Useful websites for writers (January).

As I said in my last two posts, I'm a packrat. But I do have a few places I visit on a regular basis, to check out what other people are saying. I will be sharing these sites on a regular basis (I hope!).

I am more drawn toward self publishing, as today's technology is making it easier for anyone with a story to publish it. Most of the websites I find and follow are self-publishing (Or independent authors is a term that is gaining ground among the people involved.)

I recommend the following four websites for the business end of writing right off the bat. I find these people's advice worth considering, and mostly are reachable, usually through the blog's comments section. They are (in no particular order):

Kristine Kathryn Rusch (http://kriswrites.com/) – Author/editor/publisher. She knows the business like few others and every Thursday, her blog, “The Business Rusch,” covers topics in the publishing business that are extensive and well written. I recommend her posts on publishing contracts, agents (and why you must think very carefully about employing one) and the ways the pushing business is handling the sudden changes (Hint: not very well) as must reads. She looks mostly at the business end of writing, and how today’s author can take advantage of it.

Dean Wesley Smith (http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/) – Kristine’s husband and an author in his own right. I recommend both the “Think like a Publisher” and “Killing the Scared Cows of Publishing” series. As a bonus, he's blogging every day about his daily activities and about the amount of writing he’s doing, as an exercise to prove you don’t have to write eight hours a day to make progress.

Joel Friedlander (http://www.thebookdesigner.com/) — Writing is only half the job. Joel’s website helps with the other half — most on promotion, formatting and book covers. Every month, he has a self-publishing book cover competition where author send in the cover of their book, and Joel comments on the best and worse of the entries. and every weekend, he has a list of links to blog posts his readers find interesting, and a mega list at the end of each month. Highly educational.

Joana Penn (http://www.thecreativepenn.com/) In addition to her highly informative blog, Joanna has a regular podcast, in which her and a guest will discuss some aspect of the writing life and profession. I have a couple of dozen of her podcasts on my computer (She has over a hundred and fifty of them!) and listen to them when I can.

There are other sites, and I will post a few more at a later time. I am learning things at an incredible rate, and it's hard to keep up with them all. But I will try....

Craig