Advice for Writers:

We’ve all heard it before. Write what you know. Write what sells. Write a good story.  

Know what all those have in common? WRITE. 

Best piece of advice I could offer anyone is write. Even if you don’t feel like it, make yourself write a few hundred words a day. If you don’t write, you’ll never publish. Write even if the product is crappy. You can always edit later.

Read everything you can get your hands on. Everything—books in the genre you prefer, books that are badly written, books on writing and mythology and politics and EVERYTHING. Anything that interests you. Things that don’t always interest you. Read it all, because reading is 

1) fun. (come on. It is.) 

2) Stimulates the mind. And 

3) Most importantly, it teaches you how other writers do it. You read them and discover what you like, don’t like and develop your own style.

Do your homework and be determined.  There are tons of sites to help once you’ve decided to start working on querying and submitting to agents. Find them. Write your draft and then set it aside and take a break. Then rewrite, rewrite, and let someone read it. Then go back and rewrite again.

Work on your query until it’s perfect--no matter how many drafts that takes--and then gather up your courage and send your baby out.

Two things you have to find:

Find someone who will love your work blindly--they keep your spirit up. 

Find a group who will be honest and help you grow--for obvious reasons.

Here’s a few websites I found especially helpful in my writing journey:

 
For the best writer's networking site I've ever used--and my own personal home--please see 'All Things Key'. 

  Queries: 

 ~Query Tracker 

 ~Preditors&Editors

 ~Publisher's Marketplace **

 ~Association of Author Representatives

Query Tracker is a great database of agents. But, when using them, it's good to check the agent or agency against one or all of the other three. **Charges a slight monthly fee. Is still helpful. 

General Sites and Forums:

~Writers Digest   also offers a very informative newsletter.

~Writer’s Market   if you're more comfortable online, they offer the same thing as the book.

~Absolute Write

~Agent Query

Blogs of Note:

~Query Shark   an agent runs this and is quick and to the point as she dissects queries that work and don’t. A MUST READ before querying.  

 ~Nathan Bransford’s blog   an agent with Curtis Brown, Bransford covers just about everything in his blog. Great stuff to be found.

 ~Guide To Literary Agents   run by the editor of Guide to Literary Agents, this blog is full of invaluable information.

~ YA Highway   a blog dedicated to the ever growing genre of Young Adult.

~Rants and Ramblings: On Life as a Literary Agent.

~Editorial Ass   a blog by an editorial assistant. Fun and informative.

~Bookends, LLC   the agency’s blog.

~The  Writer’s Edge

 
A note on conferences: Here's my take. Others may disagree with me. Take everything with a grain of salt. Conferences are good when you're ready for critique and networking.
If your going for information--save yourself a few hundred bucks, and spend a weekend with these websites. If your looking for an agent or professional critique--conferences are good for that. If you want to commiserate with other writers? Find a critique group--online or at your local college.