Blogs!!!!!

In my own quest towards both establishing a career in and gaining deeper understanding of the publishing world, I have resolved myself to research as much of the pertinent information made available to those ends. Today, I have focussed on the wealth of information (and probably misinformation) to be obtained by simply "checking out" the offerings of my fellow "bloggers." Right now, I am only in the "compiling" stage; thus, I can neither recommend nor offer commentary on any of the sites listed below. Nevertheless, I encourage others to make use of my research efforts. Look into the information provided. Offer your honest opinions, your experiences, or even comparable information of your own!

Blogs by Individual Authors: Tobias S. Buckell This Carribean-born writer of science fiction, short stories, and novels (such as Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, and Sly Mongoose) discusses not only issues of race and ethnicity in fiction but the business aspects of writing as well. John Scalzi This blog by the author of several books (e.g. The rough Guide to the Universe) covers numerous topics, treating them with humor or insight as the situation requires. Tess Gerritsen As both doctor and best-selling author of medical thrillers (e.g. Harvest and Life Support), Gerritsen explores a number of topics relevant to writing and publishing, such as getting over a bad review, decisions about one's characters, and necessary components of a "good" story. David Louis Edelman This author of novels such as Infoquake and MultiReal offers informative posts on self-promotion, offering new writers the benefit of learning from his experiences. Jay Lake An author of both novels (Mindspring) and more than 200 short stories, Lake writes openly about the writing process--debating, for instance, what what "works" and what doesn't as well as discussing strategies for keeping oneself on track. Blogs by Groups DeepGenre This site deals with the definitions of genre, the business of writing, issues of craft, and insights into a variety of other writing and publishing topics by a variety of authors. Writer Beware This site is by the Science Fiction Writers of America watchdog group Writer Beware, which seeks out and puts and end to writing scams by exposing fraudulent agents, highlighting bad contract language, and otherwise promoting the rights of writers. Blogs by Editors Although these blogs are not written by acquisitions editors, they are reported to provide insight into other aspects of publishing that can, to some extent, be equally valuable. Seeing, however, is believing! Deanne Hoak Written by a professional copy editor who specializes in science fiction and fantasy, this personal blog--although it covers subjects other than writing and editing--is said to offer insight into the copyediting process. Rose Fox This blog is said to offer behind-the-scenes information about the Publishers Weekly trade journal and review magazine. Fox, the magazine's science fiction/fantasy/horror reviews editor, assists authors in understanding when a review of their books might appear as well as the exact value of a "starred" review. Blogs by Literary Agents: Agency blogs, I have been told, can be very useful to writers in that they not only provide valuable advice about submissions procedures, etiquette, expectations, etc. but also give writers an idea as to what these agents in particular look for--over and above that which is specified in their official guidelines. This might prove helpful, I would think. I plan to look over a few of these sites. Please, do the same and let the rest of us know what you think! Dystel & Goderich Literary Management This agency is reported to represent everything from parenting and women's health books to literary and commercial fiction with clients including best-selling authors Cindy Adams, Jonathan Small, and David Morrell. The Knight Agency This agency specializes in romance and woman's fiction, listing best-selling authors among its clients. Book Ends Literary Agency This group represents a wide variety of clients in the fields of spirituality, self-help. business, mystery, and romance. Included among their clients are Elizabeth Joy Arnold and Sally MacKenzie. Editorial Anonymous An unnamed children's editor posts excerpts of real query letters and phone calls (changing names to "protect the ignorant") for educational purposes. Posts include insider essays targeting "what really goes on"in the publishing world, applicable to other realms of publishing besides children's books. Evil Editor This anonymous book editor's regular features include "Face Lift," in which the Evil Editor revises query letters submitted by readers, and "New Beginnings," in which authors post the first 150 words of their books, after which the Evil Editor and his "minions" provide brief continuations of the works and commentary on the opening. [Hmmmmmmm....?] Jennifer Jackson This is the personal blog of an agent with the Donald Maass Literary agency (whose clients include Jim Butcher, C.M. Chan, and Jo Ann Ferguson). Kristen Nelson Nelson is the founding agent of the Nelson Literary Agency, whose clients include authors Linnea Sinclair, Sherry Thomas, and Marianne Mancusi. Janet Reid Reid is an agent with the FinePrint Literary Management group, which specializes in crime fiction. Included on its client list are authors Jeff Somers, Richard Gilbert, and Bill Cameron. The Rejecter This blogger is an anonymous assistant at a literary agency (as well as an author) who claims to reject 95% query letters immediately, placing 5% in the "maybe" pile. Posts review basic advice as well as answering reader questions. Miss Snark Written by an anonymous literary agent, this is individual has ceased updating; however, the "snarkives" remain accessible, offering advice as well as specific answers to reader questions. Nephele Tempest This is the personal blog of one of the staff members (an agent) of the Knight Agency. Rachel Vater Vater is an agent with Folio Literary Management whose clients include best-selling authors Melissa Marr and Jeaniene Frost.

Have fun...and feel free to add not only your own sites but those you have found helpful and/or informative as well.