Whether you’re a newbie writer or a seasoned veteran, it’s always a good idea to keep learning about writing (the craft and the business) and improving your skills. If you’re looking for some new-to-you resources to dig into in the new year, you’ll want to peruse this list we’ve compiled for you. (Some of us will be taking each other’s suggestions!)
We asked several Evangelical Press Association freelancers for their favorite books and they were happy to share these. Some of them are specifically about writing. Others touch on related topics such as marketing or establishing good habits. In no particular order . . .
- Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
- Newsletter Ninja: How to Become An Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque
- The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style, 4th Edition by Robert Hudson
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamotte
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- The Solo Video Journalist by Matt Pearl
- On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
- The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
- On Writing (and Writers): A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions by C.S. Lewis
- A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman
- Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by Jon Franklin
- Make Every Word Count by Gary Provost
- You Can Succeed as a Christian Writer by Nick Harrison
And here’s a podcast suggestion to jazz up the list:
- Thomas Umstattdt Jr.’s Novel Marketing Podcast
One last suggestion (which we are not getting paid to make): The Evangelical Press Association has compiled a library of 78 on-demand video presentations from the virtual events and webinars held in recent years and will continue to add to this treasury in the years ahead. This is a valuable one-stop source of training from industry experts in writing, editing, design, photography, digital publishing, social media, professional development, and more. The catch? You need to be an EPA member to access the library, but Associate membership (i.e. if you’re not a publication) is only $80 a year. For the price of four or five of the books listed above, you get access to a great many resources and networking opportunities, including the monthly freelancers’ Zoom chat hosted by this blog’s editors! Learn more here.
What are your favorite resources for writers? Please share in the comments section.
Thanks to Ann Byle, Sommer Cunningham, Akosua Frempong, Chris Maxwell,
Patti Townley-Covert, and Terry White for their recommendations.
Christian Freelance Writers Network 