Six books every writer should read

• Stephen King “On Writing”
• Strunk and White “The Elements of Style”
• Nadi Abdi “500 5-Minute Writing Exercises”
• Mark Coker “How to Market your book”
• Joanna Penn “The Successful Author Mindset”
• Allan Dib “The One-Page Marketing Plan”

This is not a ranking. I’m just talking about books kind of in the order that I read them. These are books that have helped me, that continue to help me, that I know have helped other writers, and I think will help even more writers. (This was going to be Five books… But as I was writing this, I started reading the sixth book on this list and had to add it.)

Stephen King “On Writing”

Literally, I don’t know any writer that doesn’t have this book. I’m an English major. We all had this book and not as an assignment. It was one of those books someone borrowed from someone. Then you just bought your own. Not gonna lie, I’ve seen a lot of Stephen King movies and shows, this is the only book I’ve actually read. I’ve read it at least twice. I have a hardback and an ebook. (My nephew is currently “borrowing” the hardback. I may have to buy a new one.) 

He wrote it in 1999. He talks about how he started. His parents. His alcoholism. What he was doing when he got his first big break. The car crash that nearly took his life. Everything. 

As a writer, as a reader, what was important to me were the steps that he took to get to where he is. He wrote. 

I will say this all the time throughout every article that I write about writing. Writers write. 

But there’s another aspect that he talks about a lot that I don’t mention quite as often. 

He published. 

He sent his work out. He got into the public spaces. He had piles and piles of rejection letters and notes, some more useful than others, in that some offered criticism that he could actually use to perfect his story and his craft and weren’t just a form rejection. If you want to write, you gotta write. If you want to write as a profession, you gotta write AND publish. You have to be able to take negative feedback and keep it pushing. You have to be able to take positive feedback and keep it pushing. 

He wrote. He sent his work out to magazines and publishers. He went to his job. He did this for years until something landed. And now he’s THE Stephen King. If his story doesn’t inspire you to keep going, I don’t know what else will. 

Strunk and White “The Elements of Style”

Again, another book that every writer has. Probably less so now that we have access to grammar and style points online. But for those of you (and us) who still want to have reference books on hand and in hand, this is the one. It’s tiny, but mighty. I’m sure you can also get it as an ebook. This book will get you through any grammar, punctuation, paragraph question you could possibly have. It’s easy to understand and remember. 

Nadi Abdi “500 5-Minute Writing Exercises”

Shameless plug, but hear me out. I wrote this under the vein of “write the book you want to read.” I needed a book that did two things: 1. Had prompts for different skills, like dialogue, word association, and scene structure. 2. Had a set time limit. Sure you can set a timer to whatever you want, but the way my ADHD is set up, if I’m not given structure and a direct time limit, I will take that as an invitation to do whatever for however long. Don’t tell me I have all day. I will take a full 24.25 hours! 

I wrote a book that did what I needed a book like this to do. 

It allowed me to push, right there in the title, what I always try to impart to other writers (or potential writers) around me. Take five minutes, any five minutes, sit down and write something. Write anything. Need an idea because “I don’t know what to write!” flip open a page and follow a prompt. Boom! Something to write. This is a practice session. Nothing you write is going to sign your life away. You’re just trying to get used to the feel of getting words onto paper, onto a screen, of completing a written task. Write for five minutes and you never have to work on that piece of writing again. 

Write for five minutes and you’re done for the day. 

I try to get people to find five minutes, invent five minutes if they have to, write and complete a written project. When I tell you, it is a battle. It shouldn’t be. But it is. Not even everyday. Some days. Most days. Pick two days, pick a prompt, pick five minutes, and write. 

Ideas that I’ve written from this book have turned into nothing, have turned into NaNos, have turned into longer short stories, have given me ideas for other stories. All because I took five minutes to write something. 

Mark Coker “Book Marketing Guide”

Mark Coker created the amazing Smashwords then went on to co-found Draft2Digital. Great platforms, both. He wrote a book to help aspiring authors get their career off the ground. The book is free and if it weren’t, it would be worth every penny. He talks about how to get reviews, how to get free press, how to use backmatter to your advantage (a lot of us don’t and it’s a missed opportunity), how to format your book (if you’re not using a program like Reedsy that does it for you), how to build community with readers and other writers. 

He makes it clear that no author does every single thing that’s suggested in his book. (It’s a lot!!!) But there are enough suggestions that if you were to choose 2-5 that align with your brand and personality (not all of us are made to do videos and that’s okay), you can be successful. 

Now, what he, and just about every book I’ve read on this subject says, is that there’s no better marketing tool for a writer than a large body of work. Yes. We’re back to that. We’re gonna stay on that. Readers need to be able to trust that you’re not just a one-off. They want to invest their time in a writer who’s going to be around for a while. If you’ve got two or three books out (bonus if they’re part of the same series), you’re going to find marketing much easier than if you have just one. So…get on it.

But also, read this book. Excellent ideas in it. 

Joanna Penn “The Successful Author Mindset”

I have a lot of Jonna Penn’s books on writing. (She’s written many.) They’re very clear and thorough. I had a hard time choosing which one to add for this article. I decided on this one because it’s not a topic that I’ll be discussing much, but needs to be discussed. How to keep our minds together while meeting our writing goals, whatever they may be. 

She talks about dealing with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, fear of failure, and handling criticism. And that’s just in the first few chapters. She goes deep into what it takes to remain stable during the trials and successes of being a writer, of running a business, of handling praise and rejection. I got the audiobook. You can also get the ebook. 

Allan Dib “The One-Page Marketing Plan”

This is for those of us who are serious about turning our writing into a business. Yes, we have to write. We know we have to write. I stress that. Any writer stresses that. If you’re a writer, you have to write. But another part of that (and the biggest part of any business) is marketing your work, letting people know you exist and not just people, the right people, people who actually want what you have to sell, that is, your particular story. 

This book breaks down into very small easy-to-understand portions, how to market your business (your work).  It’s so easy, even writers (and other creative minds) can understand. All of the mistakes he says we make, I made. That’s how I know he knows what he’s talking about. It was like reading a diary of all my tribulations. There’s a website ( 1pmp.com )  where you can print out a little grid that you fill out as you read. So when you’re done, you have a whole marketing plan on one page that you can follow through on. Some of the parts you may already be doing (like posting to social media). This just helps you do it with more purpose. 

NOTE: I don’t know any of these people (except for me. Strunk and White are long dead). I’m not yet part of Amazon’s affiliate program (I’m working on that.) Links to books and sites are just so yall can get to them easier. 

I’m Nadi Abdi, author of Power of the People: The Demon Cleaner book one. This is my blog on writing, publishing, and other lit biz shit. Follow my blog or follow my Substack for Demon Cleaner short stories and updates and where I publish reviews for Black Women in Fantasy.