This list is not in any particular order. I will update it periodically as I discover new resources for indie authors. Feel free to add links to your favorite resources in the comments.
- The Book Designer – blog by Joel Friedlander. Everything you need to know for your formatting, design, and publishing phases.
- APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – book by Guy Kawasaki. An overview of the entire self-publishing process, with all options explained.
- Outthinkgroup.com – blog by Tim Grahl, author of Your First 1000 Copies. Get on his mailing list!
- Goinswriter.com – blog of successful Catholic writer Jeff Goins. Learn how you can go from where you are now to published author.
- Indies Unlimited – blog on the craft. Caution: there may be morally objectionable books advertised on this site.
- Dean Wesley Smith – a successful author of both traditional and self-published books teaches you to “think like a publisher.”
- Write to Done – Mary Jacksch teaches you to write better than ever.
- Smashwords – e-book distributor. If you plan to sell e-books, read their formatting and marketing guides.
- CreateSpace – Amazon’s paperback publishing forum that costs you $10 or less.
- Hugh Howey – best-selling indie author tracks buying trends and tells you how to succeed.
indiecatholicauthors.wordpress.com 
I would add one to the list. Bookbaby.com for e-book distribution. They have a number of different models. I took the one that pays me 100% of the royalties and they do the formatting, etc. because I did not want to mess with it. You can go the cheap route as well and they take a 15% commission.
I also chose them over the Kindle Direct option for the one stop shop and flexibility they offer.
Hands down the best experience I have had is CreateSpace to get my book published. Their articles and guides are excellent.
When it came to publishing CS was the minimum overall investment no matter which route I looked at and the project team was wonderful to deal with. And besides the online retailers, they provide an online site people can buy at retail from links on my website that pays me more than if ordering it elsewhere like Amazon. I cannot say enough good about CreateSpace as they exceeded all my expectations – and their promises. Even with the inevitable communications errors between us. They fixed things, no questions asked.
The only thing I really lack at this point is an effective distributor solution. I do not want to handle taking orders from retailers, etc. For retailers to use the CS solution means they have to establish an account which is probably onerous and a deterrent. This is one area I am still not comfortable with.
Thanks for the list Connie. I was not aware of at least half of those.
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Thanks, Dave. I did have one small hitch at CreateSpace. Although I used their template for my cover, they said it was the wrong size and “fixed” it. But they put the different elements out of alignment in doing so. I called them and it was fixed very quickly, so it worked out in the end. Their online viewer was really cool for seeing what my finished paperback would look like for the first time.
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I would add David Gaughran’s books, Let’s Get Digital (bit.ly/gauhran1) on self-publishing, and Let’s Get Visible (bit.ly/gaughranvisible) on promoting self-published (or other) books. Both are excellent, as is his blog (http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/)
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Thanks, Lisa. I have seen those recommended before (by you and others), but haven’t read them myself. I’ll confess, I was extremely cheap and only read things I could get free. There were just too many choices and I didn’t know what would actually be helpful. I could have spent a bundle without learning very much. I downloaded APE during its freebie days. This is where our experience can really help those who are just starting out. They don’t have to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of books and other resources.
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I’ll bet you are not a bigger cheapskate than I am! I think I got both of Gaughran’s books when they were Kindle freebies. If you love freebies, you should definitely look at Mark Coker’s — he is the founder of Smashwords, and gives away lots of excellent advice. Come to think of it, I think you should Book Marketing Guide and The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success. Find them both on this page: https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=mark+coker
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