Reference Tools for Writers

• Writer's Calendar Los Angeles, WritersCalendarLA.com - This handy calendar points out, describes, and links to all the events that can be of help or interest to a writer. The Writer's Calendar Los Angeles heading puts it well, describing it as: "talks, meet ups, conventions, classes and more for writers who want to get out of the garret."
• YourDictionary.com - Links to more than 400 dictionaries of over 130 different languages, online grammars, and dozens of specialized dictionaries on all sorts of topics, such as music, art, technology, the list goes on!
• Merriam-Webster Online - Dictionary includes etymology information.
• Encyclopedia Britannica Online - Alas, not free, but you can test drive it before buying, opt for a daily, monthly or yearly subscription, and cancel when your reference work load no longer warrants the expense. The Internet format sure beats dragging those hefty volumes around, so who could object — other than a chiropractor?
• Grammar Girl™ Quick and Dirty Tips, hosted by Mignon Fogarty
• Save the Words. This project of the Oxford Dictionaries is so much fun! You have to visit it!.
• Lexie Kahn: Word Detective — a blog about etymology. Lexie Kahn is the nom de blog of Judith B. Herman, a freelance writer, artist and word-freak based in Palos Verdes, California. It all started when Judy pondered the word feckless.

• American Society of Journalists and Authors - ASJA is a watchdog for the contractual rights of writers. Their "Contracts Watch" updates help you sort out the good guys in publishing from the bad guys — when it comes to playing fair with writers.
• The Authors Registry - IWOSC is a member of this organization, which collects fees and royalties from publishers and distributes them to authors whose works are being used. The Registry maintains an extensive directory of authors, with contact addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses so that foreign publishers, movie producers, and electronic media developers can more easily reach authors and their agents.
• California Journalism Online - Links to newspapers and writer organizations. Job listings. 1997 salary survey comparing California salaries with national averages. Journalists Toolbox lists experts and organizations in many fields.
• Independent Writers of Chicago - IWOC consists of freelance writers in metropolitan Chicago.
• International Association of Business Communicators - Scope includes public relations, employee communication, marketing communication, and public affairs.
• National Writers Union - The politics of writing in the electronic age -- not to mention bread-and-butter issues. Sign up here for the Publication Rights Clearinghouse Project (IWOSC is a participating member). law suit.
• Society of Professional Journalists - Daily updates on freedom of information, news about the news industry, and ethics of journalism.
• Society for Technical Communication Worldwide membership includes writers, editors, illustrators, printers, publishers, educators, students, engineers, and scientists.
• Washington Independent Writers - WIW, a regional group based in Washington, D.C., was founded in 1975.
• Writers Guild of America Great list of research sites for script writers and the rest of us. Wide variety of subject areas.
• California Journalism Association of Community Colleges

• The Nieman Journalism Lab - a project of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University that's a collaborative attempt to figure out how quality journalism can survive and thrive in the Internet age. There's also a smartphone app.
• CEO Express - The 80/20 rule applied to the Internet. Designed for busy executives and business journalists who want quick links to the Fortune 500 list, Inc. 500 list, major newspapers and business publications, online investment services, annual reports, etc.
• CIO Magazine's Guide to Electronic and Print Resources for Journalists - This lengthy and useful set of links includes information on writing for the Web and new media, mailing lists, how to find experts, jobs for journalists, publications and news services online, and much much more.
• About.com Guide to Freelance Writers - Potpourri of information for independent writers, including chat room and discussion groups.
• Newswise - Database of news releases from institutions in scientific, medical, liberal arts and business research. Search, browse or download articles and abstracts. Embargoed news releases are also available to full-time professional journalists who agree to honor embargoed materials.
• ProfNet - AKA The Professors Network. Links journalists to public information officers of universities, medical centers, national laboratories, non-profit organizations, corporations, and government agencies. Great for finding experts to interview.
• PR NewsWire - Press releases and news with a spin on all manner of topics. Constantly updated.
• Reporters Network - Check out the journalism links.

Government

• The CIA
• The White House
• House of Representatives
• US Senate

• Books for Writers, Editors and Publishers - Ordering is done via Amazon.com. It's a useful list of books on the how tos and ought tos of writing.
• Index of Mailing Lists and Listservs - Lists thousands of electronic mailing lists and tells you how to subscribe to them. You can look them up according to subject, name, host country, or sponsoring organizations.
• The Los Angeles Times - The online version, unlike the daily newsstand copy, has archives of previous stories that you can download for a fee, plus a link to the AP newswire for up-to-the-minute news junkies.
• Library of Congress - Here's the mission statement: To make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.
• New York Times - Many of the daily news and feature items, plus a free archive of book reviews for the past several years, metropolitan news that doesn't appear in the national edition, and a CyberTimes section that doesn't appear in the print version of the paper. Also an archive of recent movie reviews.
• Online Intelligence Project - Emphasis on hard-to-reach destinations, with links to international news, commerce and reference sources. Read about Zaire's dismal cycle, or the Bosnian situation.
• Washington Post - A must-read for all you political junkies out there.
• San Jose Mercury News -Who's doing what to who in Silicon Valley.

• Dismal Scientist - In pre-Internet days (remember them?) people paid big bucks for this kind of stuff. Statistics plus up-to-date, easy-to-read  reports on the economy  by experts on  employment, manufacturing, etc. Great site!
• Finding Data on the Internet - Where to find the statistical data you're looking for. A kinder, gentler way to find reliable resources.
• Primer on Statistics - Here, described in plain English, are some basic concepts in statistics that every writer should know...Mean, Median, and how to avoid getting snowed by statistics and statisticians.

• Authorlink  - Provides editors and agents with fast access to prescreened professional fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. This includes quick synopses, excerpts and author resumes. Site also has job listings, market data and trends, and news about the publishing field.
• Alexandria Digital Literature - Alexandria's digital librarian, Hypatia, is a "collaborative filter" that makes personalized reading recommendations based upon ratings of over one million works of fiction. Readers download out-of-print, hard-to-find sci-fi and fantasy and can pay for their selections via credit card.
• On-Line Writing List - This discussion forum caters to writers, editors and content developers who work in on-line media.
• Serialized Book on the Net - Novelist Barry Beckham is marketing his latest book, a history about Chase Manhattan Bank, by serializing it on the Net. Read the first chapter, buy the book, and receive future installments via email.
• Online Journalism Review - This critical look at online journalism is published at the USC Annenberg School of Communication.

• CNET: The Computer Network - News and information about the Internet world. Product recommendations and reviews. Software downloads--some of them free.
• ZDNet - Ziff-Davis, Inc. online, with news about computers, product reviews, downloads, and their stable of well-known computer pubs, including Computer Life, Computer Shopper, Family PC, Inter@ctive Week, InternetUser, MacUser, MacWEEK, PC Computing, and PC Magazine.
• The Space Between Sentences Issue:
  • At Slate: Space Invaders Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period.
  • At GOOD Design Daily: Do You Double Space After Periods?

• LA Scriptworks - LA Sriptworks is comprised of an Academy award winning writer, an Emmy/Golden Globe/Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and a professional script writer who also teaches writing. Together these three men offer a service to those who write, or want to write, film or TV scripts. In addition to the service offered for a fee, there is a series of roundtable discussions that cover all aspects of a script writer's concern.