Evidently PBW was just named as one of the top 45 author blogs on the internet. I know this because my e-mail screener found the notification in my SPAM folder. Anything that comes with a badge for me to post on my site makes me very leery, as online award badges are sometimes used as a subversive way to build traffic, so I'll just say thank you to the nice man for noticing me.
A few years back I ranked among the top 100 female bloggers on the internet (I'm linking to this one because the guy never e-mailed or badged me; a reader told me about it.) A couple years before that I was in the top 10 genre author blogs on another list picked by [censored], who by doing so created more headaches for me than I want to recall, so I'm going to skip the name and the link on that one as well.
I'm not letting this latest accolade go to my head. With all the writers who have given up actively blogging to twit or facebook, there may only be 45 authors left who do what I do. But it did get me thinking about the blogs and web sites by authors who are not close friends (thus eliminating any pesky conflict of interest while writing this post) that I regularly visit. I seriously adore the market listings at Ralan.com (which is the only site I donate to annually because it is so useful), but I also love the writing-related discussions at Southern Fried Chicas (one of whom is a good friend, I should confess.) I nick more links and videos from The Presurfer than any other place on the internet.
Then there are personalities that attract me. Janet Reid's blog often has very useful info on it, but I read it mostly because she's a little scary, in the very best Last Samurai Agent sense of the word. I occasionally read Carolyn Jewel's blog not only for the unusual topics but because she's interesting and enigmatic. And Kris Reisz always has something obscure and/or fascinating to discuss.
The thing about all top lists that bothers me most is who and what they miss. It's impossible for me to read all the blogs out there in NetPubland, so I can guarantee you that any top ten list of mine will miss writers who have wonderful blogs with tons of useful information. Which is why I'll never officially compile one.
You writers out there, I do want to know if you regularly visit any blogs or sites hosted by another writer that have been helpful to you. If you're inclined to share, let us know about them in comments, and post a link if you have one.
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Whatever, a great blog by John Scalzi.
ReplyDeletehttp://whatever.scalzi.com/
He has posted articles on the writing life. Occasionally, he gives writing assignments as part of a giveaway. He also promotes other authors in his Big Idea postings.
Chuck Wendig's blog, TerribleMinds, is on my must read list. It's full of tough love for writers in unapologetic coarse language. Chuck makes me laugh and wince at the same time. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://terribleminds.com/ramble/blog/
Writer Unboxed is always a great one! http://writerunboxed.com/ There's a lot of variety going into posts, lots of useful tips, links, info, professional opinions, a range of blog-contributors etc... so check it out!
ReplyDeleteA few writerly blogs I really enjoy are: Murder She Writes, The Word-Whores, Jennifer Lyon's blog, Killer Chicks. Chuck Wendig over at Terrible Minds can be really helpful and profound, but sometimes his language is a bit harsh for me. I love Mystery Writing is Murder and Miss Snark's First Victim. The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment is pretty awesome, along with Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I could go on, but we'd be here all day. I don't know if writers are actually leaving blogging entirely because I'm still spending all morning reading blogs, but then again, I keep finding blogs to read. =o)
Larry Brooks. www.Storyfix.com
ReplyDeleteGreat author and fantastic website!
Like B.E. I'm a fan of Miss Snark's First Victim.
ReplyDeleteYours.
ReplyDeleteIlona Andrews has a fun blog... she does writer tidbits every few weeks, but also blogs about her kids-our girls are close to the same age, so it's interesting (and reassuring) to see another mom/writer in my shoes. ;)
There are a few others that I hit and miss, but yours and Ilona's are the only ones I check regularly.
Janice Hardy's blog, The Other Side of the Story, has lots of nuts and bolts advice for writers.
ReplyDeleteblog.janicehardy.com
I read more science sites consistently than writer blogs but I enjoy Juliette Wade's blog http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/ for the way she looks not just at the writerly aspects of writing but the linguistic and sociological ones. In the interests of full disclosure, she's a friend, but she became one because of being on anthropology focused panels at BayCon :).
ReplyDeleteHmmm...besides you, who I read every day even though I don't always comment and who I learn a lot from, Shiloh who has a conversational style I like (besides her writing style ;o) ) WordWenches because they have great historical info, Two Nerdy History Girls for the same reason, Kristen Lamb's blog because she tells you straight without apology what a writer needs to do, 18th Century Gossip's Guide, The Chirurgeon's Assistant (because her history is both really education and yet, compellingly gruesome!)Alexis Morgan because one of her heroes writes the blog and she has great heroes...an eclectic mix, huh? ;o)
ReplyDeleteI have lots of writing/author blog feed in my RSS. I check the feed daily, ok, multiple times a day, but don't always read the posts. I'd have to say the ones that I read most frequently are yours, which is a daily read, and GenReality, even though you aren't there. Ken's posts on short stories has me thinking about trying my hand on those little buggers.
ReplyDelete