Hellllloooooo, writers!

Unless you’ve been doing the 100-for-100 writing challenge (Happy day 66! You’re basically 2/3 of the way to the finish line!) it’s been a while since we talked. Jill, Shannon, and I have been on break since June, and we’re excited to be back!

To make the end of summer a little bit sweeter, we’re having a sale on both Go Teen Writers books! You can buy both Write Your Novel and Edit Your Novel for $10 each through our store. These are personalized to you (or the writer of your choice) and signed by all three of us through the magic of bookplates.

The ebooks are also on sale. You can get Write Your Novel for $2.99 and Edit Your Novel for .99. Here are the links:

$10 Paperbacks

$2.99 Kindle edition of Write Your Novel

.99 Kindle edition of Edit Your Novel

Speaking of money, Jill, Shannon, and I were on a call a couple weeks ago chatting about Go Teen Writers stuff, and the topic turned toward writers and all the ways there are for us to spend money. We talked about the physical ache we feel when we hear about any writer who is paying for things they shouldn’t be paying for. And we regularly get emails from writers asking if such-and-such is worth the money, so hopefully this post will help.

This post assumes that you’re a pre-published writer who is striving to be published at some point, though I’ll mention a few ideas for self-published authors as well. Expenses for pre-published writers fall into one of three categories: Yes, No, and Maybe So.

Yes, this is often worth your money!

It’s worth saying up front that anything on this list could also be done in excess, so you do have to watch yourself. For example, while, yes, I think books about writing are a great investment for writers, you don’t want to always be buying writing books and never writing. Even though these are in the “yes” category, we still want to make sure we’re not hiding behind writing-related activities that keep us from our real goal: Writing.

Writers conferences: There are so many great writing conferences and workshops that are absolutely worth your money. Some of these are affiliated with writing associations, like SCBWI or ACFW. Others are put on by universities, libraries, or other entities. At a typical conference, you can take classes and set up appointments to meet one-on-one with agents and editors. At some conferences, the price includes one or more critiques from an industry professional. Writers submit samples ahead of time and they’re divvied up to those on the faculty, who read them and offer feedback. At other conferences, you might pay a little extra if you want your writing critiqued. Conferences can be a great place to meet other writers and build relationships in the industry. “Cons” or festivals fall into this category as well.

Books about writing: There are lots of fantastic books about the craft of writing, and this is one of the cheapest ways to learn. It’s like taking a writing class, except you’re only paying $10 to $15 for the privilege and you can pause the teacher whenever you’d like. While I’ve certainly read writing books that were NOT worth my money, there are many good ones that have taught me a lot.

Some kind of device for writing. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but YES, spending money on something to write on is a good investment. Many of my stories started out in notebooks until I was given a secondhand computer. Notebooks are great, but eventually if you want to move from pre-published to published, you’ll need an actual computer. And thus far, the publishing industry operates with Word only, so Google Docs won’t cut it long term. But don’t worry about that yet. If you’re writing stories on your phone on Google Docs, that’s perfectly fine for now.

Since I’m not really focusing on self-publishing, I won’t linger here, but if you’re going to indie publish a book, definitely spend money on:

• Editors: Likely two. One for overall content and one for line editing.
• Cover design
• Formatting
• A website

Here are more resources on self-publishing if that’s of interest to you:

An Overview of the Self-Publishing Process

5 Tips to Successful Self-Publishing

You’ll notice that my “yes, this is often worth the money” list is extremely short. Especially compared to alllllll the ways there are to spend money as a writer! And I’ll also add that writers conferences and books aren’t things you HAVE to spend money on to be published. They’re just helpful and useful ways to invest.

No, this is NOT worth your money!

Here’s something really sad. When something is difficult to achieve, there are people in this world who will swoop in and try to capitalize on your dream. These people know we long to be on store shelves and they know we long for validation. They prey upon it. Here are three things you should definitely say no to:

Paying a “publisher”: Traditional publishers NEVER charge you money. NEVER. A legit publishing house writes YOU the checks, not the other way around. If a publisher says, “Congratulations, we’d like to publish your book!” but then starts asking you to buy “the marketing package” or “the editorial package” or “the cover design package” this is what we call a vanity press. They prey on writers. Their marketing copy looks slick, they make you feel chosen and validated, but they are basically overpriced self-publishing. Self-publishing can be a fine choice, but having a company pretend like they’re offering you a traditional contract while doing nothing for you that a real publishing house should is NOT okay. Don’t feel ashamed if you’ve fallen for this. So many writers have.

Paying an agent BEFORE they’ve gotten a contract for you: Here is how real literary agents make money from authors: They sell your book (or other rights associated with your book, like audio or dramatic) to a publisher and negotiate the contract. When the publisher pays you, they send the money through your agency. The agency keeps 15% (that’s the industry standard) and sends you the check for the rest.

While there may be some literary agents who also do work as freelance editors, legitimate agents do not charge “reading fees” from their clients. And even if your agent does freelance editing, if you are a client of theirs, you shouldn’t be paying for those services. Literary agents edit their clients’ work as part of their role in getting the manuscript ready to sell. An agent’s involvement in getting the manuscript ready varies based on the agent. Some are very hands-on in the developmental stage and some are not, but regardless, they shouldn’t be charging for that.

Paying for a service that promises to build your platform: Any kind of, “We will grow your email list by thousands,” or, “We can double your followers in a week,” type of service should be a hard pass. Because growing your reach online is challenging, there are companies who offer shortcuts to bigger (but totally fake) online numbers. Stick with organic growth, as slow and frustrating as it may feel!

You can learn more about publishers, agents, and marketing at these links:

An Overview of Traditional Publishing

Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing Vs. Indie Publishing

Why You Need An Agent And Where To Find One

When To Start Marketing If You’re Unpublished

Maybe. This could be worth your money, but think critically.

Writing associations: There are many writing associations out there that could be helpful for you to belong to, especially if they have a local chapter in your area. Ask yourself, “What am I getting for my money? Is it worth it to me?” If you plan to go to their annual conference, it’s likely worth it for you to be a member so that you can take advantage of the member discount when you register for the conference. Examples of writing associations are Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Membership sites: These are social groups that you pay a monthly fee to belong to. The benefits vary. Some of them offer extra teaching or instruction to members. They might do certain challenges to motivate members or retreats for members only. They can be a helpful way to make friends with other writers, but I would be careful about joining one that promises anything more than community and instruction. Since it’s a monthly cost, it can add up fast!

Writing coaches: This is when you pay somebody an hourly rate to talk to you about your specific writing needs, goals, and questions. This information could be helpful, and it could be worth paying for. Before you pay for this, I would Google whatever question you have, because there’s a LOT of free information floating around out there. (More on that in a bit.) For example, don’t spend money for a 1:1 coaching appointment where you ask how to format your fiction manuscript for submission. Jill Williamson has you covered for free.

Online classes: There are some great online classes out there! There are also some extremely expensive online courses that make really big promises they can’t keep. I know these classes look very tempting – at least they do to me! – but any course that promises you a result like getting published, learning the tricks that will make you a bestseller, or doubling your writing income should raise some red flags for you. Writing a book is hard work, getting a book published is hard work, and selling your book is hard work. I promise you that nobody has the Golden Ticket that will make you a bestselling novelist in five years or less. You might still learn good information from a class that’s marketed that way, but when I take classes, it’s because I’m trying to learn a specific skill. Website design. Content marketing. Crafting strong characters. Take classes that focus on what you will learn, not what they claim you’ll achieve. They can’t control what you’ll achieve, no matter what they promise.

Freelance editors or book doctors: It could be useful to hire a professional to read your book, especially if you don’t have any writing friends to exchange critiques with. But in my experience, having critique partners is enough to get a book “close enough” that an agent or editor can see the potential in it.

Contests: There are many contests for unpublished writers. Contests can be a great way to get feedback on your work, and in my experience they can be worth the entry fee of $30ish dollars. Your work gets read by three unbiased (hopefully!) industry professionals who offer you feedback. When I entered the manuscript that became Me, Just Different in ACFW’s Genesis contest, two of my three judges told me my main character rubbed them the wrong way. Because of their feedback, I made revisions. That revised draft caught the eye of the agent who ended up selling the book to Revell. Winning or being a finalist in a contest can be great too, obviously, but only enter if the feedback alone is worth the fee.

Writing software: Many writers find specialized software very helpful, but if you work fine in Word, don’t fix what isn’t broke. (I say this as a writer who bought Scrivener years ago and abandoned it several weeks later.) But for some writers, software like Scrivener is a game changer.

A website: If you’re working toward publication, having a website you own is a good idea. You don’t need to pay someone to build you a fancy site, but having your domain purchased is smart. If you’re still just writing stories for you and you’re not yet interested in being published, then you don’t need to worry about a website yet.

Don’t forget your freebies!

There’s an abundance of free resources for writers. (Like, this entire website! Use our search bar to peruse our archives.)

Websites, blogs, and YouTube: Writers LOVE to talk about writing. Use Google and see what’s available for free before you sign up for an expensive six-week course or coaching session.

Podcasts: There are soooo many writing and publishing podcasts. Those are free! Helping Writers Become Authors, Writing Excuses, and The Creative Penn all have hundreds and hundreds of episodes.

Library books: If you don’t have a budget for buying craft books, your library likely has some. If not, they can get what you want through interlibrary loan.

Writing groups: Again, check with your local library to see if any writing groups meet there regularly There are also tons of Facebook Groups for writers.

Besides us (because we’re already here and know about us) what’s your favorite free writing resource?

Stephanie Morrill writes books about girls who are on an adventure to discover their unique place in the world. She is the author of several contemporary young adult series, as well as two historical young adult novels, The Lost Girl of Astor Street and Within These Lines. Within These Lines was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, as well as a YALSA 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Since 2010, Stephanie has been encouraging the next generation of writers at her website, GoTeenWriters.com, which has been on the Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers list since 2017. She lives in the Kansas City area, where she loves plotting big and small adventures to enjoy with her husband and three children. You can connect with Stephanie and learn more about her books at StephanieMorrill.com, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.