A Beginning Writer's Book Shelf

OK, you're just starting out as a writer. At this point in time you may not even know the kind of writing you want to do, only that you want to write. Your goal is to see your work in print. Having the right resources can help you reach this goal. Here are some suggestions for your book shelf.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLEBOOK AND LIBEL MANUAL, edited by Norm Goldstein, is a mainstay for countless writers. The information is alphabetized and, like a dictionary, bold letters and headings guide your way. This resource will keep you out of trouble and help you to write clearly.

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, first published in 1979, is a Bible for many writers. It's packed with practical information on style, such as how to avoid redundant expression and not injecting your personal opinions into copy.

HOW TO WRITE A BOOK PROPOSAL by Michael Larsen, will help you get noticed by publishers. New writers will be especially interested in the section called "Nine Criteria for a Salable Idea." If your idea meets these criteria then you can move on to writing the proposal.

WRITER'S DIGEST GUIDE TO MANUSCRIPT FORMATS, by Dian Dincin Buchman and Seli Groves, will help you generate a crisp, appealing manuscript. This resource is divided into three main sections: books, short forms (magazine articles, short stories, poetry, greeting cards, anecdotes, photographs, recipes), and scripts.

WRITING DOWN THE BONES by Natalie Goldberg has helped many writers to hone their craft. Goldberg guides writers gently through the initial thought process, practice, secrets of creativity, and more. After you've read Goldberg's book you'll feel like a writer.

WRITERS GUIDE TO INTERNET RESOURCES by Vicki Phillips and Cindy Phillips is, according to Amazon, "a road map to all kinds of wonderful sites for writers." Having this resource on your book shelf opens up an Internet world and saves you time.

WRITE RIGHT! by Jan Venolia is, as the subtitle states, a "desktop digest of punctuation, grammar and style." Venolia dedicates her book to "those who have to struggle a bit." Using this resource isn't a struggle because the content is numbered and the explanations are clear.

You need three more resources on your shelf: a thesaurus, an old dictionary, and a new one. The old dictionary will help you to understand archaic words, the new dictionary will help you to understand technical terms and current slang.

All of these resources will help you do your work, get it to market, and hopefully, sell it. Good luck!

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief, written with Lois Krahn, MD is available from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. You'll also find another review on the American Hospice Foundation website under the "School Corner" heading.

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