Useful Links for Writers:


Here are some useful links that I've stumbled across that have helped me with writing.  Please let me know about any of your favorites and I will post them here.

Promotion Tools: 

http://www.freado.com/
Create a widget that allows readers to preview your book in a special pdf reader with links to content about your book that you specify.

http://www.NetGalley.com
An exciting resource for people who review books.  You create a free account and then can request digital galleys of upcoming books from publishers to review. 

http://www.querytracker.net
A database of literary agents that you can use to find one that fits your genre.

http://www.pagemodo.com
This is a great resource to build custom Facebook tabs at little or no cost.  It is the perfect thing to make a fan page for your writing on Facebook .  It allows you to add images, links, text and even connections to other feeds like Twitter.  You can create a custom landing page that all new visitors to your site see.  Take a look at mine at 
http://www.facebook.com/authormichaelyoung. (If you have already “liked” my page, you can see it by clicking the “Welcome” tab on the left-hand side of the page.)

http://www.rafflecopter.com
This is a must-have for any serious blogger. This is a free program that allows you  to create hassle-free giveaways online. Not only does it make it easy to allow people to enter in a variety of ways (such as following your blog, following you on Twitter, or liking your Facebook page), but it keeps track of all the entries for you and even selects the winner for you at the end.  You embed it into your blog and even onto a Facebook page using an iFrame. I tried it once, and I will never go back. 

Creation Tools: 

http://www.createspace.com
This is Amazon.com's platform for self-publishing. You bring the cover art, the interior file and fill in some forms, and out comes your professional-looking book. 

http://www.acx.com
This is Amazon.com's platform for creating audiobooks. You can sign up either as a producer and help create other's books, or find a narrator to have your own books produced.

Reference Sites: 

http://queryshark.blogspot.com
A great blog for learning how to write a good query letter. You can submit your own queries to have them critiqued on the blog. Many good and bad examples.

http://www.duotrope.com
A database that lists markets for short fiction at little or no charge


Feedback Sites: 


http://www.critiquecircle.com/
A wonderful site for writers both experienced and novice which allows them to post their work for review by others.  It is set up on a 'tit-for'tat' system, in which to get your work reviewed, you must review other people's work.  The system is simple and effective and is free, with additional features available at a low price.