Are you a writer looking to hone your craft, build a successful business, and find new inspiration? These 24 books came highly recommended by our community of freelance writers. From sharpening your writing skills and upping your income to reigniting your creative spark — you’re sure to find a gem on this list that can help you move your writing career forward. Without further adieu, here are 24 of the best books for writers (a list that will likely grow over time).
Jump ahead:
- Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
- The Copywriter’s Handbook by David Bly
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Stories that Stick by Kindra Hall
- A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters by Dan Nelken
- How to Write Short by Roy Peter Clark
- Storytelling with Data by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything is Different by Chuck Palahniuk
- Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
- The Freelance Content Marketing Writer by Jennifer Goforth Gregory
- Freelancing Your Way to Freedom by Alexandra Fasulo
- The Six Figure Freelancer by Laura Briggs
- The Freelance Writer’s Guide to International Journalism by Natasha Khullar Relph
- The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman
- Free Money by Austin L. Church
- Strong Language by Chris West
- This is Marketing by Seth Godin
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert. B. Cialdini PH.D.
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- The Writer’s Process by Anne Janzer
- The PAC Method for Writers by John Riddle
- In The Creative Arena by Tony Albrecht
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Top books for honing your writing skills
Looking to improve your writing skills? These nine books can help you with one or more aspects of the craft.
1. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
Great for: Content writers who want to craft credible, trustworthy content that drives results
About: Everybody Writes is a Wall Street Journal bestseller that aims to help the audience improve their content marketing know-how. You’ll find witty and practical how-to advice on content strategy, production, and publishing (complete with examples, tools, and a step-by-step writing framework).
Amazon rating: 4.8/5 stars after 120 ratings
Cost: $17.00 on Kindle, $23.99 hardcover
2. The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by David Bly
Great for: Those looking to improve their copywriting skills overall
About: The Copywriter’s Handbook is a step-by-step guide to copywriting that includes dozens of copywriting techniques. The lessons can help you write persuasive emails, website copy, ads, video scripts, landing pages, and more.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 stars after 1,004 ratings
Cost: $11.99 on Kindle, $12.79 paperback
3. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Great for: Tools and practical advice on the craft of writing itself
About: On Writing is a memoir/masterclass on writing from one of the best-selling authors of all time, Stephen King. He reveals the tools of the trade intertwined with his personal story. Want a sneak peek? Find 15 must-read quotes from On Writing here.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5 stars after 14,193 ratings
Cost: $12.99 on Kindle
4. Stories that Stick by Kindra Hall
Great for: Upleveling your storytelling
About: Stories that Stick provides you with a guide to storytelling, complete with a framework and actionable steps to follow. Kindra covers four unique stories that you can use to help your clients better differentiate themselves, captivate their audiences, and achieve their goals.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5 stars after 1,851 ratings
Cost: $15.99 on Kindle (free with Kindle Unlimited), $16.60 paperback
5. A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters: A resource for writing headlines and building creative confidence by Dan Nelken
Great for: Improving your headline-writing abilities
About: With over 200 example ads, Dan’s self-help guide can help you fine-tune your headline-writing abilities. It’s a little about the creative process and a lot about the headline-writing craft.
Amazon rating: 4.8/5 stars after 302 ratings
Cost: $8.99 on Kindle, $17.99 paperback
6. How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times by Roy Peter Clark
Great for: Improving short-form writing like headlines, tweets, and sales pitches
About: How to Write Short provides guidance on how to write effective and powerful short-form pieces so you can “paint a thousand pictures in just a few words.”
Amazon rating: 4.3/5 after 311 ratings
Cost: $9.99 on Kindle, $15.79 paperback
7. Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
Great for: Learning to turn data into high-impact visual stories
About: Storytelling with Data provides lessons on the power of storytelling and how data can be used to create pivotal points in your stories. You’ll find lessons with real-world examples that bring the theories to life.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 after 4,222 ratings
Cost: $25 on Kindle, $24.21 paperback
8. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Great for: Hilarious, grounded, and timeless advice on the fundamentals of writing
About: Bird by Bird is a New York Times bestseller and a modern classic. Anne acts as a warm and hilarious guide to the inner world of a writer. She intertwines personal stories with lessons about first drafts, mindset, thinking like a writer, writing partnerships, publishing, and much more.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 after 7,725 ratings
Cost: $13.99 on Kindle
9. Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything is Different by Chuck Palahniuk
Great for: Advice on constructing fictional novels and short stories using the dangerous writing philosophy
About: Consider This, by the author of Fight Club, is an edgy memoir crossed with a guide on writing fiction. If you’re familiar with Palahniuk’s work, he doesn’t shy away from life’s darker sides and this book is no exception. It also provides advice on creating tension, avoiding dialogues, engaging readers in discussions, touching on burning social topics, and more.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5 after 1,227 ratings
Cost: $11.99 on Kindle
10. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
Great for: Practical advice on how to unleash creativity and overcome the fear of putting pen to paper.
About: Writing Down the Bones offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the writer’s craft.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 after 2,332 ratings
Cost: $13.99 on Kindle/11.29 paperback
Top books on building a successful freelance writing business
In this section, find four books that’ll help you with the broader mission of building a successful writing business.
11. The Freelance Content Marketing Writer by Jennifer Goforth Gregory
Great for: Building a successful content-writing business
About: The Freelance Content Marketing Writer covers all you need to know to start and grow a six-figure content marketing business. Find how-to guides and templates on creating a website, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, crafting $10k letters of intent, and finding your perfect niche.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5 after 245 ratings
Cost: $2.99 on Kindle (or free with Kindle Unlimited), $14.99 paperback
12. Freelancing Your Way to Freedom by Alexandra Fasulo
Great for: Comprehensive advice on building a freelance business (not specific to writing)
About: Freelancing Your Way to Freedom is a step-by-step guide to building a freelance writing business that’s split into four sections; freelancing basics, side hustling, personal branding, and financial freedom. Alexandra covers the common struggles, includes anecdotes and examples, and provides a woman’s perspective on solopreneurship.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 after 88 ratings
Cost: $15.00 on Kindle, $18.69 hardcover
13. The Six Figure Freelancer by Laura Briggs
Great for: Building a six-figure freelance business (not specific to writing)
About: The Six-Figure Freelancer teaches you how to start and scale a freelance business. It offers advice on mindset, workday structuring, rate setting, common pitfalls, and much more.
“It’s a wonderful resource if you want to increase your earnings as a writer, and it can help you develop a business mindset,” says Joyce Farinella, freelance SEO content writer and blogger.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 after 47 ratings
Cost: $8.99 on Kindle
14. The Freelance Writer’s Guide to International Journalism by Natasha Khullar Relph
Great for: Those looking to build a profitable, sustainable freelance journalism business.
About: The Freelance Writer’s Guide to International Journalism is a step-by-step manual for international journalism. You’ll learn how to make a real living writing for newspapers, clients, and publications around the globe. She covers how to form relationships with editors, utilize grants and scholarships, and more.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 after 19 ratings
Cost: $4.99 on Kindle
15. The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman
Great for: Learning to uplevel your income as a writer specifically
About: The Well-Fed Writer is a guide focused on building a writing business that can help you live handsomely. It covers how to land and execute high-profit writing projects, and how to turn almost any background into a lucrative writing business.
Amazon rating: 4.5/5 stars after 180 ratings
Cost: $9.95 on Kindle, $19.95 paperback
16. Free Money: Nine Counterintuitive Moves for Life-Changing Freelance Income by Austin L. Church
Great for: Working through issues that hold freelance writers back from charging competitive rates.
About: Free Money is one of the best books we’ve come across for guidance on setting competitive rates. It brings clarity and a confidence boost that can help you earn more and enjoy a more satisfying business.
Amazon rating: 5/5 stars after 36 ratings
Cost: $9.99 on Kindle, $32.00 hardcover
17. Strong Language: The Fastest, Smartest, Cheapest Marketing Tool You’re Not Using by Chris West
Great for: Practical, actionable steps to implement for any brand.
About: Strong Language is focused on building a strong, compelling brand voice. You’ll get a framework that’ll help you create a consistent, differentiated brand voice that expresses exactly what your company stands for.
Amazon rating: 4.8/5 stars after 55 ratings
Cost: $6.99 on Kindle, $15.99 paperback
18. This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin
Great for: Learning how to meaningfully connect with the people who need your service through marketing.
About: This Is Marketing is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times best-seller that provides the core of Seth Godin’s marketing wisdom wrapped up in one compact package.
Amazon rating: 4.6/5 stars after 4,983 ratings
Cost: $9.99 on Kindle, $14.99 paperback
19. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert. B. Cialdini PH.D.
Great for: Digging into the nuts and bolts of persuasion.
About: Influence is a renowned international bestseller that explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply the insights ethically in business settings.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5 stars after 5,364 ratings
Cost: $0 on Kindle, $16 paperback
Top books for inspiration and guidance on creativity
These four books focus on helping to keep the creative spark burning, or relighting it if it’s gone out.
20. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Great for: Inspiration and soulful guidance on tapping into your creativity
About: An instant New York Times bestseller, Big Magic offers an inspiring guide to creativity. The author of Eat, Pray, Love shares her generative process and offers guidance on how to overcome fears and establish habits to live your most creative life.
Amazon rating: 4.5/5 stars after 21,238 ratings
Cost: $13.99 on Kindle, paperback and hardcover prices vary
21. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Great for: Helping to uncover your creative path as an artist, working through creative blocks
About: The Artist’s Way is an international bestseller that meets you where you are in your creative journey and helps you find your path as an artist. Many say it’s potentially life-changing if you’re willing to do the work. Find exercises that are designed to uncover new insights, remove creative blocks, and help you figure out what’s next for you.
Amazon rating: 4.7/5 after 7,489 ratings
Cost: $13.99 on Kindle, $14.99 paperback
22. The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear by Anne Janzer
Great for: Overcoming problems with focus, procrastination, creativity, and productivity
About: The Writer’s Process digs into the experience of writing itself. As writers, we often have off days when it’s hard to focus and the creative juices aren’t flowing. Janzer guides readers on how to find their best writing process and overcome many common struggles.
“It incorporates the science of behavioral economics and science with the writing process. I’ve been able to form my own processes with the help of this book,” says Kimberly Hays Grow, a freelance content specialist.
Amazon rating: 4.4/5 after 463 ratings
Cost: $9.99 on Kindle, $14.99 paperback
23. The PAC Method for Writers: How Prayer, Attitude, and Confidence Can Lead You to a Successful Writing Journey by John Riddle
Great for: Inspirational stories and ideas that can help writers overcome doubt, fear, and procrastination.
About: The PAC Method for Writers is the latest book from John Riddle (and happens to be his 37th)! It includes a collection of stories, from 40 Christian writers and authors from around the world, on how prayer, the right attitude, and confidence can lead to writing success.
Cost: $0.00 on Kindle, $15.00 paperback
+Another must-read by John Riddle: The Flying Nun, A Light Bulb Moment and Me: 40 Years Making Money As A Freelance Writer (Hey, You Can Do It, Too!)
24. In The Creative Arena: Why Creativity Is Key To Building Your Future by Tony Albrecht
Great for: Learning how to harness creativity to create the personal and professional life you desire.
About: In The Creative Arena explores the author’s run from and eventual return to creativity. It invites you to think about how creativity has shaped your life so far and how to harness it in the future.
Cost: $0.00 on Kindle, $9.99 paperback
Upskill, grow, and find new inspiration
Building a writing business is a challenging pursuit that requires dedication, hard work, and an ongoing willingness to learn. Luckily, many have gone before you, blazed the trail, and turned around to show the way. We hope one or more of these books will be helpful to you on your journey.
PS Are you surprised to see an awesome read missing from this best books for writers list? Be sure to let us know!
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