· The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing, ed. Tim Harper for ASJA (a guide to the business, for nonfiction writers)
· Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (inspirational, to get and keep you going)
· Follow the Story by James B. Stewart (on narrative structure)
· Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner (the big picture on book publishing)
· Secrets of a Freelance Writer:How to Make $100,000 a Year or More by Robert Bly (third edition), how to make big money as a commercial freelancer
· Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft, by Janet Burroway
·My Words Are Gonna Linger: The Art of Personal History , ed. by Paula Stallings Yost and Pat McNees (for people who want to tell their own story)
· Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing, by Margaret Atwood
· On Writing, by Stephen King
· The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life, by Amy Tan
· What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers , by by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter (also useful for nonfiction)
· A Writer's Coach: An Editor's Guide to Words That Work, by Jack Hart
· Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times, The New York Times, and John Darnton (introduction)
· Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg
· Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, by Janet Burroway (also useful for nonfiction)
· Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by Jon Franklin (what makes a good story and how to structure for development, even while interviewing)
· The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard (1990)
· The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work, Maria Arana, ed., (a collection from Washington Post Book World)
· Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (inspirational, to get and keep you going)
· Follow the Story by James B. Stewart (on narrative structure)
· Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner (the big picture on book publishing)
· Secrets of a Freelance Writer:How to Make $100,000 a Year or More by Robert Bly (third edition), how to make big money as a commercial freelancer
· Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft, by Janet Burroway
·My Words Are Gonna Linger: The Art of Personal History , ed. by Paula Stallings Yost and Pat McNees (for people who want to tell their own story)
· Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing, by Margaret Atwood
· On Writing, by Stephen King
· The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life, by Amy Tan
· What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers , by by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter (also useful for nonfiction)
· A Writer's Coach: An Editor's Guide to Words That Work, by Jack Hart
· Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times, The New York Times, and John Darnton (introduction)
· Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, by Natalie Goldberg
· Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, by Janet Burroway (also useful for nonfiction)
· Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by Jon Franklin (what makes a good story and how to structure for development, even while interviewing)
· The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard (1990)
· The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work, Maria Arana, ed., (a collection from Washington Post Book World)