Writing Resources

Here's some other writing resources, tools and sites I've found helpful in my journeys.  A few are paid services and I don't personally endorse any of them, but they are the ones I use on a regular basis, so I'll give you my opinions on them.

Duotrope - Probably the most well known submissions manager.  I started using "The Submission Grinder" and that's a useful (and free) site, but it seems the most activity takes place on Duotrope, so I bit the bullet and paid for a subscription.  You can track and record your pieces, when and where you submitted them and search for listings.  You can view the statistics, such as acceptance rates, turnaround times, etc. for various publications as well as many other details.  While it's not an absolutely necessary tool, it does help navigate the myriad of publications.

The Submission Grinder - As mentioned above, this is a free service that allows you to track your submissions and look for listings.  You can search and view some of the statistics on the listings, but you'll need to sign up for an account if you want to put in your own submissions.  If you're just starting out, I'd suggest you check this site out, it can open some doors to publications you might not be aware of and it can give you an idea of how long they typically take to send a response to submitted materials.

Pro Writing Aid - Another paid service.  For whatever reason, I caught a deal on this one early on for a lifetime membership and I personally think it was a good purchase.  Much more than just a spell checker, this tool will analyze you work, identify overused words, long or difficult to read sentences, and much, much more.  There is even a plugin that works directly with Microsoft Word so that you can use it in-line while you are writing.  "Grammarly" is a similar tool, but I've not had as much experience with that one.  Since I got PWA, I didn't feel the need to experiment with it.  Nothing beats having your work peer reviewed by other writers or in a writing group, but this tool can help you clean up and polish your pieces before you send them to your author friends.

Christopher Fielden - This is an author site I discovered very early on.  He runs an annual short story competition called "To Hull and Back" which produces an anthology, as well as many smaller anthology collections.  Many of his "challenges" involve some kind of writing convention (adverbs, nonsense, cliche, etc.) and challenge the writer to produce a piece of flash that become sort of crowd sourced into anthologies.  Once he reaches a certain threshold of authors/stories, he publishes a volume.  Some of them are dedicated to charities as well.   Chris features tons of writing articles, interviews, and even a listing of other competitions.  He has a book that I've purchased and read titled "How to Write a Short Story - Get Published and Make Money".  In it, he dives into his experiences, shares several of the stories and their evolution through re-writes and edits.  I found his site to be extremely beneficial as an emerging writer and I would encourage anyone on the same journey to take a look.

Writing Careers: The Business of Becoming and Author - This link was shared by a young writer through my website.  She was in a writing workshop and came across this website that contains a wealth of great information for young authors or those starting out.  Great links to writing skills sources, publication and careers for those considering writing.  Thanks Amelia!