📓👉🤓 START HERE: Everything I Write About (And Where To Start)

A guide to the best of what I’ve published, organised by topic, whether you’ve been reading for months or just arrived

I have published over 500 articles about writing, self-publishing, freelancing, and the honest reality of building a creative career from scratch.

That is a lot to walk into, so this post exists to help you find what is most useful to you.

If you are brand new, start with the first section. If you already know your way around, skip to the topic you care about.

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Start Here

These are the articles that tell the full story of where I have been and what I have learned. If you read nothing else, read these.

• I Spent $4,200 Taking Writing Seriously. Here’s Where Every Dollar Went.

• Most Self-Published Books Should Never Have Been Published (Including Mine)

• I Wrote For Myself For Six Months And Nobody Came. Then I Changed One Thing.

• Three Friends Told Me They Were Writing A Book. Here’s The Advice I Gave Them.

Explore more on the homepage; the 101 section is great for beginner writers and those beginning their publishing journey

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Self-Publishing Lessons

Everything I learned from publishing a book that sold ten copies, and what I am doing differently for the second one.

• The Self-Publishing Checklist I Didn’t Have (That Would’ve Saved My Book)

• The Self-Publishing Timeline No One Tells You About (It’s Longer Than You Think)

• What Exactly Does A Publishing Company Do? (And What Would They Have Done For My Book?)

• Your Book Idea Probably Isn’t As Original As You Think (And That’s Good News)

• How To Know Your Book Idea Won’t Work Before You Spend A Year Writing It

• Why “Write What You Love” Is Terrible Advice For Most Writers

• Stop Marketing A Dead Book

As context, here is my first self-published book, 1 Lovelock Drive

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Writing Craft

What I have learned about voice, rules, feedback, and the daily practice of getting better.

• Be Careful Of The Literary Rules When You’re Writing A Book

• Writing Talent Matters (More Than The Writing Community Wants To Admit)

• How To Finish What You Started Writing (When You Have A Draft Graveyard)

• You Don’t Need To Learn How To Write Fiction. You Need To Write Fiction.

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Editing And Feedback

Why the people who read your book before publication matter more than almost anything else.

• How To Choose A Developmental Editor (From Someone Whose Editor Saved Her Book)

• Why Your Book Needs Beta Readers (And How To Find Good Ones When You Know Nobody)

• The Toxic Positivity Ruining The Writing Community

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Building An Audience

The email list, the content strategy, and the marketing I skipped the first time and am not skipping again.

• The Email List I Wish I’d Built Before Publishing My Book

• How To Build An Email List From Zero When Nobody Knows You Exist

More can be found on the “Marketing” section of Ellen Wrote A Book

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The Daily Practice

How I write every day inside a full life with ADHD, freelance work, a column, and a second novel in progress.

• Your Life Will Never Be Empty Enough To Write. Write Anyway. Here’s How.

• How Long It Takes to Form a Writing Habit (Honestly)

• How To Set Writing Goals You’ll Actually Keep (They’ll Be Boring. That’s The Point.)

• How To Manage Multiple Writing Projects Without Losing Momentum On All Of Them

• You Can’t Weekend-Warrior Your Way To A Writing Career

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Freelancing And Making Money

How I built a freelance career that funds the creative work, and the mistakes I made along the way.

• How To Write For Money When You Have No Portfolio (And No Idea Where To Start)

• Why Most Freelance Writers Stay Broke (And What I Did Differently)

• How To Write Chatbot Copy That Sounds Like A Person Wrote It

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Mindset And Identity

The harder, quieter questions about what it means to call yourself a writer.

• Writing As A “Hobby” Is Holding You Back (And You Already Know It)

• Your Writing Hobby Doesn’t Deserve Respect (And That’s Fine)

• The Most Talented Writers I Know Are Not The Most Successful (And I Think I Know Why)

• Most Writing Advice Is Designed To Sell Courses, Not Help You Succeed

• The Rejection File I Keep And Why Every Writer Should Have One

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I update this post as new articles are published. If there is a topic you want me to cover, reply to any email or leave a comment. I read all of them!

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Come find me on the socials!

I write about the emotional and practical reality of being a writer, including drafting, doubt, discipline, and publishing while still figuring it out.

Mostly for people who write because they have to, need to, want to | linktr.ee/ellenfranceswrites

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A pledge simply means you value what I do and want to help me keep doing it.