Sunday 27 April 2014

A couple of useful books...

image from Amazon.co.uk

Easy Money For Writers And Wannabes
image from Kindle store
I've recently bought a couple of books to help me expand on my writing skills- and hopefully earn a little bit of money!

Both of them are easy to read, straightforward and very good value for money.

Easy Money for Writers and Wannabes by Maggie Cobbett. (£1.53)

If you've ever looked at fillers in magazines and thought you had something that would be ideal, then read this book.

I know I certainly read a few magazines that have slots for readers contributions- a letters page, household tips, funny stories, and photos.

With examples of her successful fillers, Maggie shows the reader how varied the opportunities can be; and if you don't know how to start then this is the book for you.

By the time I'd finished reading it, my brain was ticking over with possible ideas...

The second book I've bought and found very helpful is:

Photography for Writers: Using photos to sell more of your words by Simon Whaley.
(Paperback £7.99; Kindle version £4.32)

As you know I've recently replaced my camera.

Quite a few writers bought this book when it was released and recommended it, so I opted for the paperback version for easy reference in the future.

You can find out what sort of markets you can use your photos in- not just fillers, but articles, research and non-fiction books.

Simon's clear explanations on shutter speeds and aperture finally made sense to me, so I now understand how to use it when needed.

It's a book that you can refer to for quick reminders, or when you need helpful advice once you've got your images.

Chapter 5, on managing your photographic library, will be helpful to anyone who takes a lot of images. That is now something I will be doing with my existing photos- before I add any more.

Both these books have now been added to my essential writing reference shelf.

I'm studying the markets, and honestly my OH can't complain about the number of magazines lurking around the house when they're work related. :D

Do you have any recommendations from your reference shelf?









7 comments:

RobCrompton said...

That photo book looks like a very useful one to have. Thanks for the reco!
One that I would definitely say is a must-have, is D. J. Cole's snappily titled, "A Writer's Guide to Police Organisation and Crime Investigation and Detection."

Carolb said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Robert. :)

I know from discussions at my writers' club, a book like your suggestion would be very helpful.

Maxi said...

The filler's one looks interesting. I have Diana Cambridge's 'How to write for magazines in one weekend' which I found very useful and inspiring. I've got various writing books on my shelf, some read and some waiting - but it's always a dilemma whether to read about writing or write! Thanks for the recommendations. Hope it's going well.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Both look good, Carol - I've used photos for years in articles and it's almost essential these days to supply them.

Carolb said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Maxi.

I prefer the do the writing and read the reference books when you need to know or find out more. :)

Carolb said...

Yes, Rosemary, providing photos for your articles does seem to be expected now.

At least it means you can get a DACS payment too (if the magazine qualifies), so it can be a useful top-up. :)

Anonymous said...

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