writers.com bookstore
The Craft of Writing
(reference, style guides, books on technique, etc.)
Arranged alphabetically by author; click on title for more information.
The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors,
and Publishers (15th Edition)The Chicago Manual of Style has been the editorial standard since 1906 and, like it or not, is the definitive word on punctuation, documentation, foreign languages, indexes, design, and typography for most major publishers.
The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid
Them)Jack M. Bickham
Bickham's written more than 75 published novels and many publication on the craft of writing. This one focuses on what he considers the most common writing mistakes that "can turn even dynamite story ideas into slush pile rejects" and how to overcome them.
Self-Editing for Fiction WritersRenni Browne and Dave King
The subtitle of this very helpful book is "How to Edit Yourself Into Print" -- and it might well live up to its billing. Browne and King -- both experienced editors -- share proven techniques that are sure to improve a manuscript. The chapters on "show and tell" and "easy beats" may be illuminating even to professional writers.
The New Fowler's Modern English UsageR. W. Burchfield (Editor), H. W. Fowler
This new (2004) edition of the classic reference references the differences between British, American, Australian and other branches of English as well as updating other information. "Fowler's name stands for 'usage' as much as Webster's stands for 'dictionary' and Roget's for 'thesaurus': Modern English Usage went on to become the most famous and highly regarded usage book ever published." -- The Atlantic Monthly
The New Roget's Thesaurus: In Dictionary Form Norman Lewis (Editor)
This is our personal favorite "everyday" paperback version of Roget. With 17,000 entries arranged in alphabetical order, it's a quick and easy-to-use essential (As well as cheap). But then, it also helps to have the more comprehensive Roget's International Thesaurus. This up-to-date thesaurus contains 330,000 synonyms, antonyms, and related words and phrases, as well as the latest slang and commonly used foreign terms.
Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain
EnglishPatricia T. O'Conner
Possibly the most popular book on grammar ever published. It's highly entertaining and an (almost) painless way to improving your grammar. "In short, the book is useful. There is precisely enough (and no more) wit and illustrative humor.It's like Strunk and White combined with S.J. Perelman--none of whom would have had the slightest objection." -- New York Times Book Review
Words Fail Me What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About WritingPatricia T. O'Conner
In this 1999 sequel to Woe Is I, O'Conner "returns to the field of writerly how-to-with words Fail Me. This practical guide for aspiring raconteurs expands on a succession of essential principles for good writing, from knowing your audience to varying your rhythms, with illustrative examples from such sources as Jan Austen, Frank McCourt and Miles Davis." -- Publishers Weekly
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English
UsageMerriam-Webster Staff
Garner's Modern American Usage is often considered the American equivalent of the British Fowler's, but we find Merriam-Webster's usage guide to be, overall, more readable and useful than Garner. Both The American Heritage Guide to English Usage and The Colombia Guide to Standard American Usage are considerably more concise and will probably do for most general users. If you must invest in a single volume, M-W may well be the way to go.
Words into TypeMarjorie E. Skillin, Robert Malcolm Gay
With its easy-to-use index and definitive explanations for questions of
manuscript protocol, copyediting, style, grammar and usage, this
reference guide is great for those who find
The Chicago Manual of Style unwieldy and unclear. Alas, a
long-awaited new edition has still not appeared.
The Elements of Style (4th edition, 1999)
William Strunk and E. B. White
"Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It's as timeless as a book can be in our
age of volubility." -- The New York Times
"The work remains a nonpareil: direct, correct, and delightful." --
The New Yorker
"[R]ecognized as the best book of its kind we have." -- St. Louis
Dispatch
"No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more
than this persistent little volume" -- The Boston Globe
Lapsing Into a Comma : A Curmudgeon's
Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print--and How to Avoid
Them
Bill Walsh
Veteran copyeditor Walsh is not as much of a curmudgeon as he likes to pretend, but he is properly
opinionated and entertaining. Neither this book or its follow-up,
Elephants of Style should be considered as your sole guides to style -- Walsh is a
newspaperman and his slant tends toward the journalistic -- they are easy to understand and highly raeadable books.
...and don't forget our own helpful (and fun) reference book:
The Word Book
from Writers.com! It sorts out and clears up some of the confusions and misuses
we all face with the English language. The Word Book from Writers.com
offers a fresh perspective, practical savvy, and occasional sass as it sorts out and provides
answers succinctly, often with examples drawn from amusing, profound, or just plain strange
quotations the famous, not-so-famous, and infamous past and present.
Other answers go a step further --and occasionally right over the edge -- with
entertaining forays into the quirks and fascinations of English. We'd love for you
to order it directly from us
(we'll even give you free shipping within the U.S. -- just select "voucher" instead
of any form of shipping), but you can also
order from Amazon.com, too!
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