I’m sharing here just the very best of the best for writers concerned about building their careers — blogs and websites that I recommend that you visit on a regular basis.

THE CREATIVE PENN — productivity and more

Joanna Penn and I tread down similar pathways with our blogs.  The difference?  She does it so much better than i do!  Every time I come up with a new idea to introduce into my blogging life, I discover that Joanna’s already doing it.  E-books, podcasts, screencasts, Aweber mailing list management, harnessing of the social media and more.  And Joanna also writes blog posts on many of the topics that I cover.  Visit her site — and be sure to click on the Author 2.0 free download, a virtual road map to building your professional career.  Insider tip:  follow Joanna on Twitter.  She scours the internet for the best posts of the day and shares her findings via tweets, rather than in her blog.

SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMINER — building your platform

The brain-child of Michael Stelzner, whose blog White Papers has long been popular with copywriters, the Social Media Examiner promises to guide you through “the social media jungle.”  Stelzner has attracted a group of experts to share their knowledge on how best to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media.  While many blogs cover this area, none is as comprehensive or as helpful as this one.

THE BOOK DESIGNER — how your writing “looks” matters

Writers often don’t pay much attention to how their work “looks.”  Many just shove that responsibility off on a publisher or simply follow the easiest route to self-publication, which too many times takes the form of a drab Microsoft Office document turned into a PDF.  Blogger and graphic designer Joel Friedlander aims to help writers do better with his new blog The Book Designer. His subject matter, in fact, stretches way beyond just book design and is becoming indispensible for writers serious about their career.

SELF-PUBLISHING REVIEW — tips about the right way to self-publish

Self-Publishing Review is an online magazine which should be on every author’s frequent reading list.  But it is more than just a collection of news stories.  It is developing into an engaging community of writers and readers.  Here’s the way it describes itself:

“Self-Publishing Review is a central site devoted to self-publishing news and reviews. It is also a social network where writers, readers, and everyone can join and connect, so please register. The aim of the site is to improve the attitude toward self-publishing and help authors find readers.”

THE BOOK PROMOTION BLOG — how to sell yourself and your books

While there are a number of fine blogs and websites about promoting and selling one’s books, in my view John Kremer’s blog and his related sites are the very best.  One can subscribe to receive this blog via email. John will not inundate you with posts, but they will come frequently enough to remind writers to continually think about book promotion.  Be sure also to check out John website, which contains a lot of useful resource material.  John is also the main force behind The Bookmarketing Network, an invaluable forum for writers.

MEDIA BISTRO — joining the community

Writing is, of course, a solitary craft.  But writers should not spend all their time in the garret.  In fact, it’s important to feel like one is part of the bigger community of writers.  Media Bistro and its constellation of activities offers just that kind of community.  No matter where you live, Media Bistro will bring you into the fold.  It’s Daily Morning Briefing email newsletter is one of the first I read every day.  I’ve joined its affiliated membership group AvantGuild.  I’ve taken some of its online courses and have even arranged my travel schedule to attend a couple of its events.  Even though I live in far-off Manila, I still feel like I’m part of the thriving community of writers in the US.

READ WRITE WEB — my Sunday morning read

Read Write Web has grown beyond its original purpose of covering topics of interest to professionals who find themselves writing on the web.  It now covers the web more generally, with lots of articles about social media, new software applications, cloud computing and so forth.  I make it a habit to review the site every Sunday, when it publishes a list of its top stories of the week.  I, as a writer, almost always find something worth a full read.

A BONUS SITE:  LIFEHACKER — not just for writers

Lifehacker is the grand-daddy of the personal productivity websites.  It covers a broad sweep of topics — but they all boil down to how to get things done better, faster, cheaper.  The blog has many contributors and its audience is huge.

CONCLUSION

In our busy world, who can possibly keep up with 101 websites?  For me these seven will suffice.

But what about Becoming A Writer — Seriously,  you ask?  [You did ask, didn't you?]  Well, I view this site more like a reference book handy on one’s work table.  I try to catch important information for writers as soon as I can.  But all that gets shoved into one of the “chapters” listed on the right sidebar, where it’s always available for reference.  Three to four thousand unique visitors come to this blog from search engines each month, all searching out some particular piece of information.  I’m pleased to see that many stick on the site for awhile, digging around for other material.

So do keep us in mind.  Still, bookmark the sites above for a weekly visit — those are the ones that can make a real difference to you and your career.

QUESTION:  WHAT SITES WOULD YOU ADD TO THIS LIST?

Do you have a website or blog that you yourself consider indispensable to you as a writer?  Share it with us — and explain why it is so important to you.

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This week Bits du Jour offers two programs of genuine interest to writers — one new to me, the other a mainstay on my computer over several years now.

AskSam 7 is an amazing free-form database.  I personally don’t like those databases where everything must fit into forms containing just so many characters — much too limited for a free-wheeling writer and researcher.  In AskSam, I have built a major database of monuments and statues from all over the Philippines.  On screen, it looks rather like a book, with separate pages for each monument, individual sculptors, scans of news clippins and more.  But, like a true database, I can pull out a report about all of the statues in the province on Cebu, for example — or all of the work of Tolentino.  I can also put it all on a CD, with an AskSam reader [if my memory is correct], for distribution to libraries all over the Philippines [which I plan to do when I feel I've completed my work].

I’ve used the standard version of AskSam for years now, updating to every new version, which has certainly filled me needs.  But with the Pro Version, one gets full-text indexing, making this product immensely powerful, especially when one learns that almost anything can be placed into AskSam, such as all of your emails, all of your research douments, and so on.

The standard version costs $149.95, expensive enough already.  The Pro Version costs a whopping $395.00, way beyond my pocketbook.  But Bits du Jour is offering a one-day deal on the Professional Version for only $99.95 — a 75-percent discount.  Gosh, I may grab a copy for myself.  The discount is available this WEDNESDAY only — but you can download the trial version now from Bits du Jour to test it out.

Check out the AskSam website for a fuller explanation of just what the application can handle.

Then on FRIDAY, Bits du Jour offers Compare It at a 67-percent discount — $9.60.  This software presents two versions of a document side-by-side, with the differences highlighted.  That’s really helpful when editing.  Yes, there are quite a number of similar products.  But at less than $10, I think this discount offer is a no-brainer deal.  Check the software website for more insight into its workings.  For example, it handles Microsoft Word and Excel, plus PDF and RTF documents — and there’s an add-in for OpenOffice documents.

By the way, I am NOT affiliated with Bits du Jour in any way, other than being one of its best full-paying customers.

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The new online resource 750 Words offers a great challenge to help writers get their daily juices flowing.  It is based on the notion that writing 750 words every single morning is an effective conditioning exercise for writers.  As an incentive, users earn badges when they meet certain writing goals.  There’s even a “One Month Challenge,” with rewards and punishments to spur you on — and an option to create your own reward at the end of the month.  One’s ramblings are strictly private, unless one chooses to share selected entries.  One can even tie into Facebook, where one’s friends can offer encouragement.  I think many writers will find this online application to be very valuable, especially those that are in a rut or face writer’s block.  Be sure to read the site’s FAQ page to understandthe site’s concepts.

Penzu is another secure and private online journaling site.  The developers include a test-drive option, allowing visitors to try out the application without signing up for it.  If you like it, one can sign up for a free account.  Those who really like the service can upgrade to the Pro version and its additional features for $19.00 a year.

The interface is supremely clean and uncluttered.  It’s just a virtual lined sheet of paper, which includes the day’s date, a line for Subject Title and the rest for one’s journal entry.  In the free version, users can lock it down to protect it from intruders.  In the pro version, one can go the extra step and invoke military-grade encryption.  The service also provides options to make selected pages public.  This app is for those serious about journaling.

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Would any of you like to guest blog about BEA this May?  If so, leave a comment below, or email me at tomcolvin at gmail.

Norwalk, CT, April 1, 2010: BookExpo America (BEA) organizers have revealed plans to launch the BEA DIY (Do It Yourself) Authors Conference & Marketplace which will take place in conjunction with BEA at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.  DIY will occur on Monday, May 24, 2010 immediately before the official opening of BEA the following day.  Convention organizers have seen a large base of aspiring writers and DIY service providers participating in BEA and saw an opportunity to better serve their interests with a dedicated day of business.  It is appropriate and productive given the rapid growth and change in the self-publishing world.

The new venture is being launched in association with Gotham Writers’ Workshop and The Writer magazine, both of which will be providing considerable support and working closely with the BEA marketing team to coordinate a powerful marketing campaign.  Gotham Writers’ Workshop is the leading creative writing school offering comprehensive classes on the Internet and in New York City and The Writer magazine is the country’s oldest and most respected magazine for writers, providing advice and inspiration to writers at all skill levels since 1887.

“This is the perfect conference at the perfect time,” notes Steve Rosato, Show Manager for BookExpo America.  “Aspiring writers are empowered by technology in a manner that they never have been in the past.  Authors may now forge their own way in the world of publishing and this means they will need to make lots of critical decisions.  Our goal in creating DIY is to make this process simpler by providing them with information and solutions.  BEA is all about creating environments of mutual self-interest where customers and service providers may interact beneficially.  DIY represents a significant step in achieving that goal.”

DIY will introduce aspiring writers to some of the industry’s most respected companies including: Amazon, Author Solutions, Blurb.com, FastPencil, Filedby, and SharedBook, among others.  The DIY Marketplace will be complemented by the DIY Conference, including the following panels and sessions:  Like Never Before; Getting Your Manuscript Fit: DIY with Help; Authors’ Online Resource: DIY Publicity, Promotion and Events; Do’s & Don’ts – Authors & DIY Services’ Deals; DIY Innovation & Success Within the Bookselling Milieu; and Minor League Moves that Garners Major League Attention Using Online Collaboration to Complete Your Book.  Leading industry experts and professionals who will be presenting include: Peter Clifton, CEO & Co-founder, FiledBy; Michael Ashley, Co-Founder and CTO of FastPencil; Jon Fine, Dir., Author & Publisher Relations, Amazon.com; Robin Goldberg, SVP Global Channels and Partnerships, Blurb.com; Caroline Vanderlip, CEO, SharedBook; Noah Lukeman, President, Lukeman Literary Management Ltd; Leigh Haber, former book editor who’s edited such books as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth; P.J. Campbell, Dir. of Events, John Wiley & Sons, author, Authors Online Resource:  DIY, Publicity, Marketing and Events; Claire McKinney, former Dir. of Publicity, Henry Holt; Jeff Reich, Editor, The Writer magazine.

Registration for DIY Authors Conference & Marketplace is $199 which includes a Boxed Lunch (this does NOT include admission to BEA).   Please go to BEA website for more information and registration.

For more information about BEA please visit www.bookexpoamerica.com.

BookExpo America (BEA) is North America’s largest gathering of book trade professionals attracting an international audience. It is organized with the support of association partners including the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the American Booksellers Association (ABA).  BEA is recognized for the media attention it brings to upcoming books as well as for the notable authors it attracts to the convention itself.

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organizer. In 2007 Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held in 38 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organized by 39 fully staffed offices.  Reed’s portfolio of over 500 events serves 47 industry sectors.

*****

MORE FROM TOM:

On Tuesday, the 25th of May, one can attend the DigitalBook 2010 conference.  Registration also includes admission to the regular 3-day BookExpo America conference and exhibition, the largest annual book event in the US.  Seating is limisted — and the conference has been sold out in each of the past six years.

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Once again I’ve come across some very useful links that may help writers become more productive.

MORE MINDMAPPING

Dzinepress has just offered a well-illustrated list of 40 mind-mapping tools/sites. As I’ve mentioned before, mind mapping is a visual way of stimulating creative thinking.  I found this list among the most enjoyable and useful treatments of the subject I’ve come across.

COMMUNITY BLOGS

Some writers may decide to create a community blog related to their books or expertise.  Such sites are tailored to encourage reader participation and interaction.  Genre writers, for example, who are writing a series of books may wish to build a “cult” community.  Or non-fiction writers may wish to establish a community site dealing with their speciality.  Creating such a site has become much easier as the Word Press blogging platform continues to mature.  Noupe has just posted a list of 15 Word Press Plug-ins to facilitate creation of community sites.

I’m considering going this route myself with a new site focussing on historical monuments in the Philippines, a subject I’ve been investigating for years.  It’s now time, I think, to share what I’ve uncovered from all over the country — and to invite others to make their own contributions.  This list of plug-ins gives me some options to study in creating such a community.

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In some ways, Threadbox looks to me like a simplified, yet still powerful version of Google Wave, which is so complex that even techies have been slow to adopt it.  Here’s the way, Threadbox describes itself:

“Threadbox is a real-time, secure, and shared online workspace to host conversations, store and share files, manage to-do lists, launch on-the-fly conference calls and gather group opinions.

Threadbox is a private, shared workspace for your workgroups, enabling everyone to easily post messages, files, to-do lists,launch conference calls and gather group opinions. Anyone who signs up for a Threadbox account can start a thread, post messages and files, and invite anyone by email. Anyone in the workgroup can post messages, files, etc, online at the thread itself, or by emailing a unique email address for the thread. Email notifications keep everyone updated at all times. Threadbox also provides each user a list of threads they’re on, sorted by activity. Each user can have an unlimited number of threads.”

Threadbox is opening up with a FREE version.  Eventually, it will release a more powerful Pro version, but writers will be unlikely to need the additional power.  There are other similar applications.  If some of my readers request it, I’ll look into many of them and do a comparative analysis to see which are most suited to writers.  Leave a comment below, if you are interested in such coverage.

For more information, read the Threadbox Frequently Asked Questions.  The demo video, of course, gives you a quick run through.

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SOME YEARS BACK, I needed a simple, straight-forward outliner program.  I finally found one that matched my needs – and I paid $100 for it.  TODAY — Sunday, 21 February — Bits du Jour offers a brand new, one-month-old outliner program at half price, for a whopping $9.95.  It’s called UV Outliner.

This program is very basic, but it does have some nice features.  And for old-fashioned writers like me, who grew up learning outlining skills in high school, it’s very handy and familiar.

The software developer says this about the software:

I tried almost every outliner for Windows. Unfortunately, they all look like they were developed 10 years ago with same Windows 98 style.  Personally, I think one of the best outliners ever is OmniOutliner.  Unfortunately, there is no version for Windows.

Being a developer, I decided to create my own outliner with focus on usability.

Outliners — and there are quite a number on the market — can be much more powerful than this one.  In fact, there’s a website forum devoted exclusively to discussing outlining programs:  Outliner Software.  OV Outliner is a :single-pane” outliner, similar to the Mac’s OmniOutliner, which many think is the best outlining program on any computer platform.  Most are “double-pane,” or even “triple-pane” programs.  For an explanation about the differences among these types of outliners, check out my post Better Than A Shoebox, one of the very first posts to this blog.  In fact, if you enter “outliner” in the search box above, you’ll uncover a number of posts relevant to the subject.

If you catch this post in time, check out the Bits du Jour website for today’s discount.  You can download and try out the program first, but you have to purchase the program before the end of the day to avail of the discount.

For more about various outliners, including OmniOutliner for the Mac [pictured above], check the links below.

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One of the joys of blogging is the unexpected email and blog comments that come my way, leading me to enriching new discoveries.  The other day I became acquainted with Gabrielle David and a provocative array of initiatives flowing from the Intercultural Alliance of Artists and Scholars [IAAS].  Looking through the various activities associated with IAAS, I was reminded about the role and power of literature in our communities, something I fear we often forget in the tumult of modern-day life.

While based in New York, Gabrielle and the IAAS initiatives reach far beyond the city.  There’s a website called phati’tude [just relaunched], literary magazine, TV programming, book reviews, lots of poetry and more.  All of it with a strong community and multi-cultural thrust.  Here’s how this group descibes itself:

“While phati’tude has mutated into a myriad of initiatives, our goal remains the same: to reach the broadest audience possible by collaborating with artists, scholars and community organizations to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education and to promote literary talent and achievement through all media, old and new.”

I think that’s a rather inspiring statement.  And, from my trip around the website and its links, it is backed up by substance.  In fact, it may be a model for other communities to emulate.

At the website’s relaunching on 27 January, the site led off with a re-intoduction of itself, giving us the history of the site and its related activities.  It all started in 1997 with the launch of a new literary magazine:

“…phati’tude, a literary magazine that challenged a canon based on a European white male model that excluded works by women, gays and lesbians, Native American, and of African, Hispanic/Latino and Asian descent. Expansion continued on the internet and with other TV programs – VISIONARY VOICES and phati’tude Language & Literary Arts Curriculum, among others.”

Gabrielle, in her email to me, pointed directly to the magazine, which is also being relaunched and is currently searching for submissions.  Deadline for submissions is 1 March.  You can check the submission guidelines to see if you have material appropriate for the journal.

This whole enterprise seems richly vibrant.  It’s certainly worth looking into.

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The demo video below is especially valuable, as it so clearly illustrates just how mind maps are put together.  And one can begin to see the potential power of mind mapping.

Personally, I find it difficult to do in isolation.  On the other hand, I was first introduced to mind mapping many years ago in settings that were exploring collaborative creative thinking.  At the time, I found the technique provocative and exciting.  And the Mindmeister demo calls special attention to the collaboration features of the application.

In another recent post, reference was made to the iPad as a potential ideal platform for mind mapping and to a new application that’s in development.  Well, MindMeister is already available for the iPhone and iPad, probably making it useable on the iPad right out of the box.  That application is available at the iTunes Store.  One commenter at the store wrote a longish review, pointing out that MindMeister may be the first mind mapping application for the iPhone — but I cannot vouch for that myself.

Certainly some of you writers will want to bookmark this tool for potential use on future projects.  By the way, MindMeister maintains a blog that focuses on its application — a good supplement to the more general Mind Mapping Blog.

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ZOHO INVOICE 2.0

If you are a freelance writer who needs occasionally to send out and manage invoices, you may be interested in the newly upgraded Zoho Invoice 2.0.  Cloud Avenue offers a useful overview, with screenshots and demo video.  [For your convenience, the demo video will be available in our sidebar VIDEO FOR WRITERS for a few days -- and at our VIDEO FOR WRITERS website thereafter.]

NETBOOK AS E-BOOK READER

Lifehacker remains one of my favorite blogs.  Not that I read everything there — but several times a week, it publishes an article that I find invaluable.  For example, this week’s article about steps to turn a netbook into an e-book reader provides very specific suggestions, along with many reader comments that themselves pass on some useful information.  Netbookers should try this out.

MIND MAPPING

I’ve just discovered a mindmapping software blog site, which currently has a post about the iPad as an ideal platform for mind mapping.  I pass this link on to writers that turn to the mind-mapping technique to spur creativity.  At the very least, some of you may wish to bookmark this blog.

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