Have you ever wondered how to start a letter, an essay, a blog post? Or have you struggled with the opening of your novel, that perfect hook eluding you over and over?

When I was a secondary school English teacher periodically professional development days would come up and I  would be anxious for the break from routine even though I hated to lose the day with my classes. Every now and then, however, a day would come which made the break in routine absolutely worthwhile.

One such day began in the cafeteria of our small school with about thirty teachers sprawled at the tables waiting for the guest speaker of the morning. Our principal introduced someone–I can’t remember whether male or female even–and the day began. What I do remember is these two words:

 

5 Sites or Posts I’ve Found to Help Authors

A shot of green amid the March snow.

It’s March, past the middle, and snow should be gone.

It’s not.

So I put in this lovely picture from a butterfly conservatory visit to help me think of spring. And now on to the news of the day.

I don’t know about you but I’m always having to figure out how to do something else on my writing journey. It might be formatting my draft mss to the specifications needed by publishers. Or finding just how to make that movie thingee that gets people interested in buying my book. Just now my questions are more about publishing and marketing as I stumble along that overgrown path.

Fortunately, the Internet is the home of generous and helpful professionals who usually have the answers to my questions.

Here are five sites or posts I’ve found which have helped me on my quest.

1. Market Your Book, Jan Bear’s site is jam-packed with helpful tips, so many that I haven’t even had time to read through all the tabs. I have, however, added her to my file of useful articles I find on the web. I keep updating this file and currently have 199 items gleaned from the web about writing and all its linked subjects.
2. Steal This List is Janis Hubschman’s grabbing title for a ten-point article of pure gold for writers. She also names some of favorite 10-point lists for writers. And don’t you love that she invites us to steal her list? Gotta love it.
3. Jonathan Gunson’s article about something the CEO of Goodreads said caught my eye. Most of us writers would much rather write than market so this simple idea is like shrimp and lobster on the salad bar to me. And it’s so simple. Sorry, I’m not going to spoil it. Click on the link to read the article.
4. Brinda Berry, a frequent commenter on this blog, did a guest post on Gloria Richard’s site. I love both these ladies so this is like chocolate and raspberries all done up in a truffle. But I digress. Check out Brinda’s discovery of a unique give-away for contests to promote her books. This is fantastic and she gives all the details on how to get one in your own hot little hands.
5. Susanne Lakin has a series on Live, Write, Thrive where self-published authors guest on Susanne’s blog about 5 things they’ve learned about self-publishing. If you are thinking of going in this direction, these authors can give you a huge helping hand.

Consider leaving a comment about your greatest Internet find for writers. Or just say hello. It’s all good.

Download your free copy of 10 Ways to Improve Your Writing from the link in the side column!

 

10 Things Writers Wonder About

Graphic by Ron Cougler

We writers are slaves to self-doubt, and why shouldn’t we be? There are about as many gurus out there telling us exactly how to be successful as there are writers hungry for the secret formula.

Along the road to publication are lots of potholes and bumpy stretches. We get passed by transport trucks and smart cars alike as we try to read the map, make the right turn, and keep up with the traffic.