There are so many really wonderful romance writing and general writing sites out there. All of these links are to sites I've found particularly helpful or inspiring. If you have a site you think might fit with the theme of my site, please contact me! I can't promise I'll add it, but I'll certainly take a look.
Contents:
Places
to Find Me!
The Craft of Writing
Learning the Industry
Research Links
Marketing Your Baby
The Agony of Defeat
Critique Groups
Writers Organizations
Love Stories Magazine -- This magazine is launching at the end of 2008 and is paying $300 (upon publication) for short romance stories. The parent company has been in magazine publishing for over 25 years, so that bodes well for their survival.
Places To Find Me (Places on the web where I often visit/post)
Jess
Michaels -- My author website for my erotic romance. Click here for the
latest on my upcoming release(s), a letter to my readers, and much more!
Jenna
Petersen -- My author site for my Avon historical romances.
Come here for news on my upcoming releases and other fun stuff!
Jenna's
MySpace -- My home on MySpace. Check here for special blogs
and friend me to be part of Friend-Only contests and excerpts!
The
Avon Ladies -- If you are a fan of Avon Romances, this is the
site for you. The writers of Avon have formed this group for
readers! There's a bulletin board that the authors (including me) often post at,
reviews, contests, and lots of inside tidbits.
Callihoo Idea Generator -- A good list of the 37 "master plots" with descriptions. These may spark an idea for conflict.
Meg Chittenden's Writing Tips -- Meg Chittenden is an award winning mystery and romance author. She talks about a variety of topics here from point of view to character to resources.
Gryphon Books for Writers -- A great place to find books about all kinds of writing and research for writers. Wonderful resources!
20 Worst Agents -- A list of scammers, schemers and all-around con artists. Avoid these folks at all costs!
Agent Query -- A new site that is a clearinghouse for agents. You can search by name, genre, etc. I don't know how they check out their agents, but it's a pretty cool site. Be sure to check out Agent Query's symposium! Fascinating.
Association of Author's Representatives, Inc (AAR) -- A not-for-profit organization for agents. Members must pay a fee AND follow a cannon of ethics to belong. Good for cross-referencing agents you may be interested in and they provide a good list of questions to ask an agent who has agreed to represent you.
Backspace -- I stumbled upon this magnificent resource authors of all kinds of genres, including romance. Mostly, the information is about agents, but here's the thing... it's info on agents FROM AGENTS! Awesome!!
BellaOnline Romance Reader Survey (2005) -- This is a fascinating study of romance readers (have no idea how many) served up some interesting and unexpected results.
Brenda Hiatt's Show Me the Money -- Taken from the statistics Hiatt collects each year for her presentation at National, she has written an article that reveals advances and payouts. Candid, realistic and... well, a bit depressing. Please note that Hiatt can only go by the replies she receives, so some publishers may not have much info to go by.
Charlotte
Dillon's Resources for Romance Writers -- Charlotte's site has so many links,
so many great articles, so much information that I had a hard time
deciding where to put it in my own links page. It could just as
easily fit in the Craft, Research or Rejuvenation sections, as well as the
industry section. It's a great site with so much info that you could
spend the whole day there.
Karen Fox's Agent List -- Author Karen Fox has a comprehensive list like mine for agents. However, hers includes agents who don't have websites. Good resource.
Piers
Anthony E-Publishing Info -- This is a FANTASTIC site!
Popular author Piers Anthony has a lot of info mostly on e-publishers
that includes specifics on complaints that go into more detail than even
Preditors and Editors. Definitely a great place to check if you're
researching e-pubs!
Preditors
and Editors -- A great site that tells you which editors,
agents and others are ones to avoid or ones to flock to. As always,
double-check your info because the ratings here aren't always 100%, but
it's a terrific resource I use all the time!
Publisher's
Lunch/Deal Lunch -- Go to this website to sign up for the
wonderful industry news sent out in these two newsletters.
Publisher's Lunch is a daily dose of industry facts and little
articles. Deal Lunch is sent weekly and is an outline of what has
recently sold in nonfiction, fiction, children's and film rights.
They even have a key so you can determine how good a deal the sale
was. Great resource!
Publisher's Weekly -- Yes, the very same magazine you turn to for industry news is now online. Read articles, reviews, find events near you, and much more. Be aware that often Publisher's Weekly Online is a few weeks behind or incomplete when compared to the hard-copy magazine (or else why would you pay that high subscription rate??). Still, a good resource to check!
USA Today Bestseller List -- The top 150 books, many of which are romance. Checking out this weekly guide is a good way to track market trends and see what sells and why. Plus, it's kind of fun to see who is where in the pecking order.
Writer Beware -- Hosted through the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers website, this is a great place to learn about bad agents and publishers, as well as learn ways to protect yourself from those who would prey on would-be writers.
Research Links
American
Family Immigration History Center -- Though they have a really
boring name, this is a site about Ellis Island. You can read about
the history of American Immigration, arrange for a tour, AND the coolest
part is you can search for information on a specific passenger! A
great resource and really fun if you know of a family member who came to
America through Ellis Island.
Deb's Historical Research Page -- If you are writing a historical, Deb Lawson's page is the first place you should stop. I don't think I've ever seen a larger, more complete list of links for just about every historical topic known to mankind. Amazing!!
History Link -- A subscription site for a newsletter that covers historical and writing topics. It seems like they have a lot of info and even more to come. Remember, though, this is a pay site.
How Stuff Works -- It's as simple as it sounds. You can search for a specific item or look at their many "top" subjects. If you are writing contemporaries this will be especially helpful, though there are some historical references here, too. A fun, albeit busy, site.
Jo Beverly's Title Madness -- If you write historicals set in England, you may want to check out Jo's easily understandable explanations of titles and who holds what. This is a confusing subject and one of the best sites on the topic!
Diana's Writing Page -- Happily, Diana Cosby's great writing page has returned! Come here for great general links, but specific info on Knights, Pirates, Scots, Cops, Sioux, Herbs and more than you can imagine besides! Wonderful site from a cool lady!
Literary Liaisons -- A site really meant for the historical romance writer. Find neat facts and useful info here. And it's pretty, too.
Modern English to Old English Vocabulary -- Need to know what a word was in Old English? Here's a way to find out. Good for naming estates or spicing up your dialogue (though I recommend using time period slang sparingly).
Writers Free Reference -- A huge compilation of useful links for writers, put into categories. Not a lot of description, but if you have time to surf around, you'll probably find lots of useful stuff.
Cafe Press -- Make and sell your own t-shirts and coffee mugs with any graphic design (including your cover) through this site. Though this may not be ideal for producing items in bulk, it's really cool if you're just doing a special promotion or for something extra and fun.
Earthly
Charms -- WOW! A great website for promotional
info. This is a great place to spark ideas, and there
are articles from all over about promoting yourself well. Great
site! Update: I can now say from personal experience that Su Kopil does
a wonderful job. I'd highly recommend this site!
Lori Devoti's ARC Guide -- New Kensington author Lori Devoti has a great little article about properly formatting an ARC. Your publisher may give you some of these, but probably not as many as you'd like, so it's good to know how to build one so you can send them out for reviewers, booksellers or as contest giveaways.
Vista Print -- Kind of a cool place for stationary, business cards and the like. The business cards are free except for shipping and handling and they look great! This is where I get mine!
Rejection
Collection -- A fun
place to commiserate with other authors if you're having the rejection
blues. Here you can anonymously post your own rejections and give
some thoughts on them, as well as read others. She also has a
monthly newsletter for subscribers. A fun break from writing!
Critique Groups -- Just a note, I am not a member of ANY of these critique groups, and am not personally responsible for their activities, level of participation or rules.
Critters -- A private group for romance writers who are serious about writing (in other words, no hobbyists). They split their critique groups into sections, so those who write similar things are grouped together, the amount they want to critique, etc. You do have to be approved to join.
Dedicated Romance Writers -- Another YahooGroup critique group dedicated to romance, it looks like in general (rather than a particular subgenre).
Morgan's Erotic Critiques -- A critique group specializing in romances with erotic elements.
RWCcritique -- This Yahoo email group is an offshoot of Charlotte Dillon's RWC list. They do chapter-by-chapter critique.
Simegen's Romance Boards -- This page includes many boards, but if you scroll down there are critique ones for different romance genres.
Sisters in Crime -- Does your work contain a mystery element? Then you might be interested in joining this group of mystery writers, many of whom began in romance. They publish several newsletters and articles that could help any author, as well as hosting local chapters, much like RWA.
Novelists, Inc -- Affectionately known as NINC, this group is for published authors who have been contracted or released two or more books. They do have good general information on their site and are a good group to shoot for. They host an annual conference and have pushed agendas to further the rights of published authors. They are romance friendly.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc -- If you write romance with a fantastical or sci-fi twist, you may be interested in joining the national organization for sci-fi and fantasy writers. Though this group focuses mainly on the mainstream subgenres of SF&F, they do have lots of good info for any writer and are the hosts of Writer Beware, a link in the industry section of this website.