: Re: Should I be leary of "How To" books? Have any of the successfully published writers here found the various best selling "How To" books dangerous, in that they guide aspiring writers into producing

@Samaraweera193

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There are a LOT of writing books, and their quality and usefulness (and potential for harm varies greatly). Personally, I've found the following kinds of books most useful:

A) Books on technical aspects of presenting and selling your writing. Writing a book proposal, query letter, or screenplay in the correct and expected format can be a big gatekeeper. Every once in a while, someone will break the rules and make it out of the slush pile that way, but the odds favor doing it the standard way. People are looking for creativity in your writing, not usually in your presentation (unless you're pitching a novelty book). Make sure the (writing) book is current, and that the writer has a track record of success.

B) Writing advice by authors I personally admire. For instance, I constantly refer back to a writing book by Samuel Delany, whom I consider to be a genius. His book is idiosyncratic, his advice is not intended to be followed blindly (or capable of that) and his opinions are controversial. But his insights are amazing. A book like this should be taken with a grain of salt, because otherwise you'll just be imitating the author.

C) Books on structure or themes: These are probably the most "dangerous" in terms of the cookie-cutter effect. But used wisely they can help you tap into themes that people respond to, and to avoid basic structural flaws.

It probably goes without saying, but stay well away from writing/publishing books that are poorly written, or that have authors you've never heard of (and/or no demonstrable expertise in the field). If there's one commonality to good books on writing, it's that they all are well-written and presented. And don't buy a self-published writing book (unless it's actually about self-publishing).

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