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Here you’ll find a comprehensive list of links to my favorite resources. These are the sites or things I use to further my own writing career. Check them out!
To make it to this list, I must personally use the resource often!
Writing (basic/mechanics)
- Writing for Children and Teens: A Crash Course (Okay, I’m biased! This one is my own book,
and I wrote it with my fellow writers in mind. And I revisit this when I’m wondering, what the heck am I supposed to be doing?! This books includes everything you see in the Crash Course AND then some. Plus bonus materials! Oooh!)
- The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
(a C LIU favorite)
- RhymeZone (an online dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming lookup tool all-in-one)
- Childrens Writers Word Book (Children’s Writer’s Word Book)
A must-have if you want to write Early Readers (Easy Readers)
Writing (advanced/theory)
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
- On Writing
- Stein on Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies
Research children’s books
- Renaissance Learning – for word counts and book levels
- Amazon.com – for first pages of many novels
- Google Book Search – for a great inside look of many books
Buy children’s books (cheap, cheap, cheap!)
- Amazon.com children’s books
- Overstock.com (often cheaper than Amazon, unlimited $2.95 flat rate shipping for books) Save Up To 80% Everyday On Childrens Books At Overstock.com!
- Booksense.com (buy from your local independent bookseller!)
Research children’s book publishers
- CBC
- CWIM (Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market) – also contains info on agents and contests
- SCBWI publications
- Reputable publisher websites
- Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf Newsletter (PW – fabulous and free newsletter!)
- Publisher’s Lunch (PL – not always children’s stuff but still great coverage of recent children’s book deal information)
- Jacketflap.com (a searchable database of children’s books and more)
Research children’s book editors
- read post, [monster list of children's book editor interviews, blogs, and more->monster list of children's book editor interviews, blogs, and more]
- SCBWI publications
- Google Book Search – search the editor’s name
- Robin Friedman (a great collection of detailed editor interviews)
- Scholastic Editor articles editors discuss books they’ve edited
Research children’s literary agents
- CWIM (Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market)
- SCBWI publications
- AgentQuery (online)
- Preditors and Editors
- Mediabistro (online) for a few agent and editor interviews
Meet other children’s writers
- Blue Board (Verla’s)
- Children’s Writers group on Yahoo (CW List)
- TeenLitAuthors group on Yahoo
- Livejournal
- SCBWI national and chapter events, associated distribution lists and message boards
Keep up with children’s book market news
- Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf Newsletter (PW – fabulous and free newsletter!)
- Publisher’s Lunch (PL – not always children’s stuff but still great coverage of recent children’s book deal information)
- Author Anastasia Suen’s blog Create-Relate
- Author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog Cynsations
Self-publishing resources (read post, [should I self-publish my children's book?)->should I self-publish my children's book?]
- Lulu.com
- iUniverse.com
- CafePress.com
- Booksurge.com
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