I’m going to guess that every writer – especially beginners aspiring to be published some day - has a shelf full of books about writing, marketing, and related matters.
This is a list of what’s on mine at the moment, in no particular order. These are by no means all or even the best books out there. The list doesn’t include a number of books I have read in the past, but don’t presently own. Because I write nonfiction, you will find books focused on style, grammar, punctuation, and memoir, as well as books on freelancing and getting published.
Writing Freelance – Christine Adamec
The Associated Press Stylebook
Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art – Judith Barrington
Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking – David Bayles and Ted Orland
Writing and Publishing Personal Essays – Sheila Bender
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Magazine Articles – Sheree Bykofsky, Jennifer Bayse Sander, and Lynne Rominger
Modern American Memoirs – edited by Cort Conley and Annie Dillard
101 Things Every Writer Needs to Know – Scott Edelstein
The Complete Writer’s Kit: Everything You Need to Get Inspired, Get Writing, and Get Published – Scott Edelstein
The No-Experience-Necessary Writer’s Course: a Unique Stress-free Approach for Anyone Who Has Ever Wanted to Write – Scott Edelstein
The Renegade Writer – Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters that Rock: The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Selling More Work Faster – Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell
Telling True Stories: a Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University – edited by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call
Freelancing for Newspapers: Writing for an Overlooked Market – Sue Fagalde Lick
A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation – Noah Lukeman
Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That?: How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000 or More Writing Nonfiction Books and How You Can Too! – Marc McCutcheon
Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book – Dan Poynter
Print-on-Demand Book Publishing – Morris Rosenthal
The Elements of Style – William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation – Lynne Truss
Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style – Virginia Tufte
Writer’s Market
Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir – edited by William Zinsser
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction – William Zinsser
Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past – William Zinsser
