In December, I made a list of writing goals for 2013. One of
those goals is to get through the stack of books I have sitting in my home
office. (Anyone else have that problem? J)
Recently, I saw something online concerning reading goals. I have decided to
read one book per week for 52 weeks. Many of the books I own are about writing and occasionally I will be talking
about some of them here. Hopefully, I will finally get through the
backlog!
Some of the books I have were recommended by various writers
and other people in the field. I look for recommendations in magazines and on
websites, email lists, blogs, etc. Some of these books were published long ago
and others are more recent. I continue to add to my collection, with
both hard copy and eBooks.
What books about writing have you read, whether it was
recently or years ago? Do you have any recommendations? What do you plan to
read this year?
I attended a conference last year and a literary agent asked
the attendees the following questions:
How many have an eReader?
How many read physical books?
How many go to libraries?
How many buy at book stores?
How many buy books online?
Many raised their hands in response to all the questions. I
think this is a good thing. How about you?
May we all get through those stacks of books this year and
continue to add to them!
Debbie A. Byrne has a B.S. in Mass Communication with a
minor in History. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators (SCBWI) and is working on her first children’s book.
6 comments:
I agree with you Debbie - good writers are good readers. However, I'd just add that reading books in the genre you write in is just as important in terms of becoming a better writer and developing that all-important, unteachable ear for what works as reading 'how-to write' books. That said, I can recommend two books for writers - Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Frugal Promoter (it's a real bible for inexpensive promotion), and Larry Brooks' Story Engineering (especially if, like me, you struggle with plotting). I also like the classic Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.
I was going to recommend Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg too. It really inspired to follow my dream to be a writer. I could raise my hand to every one of those questions, except going to bookstores. I don't do that much anymore because there are none in my immediate area anymore. I have to drive to the big ciy/malls to find a bricks and mortar store.
My hand would be raised to all your questions, and like you I think that is a good thing. I too love Writing Down the Bones. It's a book I go back to often. This year I need more lazy Sunday afternoons to just read a good novel.
What a great lesson this post is in demonstrating that we can't judge others' habits by our own, much less make business decisions based on our personal habits. Speaking of reading, one way to learn more about what others are thinking and doing is, yeah...lots of reading. Ha!
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Excited about how much the new edition of the Frugal Book Promoter (expanded! updated!) can help writers with the tried and true and the new media, too. Now a USA Book News award-winner in its own right (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo) it the original edition was also a Reader Views winner and an Irwin Award winner.
Debbie, I have intentions of going through all the books I've bought, but haven't had the chance to read. I have them in my office area, my living room, my bedroom, and my hallway.:)
I have both of the books Maggie mentioned and I agree Carolyn's Frugal Promoter is a valuable tool for inexpensive marketing.
I've just moved from WA state to Prescott AZ and I had to trim down my TBR and "to keep" books--I had a ton (well, at least a goodly number of pounds!) but I still many books to read on my Kindle and in paper.
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