Writers’ How-to Online

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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

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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. Continue reading →

The Time of Your Life by Mark Porter

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Subtitle: How to Accomplish All that God Wants You to Do. Because this book was published in 1988, many people would pass it by. But, don’t do that! You’ll miss a wonderful study of time management from the Christian perspective

Also, if you came to this blog because you are a writer looking for resources to advance your career, you might be wondering why this book is featured here. It’s because I found it very helpful to me in managing my time as as a freelance Christian writer.

A chemical engineer and teaching elder in his church, Porter was a busy man. He was caught up in what he called the “scurry syndrome,” running from one thing to another without thinking about which activities were important and which were merely urgent. This doesn’t sound new to us today, because others have picked up on it. Many things that are urgent are not necessarily important.

Porter takes the reader through a study of how to turn mere activity into accomplishment. In fact, the book is designed to be used in a 13-week study. There’s mention of a study guide, but I have not found it anywhere.

Porter covers goals, priorities, spiritual gifts, analysis of current time usage, identifying time wasters, and planning. All is presented from a sound Biblical basis, making this book a valuable resource for the Christian writer.

This book is available for sale at ECS Ministries. I’ve searched Half.com with no luck, but I did find it on www.abebooks.com.

On Writing Well by William Zinser

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Subtitle: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction.

Zinser’s book is a classic. In fact, it is recommended almost as much as Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, and that’s a high compliment. Mine is the 1996 edition, but the thirtieth anniversary edition, published in 2006, is on Google Books, where you can sample portions of the book. Click here.

Zinser advocates simplicity, avoiding clutter, which boils down to this. “Never use more words than you need, and use language that is easily understood by your target readers.” Don’t dress your writing up with jargon or flowery language that does nothing to clarify your point. Zinser goes into detail on specific types of writing, like travel writing, interviews, memoir, scientific writing, and more.

This is a book that you will take out and read at least annually as a refresher course in good writing. The new edition seems to contain much of what’s in the older edition, so if you’re pinching pennies, you might find a used copy on Amazon or Half.com.

How to Keep a Spiritual Journal by Ron Klug

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Subtitle is A Guide to Journal Keeping for Inner Growth and Personal Discovery. This is my favorite book on journaling, because it takes the spiritual factor into account.

Besides the content you’d expect on journaling how-to and why-to, there’s a guide for using the book in small group study and a reading list for additional study. In my journaling group, I loaned this book, among others, to participants. It was by far the favorite how-to book of any of the others we found.

The table of contents and a portion of the book are available on Google books. Check it out here.

Write His Answer by Marlene Bagnull

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Marlene Bagnull manages two Christian writers conferences each year, runs Write His Answer ministries, and offers at-home writing workshops. She has mentored numerous writers over the years, but this book is probably her greatest service to the writing community.

Write His Answer is a Bible study for Christian Writers in a workbook format that allows writers to examine their call to write while educating them on what it takes to be a published writer. This book would be a great gift for a Christian writer, especially if he or she is struggling with the issue of whether they feel called to write for the Christian market. It is a must-have for the beginning Christian Writer.

The book is available on Marlene’s site, where she offers a sample. Visit the Amazon.com listing to view the Table of Contents with the Search Inside feature. See also another review on this blog: Books to Write By.

Copyright Questions

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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.

Free E-book: How to Write a Query Letter

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Check it out on Amazon.com, How to Write a Great Query Letter. Noah Lukeman, author of The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, offers this free e-book as a way of giving back to the writing community.

It’s free, and it’s loaded with great information. You’ll need to have an Amazon account to download it, but that’s simple enough to set up, and the account is free, too. Download it now right here.

The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile

Where to Buy Bargain Books

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Most of the books on this blog are essential references for an active writer. The question arises: how to afford all the books you want or need?

I know this sounds dumb, but I always check my public library when I’m looking for a specific book that I’d like to read but don’t know if I want to own it. We have an online catalog, so I don’t even have to go there to check it. If you have to actually go to the library, it only costs you a little time and effort.

Next, I go to Half.com, an eBay site, which offers like-new or used books at varying prices. Sometimes, you can find what you’re looking for on eBay itself. Often, the shipping costs more than the book, but it’s still a bargain compared to full-price plus tax at a book store or full-price plus shipping on Amazon (which has used books, too). Abebooks.com and BetterWorldBooks.com are also great sources of used books.

No matter where you buy your books, you can usually get a break on shipping if you buy several at once from one source. If you have a friend who is also a writer, perhaps you can combine your order and save on shipping that way.

Periodically, I collect books I’m finished with and list them for sale on eBay. The shipping has gone up so much, though, that you have to price your books low in order for them to sell. It’s hard to justify the effort it takes to list, package, and mail them for the amount of money you get out of it.

Online Tutorials for the Web-Challenged

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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.