Useful Websites for Writers

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Fleisch-Kincaid tool for assessing the reading level and readability of a book/article. I've discovered another wonderful tool for doing that and much more: Renaissance Learning (www.renlearn.com) Accelerated Reader BookFinder at http://www.renlearn.com/products. This tool helps you find the word count, page count, ISBN number, publisher, publication year, reading grade level, themes in the book, and more. Go to Renaissance Leaning's  Products page, click on AR BookFinder, and check the appropriate box (parent, teacher, etc.), which will take you to a page where you can type in the book's title, or name of the author, or book's theme. Clicking on the question marks brings up explanations of the assessment levels. Clicking on the image brings up the full details about the book. 

Below, I list a few useful websites for writers, some specifically for children's writers. To say that online resources for writers are vast is an understatement. My starter list doesn't even cover the tip of the tiny lump of ice on the top of the iceberg. I'll add to this list over the coming weeks and give it its own page on this blog site. I welcome your additions. Future blogs will describe resources for specific topics and problems of interest to children's writers and buyers of children's books..

http://resourcesforchildrenswriters.blogspot.com

Rachelle Burk offers an astonishingly huge listing of resources on everything you ever wanted to know.

http://www.institutechildrenslit.com

The Institute of Chidlren’s Literature offers writing courses, online writers forum, articles

on various topics, and a newsletter with writing advice and publishing news.

http://kathytemean.wordpress.com

Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating blog (“Sharing Information About Writing and Illustrating for Children”) lists helpful sites, a blogroll, and author sites.

http://www.firebornchronicles.com/resources.htm

Mary Andrews’s website lists a plethora of resources for writers.

http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com

Martina Boone, Lisa Gail Green, and Jan Lewis offer helpful articles on various topics.

http://www.verlakay.com

Verla Kay’s site offers the marvelous Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Chat Board.

http://middlegradeninja.blogspot.com

Robert Kent’s website is a treasure trove of interviews with literary agents.

http://marielamba.wordpress.com

Literary agent Maria Lamba offers practical advice for writers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40385177@N07/5600926140/

http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com

Casey McCormick’s Literary Rambles blog spot offers a treasure trove of interviews with literary agents.

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com

Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s website, “dedicated to helping writers via descriptive tools, knowledge sharing, and support,” has an interesting niche: thesauruses of character traits, physical attributes, emotions. Ackerman and Puglisi authored The Emotion Thesaurus. 

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com

Literary agent Janet Reid critiques query letters - a golden opportunity for writers.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com
Literary agent Nathan Bransford writes a series of articles on practical topics and lists resources.

http://kidlit.com/resources-for-writers

Literary agent Mary Kole offers a treasure trove of useful websites for writers. She is the author of Writing Irresistible Kidlit (“The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction”).

http://childrensbooks.about.com

Elizabeth Kennedy's pages on About.com offer a wealth of information and you can sign up for her newsletter.

http://www.upstartcrowliterary.com

This literary agency’s website offers a Writer’s Toolbox that lists a handful of articles on writing and a short list of websites helpful to writers.

www.thescriptorium.net

The Scriptorium Webzine offers an interesting list of books on various aspects of writing and a few articles on writing.

http://absolutewrite.com/recommended-resources/

Absolute Write has a useful list of writers' resources including literary agents who blog.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/w4nd3rl0st/6608344765/

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware

Writer Beware – essential information on literary scams, including publishers and contests

You can subscribe to receive blog updates via e-mail.

http://pred-ed.com/

Predators and Editors offers essential information on literary scams.

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Karen_Cioffi

Karen Cioffi offers SEO and other technology tips.

http://www.jacketflap.com/

Jacketflap offers a huge list of publishers and a database of authors and other people in the book publishing industry, also an opportunity to showcase your work as an author..

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat
Media Bistro offers reviews, writer resources, publishing industry news.

www.goodreads.com

Good Reads is worthwhile joining. For MG writers: Great Middle Grade Reads. (Go to the Groups page and type in the name of the group.)

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/index.html
Publishers Weekly provides children’s book industry news.

http://scbwi.blogspot.com
This is Lee Wind’s official blog of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

http://kimnormanbooks.com/www.kimnormanbooks.com/Kim_Norman_childrens_author_school_visits.html
Kim Norman’s School Visit & Author Blog offers great advice for authors visiting schools.

www.the-digital-reader.com
Nate Hoffelder's great blog site is about the e-book industry with tips, gadget reviews, and other resources.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-rose/3428620483/

Children's Writers’ Social Media Groups

Yahoo

Children & Youth  Writers_and Authors

Children’s Writers and Illustrators

LinkedIn 

Children’s Books

Children’s Media

Children’s Publishing

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Facebook

Children’s Authors and Illustrators

Organizations

http://www.scbwi.org
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Lots of help for children’s writers who become members of this worldwide organization