Below is our resource collection. If you have further questions on anything below, please head over to our forums.
Every product that is listed here is one I have personally used or reviewed and found to be very useful to Newbie writers. So, if you're looking for something to inspire you, to help with your creativity, to help you break into a new genre or merely to improve your writing, check this page out first!
The Well Fed Author
by Peter Bowerman
I can honestly say that the original edition of The Well-Fed Writer was one of the most influential books I've read in my career as a writer. That and the follow-up book "Back for Seconds" showed me that there was a way to make money out of writing; it's called copywriting. Sure, I'd already signed up for a copywriting course, but this book really showed me how copywriting worked.
Well now we're in a recession (well in the UK we still are) and many of us are looking for ways to earn extra bucks and so Peter has re-issued the best bits of both books, plus tonnes of new material in the new and improved "The Well-Fed Writer."
I thought the book was impressive the first time around. This time it blew me away! It has everything in it you need to know to become a copywriter. It is crammed packed full of information. Plus it includes mini-interviews and vignettes from people who are now successful copywriters simply because they read the first book. There are people who started copywriting in the evenings whilst working a main job 9-5 and who within a year had quit their boring day job because they were making so much money with the copywriting. There are stay-at-home mums who fit copywriting in around the children and people who'd never written much before who now make their living from words.
The updated version also includes information on setting up websites, writing copy for websites, writing blogs and using social network sites to find work. Also unlike the original version, this new updated edition has more information on how to do the actual writing, what to ask new clients, how to work out what to charge and lists useful web-sites where you can find out more on each topic mentioned in the book.
I've often said to writers that they ignore copywriting at their financial peril. Copywriting might not be as glamorous as writing a novel or writing for glossy magazines, but it is a huge and growing market and one that pays well. And if you want to get into this market and become a copywriter - even a part-time one as I am, then you need this book.
BTW - I don't receive any money for reviewing this book, nor am I on some sort of affiliate payment scheme whereby if you buy a book I get some cash - I'm recommending this book simply because it is a book that no writer should be without.
Dawn Copeman
To buy a copy of the superb new "The Well Fed Writer" either pop along to Peter's site, http://www.wellfedwriter.com where you can get your hands on all sorts of free copywriting info and you can sign up for his free ezine, or buy it at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. To ensure you are getting the new, updated version, ensure you get the 2009 edition.
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Write Any Book in Just 28 Days
Nick Daws
Write Any Book in 28 Days... OR LESS!
New course reveals FRESH secrets. How would you feel if in exactly 28 days time, you were holding the finished version of your own book? A new course from best-selling author Nick Daws shows you how to do it in UNDER 28 days, working less than 1 HOUR a day.
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38 Most Common Fiction Mistakes
Jack Bickham
I must begin by saying that I'm not a confident fiction writer. I try, and if you really want to, you can see some of my attempts in the Team Short Story Section at the forum, but I'm still a complete beginner in this area. But as I want to finish my novel and get it published, I decided I needed to get some help.
This book is by far the best guide I've read for the novice fiction writer. Written by the author of over 75 published novels, who is also a creative writing tutor, the advice in this book is both relevant and comprehensive. What's more it is the most easy to read, 'how to write' books I have ever read. Each chapter, which last no more than four pages, deals with a specific major error committed by novice writers. The errors are clearly marked and Bickham gives easy to follow, practical advice on how to correct them in your current work in progress or how to prevent them in future. It should be at the side of every fiction writer, whether they are writing short stories or novels. It should stay by your side too; this is not a book to read once, but one to refer to constantly, to ensure you are not falling into bad habits.
I strongly recommend this book.
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James V Smith Jr.
This is not a book to pick up and read through at random. Nor is it a book that will allow you to simply read it cover to cover and then forget what you read. This book takes some work, which is quite apt really as writing a novel also takes some work.
This book is in fact a complete write a novel kit. James V Smith Jr, himself an author of five novels and three nonfiction works, takes you step by step through the process of crafting a novel, from choosing character names, developing unique characteristics, choosing a title, deciding if your story is sellable or not, plots, subplots, dialogue, scenes, scene transitions and editing. But, unlike many other books on this topic, he doesn't leave it there. He not only gives examples from his own work: rough draft errors to final polished pieces, he also provides you with a series of notepads and instructs you to work on your novel as you read along. There are five notepads in all: scene development, major character, minor character, revision and chapter log. These pads, together with Smith's advice as you work along, really does help you to get your novel into shape. Is this an easy book to read? No. Is it one that will actually help you to write a novel? Yes, if you are prepared to accept that writing a novel is hard work and actually sit down and start to do it.
Having worked through this kit, I found it, as a very 'green' novelist, an invaluable resource and one I will probably rely on for some time to come.
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www.writersbureau.com
Details of all their distance-learning writing courses, including the one I can personally recommend: The Comprehensive Writing Course, which covers all genres.
www.easywaytowrite.com
Free mini classes on writing fiction.
www.writingbliss.com
A selection of free e-mail and fee based courses that run all year round.
www.mridukhullar.com/forwriters/
Excellent site, run by a very successful freelancer which contains articles on most areas of freelancing. Subscribe to free newsletter and receive free e-book “Markets for the Freelance Writer”. Mridu also offers a 12 part free e-course “Query letters that sell.”
www.suite101.com/readingandwriting/
Lots of free courses on every aspect of creative writing and in most genres.
www.woodenhorsepub.com/page23.html
A fee based 8 lesson course with 7 assignments on Breaking Into Major Magazines.
www.memorybooks.ca
Living Legends: Writing Your Life, One Story at a Time - a six-week e-course for beginning life story writers, running every two months. Carol M. Upton, a Personal Historian, Author and Sunshine Coast School of Writing affiliate, can help you breathe life into your family stories. Visit www.memorybooks.ca and contact Carol for details.
www.awaionline.com/index.php
Home page of the American Writers and Artists Institute who run the Accelerated Program for six-figure copywriting. I am a student of this course also and it is very, very good.