December 16, 2019
What are the most important resources for writers? (Magazines, books, websites, etc.)
I started thinking about this week’s question, and realized how much 
different my answer will be today than it was twenty-some years ago. Put it this way- I only recently purged all my old copies of The Writer’s Digest from storage. And I still have one year’s worth of Poets and Writers (once upon a time called Coda) on my bookshelf. Stashed away, I have the 2001 edition of the Poet’s Market, with 1800 places to publish your poetry. (Which I’ll probably end up throwing away because I can’t come up with a justification to hold onto it.)
Of course, they are all remnants of the days of yore, back when the internet was just becoming a ‘thing’ for non-academical types. How the world has changed.
But, my needs have changed as well. I no longer focus on poetry. Y’all aren’t reading this for my newest poem, it’s my fiction that (likely) sends you here.
What do I consider my most important resources?
Let’s start with on-line editors. The two I use the most are ProWritingAid and Grammarly. I normally beat the heck out of my manuscript with ProWritingAid and then fine tune it with Grammarly. Between the two of them, I find a lot of errors and ways to improve sentences and structure, but even using both of them doesn’t result in perfection. (and sometimes they disagree!)
Human eyes can pick up on things that machines can’t. Editors are great, but can be expensive. A way to help overcome this obstacle is the use of good beta-readers and online critique groups. The one I’ve used is CritiqueCircle.com. Of course, if you can find a writers critique group that in your local area, that can also be a valuable resource.
But the best resource I’ve found? Other authors. There are all sorts of groups on-line where you can connect with other people and share knowledge and ideas. And yes, places besides Facebook. I belong to one group that focuses on marketing for romance writers and another that is for mystery writers. Between the two, I’m constantly learning new things. Oh, and don’t forget that local authors’ group!
What am I forgetting? Lots, I’m sure. That’s why I’m excited to check out the other posts this week. Oops, there’s one! Blog posts by other authors can be a wealth of information. Let’s go find more by following the links below to the rest of the blogs in this hop.
December 16, 2019
What are the most important resources for writers? (Magazines, books, websites, etc.)
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
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Betas are great! Hard to maintain sometimes, but well worth the effort.
I’m lucky to have a fantastic editor, and a few trusted beta readers. Between them, they keep me on the straight and narrow, my work would be poorer without them.
My developmental editor is also amazing, and both my mom and my hubby help to read and edit my books as well before it goes back for a final edit. It then goes to my publisher who also has a go at it.