The following books are especially helpful and interesting. This is a subjective opinion, of course, but all opinions are subjective. There are hundreds and hundreds of specialized books and other sources of information on book writing and publishing. Here are some very useful ones that have appeared in recent years.

Amis, Kingsley.  The King’s English: A Guide to Modern Usage.  New York:  St. Martin’s Press, 1999.

Baker, Sheridan.  The Complete Stylist, 3rd ed.  New York:  HarperCollins, 1989.

Bernstein, Theodore M.  The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage, 3rde ed.  New York:  Atheneum, 1995. 

Bernstein, Theodore M.  Dos, Don’ts & Maybes of English Usage.  New York: Random House, 1999. 

The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.  Prepared by the editorial staff of the University of Chicago Press.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 2010. 

Claiborne, Robert.  Saying What You Mean: A Commonsense Guide to American Usage.  New York:  Ballantine Books, 1987.

Donahue, Mary Lee.  The Harbrace College Handbook, 12th ed.  San Diego:  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1994. 

Dumond, Val.  Elements of Nonsexist Usage.  New York:  Prentice Hall Press, 1990.

Goldstein, Norm, et al, eds.  The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, updated and revised.  Reading, Mass.:  Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1998.

Good, C. Edward.  A Grammar Book for You and I (. . . Oops, Me!).  Sterling, Va.:  Capital Books, 2002. 

Gordon, Karen Elizabeth.  The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed.  New York:  Pantheon Books, 1993.

Hudson, Robert.  The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style, updated and expanded.  Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing House, 2004.

O’Conner, Patricia T.  Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English, 2nd ed.  New York:  Putnam Publishing Group, 2004.

Schwartz, Marilyn, et al.  Guidelines for Bias-Free Writing.  Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.

Shertzer, Margaret.  The Elements of Grammar.  New York:  Longman,1996.

Smith, Ken.  Grammar, Style, and Usage.  New York:  Blast Books, 2001.

Strunk, Jr., William I. and E.B. White.  The Elements of Style, 4th ed.  New York:  Allyn & Bacon, 2000.

Walsh, Bill.  Lapsing Into a Comma.  New York:  McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000.

Williams, Joseph M.  Style:  Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 7th ed.  New York:  Longman, 2002.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Bartlett, John.  Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 17th ed.  Boston: Little Brown, 2002.

Barzun, Jacques and Henry F. Graff.  The Modern Researcher, 6th ed.  San Diego:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2003.

Beard, Henry and Christopher Cerf.  The Official Politically Correct Dictionary and Handbook.  New York:  Villard Books, 1993.

Brownstone, David M. and Irene M. Franck.  The Dictionary of Publishing.  New York:  Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1982.

Bryson, Bill.  Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words.  New York:  Broadway Books, 2004.

Buchannan-Brown, John, et al.  Le Mot Juste: A Dictionary of Classical and Foreign Words and Phrases, New York:  Vintage Books, 1991. 

Burchfield, Robert W., ed.  The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 1987. 

Chantrell, Glynnis, ed.  The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 

The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.  Prepared by the editorial staff of the University of Chicago Press.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. 

Ehrlich, Eugene.  The Harper Dictionary of Foreign Terms, 3rd ed.  New York:  HarperCollins Publishers, 1990. 

Feather, John.  A Dictionary of Book History.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 1996.

Fowler, H. W., ed.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 9th ed.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 1995.

Goss, Leonard G. and Don M. Aycock.  Inside Religious Publishing:  A Look Behind the Scenes.  Grand Rapids:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.

Hammond Atlas of the World, 4th ed.  Maplewood, N.J.:  Hammond, 2002.

Kipfer, Barbara Ann.  Roget’s International Thesaurus, 6th ed. New York:  HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. 

Landau, Sidney I.  Dictionaries:  The Art and Craft of Lexicography, 2nd ed.  New York:  Cambridge University Press, 2001. 

Lewis, C.S.  Studies in Words, 2nd ed.  Cambridge, Eng.:  Cambridge University Press/Canto, 1990. 

Literary Market Place:  The Directory of the American Book Publishing Industry.  New York:  R.R. Bowker Company, updated annually.

McArthur, Tom.  Oxford Guide to World English.  New York:  Oxford Univeristy Press, 2003. 

McCutcheon, Marc.  Descriptionary,  2nd ed.  New York:  Facts on File, 2000. 

McKean, Evin, ed. Weird and Wonderful Words.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 2002.

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.  Springfield, Mass.:  Merriam-Webster, 2008. 

Morris, William and Mary Morris.  Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage, 2nd ed.  New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

New International Atlas.  New York:  Rand McNally, 1999.

New Oxford American Dictionary, 3rd ed.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 2005.

The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd ed.  New York:  Random House, 1987. 

Spears, Richard A.  Slang and Euphemism, 3rd ed.  New York:  Signet, 2001. 

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, 11th ed.  New York:  Times Books, 2005. 

United States Government Organizational Manual.  Washington, D.C.:  United States Government Printing Office, annual. 

Varchaver, Mary and Frank Ledlie Moore.  The Browser’s Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases.  Hoboken, N.J.:  John Wiley & Sons, 2001. 

Webster’s New Explorer Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms.  New York:  Federal Street Press, 2003.

Webster’s New Geographical Dictionary, rev. ed.  Springfield, Mass.:  Merriam-Webster, 1998.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, unabridged.  Springfield, Mass.:  Merriam-Webster, 2002. 

The World Almanac and Book of Facts.  New York:  World Almanac Education, 2002. 

Balkin, Richard.  A Writer’s Guide to Contract Negotiations.  Cincinnati:  Writer’s Digest Books, 1989. 

Bunnin, Brad and Peter Beren.  Author Law & Strategies., 2nd ed.  Berkeley:  Nolo Press, 1988. 

Bunnin, Brad and Peter Beren.  The Writer’s Legal Companion, 2nd ed.  Reading, Mass.:  Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1988. 

Copyright Law of the United States of America.  Washington, D.C.:  United States Copyright Office of the Library of Congress, 2002.

Crawford, Ted.  The Writer’s Legal Guide, 3rd ed.  New York:  Allworth Press, 2002.

Goldstein, Norm, et al, ed.  The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, updated and revised.  Reading, Mass.:  Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1998.

How to Use the Federal Freedom of Information Act.  Washington, D.C.:  FOI Service Center, n.d.

Hurst, Walter E.  Copyright:  How to Register Your Copyright and Introduction to New and Historical Copyright Law.  Hollywood, Ca.:  Seven Arts Press, 1977.

Johnston, Donald F.  Copyright Handbook, 2nd ed.  New York:  R.R. Bowker Company, 1982. 

Kirsch, Jonathan.  Kirsch’s Guide to the Book Contract for Authors, Publishers, Editors and Agents.  Los Angeles:  Acrobat Books, 1998. 

Kirsch, Jonathan.  Kirsch’s Handbook of Publishing Law.  Los Angeles:  Acrobat Books, 1995. 

McHugh, John B.  Permissions Management for Requesters and Granters:  Dealing with Copyright and Fair Use.  Glendale, Wis.:  John B. McHugh, 1996.

Newitt, George B. and Janet M. McNicholas.  Answers to Common Questions of Publishers on U.S. Copyright Law.  Chicago:  Allegretti & Witcoff, n.d.

Newitt, George B. and Janet M. McNicholas.  A Primer for Book Editors on U.S. Copyright Law.  Chicago:  Allegretti & Witcoff, n.d.

The Nuts and Bolts of Copyright.  Washington, D.C.:  United States Government Printing Office, n.d.

Owen, Lynette.  Selling Rights, 4th ed.  New York:  Routlege, 2001. 

Pinkerton, Linda F.  The Writer’s Law Primer.  New York:  Lyons & Burford, Publishers, 1990. 

Strong, William.S.  The Copyright Book:  A Practical Guide, 5th ed.  Cambridge, Mass.:  MIT Press, 1999. 

Appelbaum, Judith, and Nancy Evans.  How To Get Happily Published, 5th ed.  New York:  HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.

Aycock, Don M. and Leonard G. Goss.  The Christian Writer’s Book: A Practical Guide to Writing.  Alachua, Fla.:  Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1996.

Butcher, Judith M., Caroline Drake, and Maureen Leach. Copy-Editing:  The Cambridge Handbook Desk Edition, 4th ed.  New York:  Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Golden, Stephen and Kathleen Sky.  The Business of Being a Writer.  New York:  HarperCollins, 1985. 

Goss, Leonard G. and Don M. Aycock.  The Little Handbook to Perfecting the Art of Christian Writing.  Nashville:  B&H Publishing Group, 2006. 

Goss, Leonard G. and Carolyn Stanford Goss.  The Little Style Guide to Great Christian Writing and Publishing.  Nashville:  B&H Publishing Group, 2004. 

Gross, Gerald, ed.  Editors on Editing:  What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do, 3rd ed.  New York:  Grove Press, 2003. 

Herman, Jeff.  Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents, 13th ed.  New York:  Prima Lifestyles, 2002. 

Herr, Ethel. An Introduction to Christian Writing, 2nd ed.  Phoenix: Write Now Publcations, 2000. 

King, Stephen.  On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.  New York:  Scribner, 2000.

Lodge, David.  The Practice of Writing.  New York:  Allen Lane/Penguin Press, 1996.

Lukeman, Noah T.  The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile.  New York:  Fireside, 2005.

Merriam-Webster's Manual for Writers & Editors.  Springfield, Mass.:  Merriam-Webster, 1998.

Plotkin, Arthur.  The Elements of Editing.  New York:  Macmillan Publishing Company, 1996.

Rabiner, Susan.  Thinking Like Your Editor.  New York:  W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.

Sharpe, Leslie T. and Irene Gunther.  Editing Fact and Fiction.  New York:  Cambridge University Press,1994.

Unseld, Siegfried; Hunter Hannum and Hildegard Hannum, trans.  The Author and His Publisher.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1980.

Wheelock, John Hall, ed.  Editor to Author:  The Letters of Maxwell Perkins, reprint ed.  New York:  Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1997.

Boswell, John.  The Awful Truth About Publishing.  New York:  Warner Books, 1986. 

Coser, Lewis, Charles Kadushin, and Walter Powell.  Books: The Culture and Commerce of Publishing.  New York:  Basic Books, 1985.

Dessauer, John P.  Book Publishing:  A Basic Introduction, expanded ed.  New York:  Continuum, 1993.

Epstein, Jason.  Book Business: Publishing Past, Present and Future.  New York:  W.W. Norton & Company, 2002. 

Grannis, Chandler B.  What Happens in Book Publishing, 2nd ed.  New York:  Columbia University Press, 1967.

Greco, Albert N.  The Book Publishing Industry, 2nd ed.  Philadelphia:  Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007. 

Huenefeld, John.  The Huenefeld Guide to Book Publishing, 6th ed.  Bedford, Mass.:  Mills & Sanderson, 2001. 

Potter, Clarkson N.  Who Does What and Why in Book Publishing: Writers, Editors, and Money Men.  New York:  Carol Publishing, 1990. 

Schiffrin, Andre.  The Business of Books.  London:  Verso/New Left Books, 2000.

Shatzkin, Leonard.  In Cold Type: Overcoming the Book Crisis.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983.

Suzanne, Claudia.  This Business of Books: A Complete Overview from Concept to Sales, 4th ed.  Winston Salem, N.C.:  WC Publishing, 2004.

Woll, Thomas.  Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers, 3rd, ed.  Chicago:  Chicago Review Books, 2006.