Here are the best informational books, websites, and videos on crime writing, indie publishing, screenwriting, and forensics I’ve found so far. The list continually grows as I find and learn new stuff. If you’ve something you’d like added, think should be shared, updated, or find an error in, please email me at garry.rodgers@shaw.ca.
Writing, Editing & Publishing Books
Think And Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill (Motivation)
On Writing – Stephen King (Writing)
Elements Of Style – Strunk and White (Writing)
Wired For Story – Lisa Cron (Writing Science)
60 Ways To Murder Your Fictional Characters – Sue Coletta (Writing)
The Indie Author Mindset – Adam Croft’s Brilliant Book on Self-Publish Thinking
How to Write Deadly Crime Thrillers – Garry Rodgers and Sue Coletta (Writing)
How to Self-Edit Deadly Crime Thrillers – Garry Rodgers and Sue Coletta (Editing)
Save The Cat Writes a Novel – Jessica Brody on Adapting Screenwriting Techniques to Books
Story Engineering – Larry Brooks (Writing)
Story Physics – Larry Brooks (Writing)
The Little Red Writing Book – Brandon Royal (Writing)
The Little Gold Grammar Book – Brandon Royal (Writing)
The Accidents of Style – Charles Harrington Elster (Writing)
The Emotion Thesaurus – Angela Ackerman / Becca Puglisi (Writing)
This Year You Write Your Novel – Walter Mosley (Writing)
Complete Write A Novel Course – Will Buckingham (Writing)
The Writer’s Compass – Nancy Ellen Dodd (Writing Craft and Business)
The Craft & Business Of Writing – Assorted Contributors (Writers Digest)
The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing – Assorted Contributors (Writers Digest)
Writing Fiction For Dummies – Randy Ingermanson & Peter Economy (Writing)
The Everything Guide To Writing A Novel – Joyce & Jim Laverne (Writing)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Writing A Novel – Tom Montelone (Writing)
How To Write A Book in 20 Steps – Jerry B. Jenkins (Writing)
21-Step Self Editing Checklist – Jerry B. Jenkins (Editing)
Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us – Jessica Page Morrell (Editing)
Self-Editing For Fiction Writers – Renni Browne & Dave King (Editing)
The Story Grid – Shawn Coyne (Editing & Outlining)
Little Book of Self-Editing For Writers – Bridget McKenna (Editing)
Indie Authors Guide to Book Editing – Sarah Kolb-Williams (Editing)
How To Self-Edit Your Book – Laura Bowers (Editing)
ProWritingAid – 20 Editing Tips (Promotion for Editing App PDF)
Author’s Quick Guide To Editing Your Book – Kristen Eckstein
Write. Publish. Repeat – Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant (Publishing)
Publishing eBooks For Dummies – Ali Luke (Publishing)
2015 Guide To Self-Publishing – Assorted Contributors (Publishing)
Start Here: How To Self-Publish a Book – Jane Friedman’s Step-by-Step Guide
APE – How To Publish A Book – Guy Kawasaki & Shawn Welch (Publishing)
How To Market A Book – Joanna Penn (Marketing)
Business For Authors – Joanna Penn (Business)
How To Make A Living With Your Writing – Joanna Penn (Business)
The Book Designer – Joel Friedlander (Publishing)
99Designs – Economical & Quality Book Covers (Publishing)
WebsiteSetup – How to Build a Custom WordPress Website (Web Tech)
Build Your Author Platform – Carole Jelen & Michael McCallister (Social Media)
Writing, Editing & Publishing Websites
SueColetta.com – Fellow Crime Writer and Best Friend on the Internet (Great Content!)
Evernight Designs – Awesome Book Covers by Elle J. Rossi
Belinda Pollard – Small Blue Dog Publishing – Should Writers Do Their Own Editing
The Indie Author Mindset Mini-Courses – Great Stuff For Indie Publishers from Adam Croft
The 80/20 Book Marketing Formula – Current and Relevant Info from Nicholas Erik
The Creative Penn – Joanna Penn (Business and Writing)
Hunter’s Writings – Extensive Links to Crime Thriller Resources
Fiction Writer’s Mentor – Tracy Culleton’s Awesome Writing Resources
Hand Hobbies: A Resource Guide to Writing Basics – Excellent Prompts & Tips
Writing Careers: The Business Behind Becoming an Author – From ZenBusiness.com
A Novel Edit / The Magic of Fiction – Beth Hill (Editing)
The Editors Blog – Beth Hill’s site
Writing Numbers In Fiction – Beth Hill’s Blog Post (Writing & Editing)
Showing & Telling Particulars – More from Beth Hill
DIY/MFA – Gabriella Pereira’s Do It Yourself Masters of Fine Arts (Writing)
How To Edit Your Own Book – BookBaby (Loaded With Excellent Links)
How To Format An eBook – Nepo Press (Simple Step-by-Step Video Tutorial)
How To Publish An EBook – Post by Jane Friedman with Lots of Links
Print On Demand Books – Great Tips and Sources at Shopify
Calibre eBook Conversion – Calibre-ebook.com (Free Software For Simple eBook Formatting)
How To Start A Blog – A Simple Guide for Beginners From WebsiteSetup
The Book Designer – Joel Friedlander (2-Way Templates for eBook Formatting)
Reedsy – Comprehensive Book Publishing Services
Reedsy – How to Format a Book
Reedsy – How to Copyright a Book
MarcyKennedy.com – Check out Marcy’s Busy Writer’s Guides – Awesome!
JessicaMorrell.com – (Writing and Editing Tips)
Points Of View – Briget Mckenna’s Site (Writing & Editing)
Online Learning Center – Glossary of Fiction Terms (Writing & Editing)
Maryville University Online Literary Device Guide – Great Guide with List of Literary Terms
Maryville University Online Creative Jobs for English Majors – Become a Writer / Author
King County Editorial Style Guide – Excellent Resource from a Government Department
Money Saving Guide For Authors – Super Information and Links, Especially for Beginners
Novel Writing Checklist – Quick & Detailed Resource from Reedsy
Common Errors In English Usage – Great Alphabetical Database With Search Engine
PhraseFinder – Locate Origins And Meanings Of Common and Unique Sayings
350 Positive and Negative Characteristics – Fabulous Writer Resource
Visual Thesaurus – Online Thesaurus With Search Engine
RefSeek.com – Online Almanacs (Huge Resource)
WorldAtlas.com – Cool Interactive Trip Around The World)
ObituariesHelp.org – Scads Of Information About Writing Obituaries And Funeral Planning
Northwest Independent Editors Guild – Great Connection To Editors
BrandonRoyal.com – The Little Red Writing Book (And Others)
Karen Woodward Blog & Resources – (Writing)
Virtual Salt – A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices – (Writing)
The Search Engine For Writers – (You Name It)
Keyboard Shortcuts For MS Word – (Valuable Editing Tool)
WordTips – Allen Wyatt’s Quick Tips & Links to Everything About MS Word
ThePunctuationGuide.com – Great, Simple, Interactive Site for Proper Punctuation
Compound Pejorative Profanity – Creative Use of Dirty Words
ClicheSite.com – Search Engine and List of Cliches From Around The World
Colette Sartor’s Writing Resources – (Spend All Day Here)
Authors Publish – 42 Different Writers Rules for Writing (Excellent Advice)
StoryFix.com – Larry Brooks’s site (Writing)
StoryGrid.com – Shawn Coyle’s site (Editing and Outlining)
ThrillWriting.Blogspot – Fiona Quinn’s site (Lots of Tips)
Scene Editing Checklist – Susanne Lakin’s Template
WriteOnSisters.com – Gobs of Info here
BadRedheadMedia.com – Rachel Thompson (Social Media)
Phrase Finder – Origins of English Phrases
Josh Vogt’s Links to Writing Craft & Business – Over 150 Links to Great Info
Authors Publish – 40 Authors “Rules For Writing” – Great Tips From Great Writers
Katherine O’Moore-Klopf – (Dozens of Links to Editing Resources)
Grammar Girl – Minon Fogarty’s Quick, Dirty Tips on Writing & Just About Everything Else
Grammar Girl’s Self-Editing Checklist – More from Mignon Fogarty
Business Insider Article – Guide to Proper Comma Use
Humintell – Detecting Emotions From Expressions
Copyright & Fair Use – Legal Tips via Jane Friedman
GrammarCheck.net – Great Tool For Proofing Your Content
BookBaby – Nine Manuscript Editing Software Programs to Consider
TurboTax – A Tax Cheat Sheet For Kindle Self Publishing
Who Is Hosting This – What Freelance Writers and Professional Bloggers Do
InformED – 25 Ways To Boost Your Writing Skills (must read)
WordHippo.com – A Dictionary on Steroids
BuzzFeed.com – Style Guide with Everything From Slang to Abbreviations to Locations
Green’s Dictionary of Slang – Great Search Engine for Slang & Swearing
Anne R. Allen – Blog Post From Anne’s Site With Extensive Links For Fiction Writing Words
Happy2MoveLondon.co.uk – Complete Dictionary of Cockney Slang
Ideal Roadmap to Character Development – EditionGuard
Sit Down and Write – Poetry Resources
How to Find a Real Literary Agent – Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
11 Basic Writing Rules – From Custom-Writing.org
TheatreSeatStore – Script and Screen Writing for Theatre & Film (Thanks to Anna for the link!)
Certstaffix – Tools & Editing Software for Writers (Thanks to Olivia for the link!)
Screenwriting Resources
Story Immersion Project – Anne Helmstadter’s Online Screenwriting Course (A Must)
Have You Mastered the 3-C’s of Screenwriting? – Concept, Characters, Conflict (A Must)
*If you had to boil everything down to the bone in the realm of art, craft, and business of screenwriting, you’d be left with three core elements – Concept, Character & Conflict.*
31 Must-Read Screenwriting Lessons from Rod Serling @ Twilight Zone – (Must Read)
Arron Sorkin Screenwriting Masterclass – From One of the Film Industry’s Bests
Ron Howard’s Directing Masterclass – From One Of Hollywood’s Timeless Greats
International Screenwriting Association – Top Notch Group to Join
Writers Guild of America (West) – Leading Professional Organization
Writers Guild of America (East) – Leading Professional Organization
Writers Guild of Canada – Leading Professional Organization
New York Film Academy – College of Film, Media & Performing Arts
Screencraft – Scads of Good Information and Resources Here
Script Reader Pro – Well Worthwhile to Check Out
Open Screenplay – Where Screenplays Come to Life
Freshmen Screenplay – Screenplays Made Easy
Flying Wrestler – Erik Bork Teaches Screenwriting (Also a Great Book “Idea”)
Syd Field – The Art of Visual Storytelling
Blake Snyder / Save The Cat – Every Screenwriter Must Know Storytelling Basics
Aristotle’s Poetics – The Origin of the 3-Act Structure
The Script Lab – Great Educational Resources Like The First Ten Pages
The Black List – Showcase Your Screenplay Before Industry Professionals
Going Into The Story – Scott Meyers Blog on The Black List with Top Connections
The Protagonist’s Journey – Scott Meyers Book on Character-Driven Screenplays
The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) – Find Pretty Well Any Script Ever Written
Indie Film Hustle – Survive & Thrive in the Film Business as an Indie
John August – Advice From one of the Film Industry’s Best Screenwriters
Screenwriting.io – Blog Spin-off From John August & Full of Practical Information
Script Magazine – Writer’s Digest Specialty Publication for the Film Industry
Studio Binder – World’s Leading Film Management Software
Reddit Screenwriting – Great Spot to Network with Others in Film Content Production
Lessons From The Screenplay – Movie Scripts Analyzed to See What Makes Them Great
Twitter – Don’t Overlook Twitter’s Value to Connect With Writers and Producers
Netflix – See What’s Being Made and Why. Stay Current.
Bitter Script Reader Blog – Quote From the Website “The advice and rantings of a Hollywood script reader tired of seeing screenwriters make the same mistakes, saving the world from bad writing one screenplay at a time. Learn what it takes to get your script past one of these mythical Gatekeepers.”
Forensic Books
Forensic Science – An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques (Science)
Post Mortem – Establishing Cause Of Death – Dr. Cyril Wecht (Pathology)
Forensics For Dummies – D.P. Lyle (General)
Howdunnit Guide to Forensics – D.P. Lyle (General)
Autopsy Guide For Screenwriters and Novelists (General)
Forensic Pathology Basics For Writers (General)
Gray’s Anatomy For Students – (Simplified)
Writers Guide To Weapons – Benjamin Sobieck (Technical)
Analyzing Ballistic Evidence – Tony Latham (Technical)
Working Stiff – Dr. Judy Melinek (Medical Examiner & Forensic Pathologist)
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis – (Educational / Simplified Guide PDF)
Missing Persons Investigations – Training Manual / Guidelines for California Police Officers
Forensic Websites
Forensic Outreach
Forensic Science Central
Forensic Science Simplified
Simplified Guide To Toxicology
Forensic Science Resources
The Forensics Forum
Forensic Pathology Forum
PathologyExpert.com
Merck Medical Manuals
Practical Homicide Investigation
Center For Disease Control – Coroner/Medical Examiner Systems & Requirements by State
CoronerTalk.com
Crime Traveller – Researching Crime and the Criminal Mind
NCSTL.org – Finding Forensic Resources on the Web
National Forensic Science Technology Center – nfstc.org
NFSTC Simplified Guide to Trace Evidence
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