Books on Writers Shelves

by Danielle Christopher

Chicago Manual of Style 16^th edition

This very large manual offers expanded information on writing electronic publications, including web-based content and e-books. There is an updated appendix on production and digital technology demystifing the process of electronic work and offers a primer on the use of XML markup. The Chicago system of documentation has been streamlined and adapted for a variety of online and digital sources. Figures and tables are updated throughout the book-including a return to the manual's popular hyphenation table and new, comprehensive listings of Unicode numbers for special characters.

Many publications rely on the CMS way of writing the book is very expansive and can be be valuable to a hobby or professional writer.

The Elements of Style: 50^th Anniversary edition by William Strunk & E.B. White

You've more than likely already used this book yourself and now, The Elements of Style is available in a specially bound 50th Anniversary Edition. it offers the title's vast audience an opportunity to won a more durable, elegantly bound and slim edition of this time-tested classic. Containing the same content as the Fourth Edition, revised in 1999, the new case bound 50th Anniversary Edition includes a brief overview of the book's illustrious history. Used extensively by individual writers as well as high school and college students of writing, it has conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. This new deluxe edition makes the perfect gift for writers of any age and genre.

The Writer’s Digest Guide to Query Letters by Wendy Burt-Thomas

Professional freelance writer and magazine editor, Wendy Burt-Thomas shares practical advice on how to craft persuasive letters that connect you with editors and agents, and generate yeses. You will learn how to conduct targeted research to find suitable agents and how to hook an editor with a tantalizing lead and shape a summary that compels them to buy.  It will also help you to select the strongest slant for your book or article and make your query rejection-proof by weeding out subtle mistakes that can sabotage your project.

I personally used some of the tips mentioned in this book. It made me feel more confident to send a letter. (Yes, I did get the job.)

How to write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen

This is a book I am taking my time with, while reading. It is very thick with the process to write a winning book proposal. It helps fine tune the elements by helping you choose the best editors and publishers for a particular proposal. Michael Larson takes you step by step to create a professional-looking proposal package.

At the end of it, we all crave an acceptance. This book, written by a publishing insider, might get you just that.

2012 Writer's Market. Editor Robert Lee Brewer

The very large 2012 Writer's Market details thousands of publishing opportunities for writers. It includes listings for book publishers, consumer and trade magazines, contests and awards, literary agents, newspapers, playwriting markets and screenwriting markets. These listings include contact and submission information to help writers get their work published.

"What I appreciate most about Writer's Market is that it’s impossible to pick up the book, flip through it, and put it down 15 minutes later without at least five, new profitable ideas that I can execute immediately. No other book on my shelf that can inspire this many practical, profitable, career-building ideas in this same amount of time."
—Christina Katz, author of The Writer's Workout, Get Known Before the Book Deal and Writer Mama.

I wish you all the best in your writing journey.

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