Writer Research Aids

Writer’s Research Aids

(Formerly Listus Maximus)

Till next time, keep writing, and remember—you cannot fail if you refuse to quit. William Bernhardt

As you write, try not to pay for what you can get free. Save your money for knowledge you cannot get any other way. Keep in mind, too: what you get for free is sometimes worth exactly what you paid for it.

BOOKS

Best books on how to write

How to get words on the page
1. Amazon.com: Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process: 9780195120189: Elbow, Peter: Books BH
2. Amazon.com: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within: 9781611803082: Goldberg, Natalie, Addison, Bill, Cameron, Julia: Books

How to edit your work
1. Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing: Martin, Tiffany Yates: 9781950830022: Amazon.com: Books

How to write a novel

Books on how to write and still live your life
1. The Intuitive Author: How to Grow & Sustain a Happier Writing Career: Martin, Tiffany Yates: 9781950830091: Amazon.com: Books

How to Write Nonfiction

Miscellaneous good books on writing

Books on how to get an agent and get published

Books on how to self-publish: I don’t see any I recommend.

Books on how to sell your books

Model novels, nonfiction, etc. by genre

Thrillers

audio sketches

Historical fiction

sci-fi

Horror

Contemporary “literature” novels

National Book Award Winners (for USA novels): https://www.nationalbook.org/national-book-awards/years/
Booker Prize Winners (Great Britain): https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/full-list-of-booker-prize-winners-shortlisted-and-longlisted-authors

Fantasy

A list of every type out there, and definitions of each: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1e8n3vt/a_comprehensive_guide_to_rfantasy_genres/

Non-Fiction

Memoir

Books that are someone’s diary or journal

Great nonfiction books (this is just from 2024, and they’re all spectacular!)

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/nytimes-notable-nonfiction-books/

Short stories

Magazines that publish short stories

Best literary short stories in America

New Yorker

The New Yorker has a very low acceptance rate. In 2021 the acceptance rate was 0.14% out of 1447 unsolicited submissions. Jul 21, 2024

AI Overview -- Yes, The New Yorker pays for short stories, but the exact amount varies.

Some estimate that The New Yorker pays around $1,500 per short story.
Others estimate that The New Yorker pays around $7,500 per story.
In 2016, some freelancers reported rates of 17 to 20 cents per word for pieces 1,500 words or longer.

The Atlantic Monthly

AI Overview -- according to information available, The Atlantic typically pays a "professional rate" for short stories, which is generally considered to be around 8 cents per word; however, the exact amount may vary depending on the story's length and the writer's reputation.

Most writers consider 8 cents per word to be a standard "professional rate" for short fiction.

1500 words x .08 = $120 7500 words x .08 = $600

AI Overview -- The Atlantic Monthly, now simply called "The Atlantic," generally publishes a very small number of fiction stories per issue, often only accepting a few stories per year, with some years publishing no fiction at all; they primarily focus on long-form non-fiction pieces, meaning the number of accepted stories is quite low compared to other literary magazines.

Key points about The Atlantic's fiction acceptance:

Low volume:

Due to their editorial focus, they rarely publish more than one fiction piece per issue, and sometimes even less frequently.

Quality over quantity:

They prioritize high-quality, well-written fiction, leading to a very selective acceptance rate.

Emphasis on non-fiction:

The majority of content in The Atlantic consists of long-form essays and in-depth articles.

Next rung down -- https://www.everywritersresource.com/top50literarymagazines/
Amazon.com: Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 40th Edition: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market): 9780593332078: Jones, Amy: Books
Next rung down -- Literary Magazines looking for submissions: https://www.clmp.org/programs-opportunities/calls-for-submissions/
Lit mags for writers new to writing: https://internationalwriterscollectivcom/great-places-to-submit-for-new-and-unpublished-writers/
Over a thousand literary magazines, in order by quality: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SpVOmQJXkc77aa3zh01iJUwvA9GZmaI0hOZpSWZjwZY/edit?pli=1&gid=993442079#gid=993442079
Reedsy.com 100 Literary magazines, searchable by some categories: https://bloreedsy.com/literary-magazines/
Poets & Writers 1000 magazines: https://www.pw.org/literary_magazines
20 online Literary Magazines and Journals: https://www.everywritersresource.com/best-online-literary-magazines/#google_vignette
Note: always read a sample copy of the magazine before submitting. Go to the magazine’s website to check submission guidelines and sample stories. Never pay to have your story published.

Best short story collections, published annually: The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners (Best Short Stories: the O. Henry Prize Winners): Towles, Amor, Minton Quigley, Jenny: 9780593470619: Amazon.com: Books

Contemporary short story collections: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/must-read-collections-for-short-story-month/

Comedy Short Story collections, from GoodReads: Short Story Collections with Humor (57 books)

Blogs, Newsletters, Podcasts, Writing Magazines

Newsletters and Blogs

1. Jane Friedman’s blog, newsletter, workshops: https://janefriedman.com/
2. Tiffany Yates Martin, Editor (blog, newsletter, workshops): FoxPrint Editorial – FoxPrint Editorial

Useful Podcasts

William Bernhardt’s WriterCon / Red Sneaker Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/writercon/id1435816061

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com/

Magazines About Writers and Writing

Writer’s Digest: Writer's Digest
Poets & Writers magazine: https://www.pw.org/
William Bernhart and WriterCon: https://writerconmag.substack.com/p/writercon-magazine-week-of-january

Online Articles, Website

How to Self-Publish Your Book

https://janefriedman.com/self-publish-your-book/
https://www.careervillage.org/questions/914899/how-do-i-self-publish-my-book
Emma Rosen’s YouTube Channel on Indie Publishing: https://www.youtube.com/c/emmarosenbooks
Emma Rosen’s “Proud to Be Self-Published.” https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/proud-be-self-published
Tiffany Hawk on Pros/Cons of Self-Publishing. https://www.tiffanyhawk.com/blog/faq-should-i-self-publish-2
Self-Publishing Success Stories. https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/how-to-self-publish-a-book/success-stories/

Self-Publishing Your Book on Amazon

She sold 500,000 copies on Amazon. https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/how-a-self-published-author-sold-500000-copies-of-her-book/447955
What Amazon says about how to do it: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GHKDSCW2KQ3K4UU4
6 Easy Steps: https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/kdp/how-to-publish-a-book-on-amazon/
Forbes Magazine’s suggestions: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/05/17/dont-self-publish-a-book-before-answering-these-crucial-questions/

Best YouTube Vids on Writing in general

https://thewritepractice.com/youtube-for-writers/
https://thewritelife.com/youtube-channels-for-writers/
https://prowritingaid.com/art/1328/best-writing-youtube-channels.aspx
The Southpark creators’ idea of transitioning scenes using “but” or “therefore” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTUJa4ns9AM&t=33s
The Southpark creators explaining “but” / “Therefore” themselves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGUNqq3jVLg&t=30s

Best Websites for Writers

SAVE THE CAT! STUFF

YouTube Vids

Examples of Snyder’s organization in Intersteller (good for screenwriters and novelists both): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_JxIzYfZGM
3 Act Story Structure with Save the Cat's Beat Sheet — Parasite Movie Explained in 15 Beats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kil95fwMVo
Story Structure Explained — Avengers Infinity War vs Save the Cat's Beat Sheet (Is Thanos the Hero?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDIayz-hyKk
How to Write a Novel with the Save the Cat Beat Sheet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBOozE78Vnw
There are only 10 different types of movies (and stories). Here they are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxiwxrYqnfI
Sick of Save the Cat!? Here’s Christopher Vogler on how to organize your story as a myth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNNaMuBOxv4

Save The Cat! beat sheets

Beat sheet and good explanation of the beats. https://kindlepreneur.com/save-the-cat-beat-sheet/
Another thorough look and graphic organizer https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/save-the-cat-beat-sheet/
Just fill in the 15 boxes! https://lpenelope.com/wp-content/uploads/Save-the-Cat-Beat-Worksheet.pdf
A Meat-and-Potatoes approach: Just the beats. https://www.rwwny.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/beat-sheet-blake-snyder.pdf
The 10 genres Jessica Brody says all novels fall into https://sceneone.app/blog/the-ten-save-the-cat-story-genres/#google_vignette
Save the Cat! Movie analysis sheet (class 2/20):
Save the Cat! 3 images (handed out in class 2/20):

Sites that will help you find agents:

Publisher’s Marketplace ($25/month; $7/day): listing of hundreds of literary agents with bios and descriptions of what they published and what they’re looking for. https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
Manuscript Wishlist (MSWL): A smaller list of agents than above, but each entry is written by the agent detailing exactly what they want. https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/
QueryTracker ($25/year): Lists agents with descriptions of what they want. Also keeps track of your queries (recommended: send out batches of 10-20 queries at a time). https://querymanager.com/users/

Mary Walsh’s website: https://marywalshwrites.wixsite.com/mysite

Conferences, Organizations

Conferences

Writer’s conferences around the country: https://www.mountfordwriting.com/writing-advice/writingconferences
Spring in Philadelphia: https://www.writingdayworkshops.com/ BH
Young Adult fiction, Writing, and at the end a huge list of conferences I’ve never heard of: https://www.andreabrownlit.com/big-sur BH
Oklahoma? Hosted by William Bernhardt and WriterCon: https://writercon.com/
Alaska? https://writersconf.kpc.alaska.edu/
Pennwriters Conference: https://pennwriters.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=522048&module_id=378066 BH
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Annual Conference https://www.scbwi.org/annual-events
Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group Conference https://greaterlehighvalleywritersgroup.wildapricot.org/event-5920891 BH
Writer’s Digest: https://writersdigestconference.com/
How about a writer’s conference while cruising to Alaska? https://writercon.com/writercon-cruise/ BH
Beginning of December 2025 open? Cruise the Atlantic with writers, historians, etc. https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cruise-types/event-cruises/literature-festival-at-sea-2025
Cruise the same waterway with a writer, and save a few bucks https://www.amygoldmacher.com/cruise-writing-retreat

Organizations

Pennwriters (50/year): https://pennwriters.org/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=522048 BH
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: https://www.scbwi.org/ BH
Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group https://greaterlehighvalleywritersgroup.wildapricot.org/ BH

Quotes to Keep You Inspired

Diary of an Optimistic Writer