Authors, Here Are Some Books You Might Need in Your Life

Perusing the aisles made me think about the books that have made the biggest difference in my author career, and I wanted to share them with you. Hopefully they have as big of an impact in your writing and marketing.

Here’s my top ten list. Enjoy!

1. On Writing by Stephen King: This is THE book that made me decide to try and write my first book. It’s relatable, interesting and inspiring.
2. Writing Naked by Jennifer Probst: Similar to On Writing in its easy-to-read and relatable prose, I dog-earned SO many pages of this book. It’s a fun and inspiring read.
3. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki King: I just got this book after a recommendation from Ines Johnson and I’m only halfway through but loving it so far.
4. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon: I got this book as a gift from New York Times Bestselling author CD Reiss, and tore through it in one sitting. It’s a fantastic book on creativity, inspiration, and how to learn from others.
5. Help! My Facebook Ads Suck by Malorie Cooper: This book is so easy to understand and implement – it demystified Facebook ads for me. Highly recommend.
6. 2k to 10k by Rachel Aaron: This short book was powerful in helping me to write both faster and better.
7. 7 Figure Fiction by T. Taylor: I recommend this book frequently – if you are writing fiction, you need to understand universal fantasies. This author spoke on this topic at Inkers Con 2023!
8. Story Grid by Shawn Coyne and Steven Pressfield: This book helped me truly understand genre (a story element I’d been completely ignoring) and how to create a book that made readers happy.
9. The Kick Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig: If you have a short attention span, get a copy of this and put it in your bathroom, or in your car, and just read a page every time you have a few spare minutes. It’s highly entertaining and has 1,001 tips for authors that are all pure gold.
10. The Emotion Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman: Treat this one in the same way as you would a dictionary. Whenever you need a way to show (versus tell) how someone is feeling or reacting, pick up this book and find a deep well of possible descriptors.

I hope at least one of those recommendations speaks to you – they are all fantastic books.