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SUCK IT! WEBZINE IN ASSOCIATION WITH AMAZON.COM DELIVERS
Books for Writers
Editor, Jane Steinberg
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Editor's Picks
The Elements of Journalism : What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect
by Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel
"Unless we can grasp and reclaim the theory of a
free press," warn Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in The Elements of
Journalism, "journalists risk allowing their profession to disappear."
Through their discussions with journalists, the Committee of Concerned
Journalists defined nine "clear principles" of journalism, which Kovach and
Rosenstiel explore in great detail. The first principle: "Journalism's first
obligation is to the truth." The last: "Its practitioners must be allowed to
exercise their personal conscience." In between come issues of loyalty,
verification, independence, power monitoring, and more. Invigorating reading
for newsroom interns, jaded reporters, and anyone else who needs to be reminded
of the rigorousness, integrity, and meaning of true journalism.
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The Creative Writer's Companion : Selling Your Ideas to Movies, Books, Electronic Media, and More
by Stanley J. Corwin, et al
One would be wise to focus not on this book's
title, but on its subtitle. The book has little to do with creative writing. It
has everything to do with creative marketing, for people who write--for people
who, like Stan Corwin, see the word "exploit" and its derivatives as having
positive connotations. Not that we have anything against milking an idea for
all it's worth…we just don't want anyone to be misled. What Corwin is
interested in here is creating a product "that can be marketed in several
different areas." Forget the old "if you loved the book, see the movie"
cliché, says Corwin. "If you loved the book," he says, "see the cable
special, listen to the tape, play the electronic game, and put the calendar on
your desk."
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Writers on Writing : Collected Essays from the New York Times
by John Darnton(Introduction)
After 30 years as a journalist, John Darnton
decided to try his hand at writing a novel. If he wrote 1,000 words a day, he
discovered, he'd have a book in a matter of months. But wouldn't it be nice to
learn a few tricks of the trade from other writers as well? Thus was born
The New York Times's Monday-morning "Writers on Writing" series. In
embarking on the series, says Darnton, he learned that the writers he most
wanted to hear from were not necessarily the same ones who most wanted to hear
from him. But there couldn't have been too many who turned him down. The 41
columns collected in Writers on Writing are by the likes of Saul Bellow,
Mary Gordon, David Mamet, Annie Proulx, Carol Shields, and Paul
West.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of American Writers
Published in conjunction with C-SPAN's American
Writers series, this Dictionary of American Writers features capsule
biographies of more than 1,100 American writers. Among them are "numerous
American Indians, former slaves, and immigrants from every corner of the
earth." There are writers of fiction, poetry, drama, history, essays, diaries,
philosophy, and even screenplays. The book starts in with Edward Abbey and
doggedly charts a path all the way to Louis Zukofsky. If you're looking for a
little information about an awful lot of American writers, this will suit your
needs just fine.
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Too Lazy to Work Too Nervous to Steal : How to Have a Great Life As a Freelance Writer
by John Clausen
This affable book about freelance writing champions
two winning aspects of working without a boss: first, your time is your own,
and second, there's no cap on your salary. Of course, there's no minimum wage,
either, as anyone who has taken on an unprofitable project can surely attest.
Author John Clausen happens to be a freelancer extraordinaire with a knack for
direct mail and other promotions (though he's also written newspaper and
magazine articles, advertising copy, and, obviously, books). He generously
shares the wisdom gleaned from his many freelancing experiences, and those of
many of his colleagues, regaling us with a remarkable array of freelancing
adventures along the way.
More bestselling books for
writers
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