r/authors

Hi Everyone!

I am on a search for good writing, editing and proofreading classes/courses online or local to me (Southern Maine area) that are free or reasonably priced!

There are so many sites out there that are scammy and fake and just steal your money without actually teaching you anything. I’ve taken some basic classes in highschool, but just want to further my education and experience.

Would I be better off reaching out to local community college and things like that or are there actually some good resources online? I looked into Coursera, but wasn’t a huge fan of how their reviews looked when I dug into it. So if others have better experiences I’m willing to hear you out!

I've written my first novel that's garnered a positive Kirkus Review, won some minor awards, been well-reviewed in general across the web but nobody knows it exists. I've run some Facebook ad campaigns, am retired and living from savings so am not rich and trying to wrap my head around how to get the word out that my book exits.

Each option seems limited:

Go to conventions and "cons," rent a table, sit there and watch people walk past and hope one will look at my book and consider buying a copy. They cost alot to attend, are stressful to prep for and go to and carry large boxes around for after going through cancer and the one I went to was depressing since there were dozens of indie authors there with nobody selling one book at all.

Amazon Ads seem hit or miss and expensive

BookBub Ads, not sure

BookInfluencers dot come seems sketchy but I don't know.

One agency told me to just keep writing and after I have more books, then promote them, which to me seems like them saying "your budget is not big enough for us."