On my first day of talking about books on writing, the Cubicle Reverend suggested that a lot of books on writing fiction are written by people who haven't been published otherwise. This can be a good point - it is important to know an author's qualifications for giving advice. OTOH, one must use this point with discretion. The authors of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers are editors, so their take is obviously from a different side of things (I couldn't find where they had published other books/fiction - if someone knows a book, let me know).
Ultimately there is no good way to know if a book will work for you. Reviews on Amazon tell you one thing. Personal recommendations can be good, but this doesn't always work out either.
I had heard good things about The First Five Pages from Noah Lukeman, so I got it. I thought he was very sparse in explaining his examples, and I really didn't get much from it at all. See? Even referrals from people you know can be misleading. That isn't stopping me from throwing out some books for discussion. My hope is that someone will find a book listed here is a helpful resource and grow in their craft from it.
I started with the latest fiction craft book I had read. Tomorrow I plan on highlighting the first book I read on the subject!
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You make a valid point. These are editors talking about editing. So it isn't necessarily a look at writing, but what goes on behind the scenes and how to do it. Thanks for the mention by the way.
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