Recommended books for writers

Improving your writing

What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers, revised and expanded edition, by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter (Addison-Wesley, 1997). Though aimed at fiction writers, it's just as useful for non-fiction.
Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by a Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner, by Jon Franklin (Plume, 1994)
Writing without Teachers, second edition, by Peter Elbow (Oxford University Press, 1998) – the classic book on writing groups.
Le Mot Juste: A Dictionary of Classical & Foreign Words & Phrases, edited by John Buchanan-Brown (Vintage, 1991). This isn't a writing instruction book, but it's one of those handy reference works you'll consult again and again.

Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction - and Get it Published, by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato (WW Norton, 2002), offers a valuable inside look at the business of publishing.
Non-Fiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write: How to Get a Contract and Advance Before Writing Your Book, revised and updated, by Elizabeth Lyon (Perigee, 2002), is really more than a book about proposal writing – it's also about deciding what you want to write.
Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 Proposals That Sold and Why, second edition, by Jeff Herman and Deborah M. Adams (John Wiley & Sons, 2001), shows what succeeds.

Publicize Your Book: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves, by Jacqueline Deval (Perigee, 2003) is an outstanding guide that should be read by every book author even before they approach a publisher.
Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work, by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, Michael Larsen (Writers Digest Books, 2000) has excellent ideas for inexpensive publicity.
1001 Ways to Market Your Books, Sixth Edition, by John Kremer (Open Horizons, 2002) can be overwhelming, but it is a remarkable resource for anyone who has published a book that they'd like people to buy and read.

The Writer's Legal Companion, Third Edition, by Brad Bunnin and Peter Beren (Perseus, 1998)
The Writer's Legal Guide: An Authors Guild Desk Reference, Third Edition, by Tad Crawford and Kay Murray (Allworth Press, 2002)

The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business for Non-Fiction Writers of All Experience Levels, edited by Tim Harper for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (St. Martin's Press, 2003). The book includes a chapter on book collaborations by Sarah Wernick.