There Are No Rules - Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 12/11/09)

I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets. If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Always welcome your suggestions on improving this weekly feature.

Best of Best

What a Bestselling Author Can Teach You About Hooking Your Readers
@copyblogger

Top 10 Question Dutton Editors Ask Themselves
[applicable to ALL editors]
@kathytemean

Think you know a lot about social networking? Check out this video
[Note from Jane: This video exemplifies the massive change affecting all of us and the pressure it puts on the media/publishing industry]
@RachelleGardner

Stand Alone

Your novel may, of course, have a theme, but if you, the author, have an agenda, we shouldn't be aware of it. No grinding axes!
@LucienneDiver

Dialogue: "said" is less distracting,fades into background; scene context & action indicate how dialogue said, not adverbs.
@DocumentDriven

Avoid using brand names unless significant to character, story, or world in some way.
@chavelaque

No, seriously: Do. Not. Start. Your. Story. With. A. Dream. (For that matter, don't start it with a sleeping character at all.)
@ktmenick

Getting Published, Agents/Editors

25 reasons editors don’t get back to writers faster
@MichelleRafter

How to Pitch a Literary Agent at a Writers Conference
@jessregel

Biggest mistakes writers make when pitching their work at a writers' conference? Agents answer
@inkyelbows

How to Get a Book Deal: Get Thee A Blog (a Big One)
@writetodone

"An editor requested my manuscript at a conference. What should my expectations be?" @moonrat advice
@inkyelbows

Don’t match your mkts to your motivations; match your mkts to the worth of the work itself. @Scalzi
@inkyelbows

Many new kids' writers start w/picture books, mistakenly assuming they're simple by @upstartcrowlit
@inkyelbows

5 Things To Watch For In Your First Book Contract
@IndeDebut2010

Pros and cons of using a pen name: Advice from @NathanBransford
@inkyelbows

Craft & Technique

When to describe a thing, and how detailed you should be with @doycet
@thecreativepenn

3 editing tips via Storytellers Unplugged: 1. Cut mercilessly 2. Show don't tell, 3. Realistic dialogue
@inkyelbows

Backstory and narration analyzed in two very short stories from Tobias Wolff's The Night in Question.
@KimsCraftBlog

My 6 part series on strengthening characters during revision
@p2peditor

Publishing Biz, Trends, Future of Publishing

"Books sell dreams. There will always be a market for dreams." @mikecane's compelling vision for DIGITAL books.
@glecharles

Thomas Nelson's @MichaelHyatt has written a very smart post:
The End of Book Publishing As We Know It
@chriswebb

"Why I Hate Ereaders, And Doubt They'll Ever Hit the Mainstream" @Gizmodo nails the problem.
@glecharles

Twitter, Blogs & Social Media

5 easy ways to open your blog post with a bang
@copyblogger

5 ways to use Twitter and Facebook Effectively
@JodyHedlund

Marketing and Promotion

Brilliant brilliant book marketing ideas from @tferriss on 4 Hour Work Week
@thecreativepenn

15 commandments for getting free book publicity
@TonyEldridge

Resources/Tools

50+ Free Resources for Writers, Bloggers, And Other Freelancers
@Nicholas_Cardot

Stacks of great writing links from the great @Le_Shack
@thecreativepenn

The Writing Life

Great advice from @brooke_warner on finding/starting a writers' group @twliterary

Your Priorities Are Your Actions, Not What You Say or Write Down
@ProcrastWriter

10 Surprising Books That Will Transform Your Writing
@copyblogger

By/From Writer's Digest

How to Channel Passion in Your Writing
(by literary mega-agent Donald Maass)
@BrianKlems

Nothing in a story is meaningful until its meaning is clear to a character.
@brianklems

Looking for more?