Writer's Resource Reading List

Again, I thought I'd do something different this month so instead of listing SF and fantasy books, I'm putting down some books you might want to read if your plan is to write SF or fantasy. This is by no means a comprehensive list. You can find shelves full of useful grammar books, thesauri, dictionaries and writer's guides. Here's just a sampling of what's out there. The ones with stars are books I've personally read and highly recommend.

The art of writing:
Elements of Style - William Strunk
Grammatically Correct: The Writer's Essential Guide to Punctuation, Spelling, Style, Usage and Grammar - Anne Stilman
The Borzoi Handbook for Writers - Frederick Crews & Sandra Schor
99 Ways to Tell a Story - Matt Madden
* 100 Things Every Writer Needs to Know - Scott Edelson
Author 101 - Rick Frishman & Robyn Freedman Spizman
The Frugal Editor - Carolyn Howard-Johnson

SF/Fantasy writing guides:
* How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy - Orson Scott Card
The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy: Alchemy with Words - Devin Park & Tom Dullemond, Ed.
The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy: Opus Magus - Tee Morris & Valerie Griswold Ford, Ed.
The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy: Author's Grimoire - Valerie Griswold Ford & Lei Zhao, Ed.
The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction: First Contact - David Law & Darin Park
Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy - Analog & Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction - Lisa Tuttle
Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy - Crawford Kilian
Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference - Writer's Digest
Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy Television - Joe Nazzaro
Writing the Fantasy Film - Sable Jak

On getting representation and being published:
* 2009 Writer's Market - Robert Brewer
Writer's Guide to Quieries, Pitches & Proposals - Moira Allen
How to Write Attention-grabbing Query & Cover Letters - John Wood
How to Get a Literary Agent - Michael Larsen
* How to Be Your Own Literary Agent - Richard Curtis
Be Your Own Literary Agent - Martin Levin
Calling All Authors - Valerie Connelly
Get Published!: Professionally, Affordably, Fast - Susan Driscoll
Contracts Companion for Writers - Tonya Evans-Walls
Copyright Companion for Writers - Tonya Evans-Walls

Encouragement / Enlightenment:
* Sometimes the Magic Works - Terry Brooks
On Writing - Stephen King
* The Writer Behind the Words - Dara Girard
L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest short story collections - these books are great. Not only do you get to see some winning stories, professional authors write essays about various aspects of the writing business.