These are a few of the books I have used over the years that I found especially helpful.
WRITERS MARKET, Cincinnati, Writers Digest Books, 2007
This book is published each year and is usually in the library. Use it for ideas, and to make a list of the publishers who publish the type of book you have written, for your query letters.
Lamott, Anne, Bird by Bird, New York, Anchor Books, 1994.
This is one of my favorite books on writing, especially for the story of the title, which inspired me to have a tiny favorite picture on my desk.
King, Stephen, On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft, New York, Pocket Books, 2000.
Good practical ideas, interesting about his life and how writing helped his recovery from his terrible accident in 1999.
Goldberg, Natalie, Writing Down the Bones – Freeing the Writer Within, Boston, Shambala, 1986 and Wild Mind – Living the Writer’s Life, New York, Bantam Books, 1990.
Both these books offer inspirational advice about dealing with procrastinations and getting into the zen of writing. She writes as if she is talking to the reader.
Sloane, William, The Craft of Writing, New York, W.W. Norton, 1983.
A classic reference book.
Card, Orson Scott, Characters & Viewpoint – How to invent, construct, and animate vivid, credible characters and choose the best eyes through which to view the events of your short story or novel, Cincinnati, Writers Digest Books, 1988.
Another classic reference book. This was recommended by a gifted teacher, Gail Galloway Adams, who inspired me when I was beginning to write.
Madden, David, Revising Fiction – A Handbook for Writers, New York, Plume Books, 1988.
Helpful book for rewrites, which every writer does over and over.
Welty, Eudora, One Writer’s Beginnings, New York, Warner Books, 1983.
A wonderful tale from lectures about listening, learning to see, and finding a voice.
Dillard, Annie, The Writing Life, New York, Harper & Rowe, 1989.
An inspiring book about the craft, with the best description in the first sentence, When you write, you lay out a line of words. Since so much of writing is solitary, it helps to read what others feel and have written about the craft.
Litowinsky, Olga, It’s a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World – A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Today’s Competitive Children’s Book Market, New York, Walker & Company, 2001.
Though this is focused on children’s books, it has many helpful ideas for any writer on getting published.
Ackerman, Diane, A Natural History of the Senses, New York, Vintage Books, 1991.
This is one of my favorites that I go back to again and again for ideas and reminders of beautiful descriptions linking the senses, but overall for pleasure.