Here are a few links you may find helpful.
BOOKS
- Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World – I put this at the top because this is an outstanding book on platform building for authors in today’s world.
Some other good books on the craft of writing:
- The Art of War for Writers
- Bird by Bird
- The Elements of Style
- The First Five Pages
- The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction
- Getting Started as a Freelance Writer
- On Writing
- Self Editing for Fiction Writers
- The Well-Fed Writer
- Writing Down the Bones
- Writing the Breakout Novel
- Zen in the Art of Writing
- Ultimate Fiction Writing Resource Guide (Thanks, Marcella, for the suggestion!)
WEBSITES
- The Writer’s Market
- Writer’s Digest
- Mirriam-Webster Online
- Query Tracker – A handy tool for finding and querying agents and publishers.
- SFWA: Writer Beware!
- Computer Tools and Editing Software for Writers (With thanks to Willow, an aspiring young author, and her mother, Annie. Thank you!)
- 10 Absolute Best Online Tools for Writers in 2025 (Thanks, Emma, for the suggestion!)
BLOGS
- The Write Practice
- Live, Write, Thrive
- The Creative Penn
- A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
- Kristen Lamb’s Blog – The author of Rise of the Machines. Kristen’s blog is funny and informative!
- Dean Wesley Smith
LOOKING FOR WORK?
- Copyediting.com
- Freelance Writing.com
- Bookjobs.com
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Creative Jobs for English Majors (Thanks, Grace, for the suggestion!)
SELF-PUBLISHING (If you’re so inclined.)
- CreateSpace – Amazon’s print on demand service. Link removed. This has been merged into KDP (see below).
- Ingram Spark – A division of Lightning Source for self-publishing
- KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) – Kindle e-book publishing
- Smashwords – E-book publishing for everywhere except Amazon
Thinking about writing for stage or screen? Check out this site, and thank you, Megan, for your suggestion!
- TheaterSeatStore – A nice article with plenty of additional links to help you.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS (Work smarter, not harder.)
- A Freelancer’s Guide to Taxes and Business – A page with numerous links to help you handle the business side of things if you go the freelance route. Thanks to Delia for suggesting this page.
- If you’re planning on being an author, you’ll need a website. Here’s a quick overview of ten different website builders.
10 Best Website Builders for 2019
Thanks, John, for the suggestion! - If you’re a little hesitant about setting up your first website, perhaps How to Create a Website can help.
Thank you, Deb, for this suggestion! - Money-Saving Guide for Authors and Writers – Another page with a lot of good links, including educational information for writers, scholarship opportunities for those working toward a degree in the literary arts, career options, and a whole lot more!
Thanks so much, Marisa, for this great suggestion! - All About the Writing Business and Becoming an Author! – Here’s another page covering some of the ins and outs of being an author, along with some things to watch out for.
Thanks to Taylor and her mom, Jillian, for sending this one in! - Here is a ready-made Freelancer Invoice Template you can use from Docusign for faster and more secure billing to your customers. Thanks to Leah and Faye for the suggestion.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH – Looking for some story ideas? These forums might jog the noggin’ a bit.
A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC – Genre-related
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Internet Research Resources for Science Fiction Writers – If you write hard scifi, which requires more grounding in our current understanding of physics, you’ll need to be more realistic in the terminology and explanations you use. This page might help you find the info you need.
If you have any other books, websites, or blogs that have been especially helpful or informative in your writing, please let me know so I can include them here. And if any of these links no longer work, please drop me a line.