The First Book

For all you aspiring novelists out there... Scott William Carter at The First Book blog asks new novelists about their journey to publication, then shares the answers with you.

The Practicing Writer

I'm always pleasantly surprised when I receive The Practicing Writer newsletter. At just once monthly, it's easy to forget about it in the pile of other newsletters arriving daily or weekly, but every time it comes I take the time to read it, even when I'm working on deadline. It usually includes contests that haven't shown up in the other newsletters I read, and information about submissions that matter to me.

You can also check out the Practicing Writing Blog for additional information several times weekly.

Arts Journal

While the Arts Journal - "the daily digest of arts, journals and ideas" - is not strictly about writing, it does sometimes contain contest leads or other worthwhile writing information, as well as a plethora of blog listings and other media links. Best of all, you can sign up for a daily or weekly summary of information delivered straight to your e-mail inbox to be scanned or discarded at your leisure.

Writer Mama

I've decided to develop my own creative manifesto, inspired by Christina Katz' creative manifesto and her Writer Mama website. It's harder than I thought it would be; I've stalled out at item number five. Maybe this is a sign that I'm hyper-focusing... time to relax a little?

The Writer Mama blog is what first caught my eye here, and I'd still call it one of the main features. There's also a newsletter that I've just signed up for. I'm constantly amazed not just by the number of writing resources out there but by the quality, too.

P.S. Any feedback (ha, ha) on the feed? I modified it a few days ago and am hoping I didn't break it. If you have any comments about it, you can add them here or send them directly to me at maloneyak AT gmail DOT com.

The Writer's Directory

Here is another compilation of market listings... conveniently divided into paying and non-paying publications. Looks like the vast majority of them are literary journals. I like that he lists payment rates in the initial reference when they're available.

Bidding for a good cause... and writing stuff

Not everything up for bid in Brenda Novak's 2008 online auction to benefit Diabetes research is writing-related, but some of the nicest prizes are - like a writer's software collection or a month of mentoring by an NYT bestselling author. And that Mexican beach getaway... um... writing retreat?

There are also raffle prizes and a prize for the bidder who places the most bids overall (even if none of your bids win an item). It's for a good cause.. so if you've got a few dollars to burn, check it out.

Brenda Hiatt's Show Me the Money

For all you romance authors - and anyone thinking of joining their ranks:

What romance writers earn with various publishers

I understand it's in the process of being updated, so be sure to check back for the new figures.

P.S. I can't resist a shameless plug.. guess who won the adult division of the Tapestry of Bronze Ode to Zeus poetry contest? Be sure to check back for their next contest in October. That seems so far away right now, but boy does time fly...

The Infinite Writer

Some writing websites (and magazines) I read for the articles; some for the markets. The Infinite Writer, billing itself as "The Magazine for Writers", falls into the latter category. Their market listings - just click on "Paying Markets" in the left-hand index - clearly state pay rate, contact information, what to pitch, and what NOT to pitch for most markets. They advertise the links as updated several times weekly, and it does look like all the deadlines are current. I'll definitely be checking back for updates!

The Letter Game

Just picked this up from a post in RWClist (Romance Writer's Community)... check it out.

The Letter Game

I just have to recommend RWClist again. It's the most informative, helpful, frittery-free writer's list I've seen (among those that allow discussion, at least). And I'm not even a romance writer!

Writing Blog Madness

Want a quick - and entertaining - comparison of writing blogs? Check out Writing Blog Madness at the Writer's Resource Center by John Hewitt. A wide variety of writing blogs go head-to-head - I gather that we'll eventually see one grand winner?

There's a lot of other useful information there, too - take the time to look around at their other features!

Guide to Literary Agents

Ahhhh, tax day. How well did you keep track of 2007's deductions?

Here's another noteworthy blog to take your mind off the trauma of the tax man's visit:

The Guide to Literary Agents Blog deals with all things literary agent. That doesn't read quite right, does it? But if you deal with agents, or want to deal with agents, or are wondering if you should deal with agents... well, you get the idea. I love sites / blogs that take the time to answer reader questions or offer useful information like GLA blog's "What Does That Mean?" installments - see their April 8th post for a fine example. If you want to pitch, negotiate, or even just converse well, you need to know the vocabulary. There will be numerous pop quizzes over the duration of your writing career.

Oh, hey, there's even a website to go with the blog. What's it about? You guessed it... the Guide to Literary Agents! You can find it here.

Questions and Quandaries

Darn it. Spring had sprung in Alaska - it really had. Then winter came back and dumped two feet of snow (more in some places) in the last three days. According to the evening news there were 146 crashes and 90-some vehicles in distress (stuck or in the ditch) reported this afternoon.. that's not counting fender-benders or ditch divers that weren't reported to the police.

Knowing that makes me feel very good about being warm and safe, with free time to catch up on a few of my favorite writing blogs. Here's one: Questions and Quandaries by Brian A. Klems, online managing editor of Writer's Digest magazine. You e-mail him your questions and quandaries, he answers. Pretty simple, and we all benefit from the questions others ask. Take the time to browse through the archives and you might just find answers to questions you never even knew you had.

The Writer's Chatroom

Here's another interesting resource: The Writer's Chatroom. They host both moderated and unmoderated chats. Their list of visiting guests is long and distinguished - you can see some of them here. They also offer an online discussion forum, a monthly newsletter, and contests.

ACES - American Copy Editors Society - Jobs

Here's an e-mail group that specializes in job listings for editors. I'm just going to quote the group's website (here) since they explain it themselves very nicely:

"This is the American Copy Editors Society site for job postings of interest to copy editors or others in journalism and other editing careers. ACES members and others are welcome; all relevant job postings are encouraged. Please, real jobs only; no promoting of companies without actual job openings and no comments, funny or otherwise, on postings by others."

Absolutely SPAM free, this is a great resource if you're keeping your ear to the ground for [extra] work.

A wonderful article...

There was a wonderful article in the latest issue of Writing for DOLLARS! - I sometimes struggle with organizing the wealth of available information, and I think Kathleen Ewing's "7 Tips for Mining the Free Issue" does an excellent job of putting things into perspective. You can see her article, via the newsletter, here.