Have you tried using Adobe Kuler? kuler.adobe.com/ They have a great collection of color pallets that you could use. Start off with a common base and go from there and then test away and get feedback.

For copy, I'm getting a lot out of "Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft"http://goo.gl/9eH5q, which breaks down the craft quite well.

For choosing colors, I'd suggest starting with a palette from elsewhere. Just like Kuler as louhong mentioned. Starting with proven colors will be better than choosing from scratch. And that applies to everyone, not just you.

I think in your case, feedback and validation from peers will be essential. However you'll have a leg up on the rest of us. Designing for accessibility is a challenge you already understand better than I do.

As for writing copy, there are definitely people more qualified to advise you than me!

I'm in the same boat - a colorblind engineer. I always browse kuler, and google stuff like "web design awards" to find examples. Also, if you can pick up a copy of Illustrator it has a cool color picker feature that allows you to look at different color options based on color theory (complimentary, analogous, etc.)

John Hicks (of Firefox-icon-fame) is a colorblind designer. He gives some hints for coping on his blog sometimes -- http://hicksdesign.co.uk/tag/colourblindness/