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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.
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
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
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 Reference Resources
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
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
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
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.”
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