Books
Books about writing in general
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott. New York: Anchor Books; 1995.
Amazon
Amazon
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life, by Dani Shapiro. Grove Press; 2014.
Amazon
Amazon
The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker. Penguin Books; Reprint edition; 2015.
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Amazon
The Writer’s Diet: A Guide to Fit Prose, by Helen Sword. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2016.
Book People
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Book People
Amazon
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, by Roy Peter Clark. New York: Little, Brown; 2006.
Book People
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Book People
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Books about writing in science
The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science, 2nd ed, by Scott L. Montgomery. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2017.
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Amazon
The Craft of Research, 4th ed, by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2016.
Book People
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Book People
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What Editors Want: An Author’s Guide to Scientific Journal Publishing, by Philippa J. Benson and Susan C. Silver. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2013.
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Amazon
Writing Science in Plain English, by Anne E. Greene. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2013.
Book People
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Book People
Amazon
Style guides and books about editing
AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2020.
amamanualofstyle.com
amamanualofstyle.com
Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, by Benjamin Dreyer. Random House; 2019.
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Amazon
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. American Psychological Association; 2020.
APA Style
APA Style
The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself, by Susan Bell. W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition; 2008.
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Amazon
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. University of Chicago Press; 2017.
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Subversive Copy Editor, Second Edition: Advice from Chicago (or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself, by Carol Fisher Saller. University of Chicago Press; Second edition; 2016.
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Amazon
Useful Links for Authors of Scientific Manuscripts
Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary. Written for writers and readers for whom English is a second language. Includes definitions written in simple language. Tells you whether a noun is "count" or "noncount" (Why do you need to know this? Noncount nouns do not have a plural form and are not used with the indefinite articles a and an). Also lists common idioms in English. For example, under the entry for "horse" you will find explanations of the phrases "hold your horses," "horse of a different color," and more.
How to Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word. Editors love track changes. Authors, maybe not so much? Fellow editor Erin Wright has a great tutorial and tips here.
How to Write an English Medical Manuscript That Will Be Published and Have Impact, by Amanda Tompson. Surgery Today 2006;36(5):407-409.
The Art of Writing the Title of Your Paper, by JM Buriak. Chemistry of Materials 2014;26(11):3349-50.
Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal Articles, by Stephen M. Griffies, William A. Perrie, and Gaëlle Hull.
Publishing a Clinical Research Manuscript: Guidance for Early-Career Researchers With a Focus on Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. by Elizabeth M. Viglianti et al. Chest 2019;156(6):1054-1061. I especially like the use of graphics in this article. One figure shows loose puzzle pieces with common barriers to writing, like lack of motivation, distractions, and not enough time, and then interlocked pieces with strategies to consider implementing, like joining a writing group, doing a writing sprint, or scheduling daily writing time. Tips go all the way through submission. The authors' advice on picking a journal: don’t just pick the first journal to which you will submit; have a clear succession plan to allow rapid resubmission in case of rejection.
There Is an "I" in Science. My April 2018 blog post on using first person when writing.
How to Write About the Humans in Your Human Disease Research. Communicating your research is about more than showing mean data points on a graph or performing a slick statistical analysis. You will also need to describe your study group. If you study a human disease, communicating your research well should consider how you write about the humans in your human disease research. In this blog post from July 2018, I write about using person-first language and writing about obesity, mental health, and older adults.
Notes on Tables From a Former Journal Manuscript Editor. Get tips on creating tables for your journal article in my July 2019 blog post.
Authors' Submission Toolkit: A practical guide to getting your research published, by L Chipperfield , L Citrome L, J Clark, et al. Current Medical Research and Opinion 2010 Aug;26(8):1967-82.
EASE Toolkit for Authors. Guidelines and resources for scientific writing and publishing for early career and less experienced researchers.
Do I Need to Acknowledge Medical Editing? The short answer? Yes. If the medical editor does not qualify for authorship, you should acknowledge her contributions to your publication in the Acknowledgments section. Find tips on how to phrase this in my February 2017 blog post.
Journal Permissions: Obtaining Permission to Reproduce Material. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2016.
Responsible Authorship Quick Guide at the Office of Research Integrity. Covers common mistakes and dilemmas faced in preparing research proposals and scientific articles for publication.
Writing for Publication: An Easy to Follow Guide for Nurses Interested in Publishing Their Work. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2014.