Books and journals

Renni Browne and Dave King, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (HarperPerennial)
Don’t use a a presecription but pick and choose what is relevant to your manuscript.

Samantha Schwartz, Australian Guide to Getting Published (Hale and Iremonger, 1995)
A useful, simple, sensible introduction to publishing in Australia and to approaching publishers.

Barbara Jefferis, Australian Book Contracts (Keesing Press, 1994)
An essential resource once you have an offer from a publisher. Understanding contracts should not be left to agents and publishers alone. Not all clauses are realistically as negotiable as Jefferis would like, however, and negotiating some clauses must take into account the expectations of the publisher and the weak bargaining position of many authors.

Australian Author, Journal of the Australian Society of Authors.
Offers serious, informative articles on every subject you can think of, whether it be legal advice, submission protocols, politics of revewing, electronic media, tax advice for authors, travel writing, publicising your own books. Subscribe and browse through your local Writers Centre’s back issues.

Australian Bookseller & Publisher (Thorpe) – subscriptions@thorpe.com.au
It is here that you will find some real understanding of the complex web of your industry. This journal also runs very useful publisher feature articles and gives a very good feel for the ebb and flow of the book trade. Again, browse through back issues at a Writers’ Centre.

The Australian Writers’ Marketplace (Bookman)
This is an invaluable resource for writers and features articles by successful authors and a huge directory of magazines, publishers, writing related organisations and literary events in Australia.

Australian Publishers Association Directory of Members
Gives useful additional information about publishers such as names of individuals within the organisation and details of distribution etc.

Stephen King, On Writing (Hodder & Stoughton)
This is an inspirational autobiography that describes the life of a writer and the important aspects of making a career out of your writing.

Robert McKee, Story (HarperCollins)
A terrific look at the commercial side of creating stories, dealing essentially with scriptwriting, but very useful for the writing seeking to improve their pace and use of dialogue.

Lawrence Block, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit
A very useful, well written manual for fiction writing by one of the more successful popular fiction writers of our time.

Rhonda Whitton and Sheila Hollingworth, A Decent Proposal
A terrific, no nonsense approach to turning your manuscript into an engaging submission to an agent or publisher.