- Consider the source!
- An almanac should be part of every writer's reference shelf.
- Dictionaries need to be updated every so often.
- Definitions of style evolve over time.
- Who said "Play it again, Sam"? Nobody, actually.
- Get the details of daily life during your chosen time period.
- To add zip to your nonfiction book or article, get a few facts straight from the horse's mouth.
- A sure way to grab readers is by opening with a startling statistic.
- If you want the latest scoop on just about any practical topic, check out the Federal Citizen Information Center.
- Dozens of one-volume encyclopedias exist on every conceivable topic.
- The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature is worth checking out.
- Are you planning to quote from other authors in your book or article?
- Be sure to keep a record of all that great material you've collected.
- Feeling overwhelmed by the vast collection of resources out there?
- Now that you've written that breakout novel or compelling book proposal, where do you send it?
Consider the source! All information providers are not equal. Online encyclopedias like Wikipedia and other online resources can save you a lot of time when you're doing research. No trips to the library or even phone calls—just click your way to the answers. However, before you decide to accept the "facts" on a Web site, try to discover who's doing the posting and what that person's credentials are. If things look iffy, double-check with a reliable print resource or a known expert. Remember, anyone with an Internet connection can post to the Web.
An almanac should be part of every writer's reference shelf. Almanacs are a great source of quick facts and statistics on a wide range of subjects, from the official language of countries around the world to the text of the U. S. Constitution. Most almanacs include a perpetual calendar and equivalent measurement tables. Don't forget to replace them every couple of years or so.
Still using your old high school dictionary? If so, you're not getting the most from this valuable resource. Dictionaries need to be updated every so often—new words are continually entering the language and usage rules change over time. Besides, you can find all sorts of other information in the dictionary, from potted biographies to proofreaders' marks to the full text of the Declaration of Independence. A good unabridged dictionary isn't cheap, but it's a worthwhile investment.
Are split infinitives okay? What about ending a sentence with a preposition? Definitions of acceptable style evolve over time, so it's important to keep one or two current style and usage guides close at hand when you are writing. The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style is useful. You may also be interested in one of the many guides aimed specifically at writers —which one to choose is mainly a matter of personal taste.
Who said "Play it again, Sam"? Well, nobody, as it turns out. According to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, the exact line, uttered by Ingrid Bergman's character in the 1942 movie Casablanca, is "Play it, Sam!" Later, Humphrey Bogart says, "If she can stand it, I can—play it!" The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations goes Bartlett's one better. It includes not only the correct quote, but a listing for "Play it again, Sam" with a discussion of the fact that no one said it. Quotation books are handy in a number of ways. They let you check the wording of quotations you want to use and who first said them, as well as helping you to spice up your writing with the mot juste on any subject.
What did Cleopatra eat for lunch? What were the popular slang words for "drunk" in colonial America? How much money made a person rich in the Czar's Russia? These are the kinds of questions that typical history books don't answer, but just the sorts of things that writers want to know. To get the lowdown, you need a guide to everyday life. Two useful series are the Writers' Digest Writer's Guides to Everyday Life and the Greenwood Daily Life series. The Guides to Everyday Life concentrate on American and British history, but the Daily Life books cover all times and places.
Interviewing experts is an excellent way to get fresh, authoritative material and add color to your piece. Quotations add an original voice unfiltered by the writer's perspective. Besides, you'll probably collect some great anecdotes that you couldn't have gotten elsewhere. How you find experts depends on what sort of person you're looking for. You can the relevant department of your state university, your local chamber of commerce, or a government office. Check the library for the local or national Directory of Associations, where you can find key people for all sorts of groups, from the local knitting guild to the National Organization for Women. Or look at a few books or articles on your topic and see who those authors quote. Then google your choices. Here's a list of interviewing tips to get you started.
A sure way to grab readers is by opening with a startling statistic. Statistics are also essential for supporting your claims or opinions. The best place to find statistical information relating to Americans is in the Statistical Abstract of the United States. This annual compilation, available online at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ or in a hefty volume at your library, is based largely on census data. It also includes numbers crunched by other government departments and private agencies. You can track trends in health, diet, crime rates, consumer spending, education level, and much more. Wow your readers with fun facts like the information that our per capita beer consumption and milk consumption are almost exactly the same —21 gallons a year.
If you want the latest scoop on just about any practical topic from getting better mileage to buying cosmetics, check out the Federal Citizen Information Center Web site at www.pueblo.gsa.gov. Chances are, they'll have a pamphlet that covers what you're looking for. These are free or very low cost, and you can order them online. Consumer information pamphlets are a great way to get started if you are writing a how-to or list article, or just need a little background information on a business or consumer topic such as car buying, home buying, computers, health, fitness, or travel. Here are your tax dollars at work, so take advantage.
Dozens of one-volume encyclopedias exist, covering every conceivable topic from Asian art to zoology. At least one is sure to be devoted to your area of interest. If you write about a particular topic frequently, the convenience of owning a comprehensive overview can outweigh the book's cost. Certain publishers, such as Oxford University Press and Facts on File, produce stacks of one-volume reference books on a wide variety of topics —literature, art, music, food, politics, law, medicine, word and phrase origins, science and math, nature, and more. Other publishers offer general reference books for their topic strength —gardening, parenting, cultural history, sports, and the like. If you're interested in finding a general reference resource on your topic, check offerings from publishers that specialize in that area.
The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature is an old-fashioned index—i.e., hardbound, rather than online—but it's worth checking out. You'll find magazines here that online indexes such as Masterfile have overlooked —for example, Oprah, Sunset, Golf, and Glamour. Reader's Guide is handy for finding out what's been written in your topic area recently and where it's been published. You can make sure you don't pitch an article on a topic that your chosen magazine just covered, as well as discovering who accepts articles on specific topics. This venerable resource has been in print since the mid-nineteenth century, so it's a great source of material for historical researchers too.
Are you planning to quote from other authors or to include lines of poetry or stanzas of pop songs in your book? It's a good idea to review the copyright rules and consider whether you need permission from the work's creator. The U.S. Copyright Office's Web site, www.copyright.gov, can help. It outlines the basics of copyright law, including the doctrine of "fair use," which allows brief quotations for certain purposes. This site also explains how your own work will be protected. What's not copyrighted? Slogans, short phrases, ideas, and titles. That means if you want to call your latest opus Moby Dick, you can go right ahead.
Nothing's more frustrating than having to scrabble back through your notes, trying to remember where you noted down the source of the consumer statistics that you've decided to use in your article—except having to do the research all over again because you forgot to note it down at all. Even if you won't be formally citing references, you never know when an editor or reader will ask you to back up your facts, so be sure to keep track of your research from the beginning. It will save you time and and frustration in the long run.
Feeling overwhelmed by the vast collection of resources out there? Talk to someone who knows the ropes—your local librarian. Nearly everyone working on a book project eventually needs some material that isn't available on the Internet, and either can't be bought (e.g., unpublished letters) or costs too much (e.g., The Oxford English Dictionary). Libraries exist to fill that gap. They are treasure troves of out-of-print books, original historical documents, old photographs, and much other material that can't be found anywhere else. To get some idea of the kinds of material a library can offer, check out the Internet Public Library.
Now that you've written that breakout novel or compelling book proposal, where do you send it? Directories exist for writers who need to connect with the perfect agent or publisher for them. The Writer's Market lists book publishers by subject, as well as a short list of literary agents. Their Guide to Literary Agents offers a much larger list, also indexed by subject interest. Another source of publishing names and addresses is The Literary Marketplace. Most libraries carry all three.