Resources

(Legal) Free Media Online

Open Culture is the biggest collection of legally free media I have found. It contains everything from e-books to online courses to movies. The whole purpose of the site is to collect what is free on the web in one accessible spot.

The New York Public Library has uploaded their archives of art and beautiful books online. The entire archive is free to use and download for projects. It is, in fact, where I got the images for this page.

The Gutenberg Project is a volunteer-driven site where classic texts are uploaded online for free reading and download. Not a complete database but definitely extensive.

 

Los Angeles Public Library

The LAPL is full of great online resources for cardholders. The Library offers access to a multitude of free online classes, online media (books, movies, even free music downloads), writing resources, and even a place for writers to self-publish.

Useful Resources for Writers

Submissions

A break down of different genres as explained by literary agents.

Wishlists by agents and editors. See my post on it here.

Querying agents? Try this guide for writing a perfect query letter. If that doesn’t do it for you, here’s the query letter simplified, some secrets from an agent and how to write a good email query.

Need to write a synopsis? Here’s the First Novels Club’s guide. Need an example? Here’s what a synopsis of RoboCop looks like. (Spoiler alert!)

Submitting to literary magazines? Here’s a guide to making your submission shine.

 

Markets for Submissions

Write 1 Sub 1’s Market Research is a collection of markets for short stories with an emphasis on genre works. I have found Horror Tree, DarkMarkets, and (Submission) Grinder very useful for my own take on the W1S1 challenge. Additionally, Writer’s Market is very helpful but requires a subscription.

Trying to find out who pays writers? Look no further than this user-compiled list.

Scams and warnings: Contests to avoid and an updated site of literary scams of various persuasions.

 

Craft and the Business

Educate yourself with a DIY MFA. See my post on it as well.

Search Engine Optimization is important building your author platform. Read up on it here.

Jay Wells is a great writer and her site is chock full of writing tips. Check her out here.

Looking for occult resources? Check out my newsletter The Bookworm Is In.

Here’s a great post on words to use for skin tones (with pictures!) to help give your readers better, less cliche descriptions of your characters.

Speaking of representation, here are some great posts by people with firsthand experience on how to write blind characters, disabled characters and on not being part of the gender binary. Here is a style guide for writing about people with disabilities, for further research here is a list of experts and a list of writers with disabilities. Would like to know why this is important? Read this article.

Money, that necessary evil, is especially important to freelancers. Here are some healthy financial tips for the self-employed and an article on organizing your home business (taxes, insurance, etc.)

Grammar

As an editor I can tell you, grammar is important in writing (although the rules are definitely getting looser). Here are some references and resources I use.

Grammar Girl is a great all-purpose grammar teacher, very down-to-earth and easy to understand.

Commas can be tricky. Here is what I use to help me out.

Purdue OWL is an online writing lab that breaks down style guides for academic and journalistic writing.

The standards for italics and underlining vary from publication to publication and can be untenable in certain platforms. When in doubt though, here is a fantastic guide from Capital City Community College.

Also, the plug-in Grammarly is an easy way to keep your grammar spiffy.

I will keep updating this page as I come across more sites to add. Have a suggestion? Feel free to let me know in the comments!