What do you keep in your Reference Book Stack, Shelf or E-reader?

The Chicago Manual of Style has been referred to as a door-stopper, an editor’s tool, a ghastly book of rules.

I bought CMoS 16th edition just as CMoS 17 was releasing. I timed it to avoid paying $70. for the new release. I recommend including this reference book in your writing library.

The CMoS is to writers what the DSM 5 is to psychiatrists.

Sally Christie

My other reference books include Reading People, a book about how physical movements and ways of speaking betray your characters.

I have the Pushcart Prize Winners to stay current on what a modern reader and writer are up to. What is selling in short fiction.

I have various crime reference books, motivational books and books on the art and craft of writing.

There are countless writing reference books, updated yearly, at your local library. You can build your own reference library, stack or e-files in your own time, according to your needs and income. A Reference Library for every writer is going to be as unique as the writer’s style. Go through your books once or twice a year. Add to it. Don’t be afraid to use it.

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