Information about Books and Web Content for Writers

I’ll be adding more information to this page from time to time, so please check back. If you have any suggestions for content, please email me at sarah@wolbacheditorial.com.

Articles and Blog Entries

Derek Murphy: “Do Novice Editors Really Need an Editor?”

David Cornoy (CNET): “Self-Publishing a Book: 25 Things You Need to Know”

from Web Content Tips: “It’s Only Words”

Mark Coker (founder of Smashwords): “25 Book Publishing Industry Predictions: Slow Growth Produces Challenges and Opportunities for Authors”

Jane Friedman: “How to Publish an E-book: Resources for Writers”

Jim Hightower: “On the Hook”—a critique of Amazon Books and its shocking labor practices.

Brian Klems: “10 Things Your Freelance Editor Might Not Tell You . . . But Should”

James McGrath Morris: “Independence Days: Notes on Self-Publishing”

Books

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B.White

This classic handbook gives the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of composition. Free ebook.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

Truss touches on varied aspects of the history of punctuation and includes many anecdotes, which add another dimension to her explanations of grammatical rules. In the book’s final chapter, she opines on the importance of maintaining punctuation rules and addresses the damaging effects of e-mail and the Internet on punctuation.

The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: a Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon

Grammar can be fun! Who knew it could be so entertaining to learn the difference between who and whom? Gordon is also the author of The New Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed and The Disheveled Dictionary: A Curious Caper Through Our Sumptuous Lexicon.

Word Usage, Grammar, and Punctuation

“15 Common Expressions Younger Generations Won’t Understand”

“15 words you should eliminate from your vocabulary to sound smarter”

Dana Coleman (Business2Community): “According to the Dictionary, Literally Now Also Means Figuratively”

“Donald E. Westlake Defends the Semicolon”

“‘Let’s Eat Grandma!’ Or “‘Let’s Eat, Grandma!’ Punctuation Saves Lives”

“Scientists Make Hilarious Proofreading Error”

Shane Arthur: “297 Flabby Words and Phrases that Rob Your Writing of All its Power”

Just for Fun

Amusing translations from Chinese into English

Bizarre Puritan names

Everything You Want to Know . . . For Free!

WiseOldSayings.com Collection of quotes from around the world

AccreditedSchoolsOnline.org A Guide to Online Learning

KahnAcademy.org Offers over 2,400 free tutorials

ThinkExist.com One of many excellent sources of quotations on the Internet

COURSERA.org Provides universal access to the world’s best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses for anyone to take, for free

OpenCulture.com Free online courses