Books You Should be Reading if you're Writing

For any novel I'm reading, I usually have a non-fiction counterpart that I have on my nightstand. Not a book that I'd want for my daily commute (two hours each way), as I prefer to read fiction to pass the time, but something more substantial. Lately, those books have been about writing. I already spoke about some other books I've read here.

Today I'm going to talk about:
An Editors Advice to Writers: The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner

This is another book that will teach you more about the writer you are, than about the craft. Betsy Lerner was once an editor, and now has shifted roles and is an agent, oh yeah, and she's also written a memoir. So, she's sat in a seat on all sides of the publishing table.

Lerner talks about the different types of writer, odds are you will probably see characteristics of yourself in a few of them. The Ambivalent Writer, the Neurotic, etc. Odds are, most of us aren't just one! This book is not all puppies and rainbows, to some Lerner could come off as being possibly not the most positive person when talking about writers. Being that she was an editor, and "An Editor's Advice For Writers" is right in the title, I'd be surprised if she didn't talk about some of her screwball clients or some of the interesting people she'd met along the span of her career.

This is the book to read if you're needing a push-in whatever direction. It's given me some interesting perspective from the other side of the desk, and I will pick it up again the next time I'm feeling like I need a firm poke in the back to get me back on track!

Amazon