Resources List
The following videos, books, and other
resources are currently recommended as resources for members of the Public
Safety Writers
Association or
other writers.
To order any of the titles listed, contact the
source listed directly.
Most sources accept MasterCard or Visa credit cards
over the phone or through their secured webpages.
Or, if you prefer, you may order
titles by clicking on the appropriate hypertext sources as indicated after each title. All
hypertext sources have secured webpages for credit card ordering.
Getting Your Book
Published
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2005 Guide to Literary Agents
edited by Kathryn S. Brogan2006 Guide to
Literary Agents provides invaluable advice on every aspect of choosing,
being accepted by, and working with literary agents. Helpful topics include
how to research agents' websites, screenwriting secrets, what makes a
successful query letter, how to make the most of attending writers'
conferences, and comprehensive checklists for fiction and non-fiction
writers. Top agents, including Evan Marshall, Ann Rittenberg and Donald
Maass, give readers the insider information they want.
The 2006 edition features completely revised and updated
material, offering over 600 agency listings-over 65% more than any
comparable resource. As always, the guide only lists non-fee-charging agents
who adhere to the ethical guidelines established by the Association of
Author Representatives and the Writers Guild of America. |
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HOW
TO GET HAPPILY PUBLISHED
by Judith Applebaum |
| According to Judith Appelbaum, author of How to Get
Happily Published, "it is largely within your power to determine
whether your work will get published and whether the public will buy it once
it's released." Anyone who has had a manuscript boomerang back from
every publisher who sees it (or a book remaindered mere months after
publication) may view this assertion with some amount of skepticism. But, as
Appelbaum says, "hardly anybody treats getting published as if it were
a rational, manageable activity," and it's hard to argue with that. |
In addition to providing a mini-course on editors and agents
and submissions and funding--peppered with revealing anecdotes from the front
lines--Appelbaum offers information less frequently found in books of this sort.
For one, she emphasizes the importance of taking publicity for your book or
article into your own hands (and she has savvy advice on how to do so without
alienating your publisher's publicity department). She also makes a very strong
case for self- publishing--not to be confused with using a vanity press--and
then tells you how to go about it. And finally, her annotated resource guide to
books, Web sites, periodicals, courses, organizations, and more--stretching to
over 120 pages--is astounding. That's right. Astounding. --Jane Steinberg
Writing
Magazine Articles
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1001
Ways to Market Your Books
by John Kremer
Kremer, editor of the Book Marketing Update, describes more than 1,000
ideas, tips and suggestions for marketing books--all illustrated with
real-life examples showing how other authors and publishers have marketed
their books. 1001 Ways to Market Your Books also includes a chapter on how
authors can capitalize on the increased recognition a book gives their work. |
Writing Right
This volume is an outgrowth of the handbook developed for the
use of authors seeking publication It is designed to familiarize them with the
process and guide them through it. Based on the author's work as founder and
director of the Gloria Stern Literary Agency, Ms. Stern has compiled the
material used by successful authors in pre-eminently useful manual. This book in
the library of the aspiring writer is like having an experienced literary agent
at one's elbow. Tested in the industry, Do The Write Thing: Making the
Transition to Professional, is a shortcut between the handcrafted manuscript and
the bookstore shelf. In its chapters you will find practical data such as, a
glossary of industry terms, useful addresses and forms, submission procedures,
sample cover letters and agent contract terms, an outgrowth of work as a teacher
of writing and as a literary agent and years of work in the publishing industry
which are shared with the reader. Learn the answers to: What makes a best
seller? Where to find a publisher who will welcome your book and how to secure
an author/publisher contract - all in one unique and indispensable volume.
This is a complete guide to writing both fiction and
nonfiction books. It answers the most frequently asked questions, as well as offering
sound advice for novel writing, as well as other types of writing.
If you only buy one book on how to write and get
published, this is it. ISBN 0-13-161019-8
1990, 292 p., softcover $16.95
Order from www.amazon.com
Learn the art and craft of screen writing from a top
instructor at the American Film Institute’s Film Conservatory. This book takes the
reader through the steps necessary to be able to successfully write a screenplay for film
or TV.
This book is a good place to start your screen
writing career. ISBN 0-671-84783-X
1994, 188 p., softcover $14.95
Order from www.amazon.com
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REWRITE RIGHT!
How to Revise Your Way to Better Writing
By: Jan Venolia |
The ideas put forth in this book have to make
you a better writer. There is no doubt that your ideas, training and experience, and
emotion are the most important part of police writing. However, once those are on paper,
it’s time to make it marketable. This book has great tips from dumping the jargon to
keeping bias out of your writing. The better edited your work is, the better chance you
have of getting your work published. Every police writer should read this book. ISBN
0-89815-202-X
1987, 197 p., softcover $12.95
Order from www.amazon.com
Your guide to the mystery community--all the information you need to find
everybody who is anybody in the world of mystery, crime, and detective fiction.
Complete contact details and descriptions for over 750 booksellers, events,
groups, publications, and more. Essential reference for authors, booksellers,
collectors, librarians, and publicists. Includes comprehensive index and
appendixes.
Written under sponsorship of the Investigative
Reporters and Editors, Inc., this is a "how to" book for investigative
reporters. It covers "paper trails" and "people trails," using
published sources, government documents, state and federal access laws, investigating
government - including a separate section on investigating law enforcement officers and
agencies - and how to investigate a host of other licensed and unlicensed entities. This
book is a wealth of information, no matter whether you choose to use it offensively, or
defensively. ISBN 0-312-13596-3
1996, 553 p., hardcover $27.95
Order from www.amazon.com
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FIND IT FAST
How to Uncover Expert Information on Any Subject
By: Robert I. Berkman |
A writer’s stock-in-trade is information. The
better the information; the better the written work. This book identifies sources of
information from the right library to "gateways" for computer searches.
It also details how find and interview "experts" in virtually any field. It is a
true tool of the writer’s trade.
ISBN 0-06-096486-3
1990, 333 p., softcover $14.00
Order from www.amazon.com
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By Tad Crawford & Tony Lyons |
In today’s complex and highly litigious
society, it would be ludicrous to put a police officer out on the street without adequate
legal training. Yet, when those same police officers decide to become full or part-time
writers, they often "hit the writing street" with little or no knowledge of the
legal pitfalls they might encounter. In essence they fail to prepare for some of the legal
problems that may await them in the writing world.
This book can help a police writer to
"hit the writing street" armed with much of the basic legal knowledge necessary
for a pleasant and long writing career. Billed as a "complete handbook covering
copyright, libel, privacy, agents, collaboration, taxes, electronic rights, estate
planning, grants, and much more," this book lives up to its claims.
It is an excellent guidebook and reference
book for a writer’s bookshelf.
ISBN: 0-927629-13-5
Order from amazon.com
Additional Resources
Join the Policewriter mailing list |
The Policewriter mailing list is an e-mail based
discussion list for members of the Public Safety Writers Association. Non-,members considering
joining the PWA may be admitted on a trial basis at the discretion of the
association president.
Click on the link at right to subscribe to the list. |
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Reviewed by PWA Member Roger Fulton
“The
perfect quote is to a writer, as a flint is to a flame,” according to David
Frizzell, an Editorial Director and Nonfiction Columnist for Writer’s
Digest in the Foreword of this interesting book.
This
book of literally hundreds of quotations on writing and publishing, quotes Mark
Twain, Aristotle, Oscar Wilde, Robert Frost, Erica Jong and a host of other
writers in this often irreverent text.
“We’ve
got 40,000 books published each year, and 90% of them are swill,” is
attributed to John Leonard, a former New York Times book editor.
Whether
that is true or not, it’s in this book. So
are other quotations on Poetry, Plagiarism, Self-Publishing, Investigative
Reporting, Censorship and many more topics.
In
his unique style, Ernest Hemingway is quoted as having written, “There is no
rule on how to write. Sometimes it
comes equally and perfectly. Sometimes,
it’s like drilling rock and blasting it out with charges.”
As writers, we can all relate to the
quotations in this book. An interesting look at the realities of writing, from
the writers’ perspectives.
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