Favorite books for humor writers
Discover the best books for humor writers, from Stephen King’s *On Writing* to Anne Lamott’s *Bird by Bird*. This curated list features essential guides on craft, publishing, and promotion, including Natalie Goldberg’s *Writing Down the Bones* and Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s *The Frugal Book Promoter*—perfect for sharpening your wit and building a successful writing career.
Book
Bird by Bird
by Anne Lamott
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times). “Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book Review For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title: “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
Book
On Writing
by Stephen King
The author shares his insights into the craft of writing and offers a humorous perspective on his own experience as a writer.
Book
Writing Down the Bones
by Natalie Goldberg
A collection of essays in which the author explores methods of writing based on her experience in Zen meditation.
Book
The Writer's Market
A guide for the freelance writer, listing pertinent information about publications and editors.
Book
The Frugal Book Promoter
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
For a little over 2 cents a day, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER assures your book the best possible start in life. Full of nitty gritty how-to's for getting nearly free publicity, Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares her professional experience as well as practical tips gleaned from the successes of her own book campaigns. Carolyn Howard-Johnson is award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction and former publicist for a New York PR firm and a marketing instructor for UCLA's Writers' Program. THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER tells authors how to do what their publishers can't or won't and why authors can do their own promotion better than a PR professional.
