Start with what you need.
Every resource here is held to one standard. Follow any of them as far as you like; they link into each other where the topics meet.
Free Publishing Course
12 modules · 79 lessons
Step-by-step guidance from manuscript to publishing business. Free to follow online with no account, and available as a single PDF.
Start learningAuthor Tools Directory
Writing, formatting, covers, distribution, email & promotion
A curated, categorized directory of the digital tools a self-published author actually uses — each with a plain-language pricing note, re-checked on a set cadence.
Browse the directoryPublishing Database
12 platforms & services, verified
Independent profiles of publishing platforms — pricing, policies, fees and recent changes, each fact citing the platform’s own documentation.
Browse databaseAuthor Answers
36 answers, sourced and dated
Short, direct answers to the questions indie authors actually ask, each carrying the date its platform facts were last checked.
Search answersScam Watch
10 patterns
Real approaches described by behaviour rather than by name. What the pitch looks like, why it works, and how to check before you reply.
See the red flagsRights & Privacy Index
12 services assessed
How each platform treats your content, your privacy and AI training — including, honestly, what we could not determine.
Compare platformsAmazon Rank & Categories
How the charts actually work
What bestseller rank measures, how categories are assigned, and which of Amazon’s public charts is worth watching — linked to the source pages.
Read the guideGuides & Articles
In-depth explainers, updated for 2026
Longer reads on writing privately, choosing tools, formatting, reviews, launches and the business of publishing — the reasoning behind the reference pages.
Read the blog
Latest answers
The most recent questions we’ve answered, each dated and sourced.
Can I Make an Audiobook With AI Narration?
Updated
How Much Do Apple, Kobo and Google Pay Per Ebook?
Updated
Should I Publish Direct to Each Store or Use an Aggregator Like Draft2Digital?
Updated
Do Publishing Platforms Train AI on My Book?
Updated
Are Writing Apps Private?
Updated
Can AI Companies Train on My Published Books?
Updated
Recently verified
Publishing services checked against their own documentation. Open a record to see the facts and their sources.
ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange)
Verified
Amazon's audiobook production and distribution marketplace: rights holders create a title themselves, pay a narrator, or split royalties, then distribute to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books on an exclusive or non-exclusive seven-year term.
PublishDrive
Verified
A subscription-based, non-exclusive aggregator distributing ebooks, print-on-demand and audiobooks to 50+ stores and 240,000+ libraries. On paid plans it takes 0% commission: you pay a monthly fee and keep 100% of store royalties, setting your own prices.
Spotify for Authors
Verified
Spotify's direct-upload portal for putting an audiobook on Spotify without an aggregator. Free, non-exclusive, author-set pricing: 50% of your set retail price on a la carte sales plus a pro-rata share of Premium listening. Optional AI narration via ElevenLabs.
Voices by INaudio
Verified
The wide, non-exclusive audiobook distributor formerly Findaway Voices — Spotify-owned 2022–2025, now independent as INaudio. Authors set prices, keep 80% of collected royalties, and reach Audible, Spotify, Apple, Kobo and libraries with no lock-in.
Why these resources are different.
Most “indie author resources” pages are affiliate lists that were last touched years ago. These are held to an editorial standard, and dated so you can tell.
Research, not opinion
Platform facts come from official sources, terms and documentation, and we link to every one of them.
Independently editorial
No sponsorships. No affiliate commissions. Nothing here is placed because someone paid for it.
Silence is not an answer
“Not determined” stays separate from a stated answer. A company saying nothing about AI training is never recorded as a company saying no.
Dated and re-checked
Every reference page says when its facts were last verified, on a review cadence — not published once and left to rot.
Told when something substantial lands.
Platform changes worth knowing about, new database entries and the survey results. No fixed schedule, and nothing sent just to fill one.