Recommended
Resources for Freelance Writers and Authors
Note: I do not accept referral fees for
any of the links on this page. Equally, none of the links are here
because of "You recommend my site and
I'll recommend yours" offers. Why? Because I believe in offering no-strings-attached,
no-hidden-incentives value to Web site visitors. I have personally checked out every
resource below and have listed only those that in my judgment are unequivocally worthy of
your time.
Click on the bold
site title to go to that site.
Ask
the Expert: Free answers to questions about book marketing from authors
and publishers who have been there and done that.
Authorlink: Most valuable
feature: interviews with editors at major publishing houses. Also includes publishing on
demand services, excerpts from recently released books, publishing news.
Best of the British Markets: A
budding directory of British magazines that pay writers.
Big Guide to
Guidelines: From Writer's Digest, searchable guidelines for over
1,300 magazines.
Book
Announcements: Send a press release specifically to booksellers,
librarians and book-related media contacts
Book Connector:
Free database of book review web sites and book signing/reading venues
Book
Review Web Sites: Looking for reviewers for your ebook or
self-published book? Tons of possibilities here.
Book
Printers: If you're self-publishing, consult this list
before choosing a printer for your book.
Book
Shepherds: Ignore the typos; this offers an excellent introduction to
a new breed of publishing consultant and how they can help
Books
and Tales: Scroll down to the "Print on Demand"
section and you'll find reviews of a couple dozen print on demand
publishers.
British,
Canadian, American Spelling: "Practise" or
"practice"? "Honour" or "honor"?
"Smelt" or "smelled"? Interesting chart.
City and
Regional Magazines Association: Contact information for more
than 100 local publications throughout the U.S.
Commercial Book
Publishers: Terrific jump site linking you to hundreds of large and small
publishers' Web sites.
Commercial
Writing FAQ: Find out whether writing for business clients might be for
you.
CopyLaw:
Articles demystifying copyright law, including how and when to get
permission to quote from a published text, what is fair use and how you can
and can't use public domain material.
Directory of Literary Agents on the
Net: This directory includes only agents who do not charge reading fees,
searchable by country or by genre (literary fiction, alternative lifestyles, coffee table
books, biography, etc.).
Emotion
Thesaurus: Trying to convey an emotional state vividly in your
writing but can only think up clichés? Consult this resource
Fact-checking
101: Interesting article on how professionals verify facts
prior to publication.
Freelance Success: I'm
constantly asked, where do experienced magazine writers hang out on the Net? If you
subscribe to this newsletter, you get access to its valuable online forum, where
freelancers share problems, advice, successes and perspectives.
Freelancing Issues:
Useful articles on the financial, client-service and logistical aspects of
working as a freelance writer
Grade Level
Analyzer: Is your writing overly complicated, way over the heads of the
average person? Find out here.
Guide
to Literary Agents: Useful advice, listings and links on
finding the right literary agent for you.
International
Association of Writers: For a reasonably priced membership fee, get an
outsized collection of writers' promotional tools and resources
Kickstarter
Tips: Step by step, how to use Kickstarter to successfully sell and
launch a book.
Libraries
Interested in Author Readings: This database can help you plan an
author tour.
Magazine
Launch: Listings of new magazines coming into the world, going
back to 2005.
MediaBistro:
Lots of
writing/editing job listings, but you can't easily search for just the freelance
opportunities.
Mr.
Magazine: Samir Husni, a media professor at the University of
Mississippi, keeps track of launches of new magazines and tells you about
them here.
Parenting
Publications: This association enables you to search for parenting
publications in a specific geographical area
Permission
Links: To use other people's work in your own, you may need to
locate the copyright holder and ask permission. This page explains
how.
Preditors & Editors: A
service of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, this provides numerous
resources of interest to all writers, such as worldwide literary agent listings -- some
labeled "not recommended."
Print
on Demand Database: Chart comparing services, policies and
prices of 18 publishers offering low-entry-cost self-publishing
services.
Project
Estimating Tool: Helps you calculate what to charge on a
particular writing project.
Publishers
Lunch: Want the poop on which agents are selling what to whom
for how much? This newsletter tells (almost) all.
Publishers
Marketplace: An easily searchable database of agents,
publishers, book packagers, book doctors and publishing consultants.
Publishing Law Center: From
Denver attorney Lloyd L. Rich comes hard-to-find, authoritative and up-to-date information
on legal aspects of fictional characters, parodies, subsidiary rights, "fair
use," work for hire and more.
Sample
Book Proposal: Literary agent Bill Adler, Jr., provides an
example of a book proposal by him that won a contract. Poke around
on his site and you'll also find a book publishing FAQ and other gems.
Self-Publishing Success
Stories: Inspiring "did it myself" examples from John Kremer,
author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. The list of famous
self-publishers goes on and on and on...
Self-Publishing
vs. Traditional Publishing: In chart form, compares what you
can earn from self-publishing vs. royalty arrangements with traditional
publishers
Small
Town Press: Excellent basic journalism articles specifically geared
to writing for local newspapers.
Spoken
Books Publishing: Works with selected
authors to create audio versions of their books, for a
fee
Statistics
Every Writer Should Know: A primer for journalists on
concepts like "median," "standard deviation,"
"margin of error."
Surfing
the Amazon: Learn how to translate the sales rank info for books
on Amazon.com into probable sales numbers.
Tips
for Locating and Working With Freelance Writers: Advice for editors
on hiring and paying freelance talent, from CNW Publishing.
Tips for Writers: Moira
Allen, author of the book Writing.com, serves up numerous useful articles here,
such as How to Self-Syndicate Your Column, How to Write (and Sell) Personal Experience
Articles, Subsidy Publishing vs. Self-Publishing, The Taxman Cometh.
Trade
Publications: Find hundreds of specialized industry
publications here, from ABA Banking Journal to Wireless Week.
Trade
Writer's Resource Center: Links to trade magazines in 20
categories, from Arts & Entertainment to Travel, Event &
Hospitality.
Useit.com: Jakob Nielsen's Website: If
you want to write for the web, study the articles at this site - authoritative, sensible
and hard-hitting. See especially: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines;
How People Read on the Web; Prioritize: Good Content Bubbles to the Top.
Well-Fed
Writer Group: Discussion list (free signup) for those aiming at a
career as a freelance commercial writer.
Write4kids.com: Produced
by The Children's Book Insider, this site includes articles on children's book genres,
sorted by age group, a FAQ on writing for kids, a glossary of publishing terms and
perspective on children's books in the past and now.
Wooden
Horse Publishing: Valuable free updates on who's up to what in the
magazine publishing world, links to job information sites and a glossary defining terms
from "advertorial" to "zine."
Worldwide
Freelance Writer: No need to limit your sights to North
America. This site shows how to sell your work all around the
world. Market listings too!
Other Resources at
This Web Site:
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