Laura Schellhardt's Screenwriting for Dummies is the first book I have read on screenwriting and it is definitely a good introduction.

Screenwriting for Dummies is a thorough how-to guide to screenwriting in five parts. In the first one, the reader is encouraged to learn to think visually, and the author gives useful tips on how to prepare for that.

In the second part, Schellhardt deals with structure and the explanations are followed by examples. Advice is given also on how to develop one's idea into a story, how to construct dynamic dialogue, and there is also a full chapter on character building.

Nowadays, so many books are written for writers that this makes it difficult for a young author like me to choose one. However, Carolyn Howard-Johnson's book, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't, stands out from the crowd. Not only is she an instructor at UCLA's Writers' Program, but you can come across her name almost everywhere, which clearly shows her expertise in marketing and self-promotion. This is no coincidence. She has many years of experience both as a publicist and as an author, promoting her own books, This Is The Place and Harkening, which became award-winning best-sellers.

Self-help books, as the genre goes, can be rather boring affairs. There are exercises to do, writing, drawing, and what not. Some are not so boring and even feel a bit silly. Then there are those that simply try to approach the work more like a simple how-to manual. ANGER and ANXIETY: Be in charge of your emotions and control phobias has that feel for it.

Dr. Robert Rich has published numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction. This book is a non-fiction self-help book. In describing his book, Dr. Rich says:

When you begin a project, no matter what it is, it is advantageous to have all the right tools and the right know-how to do the job from start to finish. Whether you are building a cabinet for your kitchen or building a deck around your swimming pool, not having everything you need to finish the job can leave you frustrated and willing to give up on your dream. Diane Lau has seen this in the world of self-publishing. Not willing to let would be self-publishers flounder and lose the dream, she has taken by the hand those who would desire success in this area and leads us step by step through the entire process.