used ProWritingAid for three of my books and here’s why:
- It trains me to be a better writer. Just one example: the program actively shows me where I use passive voice versus active voice, and that hugely improves reader experience.
- The program helps me fix grammar and minor errors, sculpting my manuscript into better shape so my actual human editors can focus on bigger picture issues!
- I also love how ProWritingAid has a feature that gives me a report on any words and phrases I overuse. That is a lifesaver! When you’re writing 60,000 to 100,000 words it’s so easy to rely on and repeat certain words. This tool helps you clean them up pronto.
- I haven’t used the in-app version previously, but I’ve recently downloaded it for use on my current project. It now sits ready for action in Scrivener and Word, but I like how I can easily pause it or turn it off if I just want to free write and be in the flow.
What ProWritingAid plan to purchase?
This depends on your budget and plans, but a while back I bought the lifetime plan and I’m glad I did as you never what the cost will rise to each year. But. if you’re only planning to write one book, you may only need the one-year access plan which is more affordable upfront, especially with the 50% off Black Friday discount.
CONNECT WITH YOUR READERS & POTENTIAL READERS
Mailerlite – 33% off an annual plan – that’s basically 4 months free! (avail Black Friday-Cyber Monday)
If you’re planning to use a newsletter as part of a solid author marketing strategy, this is a great tool. I use Mailerlite to handle all the back end that is collecting emails, ensuring people have agreed to receive information from me, understanding what specific areas my readers are interested in and sending them my author newsletter. It allows people to subscribe and unsubscribe and is an incredibly useful communication tool to help you grow your readership and author business. It’s also one of the simplest tools to use with lots of great functionality. At 33% off – it’s worth a try if you’re trying to get organised and ramp things up for 2025.
UNDERSTAND THE BOOK MARKET & WHERE YOUR BOOK FITS SO YOU CAN FIND THE RIGHT CATEGORIES & KEYWORDS
Publisher Rocket Black Friday offer: Discount and free keywords and book categories course (avail Black Friday – Cyber Monday)
Publisher Rocket is a powerful tool I use at various stages of the writing, planning and marketing process for my books. It will help you find hot categories and useful keywords as well as allows you to check sales of similar books and even do reverse ASIN searches on similar books – great data on what comp titles are doing! The Publisher Rocket offer will be available Nov 28 – Dec 3 only.
EXTEND YOUR IP INTO ONLINE COURSES
New Zenler: course hosting platform 50% off course platforms for 6 months (avail Black Friday – Cyber Monday)
New Zener is an economical, easy to use online course platform you can use to extend your IP into online courses (videos, PDFs, audio files, downloads, quizzes and community). I use it to run the collaborative author course platform Bold Authors and it has all the bells and whistles and functionality I need without the exorbitant cost. It was also simple to get set up on and they have great training and support.
INTERIOR DESIGN & LAYOUT
30% off with Vellum (Mac users only) until Dec 8 AU time. I’ve used Vellum for interior formatting for three books and LOVE it. I’ll use it for my next one too! So easy to turn your manuscript into the correct format for print and ebook production. At 30% off – even more fantastic value! You can get Vellum here.
UPSKILL, GIVE A WRITER A GIFT, GET INFORMED & INSPIRED
I’d like to spread some Black Friday benefits to writers too and am offering 20% off books as well as author and book consults and mentoring at annafeatherstone.com (available Black Friday to Cyber Monday)
- Use the code: BlackFridayBook20 and purchase yourself or a writer in your life any of my books or a consult with me at 20% off the normal price.
- If you’ve been thinking about booking in for a consult with me on your current project, or to ramp up sales of a book you’ve already launched, or just want to discuss what to do next, now is a great time to secure a 20% discount on an author consult gift certificate – yes, give a gift to yourself! We can solve so many problems, get you back on track and brainstorm some great ideas in a short space of time.
- The discount code is available from now until Monday Dec 1, 2024 – make the most of it!
- *Black Friday discounts are not available with any other offer
ACCESS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS, WORKSHEETS & GUIDES
Bold Authors Courses – 25% off (available Black Friday to cyber Monday)
Are you ready to learn (in bite-sized chunks at a time to suit you) from some wonderful authors with expertise in:
- How to apply for literary grants
- How to write an author’s CV and writer’s statement
- How to breakthrough in kidlit
- How to market audiobooks
- How to get more of your books into Australian libraries
- How to make the most of your writers’ group
- How to choose the write publishing pathway for you
- And more.
Now’s the time to stock up on short courses from Bold Authors! You’ll have access to them all the way through 2025. Use the code BlackFridayBold25
*Black Friday discounts are not available with any other offer
There you go – some great writing tools and services at a huge discount! Happy writing, shopping and publishing everyone at Black Friday prices.