Several friends began new writing classes this week, kids in Denver started school and my niece got her first initiation into life as a high school freshman. All the signs—well, except for the ninety-degree weather—point to the end of summer. This month has been fantastic: busy with freelance copywriting and filled with outdoor adventures, especially with my nephews. But no writing. I’m hoping the time outdoors and doing new things will have secretly fueled my imagination when it’s time to get back to writing in the next few weeks.

Let’s get to the links and resources.

• Freelance Folder What’s the Single Best Think You’ve Ever Done for Your Freelancing Biz? As back-to-school advertising peaks, I’m thinking about getting back to work. Not that it’s been a slow summer! But I know that clients usually kick off new projects in the fall and it’s time for me to invest extra energy in my copywriting business. This round-up is full of interesting and fresh ideas for doing just that.

• Pimp My Novel Guest Post: What Makes a Good First Sentence Fun, informative post about the power of a first sentence with a look some great—and not so great—examples from published works that you probably know.

• Nathan Bransford How to Write a Query Letter Flag this post as a keeper. It is overflowing with links to fantastic resources from finding an agent to crafting a killer query. You’ll be glad you have this one when the time is right.

• There Are No Rules How to Ensure 75% of Agents Will Request Your Material This post is a follow-up to an earlier piece Jane Friedman published while at the Midwest Writers Conference. This “how to” post is by Marcus Sakey, who made the statement that “query letters, if any good, would result in a 75% ‘send me something response.

• (And another one from one of my favorite blogs) There Are No Rules Guest Post: 4 Ways to Improve Narrative Drive in Your Story Sara Sheridan, historical novelist, shares tips from her masterclass on Narrative Drive.

Here are two from last week.

I didn’t get a chance to post them and, if you haven’t seen these already, I recommend adding these to your reading list.

• She Writes What Do You Do All Day? Literary agent Erin Hosier shares a list of things she did (professionally) last week. Interesting insight into the types of things agents are juggling these days.

• Writer’s Digest Promptly blog Should you write what you know? Natalie Goldberg and Donald Maass weigh in.

Your turn. Any opinions, blog posts or articles on writing and/or freelancing you’d like to share? Post away in the comments below. Thanks!