Awesome Websites for Writers

Finding the best websites for writers is virtually impossible because best differs for all of us. However, the point of this blog is to pass along the resources that I use as a writer and to discover new ones. Below are some of my favorite websites for writers with a quick description of each. Please leave me a comment if you can think of a good site to add to the list. You can also check out my previous post Websites for Writers from May for more great resources.

Copyblogger: I work for a digital marketing agency and write a lot of copy. I really enjoy the fresh, funny articles on Copy Blogger that are filled with great information.

Good Reads: This is a social network for readers. You can read reviews, chat with other readers, add friends etc. Good Reads is a great way to find awesome books and awesome readers. On a side note - if you're looking for great places to buy a book, check out these independent Michigan bookstores.

Fiction Writer's Mentor: Mentoring and advice from published author Tracey Culleton.

Ink Provoking: Keeping it fresh is imperative for writers, especially when you seem to stick with the same genre etc. This site has great writing prompts.

New Pages: This site is fantastic. At New Pages you will find writing contests, writers' markets, submissions and other great stuff.

The Writers Manifesto: This is a blog about freelance writing with some good articles and tips.

Writing Forward: This site has it all: writing tips, exercises, grammatical info., and resources. Writing Forward also has great comment sections with more valuable information from writers.

Websites for Writers

As most of you know, the Internet (for writers) can be both a blessing and a curse. It's great to have unlimited access when you're researching a new article or trying to write a good query letter. However, the Internet often becomes a black hole that sucks you into hours of idle Facebook time as you apathetically click from one profile to the next - fulfilling your need for useless information on people that you don't know anymore - but completely reducing your total word count for the day from 2,000 to 200. There is no known cure for social media quicksand, but there are ways to streamline your web use. The easiest option that I have discovered is this blog. I can come here and click links to get the pages that I need, thus avoiding the futile sites that I would normally visit, and going straight for the writing necessities. If you don't have a blog that you can compile your links on, just bookmark them in a writing file that does not also contain bookmarks for mind sucking sites like Craig's List (don't get me wrong - I love Craig's List - but I hate the gulf of time that disappears when I use it regularly). So to help you (and me) in more efficient Internet use, which should lead to more productive writing time, I have gone through some of my favorite websites for writers and listed them below.

Queries/Agents/Publishing

Guide to Literary Agents  (blog about finding an agent etc)

Agent Query (search thousands of agents)

Publishers Marketplace (find agents, publishers, book deals and more) 

Book Marketing Bestsellers (blog about marketing and selling your book) 

Jobs/Markets/Money

C. Hope Clark's Funds for Writers (everything: submissions, jobs, markets, advice)

Duotrope's Digest (lots of markets for writers) 

Writing Tips/Articles/Information

Kaye Dacus: Humor, Hope and Happily Ever Afters (fun blog with great articles info. for writers) 

Book in a Week (writers support, articles and inspiration) 

Editor Rent (blog by two editors with a lot of great advice) 

The Creative Penn (great blog by a self published author with everything from the stigma of writing horror to selling e-books) 

Fiction Factor (writing articles, links, markets and even classes) 

For Writers (useful site with info. on markets, writer's groups, workshops and more)

My Writers Circle (forums galore with questions, critiques and writers just getting to know each other) 

Novel Journey (author interviews) 

Research

Mag Portal (search for magazine articles on any topic) 

Bartleby (access to classic literature) 

Writers Free Reference (list of useful references for writers)

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.  ~Kahlil Gibran