Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers
    100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers
    100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers
    Ebook198 pages1 hour

    100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers

    By Ty Johnston

    3/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    With the advent of digital publishing, more and more people are turning to writing as a hobby, as a way to make some extra money, and as a way to make a living. But where to start? Beginning writers, especially fiction writers, often have a lot of questions. To help answer those questions, author Ty Johnston has scoured the Web for 100 sites that can be of help to fiction writers.

    What you will find within are some of the best sites online for writers, specifically fiction writers. Many of these sites are loaded with advice for beginning writers and old pros alike. A handful of these sites are just for fun, but still helpful to fiction writers.

    No more searching for hours online. No more guessing what sites are useful and which ones are a waste of time. Within you will find not only the names of and links to 100 sites, but Ty's impressions and opinions about them.

    Ty wishes he had the information these 100 sites provide when he began his fiction writing career, and now they are available to you.

    About the author: Ty Johnston is an independent author and member of Monumental Works Group, a collection of speculative fiction authors. He is the author epic fantasy novels such as "City of Rogues" and "Ghosts of the Asylum," but he also pens the occasional horror tale and some literary pieces.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTy Johnston
    Release dateJan 3, 2012
    ISBN9781465880994
    100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers
    Author

    Ty Johnston

    Originally from Kentucky, Ty Johnston is a former newspaper journalist. He lives in North Carolina with loving memories of his late wife.Blog: tyjohnston.blogspot.com

    Read more from Ty Johnston

    Related to 100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers

    Related ebooks

    Reference For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Eye On The Prize

      Mar 26, 2022

      Eye On The Prize
      4 min read

    • Article

      Character, Know Thyself: The Essentials Of Character Awareness

      May 8, 2019

      Early drafts are an exercise in getting to know your character and her story—you are, in essence, telling the story to yourself first so that you can figure out what to add or omit when fine-tuning the story for readers. I encourage you to pen more p

      8 min read

    • Article

      75 Writing prompts

      Dec 14, 2020

      75 Writing prompts
      8 min read

    • Article

      Serial Fiction for the Digital Age

      Oct 10, 2018

      For many readers andwriters, the serial novel calls to mind tattered newsprint, Victorian armchairs, and authors such as Dickens, Dumas, and Dostoevsky. For others, the form may hark back to pulp magazines and popular adventures of the early to mid-1

      3 min read

    • Article

      Starting Out in an MFA Program?

      Aug 12, 2020

      I HAVE taught fiction writing for almost three decades and served as program director of two graduate programs—the MA program in creative writing and literature at Kansas State University and the MFA program in creative writing at Oregon State Univer

      9 min read

    • Article

      Sinister, Yet Sympathetic

      May 8, 2019

      Sinister, Yet Sympathetic
      7 min read

    • Article

      Inspiration Everywhere

      Jun 19, 2021

      Inspiration Everywhere
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Anger Short-cut

      Mar 26, 2022

      The Anger Short-cut
      4 min read

    • Article

      12 Foolproof Ways To Fail As A Writer

      Dec 21, 2021

      Whether you’re just now launching into writing or you’re an old pro, here are 12 surefire ways to fail this year as you pursue your dreams within the writing world. You’ll be tempted to compare other authors’ sales figures, reviews, likes, comments,

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Time Is Now Writing Prompts and Exercises

      Oct 10, 2018

      Suggested Reading:The Story Cure: A Book Doctor’s Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir (Ten Speed Press, May 2017) by Dinty W. Moore The director of creative writing at Ohio State University and author of a number of books of literary no

      2 min read

    • Article

      Mirror Works, Window Works

      Oct 16, 2021

      If you’re anything like me, you already know what kind of reader you are. You know you love young adult (YA), for instance, and you know why you love it. For instance, I love mysteries set in England. No, I don’t care where, nor do I care when. I lov

      6 min read

    • Article

      Storm Cellar

      Oct 16, 2021

      Storm Cellar
      3 min read

    • Article

      Free Writing Contests

      Apr 14, 2021

      FOR those looking to dip a toe into the deep waters of writing contests, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Every year we list hundreds of opportunities in the Grants & Awards section of this magazine, ranging from small local contests offer

      19 min read

    • Article

      Is Podcasting Right for You?

      Dec 21, 2021

      Is Podcasting Right for You?
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Writer’s Bookshelf

      Aug 17, 2022

      As you find your path as a writer, there may be no better support than the wisdom of your fellow travelers. Let these twelve recent and forthcoming books by some of contemporary literature’s most insightful and generous luminaries guide you on your w

      4 min read

    • Article

      PublishingMyths

      Dec 13, 2023

      Twenty years ago I went to grad school for writing and I heard people say that getting a book deal for a story collection was nearly impossible. As I met more nonfiction writers, I learned they, too, had been fed this line about essay collections. No

      3 min read

    • Article

      Firing Up Fiction

      May 21, 2019

      Firing Up Fiction
      5 min read

    • Article

      Do It Yourself

      Nov 4, 2021

      Self-publishing can be a rewarding and exciting way of getting your story into the hands of readers but for children’s books it has its own challenges. Three authors share their experiences and advice. I had been writing traditionally published books

      6 min read

    • Article

      Your Rights Revert

      Oct 11, 2017

      STEPHANIE DICKINSON is an Iowa native who lives in New York City. She is the author of three books published by Spuyten Duyvil, including the novel Half Girl (2008), the novella Lust Series (2011), and Love Highway (2014), a true-crime book based on

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for 100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers

    3/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      100 Web Sites for Fiction Writers - Ty Johnston

      Chapter 1

      The Writings and Opinions of Dean Wesley Smith

      www.deanwesleysmith.com

      You might be asking, who is Dean Wesley Smith? And why should I be reading his blog?

      If you are interested in a career as a fiction author, you need to read Dean's blog.

      Don't believe me? Let's take a look at Dean's background.

      Dean Wesley Smith has more than ninety novels published in print as an author. He also claims to have had more than 100 of his short stories in print. Many of Dean's books have been novelizations or tie-ins with movies or television shows, but he also has written much in worlds of his own creation. Sometimes he writes under his own name, but often enough he uses a pseudonym. If that's still not enough, Dean was also the founding publisher of Tomorrow Speculative Fiction magazine and, in conjunction with his wife, author Kristine Kathryn Rusch, won a World Fantasy Award in 1989. If you're still not impressed, there's also the fact Dean and his wife were the owners of Pulphouse Publishing. On top of all that, Dean and Kristine regularly hold workshops in which they pass along the combined knowledge they have picked up in more than thirty years of writing, editing and publishing.

      One would think that with all that experience, Dean Wesley Smith is someone who knows more than a little about making a career as a fiction author.

      Over the last year or two, Dean has been making the transition to working in digital publishing, e-books, though not exclusively. On his blog, he regularly suggests writers should work in both print and digital formats.

      Such ideas are what makes this blog so great. Dean Wesley Smith passes on much of what he has learned and continues to learn.

      To that end, Dean has three series concerning writing. These series are available at his blog and, if they are not already, will eventually be available in e-book formats at least in part.

      One of these series is titled "Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing," and it is a real eye opener to the fiction publishing business, especially for beginners. In this series you learn that many of the things you might think you know about fiction publishing just aren't true. For example, if you are a beginning fiction writer, you've probably heard that you have to have a literary agent to make it as a writer. But is this really true? Do you really need a literary agent? For an answer, check out Dean's blog.

      Another series is titled "Think Like a Publisher." This particular series focuses a little less on writing and more on publishing as a possible business venture. And with more and more writers self publishing their own works, there is a lot of important information here of which they need to be aware. Why? Because if you are self publishing, remember that you are no longer just a writer, but also a publisher.

      "New World of Publishing" is the newest of Dean's series. This collection of articles looks at the current changes in the book publishing industry. Technology has brought about huge changes in publishing over the last few years, from the way people are reading books to how publishers and literary agents are working, and even more. If you are interested in fiction writing but afraid of what all this change means, check out this series and learn a few things.

      Lastly, I'd like to add that Dean Wesley Smith often posts free short stories on his blog, which is an added bonus to his regular readers.

      If you are a beginning fiction writer, or if you're an old pro worried about the future, do yourself a favor and check out this blog.

      Chapter 2

      Kindle Direct Publishing

      kdp.amazon.com

      On November 19, 2007, the world changed. Or at least the reading and publishing worlds changed. That is when Amazon released the Kindle, the first popular dedicated e-reading device. Since then there have been several more modern versions of the Kindle released as well as a growing number of free Kindle Apps that allow readers who do not have a Kindle to still take advantage of Amazon e-books.

      Soon after the release of the Kindle, Amazon created Kindle Direct Publishing (originally called Amazon's Digital Text Platform). This site allows writers and publishers to upload formatted e-books and to offer those e-books for sale through Amazon.

      This has created a revolution, and stirred up more than a few concerns, within the book publishing world. It has changed the technology, and arguably the economy, for book publishing.

      Most importantly for writers, it has knocked away much of the old stigma of self publishing and given writers the opportunity to make their works directly available to the reader without having to go through a traditional publisher.

      There are good and bad issues involving all this, but for many writers this has helped to kick off a career. No longer do writers have to wait months or years to hear back from an editor or publisher or literary agent. Now a writer can write, edit, design a cover, and make their product available to readers for feedback and money.

      But the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) site offers more than just the ability to upload e-books. The site also allows the writer/publisher to keep track of sales. Transactions are recorded on a seemingly minute-by-minute basis, so you can follow sales almost as they happen. The KDP site also allows you to check on your sales daily and for the last six weeks. You can also check out your monthly statements for the last 12 months.

      Most importantly for beginners, the KDP site has a sizable Community page where you can learn from Amazon experts as wells as from other writers and publishers within that community. At the beginning, you're obviously going to be a bit lost, perhaps finding the notion of creating an e-book a daunting task; that is where the Community page can come in handy by showing you the ropes. The Community page is also a place to go to for offering suggestions, placing complaints, discussing issues, etc. English is the language used within most of the Community site, but there also are a growing number of forums catering to other languages within the site.

      If you are a writer or publisher looking to join the e-book revolution, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is a good place to start. A growing number of writers are making good money publishing their e-books through Amazon, and with work and admittedly some luck, the same possibly could happen for you. And keep in mind that because you self publish your works does not mean you can no longer try the traditional route of becoming published.

      Writers, it's a changing world. Join it.

      Chapter 3

      Nathan Bransford, author

      blog.nathanbransford.com

      Nathan Bransford knows books. Once upon a time he was a literary agent for the Curtis Brown, Ltd. agency. More recently he has become an author himself, having penned the young-adult space fantasy novel Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow, a tale of a young Jacob Wonderbar who discovers a crashed spaceship and then goes on adventures with his friends in the ship. Bransford also is a publishing professional in the technology field with Cnet.

      All of that adds up to quit a bit of experience.

      And that experience is just one of the reasons you, a budding writer, should probably be checking out Nathan's blog on a regular basis.

      But Nathan Bransford's blog is not full of posts upon posts about himself. Not at all. His posts mostly focus upon news within the book publishing industry, with a strong leaning towards fiction.

      Best of all, most Fridays there is a post that gathers all the major news of the week. If nothing else, beginning writers should go over to the blog every Friday afternoon to catch up on the recent big events in publishing, and with changes in technology and the economy it seems of late there are always lots of things going on in publishing.

      But Nathan's blog does not stop there. On the left hand side of the blog is a links list titled Essentials of Publishing. Below this title are a dozen or so links that should be of interest. If you're starting out as a fiction writer, you could do much worse than checking out these links and studying the advice offered.

      Still, there's even more at this blog.

      For instance, there are loads more links to professional authors and others within the industry, links that can be of help in many ways as well as just being interesting.

      There are also forums. Yep, Nathan Bransford has his own forums. And they are quite lively. So lively, in fact, Nathan commonly plugs some of the forum's conversations in his Friday post about publishing news.

      All in all, this is a solid blog about book publishing with a focus mainly upon fiction. Check it out to learn more, and remember to follow those Friday postings.

      Chapter 4

      Ralan.com

      ralan.com

      One of the challenges of trying to make a living, or to just bring in a little extra cash, as a fiction writer is to find places where you can sell your stories. Writers are all the time looking for new book publishers or magazines or e-zines or whatever in hopes of finding someplace that might be interested in buying one of their stories for publication.

      To help with that search, there are a handful of websites out there that bring together much of the information writers need for selling. Ralan.com is one of the best of such sites.

      At Ralan.com you will find lists upon lists of book publishers, magazine publishers, online sites, e-zines and other sites that are looking for short fiction, novels, flash fiction, etc. This site also features listings for fiction writing awards, anthologies, audio books, as well as some humor.

      There is also a Market Notes page where you can find out some of the latest news on what's been happening with some publishers. For example, if you submitted a short story to a publisher a while back and have not heard anything within the appropriate time period, check out the Ralan.com Market Notes because you might find out what's going on; perhaps the publisher has closed shop or is backed-up with work or something else.

      Speaking of submitting stories, there is also a Response Times page so you can get an idea for how long it takes some publishers to get back to a writer.

      The Writing Links page at Ralan.com is quite extensive, as well. Here you will find all kinds of links to publishers, literary agents, blogs, helpful sites ... if you can think of it, there's a good chance it's

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1