21 Books to Help You Learn Your Craft

By LDSPMA

As I have done research for this newsletter, registered for multiple writers’ workshops, and prepared to help at the LDSPMA annual conference this month, I have been reminded how important it is to “learn your craft,” as Josi S. Kilpack put it in our Advice from the Experts article.

But what exactly does that mean? Different people might tell you different things, and it might look different for every profession, but for me it means learning about and participating in every area of what you do. As an aspiring writer, I am doing everything I can to learn grammar rules, what makes a good story, how other writers have succeeded and what I can do to overcome my greatest weakness— marketing. For an attorney, it might mean staying abreast of current legal issues and rulings as well as familiarizing oneself with past case law. For a firefighter, it might mean learning how to maintain the equipment and staying physically fit. To be honest, I am not sure what it would look like for each of you, but one of our board members might.

Below is a list of books that have helped a few of our LDSPMA board members learn their crafts. I encourage you to take a look and maybe add one or two (or three) of these wonderful books to your “must read in the near future” list. If you are interested in what profession each member of our board hails from, be sure to check out their bios on our website.

Happy reading!

From Suzy Bills

• The Chicago Manual of Style
• The Wealthy Freelancer, by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage, and Ed Gandia

From Marianna Richardson

• Writing That Works: How to Communicate Effectively in Business, by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson
• News to Me: Finding and Writing Colorful Feature Stories, by Barry Newman
• What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, by Malcolm Gladwell

From Steve Piersanti

• Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest, by Berret-Koehler
• Cumorah, by Hugh Nibley
• Leadership and the New Science, by Margaret Wheatley

From Barry Rellaford

• The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M. R. Covey
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
• The Book of Mormon
• Bonds That Make Us Free, by C. Terry Warner
• Life Reimagined, by Richard Leider

From LoriAnne Spear

• Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder
• Write Your Novel From the Middle, by James Scott Bell
• The Distant Hours, by Kate Morton

From Devan Jensen

• The Chicago Manual of Style
• The Copyeditor’s Handbook, by Amy Einsohn
• The Handbook of Good English, by Edward Johnson
• Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, by Joseph M. Williams and Joseph Bizop
• Writing on the Job, by John Brereton and Margaret A. Mansfield