Best Blogs of 2008: Blogs for Mystery Writers

Writers continuously search for ways to improve their manuscripts, resources to research topics, and clues to decipher the publishing world. There are many blogs that strive to help writers be the best writers they can be and to get their material published. Here are five blogs that are great resources for mystery writers due to the insight into the writing world provided.

1. The Graveyard Shift is run by Lee Lofland, author of Police Procedure and Investigations and veteran police officer. Lee writes about his experience as a police officer, author and speaker. He also often has guest bloggers who blog on a variety of topics. Ongoing topics on The Graveyard Shift include Police Tools and Equipment, Police Procedure, Research, and Private Investigations and so on. In addition, Lee is open to answering specific questions about incorporating police procedure into fiction. This blog is a must-read resource for anyone writing crime fiction.

2. Murderati has the tagline Mysteries, Murder and Marketing. A group of writers share the blogging responsibilities providing interesting posts each day about various aspects of mystery writing, marketing books, and life in general. Authors who write for the blog are Pari Noskin Taichert, Louise Ure, Tess Gerritsen, Robert Gregory Brown, J. D. Rhoades, Alexandra Sokoloff, Toni McGee Causey, and Allison Brennan. On occasion they invite someone to guest blog as well. Blog topics include query letters, book marketing, and any topic these twelve authors deem interesting and worth of discussion. The authors take their subject matter seriously but often inject humor to accompany the postings, giving the blog a fun energy.

3. Write First, Clean Later is L. J. Sellers blog about writing. She discusses her adventures with writing and marketing books. She also explores the publishing industry and the world events that affect it. Sometimes she will pose a question related to a topic she's researching. On occasion, she gives away free books! She also links to several other blogs writers may find interesting. Her honesty about the book world is refreshing. Writers from any genre could learn from this blog.

4. Jungle Red blogs about mysteries and life. The five authors, Rosemary Harris, Hallie Ephron, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jan Brogan, and Roberta Isleib, writing for this blog share their motivation for writing as well as insights into the publishing process and the book industry. They also interview authors on a regular basis adding those writers experience and advice to the blog resulting in a blog that constantly provides fresh perspectives and ideas.

5. Miss Snark's blog is a wonderful resource for writers of any genre even though the blog is no longer active. Her insights into the publishing industry, especially finding and working with agents, often told by examining the mistakes writers have made in contacting her for representation, is undeniably useful and will remain so for a long time to come. The full blog archives have been left available to be searched for answers to questions aspiring writers may have.

In addition, an up-and-coming new blog on the scene, the Murder in the Grove blog, shows potential to help writers succeed. The blog consists mostly of guest bloggers who have participated in the Murder in the Grove, a mystery conference in Boise, Idaho, in past years. Agents, editors, authors, and criminology experts provide information for writers to improve their manuscripts, find resources to research topics, and to approach agents and editors.

Blogs are a wonderful way to discover new authors as well as to learn tips for pursuing a writing career. Those listed here will be useful to both novice and veteran mystery writers. Some may even appeal to writers outside the mystery genre. Happy writing - and reading - to all!