The Author Online contains a detailed list I call My Bookmarks; they are the resources I rely on for all kinds of things, from email service providers to photo editing services. The list in the book is static, but here, on the companion website, I can add to it all the time. If you want to keep abreast of new bookmarks subscribe to this page.
AuthorsGuild.net: Outsource Your Website
The Author's Guild is a great organization that lobbies in support of authors on every front. They have a toolkit for building websites and also offer hosting plans.
Blurb.com: Print-on-Demand and Self-Published e-Books
Long gone are the days when people in the publishing business used to sniff at "vanity presses." Today self-publishing is an honorable route, and there are many options available, including Lulu.com and Amazon's Create Space. If you're producing a book with illustrations – photographs or color art – they will give you the best printed quality. Of course you should do your own research and compare companies and websites, to see what feels like the best fit for you and your project.
CreativeHotlist.com: Freelance Designers
A listing of individuals companies that provide help with a variety of creative services including graphic, web/flash and multimedia design, art direction, programming and development.
DesignRelated.com: Freelance Designers
This is a great source of freelance designers that's searchable by tags, so you can find people by location or the area of design they specialize in. The site includes web and graphic designers.
Dropbox.com: Storage in the Cloud
This is one of my favorite programs and I rely it more and more as time goes by. It's on online storage and backup facility that enables you to place files in a folder (a "Dropbox") on your desktop, and then access them from any computer or mobile device. When you add or change a folder on one machine (say you're in Paris, enjoying a lovely vacation and working on your laptop) the file is updated in the cloud, so when you open the document on another machine (your desktop at work or home) it's the new, updated version. Everything is backed up and if you accidentally lose something you can nip that panic attack in the bud because Dropbox has saved and indexed it, and offers several simple ways to find it. And you can share files with other people, so if you are working with a designer, developer or project manager this is a great (and free) way to share files without relying on email.
Drum Set: For Your Time Out
For those moments when you want to tear your hair out, this is a great place to hang out for a bit.
GoDaddy.com: Hosting & Domains
I've used GoDaddy for several simple websites and I'm always grateful for their excellent 24/7 support. They also have good site documentation, but it's so easy to get a customer rep on the phone that I tend to avail myself of that great benefit. But I've heard complaints about GoDaddy from some people, and know that no hosting service will be perfect for everyone. Karelia, the makers of Sandvox, have a good comparison chart on their website to get you started, but there are zillions of hosting services out there and you can – and should – do your own research before you commit to a service. Be sure to carefully consider how much space you really need, and remember that you can always increase your plan as your traffic and the content you are hosting grows. So there's no reason to commit to the most robust, expensive, plan, even if you're feeling really ambitious.
Go Mockingbird.com: "Wireframes on the fly"
This is a great tool for organizing your thoughts about your website. I know some professional web designers you use it -- it's that robust, yet it's quite easy to navigate, even for a beginner. Wireframing is to web design what blueprints are to architecture. You wouldn't build a house without a schematic, and my advice is that you approach your website in the same spirit. Working in a wireframe environment helps you prioritize your content and the nice thing about GoMockingbird.com is that it's so easy to move things around -- to indulge your second and third thoughts about where things should go. You can link the pages and sections of your wireframe, which makes it very easy to test your ideas in a dynamic way, and you can share your wireframes with your colleagues and collaborators. I first used it when it was in beta and free; now there's a fee, but it's reasonable ($9 a month for a personal account that supports two projects) and well worth the money.
iStockPhoto.com: Stock Images
If you need images for your website this is a great site to know about. They have a massive and ever-growing library of affordable images, and a very good search engine that allows you to refine and narrow your search. If you're working with a designer you can create your own "lightbox" of images, then share it with him or her. Or vice versa. Another photo service I like but haven't used as much is MorgueFile.com. See below, Wikimedia Commons, for info. about free images.
LovelyCharts.com: Software for Site-Mapping, Wireframing, Organizational Charts
This is a web-based software program that enables you to create sitemaps, wireframes, organizational charts, diagrams and more. They have a very good video tutorial that runs you through all the basics (very quickly) and you can share your charts you’re your collaborators. It's inexpensive and very easy to use – a great way to organize your thoughts and get them down on paper. Another great site is GoMockingbird.com (see above).
Lynda.com: Software Training Online
I love this site. As a do-it-yourselfer (and a DIY evangelist) I find it a liberation. They have tutorials on every software product imaginable, and once you watch some of their videos you'll understand why they're relatively expensive (at the time of writing, $25 per month to access the entire library).
MailChimp.com: Email Service Provider
MailChimp is one of the top (though not the biggest) of the email service providers, or ESPs. There are several good ones (Constant Contact is another) but I like MailChimp because it has a sense of humor and is wonderfully simply to use. You can create a template for your email right there on its website, and they have a rich, easy-to-use metrics program that allows you to gather and compare statistics for all of your email campaigns. They also have great support, both via live chat and site documentation. Karelia, the maker of Sandvox, has a handy chart on its website that compares email service providers. There are others available on the web and you Google it and do your own research.
MemoryMiner.com: Digital Storytelling Application
This app lets you organize your photos and create a narrative by linking them to each other based on the people, places, and things that appear in them. In the book I write about another cool technology, Timetoast.com, that lets you create timelines on the website.
Pixlr.com: Photo Editing Online
This is a photo-editing website that enables you to edit images online. It's free, so is a great alternative (especially for beginners) to expensive programs like Adobe Photoshop.
Sandvox : Simple, Elegant, Software for Building Your Own Website
Sandvox is made by Karelia Software and works only on a Mac. I've used it myself and love the way it's so intuitive and easy. (Both this site and my personal website, anniklafarge.com, were built with Sandvox.) Karelia has one of the best and most user-friendly Help sections I've encountered on the web, and the download comes with blogging software built-in, along with all of Google's tools that you'll need to optimize your site and set up Analytics. It's a terrific program that just gets better and better, and designers are constantly creating new templates, most of which are very inexpensive (under $15). It may not have the diversity of design options/templates that Wordpress does, but it's much easier to install and use. (I use Wordpress for my blog,LivinTheHighline.com.) If you're planning to build your own website or blog but don't use a Mac, Squarespace (below) is another option. For advice about choosing a theme, see my article "The Art of Choosing a Theme or Template."
SaveVid.com: Software to Upload and Download Large Files
An easy-to-use web-based program for downloading online videos from sites like YouTube, Google Videos, etc., in multiple formats.
SelfPublishing.com: Resources and services for folks who are self-publishing
SelfPublishing.com is rich with resources for authors who want to self-publish their work. You can download a free e-book, Publishing Basics: Navigating the Self-Publishing Minefield, by going to this page their website. I spent 25 years in the publishing business and was surprised to find that self-publishing, even for someone with a great deal of experience, is such a complex process. This book and website walk you through all the steps and offer invaluable advice as well as every service you'll need in order to get started
SendSpace.com: Software to Upload and Download Large Files
This is one of many free file uploading services. I've used them before and found the service to be easy and fast.
Slideshare.net: Upload and Share PowerPoint and Keynote Presentations
This is a website app that enables you to upload and share presentations using PowerPoint, Keynote, Word and PDF documents. You can add audio to create a webinar. For business book authors or anyone who gives lots of speeches, this is a great way to present your ideas.
Shelter Build.com: The Blog of the Shelter Institute
This blog will inspire anyone who's a do-it-yourselfer at heart. It's for builders who use wood and traditional carpentry tools, not technology and robotic kits like the ones you find in Make [http://makezine.com] another of my favorite publications. One day I'm going to spend two weeks during the summer taking the barn building class at the Shelter Institute. It's got nothing to do with websites, but I include it here – along with a shout-out to Etsy.com – because it speaks to an impulse so many of us have to create things – to build it ourselves.
Squarespace.com: Software for Building Your own Website or Blog
I haven't used this product myself but someone I trust has and he recommends it highly to non-professionals. Squarespace has its own analytics system and also provides a hosting service. Its website is well-designed and seems very easy to use.
ThemeForest.net: One of the Best Sources for Elegant Wordpress Themes
ThemeForest has a wide range of Wordpress themes and HTML templates. There are scores of sites that offer templates but I've found ThemeForest to be the best and easiest to search. You can browse categories and find templates that were created for specific purposes: portfolios (art, photography), blogs (personal and news/editorial), corporate (business, marketing), retail (fashion, travel, food, etc.), non-profit, entertainment and more.
Weebly.com: Build a Free Website or Blog
I haven't used this platform myself but a former publishing colleague I know has; she created the website TeresaNicholas.com to promote her book, and says it was quite easy to use and intuitive -- perfect for a non-technical person. Weebly also offers hosting services (be sure to review the advice about web hosting above, in the GoDaddy entry) and offer a wide variety of themes.
Wikimedia Commons: Database of Free Images
Wikimedia Commons is a database of freely usable media files, including photographs and videos, to which anyone can contribute. In Spring 2010 the database contained over 6.5 million files. Another large database of images can be found at Google Images.
Wordpress.org/extend/themes: A Massive Directory of Free Wordpress Themes
As of December 2010 there are 1,295 free themes in this directory. There's a browse function that lets you filter themes by tag (colors, number of columns, features, subjects, and more). For advice about choosing a theme, see my article "The Art of Choosing a Theme or Template."
Zamzar.com: File Conversion
A free, easy-to-use website that does file conversion.