Friday Find: Free eBooks for Writers

If you’re looking for something to read this weekend, you may want to pick up a book (or four, or nine) at a special Back to School Sale. As I mentioned on Twitter earlier in the week, WritersDigest.com has announced the free availability of a set of eBooks. Titles include Grammatically Correct, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing, I’m an English Major—Now What?, and Robert’s Rules of Writing. Offer lasts until August 22.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend. See you back here on Monday!

The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • One reason that I love Midge Raymond’s latest writing prompt is that the story I’m drafting right now actually began with the working title, “Mistake.” (It may return to that title, too, but for now it’s got another name.)
  • Coming soon in The Writer: my review of Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little, by Christopher Johnson. Curious about this book? You can win one of 20 free copies via Goodreads! Enter by July 16 (U.S. addresses only).
  • The Story Prize blog is featuring a series of posts (mini-essays and Q&As) with the authors of collections that have been submitted for the 2011 prize. These posts make for great and thoughtful reading. See, for instance, Charles Baxter’s response to the question “What do you think a good short story collection should deliver?”.
  • I’ll be mentioning this again on my other blog, but I’m delighted to learn that poet and professor Rick Chess has joined the team over on Good Letters, the blog of the literary journal Image, which prides itself on presenting “the best writing and artwork that is informed by—or grapples with—religious faith.”
  • Basic guidelines for social media etiquette, courtesy of Robert Lee Brewer.
  • The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • Charging admission for bookstore events. What say you?
  • On The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Arts & Academe blog, Elise Blackwell spotlights independent presses.
  • Natalie Wexler wonders if characters must be likable.
  • Unsure about connecting with editors on social media? Consider this.
  • In a similar vein, check out these sensible tips from Kelly James-Enger on how not to make a freelance friend.
  • Nice shout-out from the NewPages.com blog re: a new literary journal, Adanna. (I have a poem in the inaugural issue.)
  • Until tomorrow, everyone can access all contents of the Publishers Weekly Fall Announcements issue (excellent for book reviewers seeking a heads-up on new titles).
  • And once again on a related note: Coffee House Press has a lot to share about its “Fall Fiction Preview, BEA Recap, and Fall Fiction Galley Giveaway.”
  • The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

  • Leslie Greffenius reflects on “The Joy of Writing (Not More, Just Better) Sex.”
  • Publishing Perspectives details the billionaire-backed rebirth of a Russian literary magazine.
  • Meet Victoria Ford, who very much seems to be a young writer to watch for in the future.
  • Erica Mena introduces a new course she is teaching, “Translation as Art.”
  • Nina Badzin addresses the “Twitter Thanking Crisis.” (I try not to fall prey to the behavior cited, but I know that I’ve been guilty from time to time. I promise to try harder to behave.)
  • Since my friend Rachel Hall was the one to introduce me to Jean Thompson’s work, I was especially pleased to discover an interview that Rachel conducted with Thompson over on Leslie Pietrzyk’s blog.
  • Josh Lambert examines “why a growing number of today’s young Jewish fiction writers…are grounding their novels in scholarly research.”
  • Congratulations to the winners of Midge Raymond’s Forgetting English & my Quiet Americans.
  • The June issue of The Practicing Writer went out to subscribers on Monday. If you’re not yet a subscriber, you can find the issue–featuring an interview with author Tayari Jones–online.
  • The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    So many goodies to share with you today, my friends!

  • First, remember that cool Poetry Dress I told you about last week? Check out the final product.
  • I didn’t anticipate this particular benefit of following Ruth Franklin on Twitter, but on Monday, Ms. Franklin provided a live-tweet account of James Frey’s return to Oprah. On behalf of those of us who work away from home M-F, 9-5, I thank her. (See also the Brevity blog’s pithy summary of the appearance.)
  • Looking for some writing prompts? I like this discovery from Celeste Ng over on Fiction Writers Review and the newest suggestions from Midge Raymond.
  • From the freelancing world: Kelly James-Enger shares eight ways to make more money as a freelancer, and Carol Tice presents a quiz to help you discern your potential for freelance success.
  • The New York Times Book Review caught my attention last weekend with this display of book covers that were rejected (in other words, we’ve seen the books, but haven’t seen these proposed covers until now).
  • Yes, you still have time to enter a slew of superb short-story collection giveaways coordinated by Fiction Writers Review. See the full list of participating blogs and titles here. And don’t forget that by leaving an appropriate comment right here on Practicing Writing, you’ll be eligible to win a copy of Midge Raymond’s just re-released Forgetting English or a copy of my own book, Quiet Americans.