Writer – Editor – Blogger
Online Resources
More Writers’ Online Helps
Aug 3rd
“Toot your own horn, or the same shall not be tooted.” Such was the advice I got from a college music teacher. I’ve always thought that he should have added something about having some humility, too. This sage advice came to me as I thought about the wealth of writers’ resources I’ve collected on this site.
Last week, I posted links to several sites featuring writer helps. Together, the writers featured in that post have published hundreds of books and articles. Who better to help you figure out how to get your work published than somebody who has traveled that road ahead of you?
This week, I want to point out the resources available on my site. First, you might want to know more about me before you check out the advice I’m passing out. See a partial listing of my published work here and visit my bio page here.
I’ll now take you on the grand tour. More >
Writer Helps Link Roundup
Jul 27th
Announcement: The second winner of the drawings for Time Management is David Telbat. He’s working on his website and will provide a link when it’s ready for public consumption.
This week I’m sharing links to other sites and blogs that I follow regularly. Some I may have mentioned before, but I think they’re worth a second mention.
- Cec Murphey’s Writer to Writer. Especially useful for beginning writers is the recent series entitled “Articles First?” Many beginners dream of writing a book, but they need publishing credits. Writing articles can help with that. Read the five posts here. Then check out the other posts.
- Jane Friedman’s There Are No Rules. One of the Writer’s Digest blogs, this one has great information on every aspect of writing for publication.
- Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Marketplace. Sally posts regular updates to listings in her market guide.
- Rachelle Gardner’s CBA Rants & Ramblings. Rachelle is a literary agent serving the Christian market. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
- Terry Whalin’s Right Writing. This is not set up as a blog, but the site offers a wealth of how-to information for the Christian writer, beginner or otherwise.
Online Bible Resources
Jan 4th
I’m running behind schedule with my blog posts, but maybe I can get back in routine now that the holidays are behind me.
Part of observing the passing of the old year is looking back, sometimes with nostalgia and sometimes with thanksgiving. This year, as I made my writing plans, I looked back to how we used to get our writing done—with a typewriter, paper, and an eraser. A writer had to be truly dedicated to persist with those tools. Today, my job as a writer is so much easier with the technology available to me.
It’s hard to say which of the computer-based tools are the most useful, but for Christian writers, I have to say having numerous online Bible versions has to be near the top of the list. For my writing, I’ve tried to find one online source that offers all popular translations. I submit regularly to publishers who use the New International Version (NIV) or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). In addition, I like to use The Message on my devotional blog. More >
Twitter Bible
Dec 3rd
I’m working on an article about the various online Bible study tools, but I’m not ready to post it yet. However, I recently discovered Twitter Bible, and I think it’s something everyone needs to see.
The Twitter URL is http://twitter.com/WWGT (What would God tweet). The writer’s moniker is Holy Ghostwriter, and the location is listed as “heaven.” The Twitter page shows a link to an article on a Web site named Not the LA Times. Huh? And, God Himself is supposed to be the writer.
The writer attempts to craft Bible verses in the latest modern language while keeping it under the 140-character per-tweet limit. Spiced with humor, the writing is very creative. On the Twitter venue, the writer is sure to reach some people who don’t know or have lost interest in the Bible.
Check out this example of the Twitter “translation.”
“Jesus foresees Twitter, shortens 10 Commandments to under 140 characters: Love God 110%, love neighbor like self. (Mark 12.30-31)”
OK, so I should have called it a paraphrase instead of a translation. I’m going to follow WWGT for a while and see where it goes. Check back next week for my article on the online Bible study tools.
Update: Google Reader Tutorials Online
Jul 11th
Do you subscribe to blogs by e-mail subscription? If you have too much e-mail already, you might prefer to subscribe in a reader using RSS feed. There’s plenty of information about this on my Subscribing by RSS Feed page, but I just found another great resource I’d like to share with you.
Authortechtips.com has a post with some video tutorials on using Google Reader that are just excellent. Link to the post here.
I’ve recommended Google Reader to people wanting to use RSS feeds because so many people because it’s simple to use and tutorials are not hard to find. If you have a Gmail address, just log in to Gmail and look for the Reader link at the top. If you don’t have Gmail, go to www.reader.google.com to create an account.
Once you set up your Google Reader, come back to this blog and subscribe! Also, see the links to my other blogs in the sidebar to your left.
Free E-zines for Writers
Jul 5th
Freelance writer Dianne E. Butts regularly publishes an e-zine for writers entitled Dianne E. Butts About Writing. She includes a variety of articles on writing, a list of conferences, and some marketing recommendations. It’s free, and you can sign up for it on her home page at http://www.dianneebutts.com/. See what others have said about her e-zine here.
Another free e-zine, The Write Life, is produced by Tracy Crump, writer, speaker, and workshop leader. Her newsletter/e-zine includes short marketing or writing tips along with current story callouts for Chicken Soup for the Soul, Cup of Comfort, and other anthologies. Link to back issues and subscribe to the e-zine on her home page.
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Don’t forget! If you subscribe to this blog OR my marketing blog by e-mail subscription during the month of July, 2009, you will be entered in a drawing to receive a free copy of my e-book, A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work (for Freelance Writers). Deadline to subscribe is midnight, July 31, 2009, and you must subscribe by e-mail to qualify for the drawing. RSS feed subscription does not count.
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Writers’ How-to Online
Jun 15th
In preparation for a writers’ conference, I’ve been collecting and duplicating handouts. As I looked over some of the handouts in the stack, I noticed sample query letters and sample writer’s bios. Wondering how much of this information might be available online, I decided to find out. Here’s the result of my quick search on Google. Out of the numerous hits, I chose the ones that were offered by agents, published writers, or publishing companies.
Sample Query Letters and How to Write Queries:
http://www.writing-world.com/basics/query.shtml
http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2007/12/how-to-write-query-letter.html
How to Compose a Writer’s Bio:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/bio.htm
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/878253
How to Write a Book Proposal:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/Downloads/WritingABookProposal.pdf
If you didn’t get all the information you wanted at your last writers’ conference, take a few minutes to search online. Don’t take everything you find on the Internet as authoritative, though. Look for material that’s presented by a publishing company or by a published author.
Online Dictionaries
Jun 14th
Every writer’s desk should have a dictionary-thesaurus, a style guide, and a book of quotations. When I started writing for publication, I was told that I needed one dictionary and style guide for book publishing and a different set for newspaper style. OK, that’s four books already. The writer’s desk gets cluttered in a hurry if he or she tries to have all the “essential” references on hand. And—don’t forget, you have to update them every few years when the newest edition comes out.
If you’re a Wired Writer, though, your desk doesn’t have to be so cluttered. Much of what you need can be found online now. Some reference resources are free, while others might require an annual membership, but it might be worth it if it means you can have your reference works on hand wherever you and your computer are. In future posts, I’ll share information on other online reference works, but, for today, let’s concentrate on dictionaries. More >
Copyright Questions
Jun 12th
On one of my Yahoo groups, someone asked a question about whether a title can be copyrighted. The answer to this and many other questions about copyrights can be found on the Web site of the U.S. Copyright office, a function of the Library of Congress: http://www.copyright.gov/.
The answer to the question about titles appears in the FAQ section. If you’re looking for basic information, start with the Copyright Basics. If you have a specific question, the site features a basic and advanced search. Also, Copyright.gov comes up in the top results if you search your copyright question on Google.
The answer on titles is that titles cannot be copyrighted unless they are a registered trademark. Nobody said the answers would be simple!
Online groups are a great source of information, but your Internet connection gives to access to a world of answers, and they’re just a few clicks away.
Online Tutorials for the Web-Challenged
Jun 9th
Have you ever wished for one online resource where you could learn everything a newcomer needs to know about the Internet? Well, I think I’ve found it. Whether you are experienced with the Web or a rank beginner in the cyber-world, you can benefit from browsing the free online tutorials provided by Dynamic Web Solutions.
Start with the tutorial home page, and work your way through from there, depending on your own level of expertise: http://www.dynamicwebs.com.au/tutorials/index.htm . The content is very well-organized so that you don’t have to waste time going through stuff you already know.
Topics included are brief history of the Internet, conceptual explanation of the World Wide Web, Adobe Acrobat & PDF, the buttons on your browser, broadband, favourites and bookmarking, searching on the World Wide Web, how does the Internet work, improving Your search engine rankings, iPhone help and trounbleshooting, iPod help, iTunes help, copying pictures and text, e-mail, WiFi, Internet relay chat, newsgroups, File Transfer Protocol, computer terms defined, and E-commerce.
DWS is an Australian company offering a wide variety of Web services. The tutorials are free, but there is a Paypal link if you want to make a contribution.
