Whether you’re a new freelance writer or an experienced commercial writing pro, you’re bound to find something helpful in this collection of writers’ resources. From writers’ groups and organizations to resources for work-at-home parents juggling family and a freelance career, these resources can help you learn, grow, and succeed as a freelance commercial writer.
General Writers’ Resources
- www.writing.com – One of Writer’s Digest’s 101 “Best Websites For Writers, 2005.” Online community for writers of all ages, interests and skill levels. Create a free portfolio and exchange feedback with thousands of writers within our community.
- www.writersweekly.com – The FREE Marketing E-mag for Writers, published by freelance writing maven Angela Adair-Hoy. To subscribe, send any e-mail to: writemarkets-subscribe@onelist.com
- www.yudkin.com – Published! and Creative Marketing Solutions, both by 20-year veteran freelancer Marcia Yudkin, offer dozens of useful articles on making a living as a freelance writer and marketing resources such as the Publicity FAQ, Sales Letter FAQ and illustrative before-and-after makeovers of a Web site, brochure, proposal, etc.
- www.thatwhitepaperguy.com – Home of white-paper guru Gordon Graham, site offers myriad resources for budding white-paper writers.
- Writer’s Digest magazine – www.writersdigest.com – the world’s leading magazine for writers. Each monthly issue is filled with expert instruction, inspiration, and information on every aspect of the writing life – from how to target manuscripts and captivate editors, to effectively overcome writer’s block and negotiate fees.
- The Ultimate FAQ Guide to Copywriters – How They Make Life Easier for Marketers and Designers.
- www.spawn.org – SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) is a networking organization and a resource center for anyone interested in publishing.
- The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Book – by Jerry Jenkins – A 20-step guide to writing a book from start-to-finish by a bestselling author.
- Style Guide Resources – MLA. APA. CSE. Chicago. The four main styles used when writing professionally or academically. And now, all four complete style guides together in one convenient place.
- Remote Working & Mental Health: A Young Professional’s Guide: Discusses how countless businesses have shifted to remote working, and offers advice to young professionals on adapting to remote work and navigating its impacts on their careers, work-life balance, and mental wellbeing.
- Metaphor – How do you know when a figure of speech is a metaphor, a simile, or an analogy? Figuring it out can be like untangling spaghetti (that’s a simile, by the way). This resource by Writer.com, an AI-driven writing assistant, offers a straightforward explanation with types and examples.
- www.writerswrite.com – The Write Resource. Your one-stop resource for information about books, writing and publishing. Includes jobs and markets for writers, writer chat rooms, extensive writing resources, search tools, and information-packed Internet Writing Journal.
- Writing for Theater and Film – A brief primer on writing scripts and screenplays, plus a collection of useful links and additional resources.
- Freelance Writer Website Building Guide – with examples of real-life writer websites, common mistakes to avoid, and practical tips, this article aims to make creating a website and portfolio easy for writers.
- Creative Writing Edu – A comprehensive resource dedicated to helping future creative writers by connecting prospective students to resources that will help them achieve their creative writing career goals.”
- Octane Seating: The Guide to Screenwriting Contests – There are plenty of screenwriting contests that can catapult you from obscurity to dazzling Hollywood heights. This resource can help you navigate the landscape of screenwriting contests to open up new creative options for you and your writing endeavors.
- www.compulsivereader.com – A haven for book lovers. Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism, book giveaways and much more.
- Octane Seating’s Guide to Finding/Reading Scripts Online resource writers to begin studying and learning the art of screenwriting. The guide delves into script formatting, what makes a good script, as well as where to find free scripts to analyze.
- www.BookLoons.com – Adds weekly to thousands of book reviews across genres; columns and contests; excerpts and interviews – Contemporary, Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Romance, SF, Travel, and tales for Teens and Young Readers.
- www.OrganizedWriter.com – Tools for the business of writing plus a 30-day “Get Organized!”plan. Subscribers get a free Writer’s Planner when they subscribe to the Writer-Reminders newsletter.
- www.writers-editors.com – where editors, businesses, and creative directors can locate writers, copy editors, proofreaders, ad copywriters, ghostwriters and PR help. 178 categories – plus Meet Our Writers resumes, 50 Tips for Locating & Working With Freelance Writers.
- www.selling-yourself.com – Get unlimited personal coaching from freelance writing guru Bob Bly on how to start or jump-start your freelance copywriting career. Plus an incredible array of additional tools for promoting yourself as a freelance copywriter: a set of six CDs on which Bob reveals the secrets that have enabled him to earn a six-figure annual income from freelance copywriting year after year for over two decades.
- ASJA – American Society of Journalists and Authors.
- The HWA or Horror Writers Association is a good place for those interested in that genre to check out. They are the presenter of the Bram Stoker Awards and have a variety of benefits for members.
- The National Association of Science Writers is a potential resource to those engaged in writing about science as fact. They also have a list of local chapters with local meetings.
- The Story Circle Network is a life writing site for women writers who would love to make money from their work.
- National Writers Association is a nation wide organization with chapters as diverse as Hawaii to New York. They have a range of services available and have been in operation since 1937.
- The National Writers Union is the trade union for all freelance writers who publish or work in U.S. markets
- Creative Writing Now This online creative writing resource offers tips, prompts, and training for fiction writers and poets at all stages in their writing lives. Free creative writing courses are currently available.
- Romance Writers of America is ‘a non-profit professional/educational association of 8,200 romance writers and other industry professionals’ If romance is your area of specialty this may definitely be an organization to check into.
- Writing Software Writer’s Blocks is writing software that lets you capture and arrange your ideas easier and faster than ever before. Create hundreds of blocks each containing a few sentences or a few pages of text.
- The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. is a vital resource as an organization and equally good resource as a homepage. Among its many other resources including style guides and other resources there is the Warnings and Cautions for Writers.
- The Writers Guild of America is a tremendous resource site whether or not you are a member. Membership has requirements for admission and a rather large membership fee. However, this site is worth looking at for its own sake.
- Writing Scholarships Directory 100+ scholarships available for writers, mainly in the US but also available worldwide. Scholarships range from college & university scholarships to financial aid for online classes and workshops to standalone grants.
Regional Writers Groups
- Columbus Writer’s Guild: Now in our 15th year, the Columbus Writers Guild supports writers at all levels and across multiple genres.
- CenTex Writers, a chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), is a Round Rock-based group for Central Texas writers. Contact Lin Harris (linjerharris@gmail.com) or (512) 413-2764 for directions to meeting site and general CenTex information.
- Central Indiana Writers Association: A Not-for-profit organization of novelists, poets and essayist in Indiana ranging from beginners to widely published authors. Attend monthly meetings, workshops, and more.
- Colorado Authors League is a Colorado’s oldest professional writers’ organization (est. 1931) Check their web site for details of events and other information.
- Hong Kong Writers Circle is a group that provides a setting for critique and fellowship for writers in the Chinese city of Hong Kong. It has an annual fee of HK$300. Check out their web site for details.
- Writers’ League of Texas – The Writers’ League of Texas promotes literacy and elevates the art of writing.
- Maryland Writer’s Association is, as their name indicates, a Maryland based group that offers services as diverse as critique groups, publications, contests and special events, an annual conference and more. Check their web page out for details.
- The Northwest Christian Writers Association is a Seattle area writers group that meets once a month through the school year. They also publish a newsletter called the NW Christian Author.
- The North Carolina Writer’s Network a nonprofit founded in 1985, is one of the largest statewide literary service organizations in the country. Through workshops, conferences, competitions, and critiquing, the Network connects, educates, and promotes writers at all stages of development.
- Oregon Writers Colony has an interesting web page and a diversity of workshops and seminars hosted by top writers and other talents. Well worth a look.
- The Pen and Brush Club is a 100 years and more old organization of professional women in the arts – writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, and artists in craft. Located at 16 East 10 Street, in New York City, they have a variety of events posted on their web site that you might want to check out. Their web site states ,’All exhibitions and speaker nights are open to the public free of charge’
- Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is a Colorado based group with the goal of helping established and aspiring writers of novel length fiction. They have classes, regular meetings, critique groups and an annual writer conference. Check their web page for details.
- California Writers Club – Dedicated to educating writers of all levels in the craft and marketing of writing, through regular meetings, workshops, contests, seminars and conferences at the state level and at each of the fourteen branches.
- The 6 foot Ferrett Writing Group Home Page is the how to start your own writers group helper page authored by a group that has been operating since 1989.
- Fellowship of Christian Writers – Equipping and encouraging writers to follow their God-given dreams of setting words to paper. Whether writing for the religious or secular market; writing articles or novels; or writing news, features, devotionals, poetry, scripts, and essays—writers have a special calling to deliver well-crafted words to their readers.
- Willamette Writers is a longstanding group founded in 1965 and active in the Portland, Oregon area. Their services include critique groups, a script library and much more.
- The Writer’s Center is more than just a writers group, with a writers and editors registry, workshops and a host of other resources on their web site and in their facility in the Washington D.C. area. Well worth a look see and consideration as to whether it could be useful to you.
- Writer’s Federation of New Brunswick is an organization boasting 250 members at this point.
