The following are books, articles, sites, and associations that I’ve found helpful. Because why not share a good thing?

On Writing

  • Seriously, Stephen King’s book On Writing was one of the first on the subject that I read, and I found it very insightful (even though just hearing about most of King’s stories makes me want to hide under my blankets).
  • I also loved Philip Pullman’s book Daemon Voices. As someone who grew up on and usually writes fantasy while at the same time thinking about larger questions in the world, a lot of the stories in this book struck a chord with me.
  • My favorite writing advice comes from Tumblr (Pinterest letting me pin not only recipes but text posts has been very detrimental to my free time): literally re-write a draft of your story. It doesn’t have to be the second, third, or even necessarily the last draft. I can’t stress how helpful I’ve found to it can be to set up the split screen and painfully re-type into a new document that same old story. I hate it, but at the same time if I’m devoted enough to the story to do it, I know it’s love. Does that make sense? 🙂
  • Recently an intrepid young writer from a writing workshop recommended this article, Writing for Theater and Film, as an excellent resource for a slightly different take on writing. It has a great overview of the art and further resource suggestions as well!

On Getting Things Done

  • This master list of online tools comes recommended by a resourceful writer!
  • It’s on the list above, but I’ll throw in my vote for Google Docs. It’s free, it syncs on any device you want (even your phone, which is not great for my efforts to spend less time with my nose in a screen!), and it updates with new features regularly.
  • Likewise, I will add an extra vote for Canva! Canva is a website for photo editing and creating graphics. I use it to make book covers, because I’m a little odd like that, but most writers use it for social media posts, web graphics, and ads. (These days, even if a big publisher takes on your book, you will probably end up making your own graphics and ads . . . unless you hire someone extra to do it for you.)
  • Reedsy is also an excellent resource for writers. The have their own book editing program, so you can write your story using their interface, but they also will format ebooks and print books (for free), connect you with editors, designers, or other professionals, and offer free email courses on different aspects of writing. Plus, they run weekly short story prompts and competitions, too. They have a lot going on!

On Querying & Publishing

  • Query Shark is the sort of rabbit hole I can fall into and read for hours, yet would be terrified to see my work end up in.
  • Classic Manuscript Format (https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/1/) — if you’ve submitted work already, particularly to short story magazines, you’ve probably seen this in their rules for submissions.
  • Submittable is a neat database for submitting to contests and magazines.
  • Query Tracker is admittedly not my favorite way to track my queries (I’m more of an excel-spreadsheet-and-countless-notes-in-my-personal-planner sort of person) but it seems like many agents prefer it, and truthfully, I can’t blame them.
  • If you’re looking to publish independently, check out Draft2Digital. They do ebooks, print, and audio, and they’re very author-focused.
  • Likewise if you want to self-publish an industry-standard print book, IngramSpark is the place to go. Their interface and customer service is bad, I will not lie. But they are the gold standard for paperbacks and hardcovers (they print the books for big publishers, too).

On Being a Professional Writer

  • The Write Life seems to be geared toward freelancers, but I found their advice on starting a website very helpful.
  • Mystery Writers of America — I recently joined this organization and have not regretted it for a second. For mystery writers (as the name implies) it is a great resource. Within the larger organization, you can find the chapter most local to you.
  • On a further organizational note, if you write anything mystery-related, definitely check out Sisters in Crime! They have many webinars and events for members, and a great welcoming community.
  • DIY MFA is a great site, particularly articles like this one on social media and marketing.
  • LLC Attorney also has an incredible list of resources for writers, on everything from “How to Work with an Editor” to “Publishing Red Flags” to writing skills and careers. It comes recommended by an inspiring young writer!