The Online Writer’s Guide to Cyber Monday

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I loathe Black Friday. I don’t even leave the house. There’s nothing I hate more than being stuck in crowds, wasting hours in line. Even if I do get a good deal, the stress isn’t worth the process.

So I’m glad they invented a post-holiday holiday for lazy geeks like me. I love Cyber Monday. I can do most of my holiday shopping from the comfort of my own home and save a ton of money.

As you know, I’m a big fan of reading and studying, but I don’t love paying more than I need to get great resources.

So if you’re like me and want to get better at what you do — and get a deal — then you may enjoy the following guide I put together for those of you who don’t want to leave the house or are looking to do some shopping on your lunch break (or while the boss isn’t looking).

Photo credit: Bruce Turner (Creative Commons)

Get equipped with the right resources

Get educated. The Only72 Sale is a 72-hour massive deal on great business, writing, and marketing resources for entrepreneurs. Plus, it benefits a good cause. Last year, they raised $30,000 for charity:water. If you’re wanting to get a jump-start on an online business, get one of these packages.

Get awesome. Chris Guillebeau is offering a 15% off sale on all of his “unconventional guides.” I love everything Chris puts out — from travel tips, to how to become a writer-entrepreneur, to shirking the expectations of what society deems “normal.” (Use the promo code CRANBERRY to get the deal.)

Grab a premium blogging theme. A lot of them are on sale today. StudioPress is doing a massive sale on their products, including the Genesis framework. I couldn’t resist picking it up for $45.

Also, the theme I currently use is called Platform Pro, which I highly recommend — especially for non-technical bloggers who don’t know much or any code. It is all drag-and-drop. Very easy and elegant.

Learn how to market. Every writer needs to learn the basics of marketing, especially online. I love this 20-part course on Internet marketing from Copyblogger. I’ve taken if three times already. Oh, and it’s 100% FREE.

Get caffeinated. Just for fun (and because I can’t imagine writing without coffee), here’s a link to a single-cup coffee maker by Senseo (about half the price of a Keurig).

Read to improve

Get inspired. Amazon has 100 Kindle eBooks on sale for under $3.99, including Dan Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness.

Learn how to pitch your work. Ready to get that book idea in front of traditional publishers? Michael Hyatt is giving a $5.00 discount on both his eBooks: Writing a Winning Book Proposal (for both fiction and non-fiction versions). Get these gems before today is over.

Take your blog to the next level. Darren Rowse just released his second edition of 31 Days to Building a Better Blog for 25% off. I’m also reading his book Problogger (co-authored with Chris Garrett) and finding it very useful.

Also, Bryan Allain’s 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo is an important book for any blogger — whether you’re just starting out or wanting to go to the next level. Also not on sale, but too much of a deal to pass up today while you’ve got your credit card out.

Get strategic about releasing your next eBook. Sarah Mae’s How to Market and Sell Your eBook is an essential read for anyone who wants to go into ePublishing. It’s not on sale, but at $4.99, it might as well be.

Fall back in love with writing. Of course, if you haven’t downloaded my FREE eBook, The Writer’s Manifesto, you really should get it today. For more books on writing, check out this list. You can also get the Kindle version for only $.99 here.

Make sure you have the right tools

Get an eReader. Been holding out for a Kindle? Amazon is giving a significant $120 discount on their premier offering: the Kindle DX. (I’m thinking I’ll get the Fire.)

Get a notebook. Also, make sure you have a good notebook for capturing ideas. For snagging ideas digitally, I use Evernote (which is free) and a Moleskine notebook when I’m feeling more analog.

Get the right software. If you’re on a Mac, I recommend getting  Apple’s iWork. It’s not on sale, but it’s worth the investment. I use this software package for all of my desktop publishing, including eBooks, invoices, and presentations.

Also, a great writing productivity tool (with a free version) is Ommwriter.

Advertise on this site

For one day only, I’m offering a 50% discount on all ads on my site. This starts at 9am Central today (Nov. 28) and runs for only 24 hours. Find out what ad spaces are available by clicking here. If you have any questions, contact my ad manager, Mindy.

Spaces are limited, so if you’d like to reach my audience with your message, get started today. Offer expires 9am CST, Nov. 29.

What did I miss? Share in the comments any Cyber Monday deals for writers that I may have overlooked. I’ll try to update this post throughout the day, so be sure to check back!

*Photo credit: Bruce Turner (Creative Commons)

Disclosure: Some of the above links are affiliate links, but I only endorse products I believe in.