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Amazing Books for Aspiring Authors in 2019

Study the authors that came before to become an author others will study someday.

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So, you think you can write eh? Many claim their imagination affords them the ability only to find themselves staring blankly at the page, unable to form a coherent sentence about what they got in mind.

It is the mark of an author to be able to put the words to use, expressing in a grandiose way what they got inside their heads. The inspiration for that might be hard to come by some times, but never doubt your ability to find it.

One of the best places to search for it is inside other books, especially ones selected with that task in mind. Help yourself and your writing by reading these books to help out aspiring writers sort their writing skills; much inspiration awaits you.

 

#1 Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why

Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why
Writing to Be Understood is a valuable resource for nonfiction writers wanting to explain their area of expertise to a general audience beyond their peers. Experts from engineers to historians will learn practical strategies to improve their writing. By following the advice in Janzer’s book, aspiring authors will be able to write more clearly and better engage readers in the story rather than bore or confuse them with unnecessary details.

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#2 Hemingway or Twain?: Unleashing Your Author Personality

Hemingway or Twain?: Unleashing Your Author Personality
Not moving forward on writing your non-fiction book? Too much advice from too many people and none of it seems to work for you? Learn Best-selling author Jeanne Martinson’s model to take your book from idea to bestseller with the least time, money and frustration possible.

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#3 The Difference: 10 Steps To Writing A Book That Matters

The Difference: 10 Steps To Writing A Book That Matters
Dr. Angela has a proven method for writing a book intended to help others with problems in their lives, from being miserable at work to having an out-of-control teen or with diabetes to dealing with anxiety or Crohn’s and more. She helps you to really narrow down and focus on who you are writing for – your love letter to your ideal reader. By following her steps, I wrote a book in 9 weeks (the actual writing only took 10 days, because by then I knew exactly what I was going to write about).

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#4 Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
Brene Brown normalises the discomfort that comes from charting a new path. When it gets tempting to walk away from the writing, ignore the editing, or fall prey to friendship-guilting, this book will remind authors that everyone goes through this. That the discomfort is the price to pay for remaining true to ourselves and the work we aspire to author.

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#5 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Stephen King saved me from trying to sound smart, and led me to stay down to earth and connect with my readers. After reading this book, I edited a sentence that spoke about “functional fixedness” and just stated that people get stuck. King made me feel less alone in the writing process, because it’s not all glamour and romance, it’s work, but, he details ways to make it work that flows.

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#6 On the Road by Jack Kerouac

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
This book is gold for aspiring authors looking to be inspired by the kind of dedication it takes to write a novel with decades worth of staying power.

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#7 A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition by Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition by Ernest Hemingway
I’ve read this book a couple of times, and I know great authors who have cited it as inspiration for loving the work that goes into writing a great book.

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#8 On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition by Stephen King

On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition by Stephen King
This is an inspirational guide for aspiring authors who want to learn the ways of one of the best writers that we know, Stephen King.

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#9 Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Story Genius by Lisa Cron
An amazing book that teaches you the science behind what attracts readers to a story. Lisa Cron teaches you how to best understand your character’s motives and their deeper why behind everything to create a powerful story that will keep the reader’s attention.

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#10 Plot Perfect by Paula Munier

Plot Perfect by Paula Munier
The best craft book to help you understand how to construct a plot. Paula Munier has fantastic exercises and examples to help you see the steps in real time, so you can plot as you read. By the time you’re finished, you’ll have a complete outline to start writing!

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#11 Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process

Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process
As a creative writer myself, I sometimes get bogged down in all the difficulties that come with the task of filling a blank page with words that mean something. Light the Dark contains short chapters that are filled with the wisdom of 46 authors all responding to this deceptively simple question: What inspires you? If you’ve ever been inspired by the likes of Elizabeth

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#12 Several Short Sentences About Writing

Several Short Sentences About Writing
The best book I ever read on writing was Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg. This book is remarkably free of myths and misleading ideas about writing. It shoots straight from the hip, doesn’t lie, and makes no apologies about the difficulties and the aims of good, clear writing of any kind. Anyone serious about being an author will either run in terror from the truth in this book or thank the heavens for it, and I think you can guess which ones are more likely to be successful.

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#13 The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
I’m an author myself and know writing a book isn’t easy, not only because of the technical elements you have to work on (organising thoughts, making your book interesting, marketing, etc), but the emotional aspects of writing – Is this good? Will people like what I’m doing?

War Of Art is a great book by an established author who have also been through the process of writing. He shares his advice for getting your work out and lets you know you’re not along in your struggle to do it.

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#14 How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author

How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author
How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich, multiple #1 New York Times best-selling author’s book detailing how she writes her bestsellers, even going into how she recommends getting an agent and having a book published. The book breaks down exactly what you need to know to write compelling books that fly off the shelves and keep your readers coming back for more, based on the author’s own experience writing and selling dozens of bestsellers.

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#15 Dollars Flow To Me Easily by Richard Dotts

Dollars Flow To Me Easily by Richard Dotts
This books helps readers develop and attain an abundance and wealth mindset, which is critical for any new author to have if they want to experience success.

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#16 Publish with Purpose: A Goal-Oriented Framework for Publishing Success

Publish with Purpose: A Goal-Oriented Framework for Publishing Success
One of the most important things that an author can do is connect with their readers in ways that enlighten, entertain and engage them. However, most authors write what they’re inspired to write with little regard for who their readers are or what their needs may be.

Publish with Purpose provides authors with a series of exercises that can be used to create specific outcomes for an author’s readers, business and books.

This book follows the same framework that we developed for our authors at Emerald Lake Books, and that has consistently generated award-winning books, 5-star reviews, speaking invitations, and new clients for our authors.

When you publish with purpose, it enables your entire team (from editors to publicists) to better understand who you want to reach and why, which positions you for publishing success!

Readers’ Favourite gave Publish with Purpose a 5-star rating and described it as a practical guide to a successful writing and publishing career. Filled with wisdom and insight, it is an excellent companion on the publishing path.

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#17 A Cure for the Common Word by K. D. Sullivan

A Cure for the Common Word by K. D. Sullivan
So many words are overused by writers, K. D. Sullivan takes 100 of the most common of these and, through synonyms, example sentences, definitions and explanations of why they aren’t effective, helps take the writer into new and better alternatives.

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#18 The Art of Styling Sentences by Ann Longknife

The Art of Styling Sentences by Ann Longknife
A consistent Barron’s bestseller and worldwide classroom reference, The Art of Styling Sentences takes writers through the fundamentals of solid sentence structure. This guide also Includes exercises and examples from current prominent authors.

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#19 You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts

You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts
Roberts, author of the award-winning Amanda Pepper mysteries, takes aspiring mystery authors through all the steps needed to become a successful whodunit author. With this book, authors will learn how to build their story from the ground up, based on what Roberts calls the Seven Cs:” characters, conflict, causality, complications, change, crisis and closure.

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#20 How to Self-Publish Your Book by Dr Jan Yager

How to Self-Publish Your Book by Dr Jan Yager
This book is by a publishing veteran who has also published her own books with traditional houses as well as through self-publishing. AS the subtitle says, A Complete Guide to Writing, Editing, Marketing & Selling Your Own Book. The good news for aspiring writers today is that self-publishing is a more viable option than ever before. You don’t have to worry about putting a lot of time and effort into writing a book only to have it languish in a drawer somewhere. Publishing it yourself could be the answer but the secret to successful self-publishing is doing it the right way so that your book looks professional, standing up to the competition!

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#21 You Can Be a Winning Writer by Joan Gelfand

You Can Be a Winning Writer by Joan Gelfand
Joan Gelfand has been teaching the 4 C’s Approach to aspiring authors at book festivals and writer’s conferences for the past ten years. She has helped writers around the country realise their dreams of becoming successfully published. From writing the first draft to building a reputation, the 4 C’s discuss craft and commitment and give solid tips on how to build a literary community and a fan base. With a splash of humour, a dose of empathy and a volume of support, Joan’s book includes real life anecdotes from famous and not so famous – but successful – authors.

You Can Be A Winning Writer is the go-to book for writers just starting out, writers stalled after their first or second book, and students. More than just a book about writing skill, You Can Be A Winning Writer includes post-publication strategies; the mistakes that even the most talented prize-winning authors have made; how, with the help of the 4 C’s, those same authors could have enjoyed greater success; and what it means to ‘fire on all burners and work to develop each of the 4 C’s simultaneously.

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#22 Heart, Sass & Soul: Journal Your Way to Inspiration and Happiness by Greta Solomon

Heart, Sass & Soul: Journal Your Way to Inspiration and Happiness by Greta Solomon
Writing for yourself is an incredible way to heal your heart, find happiness, and reconnect with the things that matter most. As kids, many of us had vibrant imaginations and our lives were full of creativity. Over time, that self-expression gets lost in the busy routine of everyday life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The tips, techniques, and exercises for free writing in this book will help you tap into that creativity deep in your soul. That time in-between jobs, friends, relationships, homes, or whatever else, is the great unknown. Contrary to what some may tell you, this is not the time to make major, life-changing decisions. In the midst of loss and grief, you need self-care more than ever. In fact, the best thing to do in these times is write. Journaling and free writing can bring you a deeper level of self-awareness, allowing you to truly know who you are. Heart, Sass & Soul will show you how to develop a writing practice that nurtures inner strength and promotes a rich, fulfilled life.

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#23 A Dedicated Life: Journalism, Justice and a Chance for Every Child by David Lawrence Jr.

A Dedicated Life: Journalism, Justice and a Chance for Every Child by David Lawrence Jr.
What are you going to do for the rest of your life? For David Lawrence Jr., a brilliant newspaper editor and publisher with a distinguished, three-decade-long journalism career who retired in 1999 at the age of 56, the answer, in his words, was to dedicate his life to a newly energised purposefulness: that every child have a real chance to succeed. Lawrence has been a lifelong champion of children, and he was instrumental in founding The Children’s Movement of Florida, a national leader in early childhood development, care and education, with the goal of making Florida the best state in the nation for young children. The Movement is focused on making Florida’s children, especially in their early years, the No. 1 priority for state investment. Learn all about this Lawrence’s work in the Movement and the rest of his dedicated life in this inspirational autobiography.

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#24 21 Days to a Big Idea! by Bryan Mattimore

21 Days to a Big Idea! by Bryan Mattimore
The book, 21 Days to a Big Idea, is for both current and aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to create “the next big thing,” whether it be a new product or new service. Using proven idea-generation techniques from the author’s work leading ideation sessions for Fortune 500 companies, the book’s 21-day process is both easy to learn and apply. By practicing its simple creative exercises on a daily basis, young entrepreneurs will be able to create literally dozens of new and original ideas, from which they can select “the best one” for their new venture.

Before buying a copy make sure to compare the price at various outlets:

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#25 Permission to Write a Brand Building Book

Permission to Write a Brand Building Book
After working with hundreds of aspiring authors, I found that what holds most people back or slows us down are the negative thoughts in our own heads! (What I call the Imposter Syndrome Monster.)

Thoughts like, Who am I do be an author? and Well, no one will want to buy my book anyhow.

So, I wrote a book to bust 9 myths that hold people back from writing and publishing their book! It’s your turn to be a bestselling, published author on Amazon!

Before buying a copy make sure to compare the price at various outlets:

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Contributors to this article
Julia L F Goldstein from Material Value

Jeanne Martinson from Wood Dragon Books

Lisa Nichols from Surviving the High School Years with Your Sanity Intact

Elena Astilleros from Elena Astilleros International

Joe Bailey from My Trading Skills

Brooke Van Sickle from Journey to KidLit

Hannah Hassler from Rorschach Your Reality

Adam Cole from Adam Cole Works, LLC

David Hooper from Big Podcast

Stacy Caprio from Deals Scoop

Jasmine Womack from P31 Publishing

Tara R. Alemany from Emerald Lake Books

Jay Hartman from Untreed Reads Publishing

Jan Yager from Dr. Jan Yager

Brenda Knight from Mango Publishing

Bryan Mattimore from Growth Engine Innovation Agency

Laura Petersen from Copy That Pops

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