During 10 years as EFA’s book critic, I’ve reviewed about 130 works that cast light on subjects that EFA members ask about by posting queries to our email discussion list. But how do members know which of the 130 may provide pertinent information and where to find comments on their content and quality? This index can help. Picking a topic, choosing the most promising titles listed under it and then reading several reviews can suggest the strengths and weaknesses of relevant books. A member can also wander through reviews on additional topics, as if browsing at a bookseller. The topics, of course, overlap. A few books that are devoted to more than one area are listed in more than one category. Under each heading, books are listed in the order in which they were reviewed, earliest first. Caret characters (^) mark works that seem especially admirable to me. The index is cumulative; it supersedes the index published in 2012. The reviews themselves are at www.the–efa.org/newsletters, a page accessible only to paid members of the EFA. You’re welcome to suggest books for future reviews to me at emshear@juno.com.

Heartfelt thanks to Freelancer editor Ruth Thaler–Carter and to other EFA members for their warm, generous remarks over the years. Members have called the reviews useful. When a kid was always chosen first for elementary-school spelling bees, but nobody wanted her for their partner on class field trips, hearing later in life that people find her writing “entertaining” and “funny” is delicious. Puuurrrr.

Advice on writing

• William Zinsser, On Writing Well (7th ed.), May–June 2008
• Natalie Reid, Getting Published in International Journals: Writing Strategies for European Social Scientists, September– October 2011
• Roy Peter Clark, Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces, May–June 2012
• Robert M. Knight, Writing Public Prose: How to Write Clearly, Crisply, and Concisely, January–February 201
• Roy Peter Clark, How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times, January– February 201
• ^Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd, Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, January–February 2015
• Laura Brown, How to Write Anything: A Complete Guide, May–June 2015

Bias

• Nicole S. Dahmen & Raluca Cozma, eds., Media Takes: On Aging, July–August 2009
• Gerald M. Boyd, My Times in Black and White: Race and Power at The New York Times, September–October 2010
• Carole Simpson, News Lady, July– August 2011
• Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Media Reference Guide, September–October 2012
• National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, Stylebook, September–October 2012
• Lynn Povich, The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace, May–June 2013
• Retha Powers, ed., Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations, March–April 201

Biography & memoir

• Gerald M. Boyd, My Times in Black and White: Race and Power at The New York Times, September–October 2010
• Carole Simpson, News Lady, July– August 2011
• ^Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, November– December 2012
• Marilyn S. Greenwald, Pauline Frederick Reporting: A Pioneering Broadcaster Covers the Cold War, May– June 2015
• John Norris, Mary McGrory: The First Queen of Journalism, March–April 2016
• John Dickerson, On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News’ First Woman Star, March–April 2016
• James McGrath Morris, Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press, March–April 2016

Business writing

• Juliet M. Kontaxis with Eric J. Ziegler, Rapid Documentation of Policies and Procedures—The Handbook, July– August 2010
• Natalie Canavor & Claire Meirowitz, The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing, July–August 2010

Copyediting

• Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor (Or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself), July–August 2009
• Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor (Or How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself) (2nd ed.), January–February 2017

Copyright

• Stephen Fishman, The Copyright Handbook, September–October 2012

Courtroom art

• Elizabeth Williams & Sue Russell, The Illustrated Courtroom: 50 Years of Court Art, November–December 201

Curses, insults & euphemisms

• Sterling Johnson, Watch Your F*cking Language: How to Swear Effectively, Explained in Explicit Detail, November–December 2008
• Ralph Keyes, Euphemania: Our Love Affair with Euphemisms, September–October 2011
• Rosemarie Ostler, Slinging Mud: Rude Nicknames, Scurrilous Slogans, and Insulting Slang from Two Centuries of American Politics, March–April 2012

Deceitful, sloppy, pompous language

• Peter Bowler, The Superior Person’s Field Guide to Deceitful, Deceptive & Downright Dangerous Language, November–December 2008
• Nick Webb, The Dictionary of (Bullshit): A Shamelessly Opinionated Guide to All That Is Absurd, Misleading and Insincere, November–December 2008
• Paul Yeager, Literally, the Best Language Book Ever: Annoying Words and Abused Phrases You Should Never Use Again, November–December 2008
• Theodore L. Blumberg, The Seven Deadly Sins of Legal Writing, May–June 2009
• Robert Hartwell Fiske, Silence, Language and Society: A Guide to Style and Meaning, Grace and Compassion, January– February 2011
• Henry Beard & Christopher Cerf, Spinglish: The Definitive Dictionary of Deliberately Deceptive Language, July– August 2015

Editing

• Scott Norton, Developmental Editing: A Handbook for Freelancers, Authors, and Publishers, September–October 2009
• Geoff Hart, Effective Onscreen Editing: New Tools for an Old Profession (2nd ed.), March–April 2011
• Don McNair, Editor–Proof Your Writing: 21 Steps to the Clear Prose Publishers and Agents Crave, November– December 2013
• ^Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd, Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, January–February 2015

E-mail, texting & brevity

• David Crystal, textng: the gr8 db8, March–April 2009
• David Shipley & Will Schwalbe, Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home, March–April 2010
• Christopher Johnson, Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little, November– December 2011

Ergonomics

• Suparna Damany & Jack Bellis, It’s Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome! RSI Theory and Therapy for Computer Professionals, July–August 2011
• ^Joan Vernikos, Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, March–April 2012
• James A. Levine, Get Up! Why Your Chair Is Killing You and What You Can Do About It, March–April 2015

Errors

• ^Craig Silverman, Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech, November– December 2010
• ^W. Joseph Campbell, Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism, November–December 2010
• Brooke Borel, The Chicago Guide to Fact–Checking, January–February 2017

Ethics

• Dave Tomar, The Shadow Scholar: How I Made a Living Helping College Kids Cheat, March–April 2013
• Lauren Leto, Judging a Book by Its Lover, July–August 2013

Familiar expressions & their origins

• Christine Ammer, Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés: Meanings and Origins of Thousands of Terms and Expressions, July–August 2008
• Susie Dent, What Made the Crocodile Cry? 101 Questions about the English Language, January–February 2010
• Judy Parkinson, Spilling the Beans on the Cat’s Pajamas: Popular Expressions—What They Mean and How We Got Them, January–February 2011
• Andrew Delahunty & Sheila Dignen, Adonis to Zorro: Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion, January–February 2011
• Ammon Shea, Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation, November–December 201
• Justin Cord Hayes, The Unexpected Evolution of Language: Discover the Surprising Etymology of Everyday Words, November–December 201

Freelance life & work

• Sara Horowitz with Toni Sciarra Poynter, The Freelancer’s Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Have the Career of Your Dreams—On Your Terms, January– February 2013
• Louise Harnby, Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers: A Guide for New Starters, July–August 2013
• Laura Poole, Juggling on a High Wire: The Art of Work–Life Balance When You’re Self–Employed, September– October 2016
• Jake Poinier, Help! My Freelancers Are Driving Me Crazy!, September– October 2016

General reference

• John W. Wright & Alan Joyce, eds., The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, May–June 2007

Ghostwriting

• Dave Tomar, The Shadow Scholar: How I Made a Living Helping College Kids Cheat, March–April 2013
• Robert Schlesinger, White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters from FDR to George W. Bush, September–October 201^
• Barton Swaim, The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics, September– October 2015

Internet writing

• Editors of EEI Press, The Elements of Internet Style: The New Rules of Creating Valuable Content for Today’s Readers, May–June 2008
• Editors of the Huffington Post, The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, May–June 2009

Journalism

• Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, September–October 2008
• Gerald M. Boyd, My Times in Black and White: Race and Power at The New York Times, September–October 2010
• ^Craig Silverman, Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech, November– December 2010
• ^W. Joseph Campbell, Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism, November–December 2010
• Carole Simpson, News Lady, July–August 2011
• Paul Dickson & Robert Skole, Journalese: A Dictionary for Deciphering the News, March–April 2017

Linguistic analysis

• James W. Pennebaker, The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us, May–June 2012

Marketing

• Aaron Shepard, Aiming at Amazon, September–October 2007
• Stephanie Chandler, The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leveraging the Internet to Sell More Books, March–April 2009
• Mari Anne Vanella, 42 Rules of Cold Calling Executives, September– October 2009
• Peter Bowerman, The Well–Fed Self–Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full–Time Living, May–June 2010
• Peter Bowerman, The Well–Fed Writer: Financial Self–Sufficiency As a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less, May–June 2010
• Diana Schneidman, Real Skills, Real Income: A Proven Marketing System to Land Well–Paid Freelance and Consulting Work in 30 Days or Less, July–August 2016
• Louise Harnby, Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business, July–August 2016

Media

• Gabriel Sherman, The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News— and Divided a Country, May–June 201
• David Brock, Ari Rabin–Havt & Media Matters for America, The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network Into a Propaganda Machine, May–June 201
• Jamie Kilstein & Allison Kilkenny, #Newsfail, March–April 2015
• Brad Schwartz, Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News, September–October 2015

Money, taxes & fees

• Brigitte Thompson, Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers, January–February 2010
• Ilise Benun, The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money: How to Think About It, How to Talk About It, How to Manage It, May–June 2011
• Laurie Lewis, What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants, May–June 2011
• Julian Block, Julian Block’s Easy Tax Guide for Writers, Photographers, and Other Freelancers, January–February 2012
• Jake Poinier, The Science, Art and Voodoo of Freelance Pricing and Getting Paid, September–October 2016
• Stephen Fishman, Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Gig Workers of All Types (10th ed.), March–April 2017

Pencils

• David Rees, How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical and Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening, November–December 2013
• Mary Norris, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, January–February 2015

Political language

• William Safire, Safire’s Political Dictionary, September–October 2008
• Robert Lehrman, The Political Speechwriter’s Companion: A Guide for Writers and Speakers, September–October 2010
• Paul Dickson, Words from the White House: Words and Phrases Coined or Popularized by America’s Presidents, September–October 2016
• Barton Swaim, The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics, September– October 2015

Publishing, self–publishing & publishing on demand

• Aaron Shepard, Aiming at Amazon, September–October 2007
• Aaron Shepard, Perfect Pages, September–October 2007
• Peter Bowerman, The Well–Fed Self–Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full–Time Living, May–June 2010
• Katherine Pickett, Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro, July–August 2015

Quotations

• Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When, January–February 2008
• Retha Powers, ed., Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations, March–April 2016

Rhyming

• New Oxford Rhyming Dictionary (2nd ed.), November–December 2012

Scholarly journals

• Natalie Reid, Getting Published in International Journals: Writing Strategies for European Social Scientists, September–October 2011

Social media

• Jason Alba, I’m on LinkedIn: Now What???, January–February 2010
• Chris Muccio with David Burns & Peggy Murrah, 2 Rules for 2–Hour Success on LinkedIn, January–February 2010

Style

• Arthur Plotnik, Spunk & Bite, May–June 2009
• Mark Garvey, Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style, March–April 2010
• Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, January–February 2016
• Allan M. Siegal, William G. Connolly, Philip B. Corbett, Jill Taylor, Patrick LaForge & Susan Wessling, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (5th ed.), May–June 2016
• University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff, But Can I Start a Sentence with “But”? Advice from the Chicago Style Q&A, July–August 2016

Thesauruses

• Christine A. Lindberg, comp., Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (3rd ed.), May–June 2013
• ^J.I. Rodale, Laurence Urdang & Nancy LaRoche, The Synonym Finder, November–December 2013

Typefaces, typos & typewriters

• Jeff Deck & Benjamin D. Herson, The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time, November–December 2010
• Simon Garfield, Just My Type: A Book about Fonts, January–February 2012
• Drummond Moir, comp., Just My Typo: From “Sinning with the Choir” to “The Untied States,” January–February 2015
• Richard Polt, The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century, November–December 2016

Usage & grammar

• Kitty Burns Florey, Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog, May–June 2007
• Mark Davidson, Right, Wrong, and Risky: A Dictionary of Today’s American English Usage, January–February 2008
• ^Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern American Usage (3rd ed.), November–December 2009
• Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage (3rd ed.), September–October 2012
• Bill Walsh, Yes, I Could Care Less: How to be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk, September–October 2013
• Stephen Spector, May I Quote You on That? A Guide to Grammar and Usage, September–October 2015
• Erin Moore, That’s Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us, January–February 2016
• Allan M. Siegal, William G. Connolly, Philip B. Corbett, Jill Taylor, Patrick LaForge & Susan Wessling, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (5th ed.), May–June 2016
• University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff, But Can I Start a Sentence with “But”? Advice from the Chicago Style Q&A, July–August 2016
• ^Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern English Usage (6th ed.), November–December 2016

Writers & editors speak

• Victor S. Navasky & Evan Cornog, eds., The Art of Making Magazines: On Being an Editor and Other Views from the Industry, March–April 2013
• Meredith Maran, ed., Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do, September–October 2013
• Mary Norris, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, January– February 2015
• ^Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd, Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, January–February 2015
• Terry McDonell, The Accidental Life: An Editor’s Notes on Writing and Writers, July–August 2016

Writing fiction

• ^Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, November– December 2012

Writing for newspapers

• Sue Fagalde Lick, Freelancing for Newspapers: Writing for an Overlooked Market, July–August 2008

Writing for nonprofits

• Dalya F. Massachi, Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact, November–December 2011

© 2017 Marie Shear, EFA Freelancer Book Reviewer, emshear@juno.com
This article originally appeared in the Freelancer, May/Jun 2017.