On this page, David Hall displays a bookstore of helpful
books for aspiring authors and editors. Dave spent seven
years running a book publishing company, and helped several authors
publish their first novels. While doing that, he worked as an editor of
a number of books, and several of the books went on to win awards. One
of his editorial projects, A Question of Consequence, earned a
starred review from Booklist.
These are books he encouraged his authors and editors to read, to
improve their understanding of quality writing.We offer these books through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com. These are all
books that we are highly recommended for writers, editors, and the publishing business.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, Dave King
There are a lot of
books on writing out there. Many carry the same messages. But this one is
different. It talks about those points that are TRULY salient. Using it,
side by side with your latest project, is like having a friendly instructor
standing by, saying. "Wait, you might want to . . . " or, "It would be better
if you . . . " Especially good sections are on showing versus telling, point of view, and characterization.
I highly recommend this book, especially for writers who are serious about
taking their writing over the greatest of mountains. Buy the book. Read it
thoroughly, taking notes. Go back to your writing and write some more. Then
go back to this book and read it again. If you apply yourself, you can
dramatically raise the level of your writing, but it will take you reading
this book many times to thoroughly absorb all it teaches.
The book is also a great help for editors who want to help
their authors get more power into their writing.
Fiction writers: If you only read one book about writing,
read this one.
You may want to visit the author's web site:
www.davekingedits.com. Click the
link there that says "writing advice" for several articles on writing that
are very helpful. Dave King also offers online one-on-one sessions with
writers.
Characters and
Viewpoint
by Orson Scott Card
While Self-Editing for
Fiction Writers (above) is a comprehensive course in the principles that
distinguish professional writing from hack writing, Orson Scott Card here
gets into principles that will help you create a great story:
*The factors that make a good character
*How to come up with ideas for your characters
*How different types of stories relate to the characters
*How to give emotion to the characters
*The different types of characters
*Transformations in the lives of characters
*The pros and cons of each point-of-view
Fiction writers: If you only want to read two books
about fiction writing, read the Browne-King book above and this one.
Stein on Writing : A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of
Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies by Sol Stein
This is the classic
text on writing. Many acclaim it the best book on writing ever
written.
While the content is most helpful for fiction writers, he addresses both
fiction and nonfiction writing. He shows how to plan your characters, your
plot, your pace and your point of view. He explains what makes both fiction
and nonfiction writing interesting. He doesn't believe that great writers
are usually gifted in creating great writing with a first draft. Rather, he
believes that great writing is created by the author being able to take
criticism and to be critical of himself or herself so that the first draft
can be revised and tuned so that it becomes great.
This book, we feel, is very valuable for editors, also. Stein goes
through a comprehensive and extremely helpful editing strategy that he calls
the "triage" method—to revise your own manuscript or to edit
another's.
Writing for
Story:
Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by a Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner
by Jon Franklin
An eye-opening explanation of what
makes good writing and how to create it. While this book addresses
nonfiction writing, it is highly instructive for writers of fiction also.
Franklin advocates starting with an outline, writing the climax first, and
engaging in other grueling tasks that seem like hard work because they are.
"This wonderful book changed my writing life. I wish that
I could say that I have lived up to Jon Franklin's writing advice, but at
best I have aspired to live up to the advice Jon Franklin shares in WRITING
FOR STORY. I first read this in 1988 and have periodically re-read it since
then. For nonfiction feature writers, this book is on a par with Strunk &
White. Highly recommended." —Robert Beattie, New York Times
bestselling author of Nightmare in Wichita.
On Writing Well:
The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
by William Zinsser
"On Writing Well" is possibly the
best-written, most-accessible coverage of effective nonfiction writing. It
is a classic that was first published in 1976 and is now in its seventh
edition.
In 300 pages Zinsser tackles a broad range of subjects
such as style, tone, word usage, structure, and unity, and applies these
principles to various forms of nonfiction writing: the interview, the travel
article, the memoir, etc. It will lead you through the mire of poor writing,
a mire littered with the sins of clutter, fuzzy thinking, poor usage,
passive verbs, you name it. One author, after reading this book proclaimed:
"So I repented, and now I'm a disciple."
How to Get Happily Published (5th Ed) by Judith Appelbaum.
Now in its fifth edition, this book has been a staple for aspiring authors
for over twenty years. Judith Appelbaum is well-known in the publishing
business and has put together an excellent book on how to write a
publishable book, how to get your manuscript accepted by a publishing house,
and how to work with the publisher once you accomplish that. This newest edition
also has the latest on self-publishing
options - pros and cons.
Editors on
Editing: What Writers Need to Know about What Editors Do
Edited by Gerald Gross
This book is a series of some
three dozen essays written by prominent editors on various aspects of
editing. Their reflections range from the thoughtful to the
lighthearted—comments on what makes a successful editor, the history of
editing in America, the ethical and moral dimensions of editing, how books
are chosen, how editors schedule their work, the editor as negotiator, copy
editing, line editing, etc. There are also a number of essays about editing
various genres of writing: Christian literature, crime fiction, children's
books, mass-market paperbacks, fantasy, reference, romance, and so forth.
While the title of the book indicates that it is written
for writers, it is every bit as useful, if not more so, for aspiring
editors. In fact, at Mapletree, we have asked all of our editors to read
this book. It will provide an excellent education in the craft from dozens
of the most successful editors of our day.
Guerrilla Marketing for Writers : 100
Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work
by J. Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman,
and Michael Larsen
Harper Collins publishes 1,200
books a year, according to the authors of Guerrilla Marketing for Writers.
Is there a snowball's chance in the Sahara that their publicity department
can adequately promote all of them? Of course not. Don't let someone else's
publicity department drop the ball when it comes to your book. Guerrilla
Marketing's 100 weapons for selling your work range from creating media
kits and promotional calendars to appearing at book-group discussions and
fundraisers.
Publicize Your Book!: An
Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves
by Jacqueline Deval
Jacqueline Deval
explains here how publishers simply don't have the resources to fully
promote every title and remain profitable. Nor are they as effective in many
areas of publicity as the author herself or himself beating the bushes for
their book. Learn here how to do those things that will make your book a
success.
1001 Ways to Market Your Books: for Authors
and Publishers
by John Kremer
Price $27.95 - sorry,
no discounts available on this excellent book.
The definitive book on marketing books—700 pages packed full of ideas for
authors and publishers. The book also contains keywords for connecting to John Kremer's online
book marketing helps. While written primarily for publishers, the book is
loaded with tips for authors—when you need to coordinate your efforts, the
things you need to do on your own, and when you should get out of the way
and let the publisher do it.
The Complete Guide to Book Publicity by Jodee Blanco. Available from
Allworth Press. Retail price: $19.94.
This book belongs
on every author's bookshelf. The nuts and bolts
of book promotion are covered for fiction, nonfiction, hardcover trade, mass
market, and trade paperbacks. Readers are told how to tailor campaigns to
reach differing consumer, trade, and special-interest audiences; how to
pitch the media and arrange author tours with print, television, and radio
interviews; and how to produce headline-grabbing promotional events.
Jodee Blanco has spearheaded campaigns for more than a dozen New York Times
best-sellers. President of Blanco & Peace, a Chicago-based public relations
firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, and a faculty member of New
York University's Center for Publishing, she splits her time among all three
cities.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
The Savvy Author's Guide to
Book Publicity by Lissa Warren
Retail price: $14.00
Recommended by Publishers
Weekly. In their review, they remind authors that your work doesn't end
when a book is written. Lissa Warren has learned this over the course of a
career publicizing well-known and unknown authors, and she shares her wisdom
in this practical, information-packed volume. Authors who aren't already in
the publishing industry should read this just for the crash course in jargon
it provides, but there's so much more. Warren covers all the topics authors
might be wondering about, from publicity basics to working well with your
publicist and creating buzz in the media, plus plenty of areas many authors
might not consider, such as doing a "big-mouth" mailing of a book and what
to wear for a TV interview. Simply reading this won't guarantee publicity
for a book, but it will give authors an understanding of just how hard they
have to work to accomplish that key element to a book's success: "Get the
customer to go to the store and buy it."
The Frugal Book Promoter:
How to Do What Your Publisher Won't by Carolyn
Howard-Johnson
Retail price: $17.95
This book is the product of
experience and extensive research. The author lists numerous
resources available to authors (many of them online), publicity protocol advice that'll make you
feel like an instant insider, and creative techniques to publicize your
work. She tells you how to evaluate the success of your efforts.
She teaches you about branding, how it works and how it is different from publicizing one
book at a time. She shows you what belongs in a media kit, where to submit
articles, what to bring to a writers' conference, how to use promotional
gifts and where to get them inexpensively, and how to do a TV interview.
Other recommended books:
How To Start And Run A Small Book Publishing
Company: A Small Business Guide To Self-Publishing And Independent
Publishing
by Peter I. Hupalo
More a book for publishers than for writers, Peter has done
both and tells you how to do both jobs well. From business decisions such as
how many books to order for your first printing and the advantages and
disadvantages of print-on-demand, to mundane details like putting a piece of
plywood over the pallet before you stack your book cartons on it, this book
is packed with helpful information.
Price $18.95. (Sorry, no discounts available on this excellent book.)
Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money-Making
Guide for Authors, Independent Publishers and Small Presses
by Tom Ross and Marilyn Ross
List Price
$19.95.
Buy it here for only $13.97
Tom and Marilyn Ross are experts in book publishing and marketing. They
founded the Small Publishers Association of North America, and are loaded
with ideas for selling books.
