We’re on Day 3 of NaNoWriMo and 440 words away from being on track. So far, I’m working on a zombie Singapore story (I don’t think it’s dystopian in the sense that it’s not really about survival. It just happens that there are zombies and it has to be managed) and so far the story seems to be progressing well.

My first day of NaNoWriMo was terribly unproductive – I had dinner with a friend and ended up not writing a single word! But I did brainstorm about the zombie story and ended up catching up at the WriteIn I did yesterday. It was my first WriteIn and I was pretty nervous about whether I could write, but it ended up being a really productive session (and really addictive – I want to host another one soon!)

Is the 2019 Storybundle Worth It?

If you haven’t heard of Storybundle, it’s basically a site where authors come together to offer their books as a set. The reader can choose how much they wish to pay and bonus books are unlocked at certain book levels.

I haven’t really seen many reviews about whether the bundle was worth it and since I binged the books in the week before NaNoWriMo as my form of prep work, I thought I’d share mini-reviews of each book and whether I think it’s worth buying.

The bundle consists of four books and an additional nine books, one course and a discount code for Jutoh. The books are:

Rock Solid Newsletter by Andrea Pearson (Price Unknown)

This is a very short book on how to build and run your newsletter. Personally, I think Mark Dawson’s advice in his course for authors and the book Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque are more helpful but if you’re a complete beginner, you’ll probably find the information useful.

And because the book is so short, it felt like it was written to push her courses. I think one is free but I wasn’t really motivated to sign up after reading.

One useful thing I learnt: How to structure a newsletter, although this was also covered in the resources I mentioned above.

On Being a Dictator by Kevin J. Anderson and Martin L. Shoemaker ($4.99)

I’m not much for dictation but this book came quite close to convincing me to give it a go! Kevin Anderson and Martin Shoemaker share the ways that they use dictation in their writing and give tips on how you can use it too.

One useful thing I learnt: There’s no need to start by dictating whole scenes. You can use dictation to take down plot ideas and notes, moving on to dictating your novel when you’re more used to the technique.

Writing Wonder by David Farland ($5.99)

Writing Wonder is geared towards the fantasy author. Farland defines wonder as something that “comes when we experience something that turns out to be far better than we could ever hope or imagine.” The examples are highly relevant to fantasy, though he points out that wonder is present in other genres too.

One useful thing I learnt: If magic is involved in your story, it will be useful to consider how a character knows a person or thing is magic.

Productivity for Authors by Joanna Penn ($4.99, available for pre-order)

Productivity for Authors is currently only available in this bundle, although it’ll probably be more widely available in the future. It’s very much a mindset book but there are lots of tips inside – I took a lot of notes while reading this!

One useful thing I learnt: If you need your phone for certain non-Internet functions (timer, etc) but don’t want to be distracted, you can use airplane mode! It sounds obvious in retrospect but I never thought of this.

Bonus: How to Make Money by Kristine Kathryn Rush ($4.99)

This is a guide for freelancers. If you’re familiar with how businesses run, the information will not be new to you, but this will be a useful book if you’re starting your own business for the first time and don’t know how to start when it comes to finances.

One useful thing I learnt: Various factors to consider when setting a price to your work – from the cost of labour and the cost of materials to the amount of profit you want to make.

Bonus: 5000 Words Per Hour by Chris Fox ($4.99)

I’ve already read this book because it’s one of the classics for productivity in writing. Chris gives you a system on how you can improve your writing.

One useful thing I learnt: During the writing phase, have a separate document for you to jot down things you want to change or add in the revision round to let yourself move forward.

Bonus: Stages of a Fiction Writer by Dean Wesley Smith ($50 course)

This course is a mindset talk on craft. Dean draws on his many years of experience to talk about the various stages writers go through and what stops them from progressing at each stage.

Bonus: Researching History for Fantasy Writers by Dayle A. Dermatis ($5.99)

This book focuses more on European history but it does give writers who are looking at creating fantasy worlds based on the history of non-European countries an idea of the different aspects that they need to consider.

One useful thing I learnt: For your initial research, read historical fiction instead of historical romance. Your last step of research would be things like documentaries and nonfiction history books.

Bonus: Finish Your Novel! by Mark Teppo ($4.99)

To be honest, this was like the other productivity novels in the list, but for some reason, I found the author voice a little annoying. I get he’s trying to do a pep talk kind of style, but it wasn’t for me.

One useful thing I learnt: When thinking about setting, answer the questions – where is this book taking place, when is it taking place, and what is the relationship between the viewpoint character and the place?

Bonus: The Coffee Break Novelist by Kevin McLaughlin ($2.99)

Again, this was like the other productivity novels in the bundle.

One useful thing I learnt: start from 15 min writing blocks.

Bonus: How I Got Published And What I Learned Along the Way edited by Lyn Worthen and Renee Scandalis ($4.99)

This is a collection of authors who tell you how they found publishing success – be it traditional or indie – and what they learnt along the way.

One useful thing I learnt: There is no one set path and no one set timeframe in which you will achieve success.

Bonus: The 7 P’s of Publishing Success & Killing it on Kobo by Mark Leslie Lefebvre ($7.98)

This is two books in one. The 7 P’s of Publishing Success is a more general mindset book and Killing it on Kobo is an introduction to the Kobo Writing Life platform. I found the second book to have a lot more useful tips.

One useful thing I learnt: Kobo’s top-selling locations are Canada (50%), UK (11%), Australia (10%), US (9%), France (4%), New Zealand (3%)

Bonus: Once More, With Feeling by Jody Lynn Nye ($4.99)

This book focuses on how to revise your completed novel and takes you through the various things that need to happen during the first revision process.

One useful thing I learnt: If you haven’t already, the revision round is a good place to start a story bible to keep track of the details in the book.

Character Voice by M.L. Buchman ($5.99)

This is a craft book that focuses on character voice and various tools to help achieve a distinct voice. It’s got some useful information, but the author really loves the characters he writes and as someone who has never read his books, I don’t know how much to take his examples at his word. I understand that it’s easier to write about what you’ve written, but one good thing about using examples from famous works is that the reader is more likely to have read it.

One useful thing I learnt: Character Voice refers to the complete presentation of a character on the page, how they speak, respond, think, react, etc

Overall thoughts on the bundle

For a minimum cost of $15, you’ll get a bundle of thirteen books and one course worth $113.87. But if we look at the breakdown of books, we have five books on productivity, four books and one course on craft, three books on the business of being an author, and one book on the stories of authors. The number of productivity books and craft book does show that it’s geared towards NaNoWriMo, although I personally don’t think you need that many productivity books.

For me, personally, these are the books that I would have been happy to buy at full price: Productivity for Authors ($4.99), 5000 Words Per Hour ($4.99), Writing Wonder ($5.99), The 7P’s Of Publishing Success and Killing it on Kobo ($7.98), Researching History for Fantasy Writers ($5.99), and Once More with Feeling ($4.99). If I bought all these books individually, I would have to pay $34.93, so I saved about 50% just buy getting this bundle.

In my case, this bundle was definitely worth it. It might differ for you, so do think about what you need in a bundle (more craft? more inspiration? more productivity?) before you buy.

Featured Image: Screenshot from the Storybundle Website