10 Free E-books for Writers

There are tons of sites online that offer free e-books to get you “hooked” so they can sell you their “Make Money Fast” program. While some of the material is ok, most of it is little more than a come-on. These e-books offer real, useful information to help you to either write more, write better, or sell more of what you do write. All of them are available in PDF, so you can easily read them using Adobe Reader (or my preferred PDF reader, Foxit Reader) — and so you can print them out easily if you prefer not to read on a computer screen.

1. Vision: A Resource for Writers
   PDF downloads of every issue of the online magazine for writers.Topics covered in a recent issue (January 2008) included motivation, publishing vocabulary, submission tracking software, and more.
2. Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Love and Money
   This massive (209 pp) e-book by novelist Holly Lisle covers the ins and outs of writing, from creating good dialogue and fleshing out your characters to finding an agent and keeping your writing career moving.
3. 60 Effective Strategies for Selling More Books
   Best-selling author Scott Jeffrey offers some effective strategies for boosting your book’s sales and building up your reputation as a writer.
4. Plug Your Book! (sample chapters)
   Steve Weber is one of the masters of online book promotion. Here, he discusses using Internet social networking to build up word of mouth about you and your writing.
5. The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell!
   A good-sized (49 pages) piece on the art and craft of short stories. Opens with several pages about getting in the right mindset to write well (e.g. time management, etc.). Email list subscription required.
6. Organized Writer 2008 Calendar
   Not an e-book per se, but a downloadable 2008 calendar with quotes, highlighted dates, and todo lists especially designed to keep writers on track.
7. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Getting Published
   A collection of articles by Writersville authors about the trials and tribulations of getting published.
8. How to Write a Great Query Letter
   No surprises here; this one’s about writing great query letters. At over 100 pages, though, you can bet it’s a great deal more detailed than the typical “research your market, hook your reader, be polite, and spellcheck” howto.
9. Book Writing for Fun and Profit
   Brian Scott walks you through the process of writing and selling a book, from picking a subject and creating a title to getting an ISBN number and selling your work as an e-book. It’s loaded with ads and the layout is a little ugly, but there’s some good information in here.
10. Unleashing the Ideavirus
    Seth Godin is one of the premiere marketing experts, and writes in a clear, engaging style. Not strictly for writers, this e-book is about spreading your ideas, and is sure to help you figure out how to market yourself and your work.