Great Website

If you write for a living, then you understand the importance of researching for markets and helpful information. Writing gigs just don't fall into our laps.

I know. We all lament that editors aren't pounding at our doors, calling or emailing us with requests, right? Sad reality is that finding a market for our manuscripts and articles is harder than writing them. Wouldn't we all hire a secretary to research the markets and find perfect matches for our work and then query and submit for us, too? Ahh, the dream life. Back to reality. Finding a market for mss is a lot harder in today's economy. I read a discouraging article on the Writer's Market this morning reporting that "Macmillan Children's Books is dropping from 245 titles in 2009 to 155 titles in 2010". Sigh. And this is just one of many other markets making simiar cuts.

So should we all stop writing and look for other part-time or full-time jobs? Maybe. Or maybe we could change the way we think and write. I once believed I couldn't be successful until one of my books published. I even felt intimidated about calling myself a writer because none of my books had been picked up (yet). Then I realized how silly I had been to gauge my success on criteria that couldn't accurately measure my value as a writer. I changed my attitude about my work and broadened the scope of my "job".

I stay busy working on various writing projects to generate income while I continue to query and submit my book manuscripts. I also continue learning, attend conferences and participate in writing forums. Which brings me to the main purpose for this post. Being a successful writer involves staying abreast on what's happening in the market, what's new, who's new, who's looking for/accepting unagented submissions, which is a monumental task! But, it's critical to locate some sites and join forums to feed me the information I need. Today, I'm suggesting an informative website, Absolute Write, which offers articles, tips, classes and a forum. Take a look-see and if it works for you, great. If not, I'm certain eventually I'll post a site you'll find helpful!

Happy writing!