Resources for Writers

Everything I've learned, I learned from twitter. Well, maybe not everything, but it at least started there. A few years ago when I began this journey, MundieMoms allowed members who were aspiring authors to ask questions of author Shannon Delaney on their forum. Ms. Delaney was fabulous, pointing me to several authors and agents to follow on twitter. From the generous tweets and links of authors, agents and editors I found the resources I needed to begin the querying process. In the same spirit I wanted to compile a list of the most helpful sites here. These are in no particular order and I encourage you to visit each of them. Trust me, you need them all. I will be updating periodically as new resources come to my attention.

• Janet Reid is an agent at FinePrint Literary Management. You can find her on twitter @Janet_Reid and her blog is here. Her alter ego is the Query Shark, also on twitter @QueryShark with another blog here. Ms. Reid is liberal with her snark but it is all done in fun and I personally love her sense of humor. I've never been brave enough to submit to the shark, but both of my queries were written with what I learned from her.
• Rachelle Gardner is an agent at Books and Such Literary Agency and runs an incredible blog here. Her blog is a fabulous resource for writers and has won the Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers award. There is so much to say about Ms Gardner's efforts to help aspiring authors that I'll allow the blog to speak for itself. You can find her on twitter @RachelleGardner.
•  Jane Friedman- former publisher, editor and teacher at University of Virginia, there is little Ms. Friedman doesn't know about publishing. Her phenomenal site is here, and her blog is here. There is likely no question unanswered. You can find her on twitter @JaneFriedman. Go forth and learn.
• Molly Jaffa is an agent at Folio Literary Management. She runs a blog found here where she discusses agenting and important topics for the querying author. You can find her on twitter @molly_jaffa.
• Jennifer Udden is an agent at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Mr. Maass himself is a well known resource for aspiring authors, and it seems those with him will continue the trend. You can find Ms. Udden on twitter @suddenlyjen and her blog is here. If you query Ms. Udden, please get her name right. Just a day or so of following her on twitter will tell you that alone will help you stand out in her slush pile.
• Christa Heschke is an agent at McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency and has begun a wonderful blog here. You can find her on twitter @ChristaHeschke. Her blog is newer, but she has already added one great post Agent Tips-From Querying to Accepting an Offer and promises more in the same vein. Ms. Heschke was also recently featured in Writer's Digest as looking to build her list. An all around win for the querying author!
• Chuck Wendig is an author, and his website is here. He has several books published, no less than three about writing itself. His blog is always full of inciteful, inspiring posts. I read all of his posts, and hope that someday I, too, can swear as well as he does. Find him on twitter @ChuckWendig
• Kelsey Macke is an author who runs a fantastic vlog KelsnotChels NOT LIVE and you can find her here and on twitter @KelsNotChels. Aside from links to her books, you can find links to her vlog and tumblr which are full of useful information and unabashed support for us creative types.
• The Usual Suspects are three websites that come to mind which you should have found before this blog. If not, here they are in one tidy spot. QueryTracker is a free database of established agents and publishers. Invaluable to any querying writer, it lists an agent's profile and contact information as well as their genres and clients. If you become a member even more detailed information is available. AbsoluteWrite is a forum that creates a water cooler atmosphere for writers, also filled with resources for your journey. Last but not least is Preditors & Editors which is a searchable compilation of agents and publishers that alerts you to any concerns regarding a  specific individual or company's practices.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, merely the ones I have become most familiar with through my own writing and querying process. I will update from time to time, and please feel free to leave any I've missed that you've found helpful in the comments below. Good luck on your journey!