Top Gift Books for the Freelance Writer

For the average freelance writer, there is a common problem when looking at books that will enhance your writing career – you don’t have the money to buy them! Even a great investment is hard to justify when you’re between writing gigs, trying hard to make your last $5 buy a week’s worth of food! So for all of you folks that know a writer in just such a predicament, I’ve found the five best books a freelance writer can own so that you can give them the gift that keeps on giving; an improvement in their career.

The Elements of Style Illustrated - William Strunk Jr., E.B. White

The Elements of Style has long been a must have for any serious student of writing. First published almost 50 years ago, the book’s overriding lesson – to make every word count – is one that guides writers to this day. The advice it contains on writing is timeless, delivered with wit and wisdom. This new illustrated version includes artwork by Maira Kalman, whose vivid artwork brings a fresh new dimension to this classic manual. Buy it in hardback for your favorite writer, and you’ll have made one writing friend for life.

Writer's Market 2007 (Writer's Market)– Writer’s Market

Any freelancer serious about making money needs to own an up to date copy of Writer’s Market. Filled with pages upon pages of market listings, agents, publishers and contests, Writer’s Market is the quintessential resource for the writing professional. In addition to detailed market listings, Writer’s Market includes articles filled with helpful insights from seasoned professionals, interviews with editors and publishers and educational how-to pieces for the new writer. In the Deluxe Edition, you also gain access to the Writer’s Market online database of market listings, as well as helpful online tools, like submissions tracking software. This is one book that no writer can do without.

How to Write Irresistible Query Letters – Lisa Collier Cool

Written by someone who is both a freelance writer and a magazine editor, Lisa Collier Cool’s no-nonsense approach to writing tightly focused, highly professional query letters is a must have for both the novice and the seasoned professional. Filled with examples of queries that sold and queries that didn’t, each with a clear dissection of why one worked and another didn’t. Though a good book for the new writer, this book will help even long time writers improve their querying skills.

The Freelance Writer's Bible: Your Guide to a Profitable Writing Career Within One Year – David Trottier

Writing is not an easy business. The freelance writer is part artist, part teacher, part reporter and part salesman. It’s a rare writer that fills all of these roles well, and it’s all the more rare to find a book that so clearly teaches you to do just that. The Freelance Writer’s Bible covers everything from writing mechanics to the writing process. It covers how to develop ideas to sell and then teaches how to effectively sell them. As a book that is both a useful reference volume and an immediately helpful guide, this is an essential for the professional writer’s bookshelf.

The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success (The Renegade Writer's Freelance Writing series) – Lisa Formichelli and Diana Burrell

Dubbing itself “A totally unconventional guide to freelance writing success”, The Renegade Writer is just that. Authors Formichelli and Burrell approach the oft repeated conventions of the freelancing world with a unique approach, one that defies such conventions and brings writers their much deserved paychecks. Think that you need ‘connections’ to land an article assignment? Think that editors are there to bring down writers dreams? Ever wonder why following the rules you’ve learned never seems to get you anywhere? This book will show you how to ignore the rules by doing what works. Filled with examples of highly successful authors and freelancers, The Renegade Writer is an inspiration that will spell the difference between mediocrity and success.