Bookings: 5 Great Writing Books

5 Writing Books I'd Strongly Recommend

The Writer’s Handbook
A must-have compendium resource with the names, addresses, phone numbers, editors, online sites, email addresses, etc., of countless publications and publishing houses, covering all genres; also includes, among many other things, some wonderful articles about the art, craft, and business of writing. This book is especially close to my heart, since my how-to article about freelance writing, “Keep in Writing Shape,” was featured in the 2004 edition.

The Writer’s Market
A must-have compendium resource with the names, addresses, phone numbers, editors, online sites, email addresses, etc., of countless publications and publishing houses; also includes, among many other things, some wonderful articles about the art, craft, and business of writing.

[Other important books in this family are the specialty ones: Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, Guide to Literary Agents, Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market, Poet’s Market, and Writer’s Market Deluxe Edition.]

Stephen King on Writing by Stephen King
I can’t say enough about this part-memoir, part instructional book: funny, poignant, inspirational, and loaded with awesome advice about the writing craft. The section entitled “Toolbox” is alone worth the price of the book. “The job of fiction,” writes King, arguably the greatest horror author ever, “is to find the truth inside the story's web of lies.” A true classic for anyone serious about writing and the writing life.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
This is the granddaddy of writing books, the best book of its kind pound-for-pound of all time. Originally written in 1959, this slim volume began as a self-published work by Cornell English professor William Strunk; After Strunk’s death, one of his students, E.B. White, revised and revived it. It’s known in many literary circles as “the little book.”

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
This step-by-step guide from concept to finished script was written in 1979 and is, arguably, the best book ever on how to write a screenplay. It’s helpful not only to aspiring screenwriters, however, but to fiction writers as well.