Writers Services: The Creator Economy, Rewritten for Story Tellers

As our community-ownership journey continues, we want Novlr to evolve with it. We want to provide writers services for our authors as we grow Novlr from a writing tool into a platform that empowers you on every step of your own journeys. With that in mind, last Monday’s open user meeting was all about what products and services writers use, what you still need, and how we can fill the gaps.

Cover art

Far and above, the top service we’ve been asked for has been to reliable curate cover artists. One of our authors, Joseph D. Slater, shared a story about a terrible artist experience. Joseph writes a book a year, so it’s crucial for him that the cover art process be as streamlined as possible. He recently bought a cover from an artist that he found on a freelancing website, only to discover that the art was stolen and that he didn’t own the copyright for it.

Unfortunately, this is a common story. With the proliferation of freelancing sites where anyone can sign up and share their wares, sorting the wheat from the chaff can be very difficult. To this end, one of the services that Joseph thinks would be invaluable for Novlr to provide is to source and curate a portfolio of cover artists who span different styles and genres who we know are reliable, represent a good cross-section of budgets, and have already vetted for copyright compliance. In this way, Novlr could take on the responsibility for checking on these things, leaving our writers with more time to do what they love; writing.

Editors and proofreaders

When it comes to reliability and professionalism, another great service that Novlr can offer is finding editors and proofreaders to fit all budgets. Much like cover artists, there is scope for us to curate a selection of reliable freelancers for our writers to work with after they’ve completed their first drafts.

Editors are an invaluable tool for writers and come in many forms, from copy editors to developmental editors. Giving you the right editor for the job is a fantastic way that we can support you on your journeys.

Writing coaches

A lot of time, having a brilliant idea for a story just isn’t enough. Whether you’re a first-time writer or a seasoned author with dozens of novels out in the world, sometimes you just need a little help translating your idea to the page. That’s where writing coaches come in.

A writing coach can take you from the idea stage through to a completed draft. They can come in to help you build out your plot. They can be on call to help spark your creative mind when you’re suffering from writers’ block. No matter what stage of the journey you’re on, sometimes you just need someone who knows the art of writing inside out to come in and give you a little push.

A curated selection of writing coaches ready to step in and help would be of enormous value to writers. We could have freelancers ready for one-on-one coaching, daily writing prompts that you can access for free if you need inspiration, or even just have people available who you can email or message with a specific problem.

Beta readers

Beta readers are one of the most critical weapons in an author’s arsenal. They let you know whether your book is ready for publication or has audience appeal.

Getting readers’ opinions is one of the most essential steps on any writers’ journey, and partnering people with the right readers is something that lots of our writers ask for. Whether it’s a community of beta readers willing to exchange their time to read each other’s work, a group of genre-specific beta readers paid for their time, or an application process where readers can pick and choose which author’s works they choose to read, there is a lot of scope for this kind of service. It’s something we’d like to look into in the future.

We’ll hold another open user meeting on April 18th at 10pm GMT / 5pm ET to discuss building a flourishing writer community. You can register your attendance below. Come and have a chat; tell us what a writing community looks like to you and how Novlr can make that happen.

Are there any writers services you need to help you on your authorship journey that we haven’t mentioned? Any comments on the ones above? Get in touch on Twitter, Instagram, or email us at [email protected].