All Writers: Helpful Links

My Writers-Bitz Blog

• Articles, interviews and writing exercises: regularly updated

Writers-Bitz Blog Highlights

• Ten Things You can Learn About Writing from Master Chef
• Ten Things I Hate About Books
• Tried keeping a SLOG?
• Fantasy Writing Links
• How Can you Tell if You are a Writer (fun quiz)
• Top Tips for Interviews: Bill Swampy Marsh
• How to Turn History into Fiction: interview with David Harris
• How to Write Short Stories (14 min. video, my interview by Open Access College 2002)
• Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate 2004-06 (one hour video talk/reading)
• FAQs about writing memoirs, answered by David Harris
• Tips for writing a historical novel
• Isabel Allende talks about Passion (an inspiring 20 minute video)
• PEN and 'Tweezers': A Writer's Statement About Human Rights (Highlighting the story of the poet Zargana, from Myanmar.)
• Do Writers Need Websites?
• How to Get Writing Ideas from Newspapers
• A Book Signing Gone Wrong
• Think you are ready for the media?
• How watching Movies Can Improve Your writing
• How You Know When You Are Losing it with Publishers
• Weathering Changes to our Creativity: video Julia Cameron
• Amelia Walker on Poetry
• Editing Checklist
• How to Survive Public Speaking
• Advice to New Writers: short video clips of Neil Gaimon and Stephen King's suggestions
• Making Time to Write
• Ten Great Things About Rejection Slips
• Letters can Improve Your writing Skills

Other Helpful Websites

• Book a Minute 'Bedtime' (Encapsulating books in just a few clever lines)
• Books: ABC Arts
• Setting Goals for Your Writing Career: Lee Masterton
• Creating Villains People Love to Hate: Lee Masterton
• A conversation with Annie Proulx: The Atlantic
• How to Write a Short Story: Time
• Kurt Vonnegut's 10 Short Story Writing rules (pithy, humorous, practical): YouTube
• Exercises for Story Writers: Penn State University
• J.C. Hewitt's writing exercises: scroll down for zillions of prompts
• Roland Fishman - writing tips: Nine MSN
• Word Games (if you think you are good with words, try these out): East of the Web
• Shaun Tan: The Colin Simpson Memorial Lecture 2009
• Dustin Lance Black: Screenwriter of Milk
• How to Write a Novel: BBC
• How to Write a Screenplay: BBC
• Meet the Writers (tips from top writers): BBC
• Learn from Your Reading: BBC (Critical reading can improve your writing)
• Writing and Publishing in Australia: Dr Jeremy Fisher's Blog (he's Executive Director of the ASA)
• How to Write Funny Stuff - Catherine Tate : The Guardian
• Writing Plays and Screenplays - Ronald Harwood : The Guardian
• Writing For children and Teenagers - Michael Rosen : The Guardian
• Why Write for children? - Linda Newbery : The Guardian
• Writing Biographies - Antonia Fraser : The Guardian
• Joss Wheden's Top Ten Writing Tips (different and inspirational ideas from the writer of Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Firefly: Danny Stack's Blog)
• How to Write a Movie Review: How to do Things
• Time to Write Blog, Jurgen Wolff's tips, ideas, inspirations
• Fiction Writing: About.com
• How to Write a Good Review: LEO
• How to Write Mysteries and Suspense: All Sands
• 35 Ways to Make your Next Book Signing an Event: Larry James
• Writing a non-boring family history: Hazel Edwards
• A Practical Guide to Blogging: Greg Knollenberg
• The Five Golden Rules of Publicity: Katherine "Kat" Smith
• Ten Ways to Drive Targeted Book Buyers To Your Website: Judy Collins
• Promote Your Books Through Flyers: Judy Collins
• Hints for Young (And Not So Young) Writers on Getting Published: Hazel Edwards
• How to Write a Eulogy: Hazel Edwards
• How to Write a Picture Book: Mem Fox
• Book Trailers:The Key to Successful Video Marketing: Sarah Weinman
• Promoting Your Book: Market My Words Blog
• Examples of five successful book trailers: Poets & Writers
• Book Crossing: A virtual Library
• Writers' Bookcase: Great books about writing
• Janet Evanovich - How I Write - Q & A
• Practical articles on everything from story beginnings to promotion: Robert J.Sawyer
• Letter to Beginning Writers: Robert J. Sawyer
• Malcolm Walker - a conversation about his writing processes
• The Writer's Career Path - Sean Williams
• What is SF For? - Sean Williams
• Reach for the Stars (Young Authors' Night speech extract) - Sean Williams
• How to Write a Synopsis: L.Shepherd 
• How to Write a Character-based synopsis: Meredith Bond 
• Sascha Hutchinson answers questions about illustrating books
• Heinlein's Rules: Robert Sawyer 
• Great Beginnings: Robert Sawyer
• Links to a variety of author interviews
• Podcast Interviews with authors: Sydney Writers' Centre  
• Information for New Writers: Jennifer  Weiner

Self-publication

I've published three books under my own imprint, Launch Press. There are many ways to approach the design, printing and distribution. Here are a couple of places I found helpful:

• A Guide to Self-Publishing booklet (pdf download): Thorpe
• Australian Lending Rights
• Australian Copyright Agency
• Blossom Books: Karen is a designer and has done covers for me                                 
• Designing Your Cover: Griffin Press advice
• Griffin Press: offset or digital book printing (see Spy Girl: Twisted and Freaks), good quality printing, helpful advice and a reasonable cost   
• Hyde Park Press: they also print coloured picture books (see Snowy's Rescue)
• McPherson's Printing Group: I have friends who have used this company to print their self-published books and they report that the books are good quality, a reasonable price, and McPherson's had a storage facility where you pay per pallett, but it would be wise to check that this is still current when getting your quote as things constantly change
• Self-Publishing Made Simple, The Ultimate Australian Guide: Euan Mitchell (this is an excellent book, with contacts pages at the back of the book)
• Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: Levinson, Rishman & Larsen (Think out of the box for promotions, a book brimming with ideas)
• Promotional Guideline: Wingspan Press USA (Print on Demand publisher in USA)
• Ten Tips on Media Skills for Writers Who Want to Sell More Books: Rachel Green
• The Importance of a Pre-publication Marketing Plan: Jennifer Hollowell
• Self-publishing links

In this section

Writers' Centres and Associations

• South Australia
• Victoria
• Tasmania
• Varuna
• ACT
• Western Australia
• New South Wales
• WA State Literature Centre
• Katherine Susannah Pritchard Writers' Centre 
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• Australian Society of Authors
• U.S. Authors Guild
• Google Book Settlement Website
• PEN: advocates free speech
• Australian Literary Agents Association: contact, submitting mss ... 
• Australian Copyright Agency Ltd
  
• U.S. Copyright FAQs
• Australian Lending Rights
• Society of Childrens' Writers and Illustrators: Australian chapter
• Australian Centre For Youth Literature
• Children's Book Council of Australia
• Lu Rees Children's Literature Archives
• Australian Writers Guild: for writers of performance

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