Hello, fellow writer!

I’m Rachel McCollin and I’ve been indie publishing fiction and nonfiction since 2017.

Unlike many of the experts (and they really are experts, I follow them religiously), I didn’t start ten years ago and don’t have a thirty-book backlist and thousands of newsletter subscribers.

Like you, I’m learning about this writing and publishing business as I go along.

If you’d like to learn from someone who’s been a human sponge for the last three years, taking in everything she can, trying things out and figuring out what works in the modern book market, you’ve come to the right place.

Here I share my successes and failures; my tips and my warnings; and my recommendations of other places you can find information apart from here – yes, I’m not saying I have all the answers. Not by a long shot!

I’ve been a freelance technical writer since 2010 and an aspiring novelist since – ahem – the 1980s. I’m now starting to sell books and gain a fanbase, which is the best feeling in the world.

Why Did I Create This Blog?

This blog started when I wrote my first nonfiction book, WordPress for Writers.

I’ve been building WordPress sites for clients since 2010 and writing about WordPress for all that time, and at writing events I always found I would end up in a corner somewhere giving people advice on their author websites.

At FantasyCon in 2018, Justin Lee Anderson (he’s a brilliant fantasy author, you should check him out) suggested to me that I should write a book on the subject, so I did!

That book is called WordPress for Writers and it will help you get a great author website whether you’re a seasoned website owner or someone who’s terrified by the whole idea.

You can find out more about WordPress For Writers on its page here on this site.

If You Don’t Want to Know About WordPress…

But if you aren’t ready for that level of detail just yet, I’ve got your back: my free Author Website Blueprint is available right here.

It’ll help you decide which platform to use for your site (WordPress isn’t the only one) and give you a head start on designing and creating that site.

Since then I’ve been writing more about writing, publishing and marketing.

On this blog, you’ll find posts on topics as diverse as book cover creation and author priorities.

You’ll find my ongoing series on getting started marketing your book and on going wide as an indie author.

And you’ll find my third book for writers, The Novel Planning Workbook. This book came about by accident: I created it to help me plot my own books, but it’s now been used by other authors and has been getting some great reviews.

If you’d like regular updates on what I’m up to and advice on writing, publishing and marketing, you can sign up to my newsletter (and get a free book), or if you prefer, you can simply browse the site.

You can find me on Twitter and Facebook too – I’d love to hear from you and find out about your writing journey.

Happy Writing!
Rachel McCollin.