Writing

 Here are some links that have provided insight and inspiration to me:

• Renowned author, Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Bend in the Road), has the best advice on writing and getting published I’ve ever seen compiled in one place on his website. www.nicholassparks.com/ForWriters.asp
• Renni Browne, co-founder of The Editorial Department, was my first writing mentor: www.editorialdepartment.com.
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King is an excellent resource book even if you're not writing fiction. The best non-fiction reads like a novel and the best novels read like they're true.
• On Writing by Stephen King. How can you go wrong listening to him?
• The Soul of Creative Writing by Richard Goodman. If you don’t feel as rapturous about language as he does, you should reconsider a career as a writer. 
• Here are a few sites that cater to authors and avid readers: www.redroom.com, www.goodreads.com, and www.nancypearl.com.
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published by Sheree Sander and Jennifer Basye Bykofsky. I actually bought this after I was published because I felt that there was still so much I didn't know. A wealth of critical information.

And finally, if you really love a book, you'll be doing the author a big favor if you review it on Amazon and other book sites, choose it for your book club, mention it to libraries and bookstores, "fan" it on Facebook, and, of course, buy it retail!