The Top 5 Sites for 1st Time Authors
Boy, do I wish I’d had a list of resources like this eight years ago, when I was scratching out the first draft of
Epidemic,
my first (completed) full-length manuscript.
Working a day job at the time, I got most of my advice for writing one’s first book from the usual sources: Writers Digest, Writers Market and writers conferences. Some of the advice was great, some was “eh” and some was downright harmful. I talk a little about how I got over the bad advice and learned to do my own thing in this e-Guide.
Before delving into the list, see if one of the following descriptions fits you:
1. Working a full-time job, you are lucky to squeeze in time to pack a lunch before rushing from the house for another long day.
2. You’ve recently cut back to part-time work or been downsized by your company. While you dreamt of using the extra time to start—or finally finish—your first book, at the end of the day you end up wondering where the extra time went exactly.
3. When you pictured this time of your life, you forgot to add in all the extra responsibilities: like kids and/or aging parents and/or volunteer committees and/or work obligations that eat up much of your free time.
image credit Your writing falls by the wayside because you’re tired.
You are also stressed. And you don’t feel like writing. I get it.
But you know deep down that writing a book, a real, first time, hold-it-in-your-hands book is something that you want, no MUST do before you die. It’s been on your bucket list before there was such a phrase. You know in your marrow that whatever else you do in your free time, you will make this work. Somehow.
If you’re looking for a few practical, easy steps to finish your first novel, you’ll want to check out this post, How to Write Your Novel in 15 Minutes at a Time. If you’re looking for other resources or something a bit more in depth, check out this list of Top 5 Sites for 1st Time Authors.
I dare you to come away from this list uninspired.
Top 5 Sites for 1st Time Authors
· The Write Life—packed with real-life, practical, you-can-use-this-idea-today articles, The Write Life discusses various aspects of writing: from freelancing and blogging, to marketing and self-publishing, this site is an absolutely wonderful place to start and continue to learn about writing.
· 10-Minute Novelists— my 15 minute writing method seems slow in comparison! This is an even faster way to get yourself motivated to write and keep on going. Site has a lot of great articles. The best part? The community built via Facebook/Twitter where you can pose questions or offer suggestions to other authors.
· The Creative Penn—not necessarily geared toward the first-time author, but there is such a wealth of information here that I’d be remiss not to include it. Learn about the in’s and out’s of self-publishing, the importance or writing schedules and other great information here.
· C. Hope Clark—this is a great, professionally design site that’s easy to manueuever and C. Hope Clark, the author of several fiction books as well as a long-time nonfiction writing guru has an especially helpful list of articles here.
· Lindsay Buroker—again, this is the site of a professional author. In addition to her prolific offerings of fiction books, however, Lindsay Buroker also offers practical, easy-to-understand posts for writers—those just starting out and those who have been at it for a while. Plus, she’s funny and I enjoy her books.
Would love to learn more about what resources you’ve discovered that aren’t on this list. Please leave a comment or click to tweet/share on Facebook to keep the conversation going.
Working a day job at the time, I got most of my advice for writing one’s first book from the usual sources: Writers Digest, Writers Market and writers conferences. Some of the advice was great, some was “eh” and some was downright harmful. I talk a little about how I got over the bad advice and learned to do my own thing in this e-Guide.
Before delving into the list, see if one of the following descriptions fits you:
1. Working a full-time job, you are lucky to squeeze in time to pack a lunch before rushing from the house for another long day.
2. You’ve recently cut back to part-time work or been downsized by your company. While you dreamt of using the extra time to start—or finally finish—your first book, at the end of the day you end up wondering where the extra time went exactly.
3. When you pictured this time of your life, you forgot to add in all the extra responsibilities: like kids and/or aging parents and/or volunteer committees and/or work obligations that eat up much of your free time.
image credit Your writing falls by the wayside because you’re tired. You are also stressed. And you don’t feel like writing. I get it.
But you know deep down that writing a book, a real, first time, hold-it-in-your-hands book is something that you want, no MUST do before you die. It’s been on your bucket list before there was such a phrase. You know in your marrow that whatever else you do in your free time, you will make this work. Somehow.
If you’re looking for a few practical, easy steps to finish your first novel, you’ll want to check out this post, How to Write Your Novel in 15 Minutes at a Time. If you’re looking for other resources or something a bit more in depth, check out this list of Top 5 Sites for 1st Time Authors.
I dare you to come away from this list uninspired.
Top 5 Sites for 1st Time Authors
· The Write Life—packed with real-life, practical, you-can-use-this-idea-today articles, The Write Life discusses various aspects of writing: from freelancing and blogging, to marketing and self-publishing, this site is an absolutely wonderful place to start and continue to learn about writing.
· 10-Minute Novelists— my 15 minute writing method seems slow in comparison! This is an even faster way to get yourself motivated to write and keep on going. Site has a lot of great articles. The best part? The community built via Facebook/Twitter where you can pose questions or offer suggestions to other authors.
· The Creative Penn—not necessarily geared toward the first-time author, but there is such a wealth of information here that I’d be remiss not to include it. Learn about the in’s and out’s of self-publishing, the importance or writing schedules and other great information here.
· C. Hope Clark—this is a great, professionally design site that’s easy to manueuever and C. Hope Clark, the author of several fiction books as well as a long-time nonfiction writing guru has an especially helpful list of articles here.
· Lindsay Buroker—again, this is the site of a professional author. In addition to her prolific offerings of fiction books, however, Lindsay Buroker also offers practical, easy-to-understand posts for writers—those just starting out and those who have been at it for a while. Plus, she’s funny and I enjoy her books.
Would love to learn more about what resources you’ve discovered that aren’t on this list. Please leave a comment or click to tweet/share on Facebook to keep the conversation going.
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