Dan Koboldt

Writer, blogger, and genetics researcher

100+ Resources for Aspiring Authors

Over the past several years, I’ve bookmarked hundreds of articles related to writing craft, agents/querying, submissions, and the publishing industry. I’ve written a few, too. On this page, I list some valuable resources for new writers to help them reach that top 0.20%. PR professionals, please note: I am not accepting suggestions for content on this page.

Writing Tools

Dropbox

Dropbox is a free service that lets you store folders/files securely in the cloud, so that you can access them from any computer. It not only makes your files accessible, but provides a useful, automatic backup of your precious writing files. You can also share folders with friends or co-workers.

Sign up for a free account and you can start backing up files right away.

The Hemingway App

The Hemingway App is another outstanding free tool for writers aimed at refining and strengthening prose. Paste in a selection of your work, and it’ll identify passive sentences, hard-to-read sections, adverbs, etc.

Scrivener

Publishing Industry 101

Before any author gets too invested in writing a novel and/or trying to sell it, I think it’s useful to build a basic understanding of how the publishing industry works.

Writing Craft

Here are some of the best articles on different aspects of writing craft that I’ve bookmarked over the years.

Planning and Story Structure

Hook: Opening Your Novel

Line: Building Tension

Sinker: Writing Publication-worthy Prose

Writing Compelling Dialogue

Research for Writing

Doing research for your writing is often a good investment, as long as you don’t do it at the expense of your writing time. It’s too easy to get lost in Wikipedia or a non-fiction site instead of putting words on paper. That said, here are a few resources I’ve found helpful for research.

Author Blogs and Writing Podcasts

If you’re serious about writing, you should follow some up-and-coming or established industry experts.

My Author/Agent Blogroll

Here are some authors and literary agents with blogs I enjoy.

Podcasts about Writing & Publishing

If you happen to enjoy listening to podcasts (as I d0), here are a few of my favorites related to writing, speculative fiction, and the publishing industry:

  • Writing Excuses is the Hugo-winning podcast for aspiring authors hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler. Each episode is 15 minutes long and ends with a writing prompt.
  • Beyond the Trope is a fun and informative podcast about speculative fiction and writing craft
  • SpeculateSF is a podcast featuring author interviews and discussions of speculative fiction
  • Rocket Talk is an enjoyable podcast about SFF from Tor.com

Short Story Writing & Publishing

Literary Agents and Querying

In case you were not aware, following the traditional route to publishing requires that you have an agent. These are the liaisons who sell manuscripts to major publishing houses, and the competition to land an agent is fierce. Here are some excellent resources to guide you through that process.

Janet Reid, Query Shark

Janet Reid is a literary agent (currently at New Leaf Literary) who devotes considerable effort to dissecting the query letters of aspiring authors. This generally involves tearing them a new one. She doesn’t sugar coat anything. If you look at her blog posts by category, query pitfalls represent the most common topic by a WIDE margin. She also provides a hilarious insight into agenting and publishing in general.

Finding and Researching Literary Agents

How to Write A Query

Pitching Contests

Pitching contests are blog- and/or Twitter-based events designed to help authors connect with literary agents (or in some cases, editors). Here are a few that I know and support:

  • Your novel in 140 characters or less, my overview of Twitter pitching contests
  • #SFFpit, my twice-annual Twitter pitching event for authors of science fiction and fantasy
  • #PitMad, a quarterly Twitter pitching event for all genres hosted by Brenda Drake
  • Pitch Wars pairs agented authors (mentors) with aspiring authors to help them land an agent. The submission window is open in August.
  • Pitch Madness offers aspiring authors a shot to pitch directly to literary agents. The submission window is open in March.
  • A brief guide to Twitter pitching, some tips for crafting a great pitch

How Publishing Works

Once you sign with a literary agent, he or she will try to sell your book to publishers, a process called “going on submission.” These resources will help you understand the process and how you (as an author) can keep your sanity.

The Submissions/Acquisitions Process

Surviving Life on Sub

Publishing Contracts

In the event that you’re lucky enough to receive an offer of publication, you’ll go through the process of signing a contract. The publishing contract is a written legal agreement between an author and a publisher. The complexity and nuance of most publishing contracts are one of the major reasons that literary agents exist. If you intend to pursue traditional publishing, find an agent and trust his/her judgement. Here are some resources to help you understand publishing contracts.

After the Book Deal

Author and Book Promotion

A new author’s debut novel is a financial gamble for major publishing houses. They typically lose money on such debuts. Thus, non-celebrity writers hoping to break in (and get published) often need to bring something to the table. For non-fiction authors, that’s usually a platform (i.e. proven expertise and a track record of writing on a given topic). For fiction authors, that’s usually a following.

Building Your Author Profile

Starting a blog is an excellent way to start building your following as an author. It’s not expensive, either. Right now at GoDaddy you can get a domain name and your own web site for about $70. This gives you a place to share and connect with other authors (and possible future readers). Just as I’m doing. Give it a try, and then shoot me an e-mail. I’ll happily link to you! See also these posts I’ve assembled on related topics:

Engaging Social Media

Many successful authors use social media to network with members of the publishing industry (authors, agents, editors, etc.) and interact with readers. There are countless strategies behind this kind of platform-building, and plenty of others who can offer advice. I’d offer these two pointers:

  • Learn from success. Study your favorite authors, and see how they’re using social media to connect with readers
  • Focus on a few. If you try to stay active on ten different social media accounts at once, you’ll either fail badly or never have time to actually write. Instead, devote your effort to a handful of platforms, and try to do them well.
  • Limit self-promotion. No one wants to follow someone constantly touting their book. For each thing you post about yourself, be sure to post five or ten things about others.

For most forms of social media, the “return” as measured by followers, interactions, influence, etc., is directly correlated to your effort. You get out of them what you put into them.


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You Are Awesome!

If you're into writing, publishing, or reading fantasy & science fiction, I'm glad you're here. We should connect.

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