Resources for Unpublished Writers

This is a cross-posting from my other blog just as some content to get us started.

IS AN AGENT / PUBLISHER A SCAM ARTIST?
Sadly, some "agents" and "publishers" prey on unpublished authors' fierce desire to make it into print. Here are some resources that will help you figure out whether the person offering you your contract is reputable.

• Writer Beware's List of 20 Worst Agents
  Really, the title says it all


• Writer Beware's information on how to tell whether an agent is reputable
  To determing whether an agent someone you want to represent you if they're not on the 20 Worst list


• Absolute Write's Forums
  Good for checking out editors, too. Post here to ask about others' experience with various agents and editors


• Preditors and Editors
  Good for editors/publishers as well as agents. The interface is awful but the information is worth getting through it.


• Writer Beware Blog
  yes, it's a blog, but it's worth subscribing to. More on how to subscribe to blogs (and newspapers, etc) so you don't have to navigate to every site individually at the bottom of this post


• AgentQuery
  a veritable smorgasbord of information
  

HELPFUL AGENTS
These people deserve medals for the work they do in their spare time, of which they have only tiny amounts, to help unpublished authors succeed.

• Miss Snark
  An unbelievably helpful blog, Miss Snark offers advice on querying, contracts, etiquette, synopses, conferences, pitches...you name it, it's there. Subscribe now! In fact, subscribe yesterday! A word of warning--she does not suffer nitwits lightly, so read for a while before emailing her your question. (If you're not good at determining sarcasm, however, unsubscribe now.) Update: although Miss Snark is no longer active, her blog remains as a very useful tool for research. Just put whatever you're looking for in the "search" box and find a wealth of information.


• BookEnds blog
  For a look inside the life of an agent and the workings of an agency.


• Lit Soup
  The blog of agent Jenny Rappaport


• Literary Agent X
  The blog of agent Rachel Vater


• PubRants
  The blog of agent Kristin Nelson

AND JUST FOR FUN

• 101 Reasons to Stop Writing
  This blog cracks me up.

GENRE-SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS

• Mystery Writers of America


• Romance Writers of America


• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America


• Sisters in Crime

If anyone has suggestions to add to these lists, please let me know!

And now, here's the promised information on reading blogs and other things without going to the actual sites.

Many blogs (and newspapers, and other kinds of sites) will have, somewhere on their pages, something that says "Subscribe to this feed" or RSS. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and what it does is broadcast a portion of each article to anyone who subscribes to the feed. Your subscriptions can be displayed in any number of ways. For example, if you google "RSS Reader Mac", you'll see a long list of RSS readers.

However, one of the easiest ways to read RSS feeds is right through your browser. I use a website called "NetVibes". I have it set as my homepage, so whenever I open my browser, I can see what there is new on various blogs. Here's a picture so you can see what I mean:


As you can see, my feeds are come from a number of sources (I took down some of them so you wouldn't be subjected to information overload!). I particularly like NetVibes because of the modules you can add, like weather, To Do lists, dictionaries, etc. And if I am not sure whether I want to read a full post, hovering my mouse over it will show the first bit.



If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know!