Resources Round-Up for Emerging Authors and Friday's Guest

Here's a round-up of some of the good sites and posts I've come across recently. Hope you find something useful!

Also, don't forget to stop back in for Community Fridays. This week's guest is Larry Hodges, author extraordinaire and ex table-tennis coach.

Is your likelihood of getting published truly infinitesimal? Well, it depends. This article about publication by Victoria Strauss over at Writer Beware Blogs! lays out some good points. One thing that emerging authors don't always take into consideration when submitting manuscripts is whether their writing (or even just the query letter!) is really good enough to compete with the best, harsh as it may sound. Writer Beware Blogs! is also a great resource for keeping track of scams in the writing and publishing industry, such as shady agents and questionable contests. Victoria is a good resource in and of herself, if you get the lucky chance to meet her at a convention or conference!

Here are two great resource posts by author and editor Edmund Schubert over at the Side-Show Freaks blog. This post lists a bunch of basic definitions for writers, for words such as 'byline,' 'niche,' and 'SASE.' And did you know that you should include your name, phone number, email address, and snail mail address on any submission, even if it's an email/online submission? This post gives a quick run-down of submission basics.

For those emerging authors in or near the Baltimore area, the Baltimore Writers' Conference is this weekend, on November 8. I just realized I will be here on Saturday, and I won't be going to the Random House Book Fair sponsored by the Carroll County Community College in Westminster, MD, which has just been moved to March 2009. Good thing I checked! So I might go after all... although the $95 price tag is a big of a deterrent. We shall see.

Finally, a quick update on my revising and editing class with Jeffrey Roth. Class is going well. Jeffrey is engaging and knowledgeable about his subject. Kind of makes my brain want to explode, but it will all be worth it when my writing improves.

Update: My newest Emerging Authors Want To Know! post is up over at the Blood-Red Pencil Blog. This one talks about what it's like to be a published author AND a professional editor at the same time. Hope you enjoy!

Jeffrey Roth's Writing Course

After attending a writing workshop at Capclave this past weekend, I realized one thing: my writing needs more work. And this is good, because I'm signed up to take a writing course at the Carroll County Community College at the end of October.

I've taken several courses to date at the college, and every single one of them has exceeded my expectations. My class on how to get published taught by Karen Syed of Echelon Press Publishing made me decide to put serious effort into my quest for publication. I'd say that Karen's support was the single most important factor in bringing me to where I am today.

The college also offers a series of excellent free business courses, and what is deciding to write for a living if not starting a company of one? I've learned about incorporation, taxes, budgeting, writing business plans, getting funding, and much more.

And now, Jeffrey Roth is teaching a course on rewriting, editing, and critiquing. Jeffrey is a journalist and published short story author, who is currently working on preparing his first novel for publication. I've heard a lot of people say that if you're interested in becoming a fiction author, journalism is a good place to start. When you're a journalist, you have to learn to write for a deadline in order to survive. It pretty much destroys any notions of 'writer's block' that might have been holding you back on that novel of yours. So I'm excited about what this guy has to say!

Taking classes is one of the best things you can do to improve your chances of getting published. Classes give you the chance to meet and mingle with like-minded people, and hopefully learn a few things to improve your craft. At the very least, you'll get a new perspective.