Christophe Philipps outlines eight books that have helped his writing and knowledge of the industry.

On Writing - Stephen King

A genuinely essential introduction to writing theory and craft, explaining what works for King as a writer and spellling out the rules by which he works. On Writing is conversational in tone; King doesn’t say what he thinks makes a good novel in quick-flick bullet-points. What he does do (which makes this one of the easiest reads here) is talk the reader through his development as a writer, dropping in nuggets of the writer’s craft.

Part one – CV – is essentially a memoir. Setting out his influences and ‘journey’ as a writer.

Part two – On Writing – comprises a step-by-step breakdown of the elements he believes are important for well-executed novels. This includes chapters on adverbs (a particular dislike) and plotting (which he claims not to do) among other things, and is the most directly useful part of the book for writers.

Part three – On Living – recounts the terrible car accident that made King reflect on his ‘craft’ and completes the ‘picture’ of a successful novelist. There follows a detailed – and fascinating – dissection of King’s own system for editing (and the reasons behind his cuts).

Write & Sell Your Novel - Marina Oliver

A broad, step-by-step guide to conceiving, writing and, ultimately, getting a book published. Oliver’s book is presented in two distinct halves: craft-focused and industry-focused advice. The first provides the formative steps of novel-writing, from initial conception to crafting characters, settings and scenes to the overall language and structure. It is a lengthy outline of how to construct a novel from the bottom up, though rarely with a level above that of a beginner. This is not necessarily a flaw; rather, the intention is to foster the basic ability to write. It is not intended as a detailed deconstruction of the inner workings of prose, but a step-by-step checklist of things to consider. In this sense, it can be very useful. The second half details the publishing industry, though again only in a cursory fashion. It is, simply, a good beginner’s guide to the broad world of writing and publishing.

The Naked Jape - Jimmy Carr & Lucy Greeves
Jimmy Carr (yes, that comedian) and Lucy Greeves explore the inner workings of jokes and humour, the history of joke-telling and the role of a comic. At its heart, this is a series of case-studies, deconstructing well-worn joke types (Three men walk into a bar… etc), revealing why and how they’re funny, and why some seem more fresh than others. It is easily-digestible, broken into small chunks, and funny in its own right. What it lacks in ‘scientific’ study, it more than makes up for in wit and warmth.

Poetics - Aristotle (Trans. Malcolm Heath)

Aristotle deconstructs the make-up of tragedy and, broadly speaking, all writing. While Aristotle’s text is obviously ancient, his writing directly relates to modern story-telling, whether drama or the novel, tragedy or comedy. His aim is to see why audiences (or readers) are gripped by story-telling, what works and what doesn’t work, and to present a model (easily appliable to your own writing) of good tragedy. Heath’s detailed Introduction offers an illuminating breakdown of each chapter (including Plot: the basics; The best kinds of tragedy; Epic; and Comedy). The breadth of this book illustrates why Aristotle’s writing has stood the test of time. It is potent, lucid and absolutely fundamental to a technical understanding of fiction and non-fiction. Bear with it you’ll have a solid grounding of the fundamentals of story-telling that’ll help in virtually all aspects of writing.

Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2008 - A & C Black Publishers Ltd

The essential guide to the publishing industry, this weighty tome is a complete low-down on publishing, giving an introduction to pretty much everything a writer needs to know about entering the writing industry. A great new addition is a website - only accessible by entering a registration code - that allows you to search a continually updated list of publishers and agents, as well as offering a range of invaluable tips and insights. Major areas covered include: Newspapers and magazines; Books; Poetry; Television, film and radio; Theatre; Literary agents; Societies, prizes and festivals; Writers and artists online; Resources for writers; Copyright and libel; and Finance for writers –as broad a scope as anyone could ask for. Full listings are given for each, with the listings of literary agents justifying the purchase in itself. Essays such as 'Notes from a successful literary editor', 'The writer's blogger' (a useful way to get yourself noticed) and 'The role of the literary scout' add a human touch and spell out the dos-and-don’ts of breaking into the world of publishing.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Lynne Truss

A humorous and illuminating guide to English language, grammar and syntax. Lynne Truss’s ambitions are simple: to answer all the questions we always wanted to ask about grammar and syntax, but were too afraid to ask. The solution: a simple, funny, illuminating read about not just the rules of grammar (who can remember them?) but the reasons they exist. She does this by taking apart well-known phrases in order to show (not just tell) how grammar works. This surprisingly in-depth read can work as a reference book too.

Wordsmithery - Jayne Steel (Ed.)

In this how-to book of surprising (and refreshing) depth, the author intelligently leads the reader through the fundamentals of crafting and practising writing to build a comprehensive ‘model’ of fiction.

Part I: Mastering Technique works from the bottom up, from the very fundamentals of writing to the ‘shape’ of a work, which improve your approach to writing forever. Part II: Mastering Themes tackles specific aspects of writing – characters, place, landscape, providing a compendium of easy-access solutions. Sometimes closer to academic analysis than a self-help guide, the book provides a solid technical understanding of writing aimed not at the absolute beginner; but, rather, the dedicated writer.

The Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Book Published - Rachael Stock

A map of the route to publication. The first two-fifths of the book are devoted to a detailed look at the publishing industry, from how books get commissioned to how authors and publishers earn their income and how to choose the right agent and publisher (if at all).

Yet it is possibly the second part that is most helpful: a genuinely-useful guide to writing a proposal in the industry-desired manner, and how to send it in and follow it up. There are submission templates and sample letters, though the author is conscious that there’s nothing as fickle (or frustrating) as a one-size-fits-all approach. Finally, the business side of publishing is explained in digestible chapters, providing a realistic view of the difficulties (and rewards) that lay ahead. She can’t make your writing any good, but she can provide every tool you’ll need to let the industry, and not your frustrations, be the judge.