Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala, 1986. This book is your guide to freewriting.

Marks, Andrea. Writing for Visual Thinkers. New York: AIGA Design Press, 2008. A beautifully designed e-book on writing for artists and designers. Includes many techniques, assignments, and links to useful and inspiring resources. (www.aiga.org/content.cfm/writing-for-visual-thinkers).

O’Conner, Patricia. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. A witty reference guide on usage, grammar, and punctuation, with clear examples.

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Longman, 1999. Treat yourself to the illustrated version of this classic, concise writing guide—the only one you really need.

Zinsser, William. On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Zinsser’s warm and wise handbook grew out of the course he taught at Yale. For writers at all levels.

Bayles, David, and Ted Orland. Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. Eugene, OR: Image Continuum Press, 2001. Run, don’t walk, to your library or bookstore and find this book, an encouraging, honest survival guide about finding and walking your own path in life and art.

Cameron, Julia. Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2009. Twelve weeks of lessons that inspire tenacity.

​Henri, Robert. The Art Spirit. New York: Basic Books, 2007. My painting teacher Phil Sylvester reads randomly from this book during studio classes. Originally written in 1923, The Art Spirit contains jewels on every page about the power and meaning of life and art. A must-read for all artists.

Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. New York: Warner Books, 2003. This book is a kick in the ass to your inner critic and a karate-chop to any internal resistance.

Crawford, Tad. The Secret Life of Money: How Money Can Be Food for the Soul. New York: Allworth Press, 1994. An investigation into money’s history, meaning, and symbolism from many cultures. You’ll never look at money the same way.

Stanny, Barbara. Overcoming Underearning: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. You’ll never undercharge for your services again after reading this book. Stanny’s five-step plan sounds simple but reaches to the core of how to value yourself and respect your money. An eye-opener.

Tyson, Eric. Personal Finance for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006. An entertaining and useful guide covering every aspect of personal finance, from budgets to taxes, saving, investing, insurance, and how to financially survive life’s biggest changes. All the details you’ll ever need about personal finance.

Aron, Elaine N. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Just because you’re sensitive doesn’t mean you have a disorder. In fact, 15-20 percent of the population is highly sensitive and many of us are artists. This book teaches you how to thrive and succeed both because of and despite your sensitive tendencies. A life-changing read.

Miller, Alice. The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self. New York: Basic Books, 2008. A beautiful and profound book about discovering your own needs, acknowledging a painful childhood, and reclaiming your own life.

Chödrön, Pema. When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. Boston: Shambhala, 2002. Written by an American Buddhist nun, ​this book teaches how to withstand painful emotions and cultivate compassion and courage, no matter the chaos of the present moment.

Viorst, Judith. Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow. New York: Fireside, 1998. Cuts to the core of how to let go so you can grow up. Required reading for anyone aspiring to be an adult.

Lloyd, Carol. Creating a Life Worth Living. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 1997. Filled with interviews with successful artists and fun, creative exercises for finding, creating, and pursuing work you love. It’s out of print so you’ll have to track down a used copy.

Artspire. The Profitable Artist: A Handbook for All Artists in the Performing, Literary, and Visual Arts. New York: Allworth Press and the New York Foundation for the Arts, 2011. This book covers all topics relevant to the artist on her way to success including: strategic planning, finances, legal issues, marketing, and fundraising.

Battenfield, Jackie. The Artist’s Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2009. Filled with photographs of many artist works, this inspiring book is a practical guide on how to succeed as an artist. Includes sections on setting goals, networking, researching, building community, managing finances and daily operations, applying for grants, and much more.

Bhandari, Heather Darcy, and Jonathan Melber. ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career. New York: Free Press, 2009. Written with clarity and wit, this book offers practical advice on all aspects of the business of art. Includes how to prepare submissions, open a studio, build a website, handle galleries, write grants. Brimming with inspiring quotes from artists and funders.

Borden, Phil. Business of Art: An Artist’s Guide to Profitable Self-Employment. Los Angeles: Center for Cultural Innovation, 2012. This book offers advice to artist entrepreneurs, from goal setting to self-promotion, financial planning, legal issues, and business plans.

Michels, Caroll. How to Survive and Prosper As an Artist: Selling Yourself without Selling Your Soul (6th ed.). New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2009. This comprehensive book covers all aspects of a successful career in the arts, ​including one chapter on grants. The gigantic resource appendix alone is worth the cover price. Michels maintains the Artist Help Network (www.artisthelpnetwork.com [inactive]), a wealth of information on topics from career development to safety hazards and health insurance.

Smith, Constance. Art Marketing 101: A Handbook for the Fine Artist. Nevada City, CA: ArtNetwork Press, 2007. Loaded with forms, checklists, and advice on topics from the psychology of success to business basics, shipping, résumés, galleries, and marketing.

Stanfield, Alyson B. I’d Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion. Golden, CO: Pentas Press, 2008. A lively, kick-in-the-pants marketing guide for artists. Stanfield offers a free weekly newsletter with marketing tips and sells other artist services through her website (www.artbizcoach.com/).

Vitali, Julius. The Fine Artist’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion. New York: Allworth Press, 2003. With an entire chapter on grants and another on corporate sponsorship, this book delivers more than the title promises. Many examples of working artists included.

Baker, Kelley. The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide Part I: Making the Extreme No-Budget Film. Portland, OR: Angry Filmmaker, 2009. Even if you’re not a filmmaker, this book is a motivating and informative read. Baker’s extreme no-budget advice is wise and he’s such an engaging storyteller that the book is hard to put down.

Simmonds, Jade. Emerge Already! The Ultimate Guide to Career Building for Emerging Artists. Houston, TX: Jade Media, 2011. Although this book is geared for the performing musician, Simmons writes with grace and humor about how to be the boss of your own art. This book is a must read for performers and inspiring and empowering for every artist entrepeneur.

Eiben, Therese, and Mary Gannon, eds. The Practical Writer: From Inspiration to Publication. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. This anthology of advice for the emerging writer, presented by Poets & Writers magazine, covers the gamut of topics from the writing studio through publication.

Gore, Ariel. How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. This guidebook brims with interviews with successful writers and Gore’s hip guidance on craft, promotion, and publishing. Wise and inspiring, and you won’t be able to put it down.

Katz, Christina. Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 2008. No time for moping with this motivating book on how to influence your future as an author. An enthusiastic read on how to build an audience and grow a career.

Guidestar. Free access to a database of nonprofits’ 990 forms, which nonprofits use to report their income and expenses to the IRS. These forms are a great resource for researching the projects an organization has funded in the past. Most organizational websites include a list of current board members. The Form 990 lists an organization’s former board members. The information on a Form 990 is usually one or two years behind. www.guidestar.org

GYST: An Artist Run Company for Artists. Karen Atkinson’s company offers many reasonably priced artist services, including GYST software, which tracks artwork, prices, and sales and provides invoices, a mailing list database, and an artwork checklist for exhibitions. Also available is a program that guides users through the process of writing proposals with detailed instructions and support. www.gyst-ink.com/products

Sher, Barbara, and Annie Gottlieb. Teamworks! New York: Warner Books, 1990. Great, step-by-step advice on building one-on-one partnerships and “success teams.” It’s out of print so you’ll have to track down a used copy.