Five Blogs Every Author Should be Reading

Today's post will have to be a quick one as I have TONS of stuff to get done today and it is so easy to get distracted with

• Rowling's announcement
• Locke breaking 1 million ebooks (and his great How to book on the subject)
• New AAP numbers showing continued decline in print.

For those that have been with my blog for a while you no doubt noticed that it went through a major rework recently. And I've been meaning to point out some aspects about the redesign most notably the Resources Page. I suggest you look at this site from time to time as I'll be adding content that I find relevant here.

Anyway...I wanted to point to a few sites that I read on a regular basis and give you some ideas why.

• Konrath's blog: Especially important for those who are considering self-publishing. I know many people are put off by Joe's "style". He is opinionated to be sure, but he's also more often than not right. Joe has passion, intelligence, and a ton of experience in the publishing industry and is worth listening to. You may not agree with everything he says (sometimes I don't) but you should at least "hear" his message and decide for yourself. If nothing else, his site is worth visiting for the comments section which brings in great minds from multiple perspectives - I post there often ;-)
  
  
• The Passive Voice: Good for authors in all paths of publishing (self, small, big-six). I don't know who this "man behind the curtain is but he's one smart cookie. While he no longer practices law he's in the process of "collecting" contracts and he dissects various clauses and points out pitfalls. If you are have been given a contract to sign with any publisher - search his entire site and read EVERYTHING he writes on the subject - then take that information into your negotiations. He also stays abreast of recent changes in the publishing industry and I find he has great insight on what changes could signal.
  
  
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch Business Rusch: It's hard to know exactly where to begin here because she has SO MUCH fantastic information and it's well worth the time and effort to read through past posts and try to keep up with future ones. If I had one complaint it is that she sometimes is a bit "long winded" but once you get to the point she's trying to make it is almost always a great one. I would start here and work your way through them. If you're not familiar with her site you'll be thanking me for this advice.
  
  
• Dean Wesley Smith: Interestingly Kristine Rush's husband and I'm sure like Michael and I they spend a lot of time discussing what's going on in the industry. Again a site to look to both going forward and looking back as, like Konrath, Dean has a lot of "real world" experience. He's currently updating his "Killing the Sacred Cows" which is well worth the time. Again I don't agree with everything he says - but you should "listen" and see what resonates for you.
  
  
• David Gaughran: I first met David on the forum "which shall not be named" and saw him as one of the rational voices there. Not surprisingly he's been put through the wringer and has been attacked on several occasions. I applaud his tenacity at "fighting the good fight" especially since some of us can no longer participate. David is new to publishing but is a very quick learner and, like me, is keeping his finger on the pulse of the publishing industry. As I mentioned he is relatively new and doesn't have the experience of say Konrath, Smith, or even myself but the way he is approaching publishing is spot on and I expect to see great things from him.
  

There you have it. Five blogs that I watch regularly and have learned a ton from. I'm hoping that some will consider mine as a sixth in that category but since you are already here - I suspect you feel the same.