Since I blog about writing, I’m sharing my 5 favorite books on the subject.

My picks shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s followed this blog on a regular basis. I’ve written about most of them or at least mentioned them in passing. Here they are again, along with a couple reasons why they mean so much to me:

1. On Writing Well, William Zinsser. Despite its age, On Writing Well is still relevant as a reference for what to do and what to avoid in many nonfiction forms, including newspaper and magazine articles, travel, sports and humor writing, criticism, memoir – even memos, newsletters and yes, blog posts. His advice to write tight and bright is especially relevant in a world of shrinking word counts and online readers who can’t be bothered to scroll past a story’s opening screen.

2. AP Stylebook, Associated Press. Today, you can choose between the spiral-bound print version, the online version or the smartphone app. Regardless of form, this is still the go-to book for questions of usage for newspaper-style journalism. Of all my favorites, this is the one I consult the most.

3. The Art and Craft of Feature Writing, William E. Blundell. I was just talking with another writer about this book last week. It’s a classic and something I’ve hung onto for years. Blundell based the book on the in-house writing classes he conducted while on staff at the Wall Street Journal, which IMHO was and is one of the best-written and edited publications in the country. The chapter “Handling Key Story Elements” one of the best, discussing topics such as leads, quotes, paraphrasing and numbers. My writer friend found a used copy online for $1.

4. The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Good old Strunk and White. The copy on my office bookshelf has survived since college. It’s to grammar and usage what the AP Stylebook is to spelling, punctuation and capitalization.

5. The Elements of Editing, Arthur Plotnik. There are lots of books on writing, not so many on editing. This one might not rise to the level of a Strunk and White, but it comes pretty close. If you get it, bypass dated references to typesetting and focus on chapters covering concepts that never go out of style: processing manuscripts, line editing and working with writers.

Keep it simple stupid – I’d never heard of the Center for Plain Language until yesterday when I heard American Public Media’s Marketplace reporter Kai Ryssdal interviewing its director, Annetta Cheek. In the interview, a transcript of which you can read here, Cheek explains how she and a group of federal government employees formed the nonprofit after becoming frustrated with how poorly government agencies and businesses communicated with their constituents. As a follow up, Marketplace put up this list of common business jargon and what it really means. Here are a few examples, with the center’s suggestions for clearer alternatives:

• Instead of “economically marginalized” use “poor.”
• Instead of “negative economic growth” use “recession.”
• Instead of “in the event of” use “if.”
• Instead of  “We obtain information that causes us to believe that” use “We find that…”

Sadly, the problem with obtuse writing isn’t limited to government officials and corporate executives. I see it on a regular basis in magazines and newspapers as well as in stories I edit. For business and technology reporters particularly, it’s an easy trap to fall into because industries have their own jargon-filled vocabularies and sources use it in interviews. But our job as writers is to translate the jargon into plain English. Keeping it simple and readers will thank you for it.

AP style or SEO? – Speaking of language, the Associated Press’ announcement that it’s switching from “Web site” to “website” in its AP Stylebook sparked an interesting online debate (at least interesting to word nerds like me) about what’s more important for journalists to know today, AP style or SEO. Anybody who ever graduated from j-school got AP style drilled into them. But is it still relevant today when content lives and dies by whether it’s searchable by Google? Online Journalism Review’s Robert Niles takes the position that SEO trumps AP style. Be sure to click over to his post because he’s included links to a number of excellent resources to help journalists understand SEO.

Online news wins big – Much was made of the fact that although this was the first year Pulitzer Prizes were open to online-only publications none received any of the newspaper industry’s highest honors and only one, Politico, was a finalist, and in the editorial cartooning category at that. But that’s a bit of a short sided view. Although no online-only outfits took home awards, online news was recognized in several categories, most notably the St. Petersburg Times’ PolitiFact Website, which tested the validity of political statements made during the 2008 elections and took home the Pulitzer for national reporting. Read the entire list of 2009 winners here.

More bloggers than bartenders – Speaking of new forms of news, the Wall Street Journal says there are more people in the United States making money blogging than tending bar. According to the story, 1.7 million Americans are paid bloggers and 452,000 make it their primary source of income. According to the story, it takes 100,000 unique visitors a month to make $75,000 a year.

Hyperlocal news ventures get grants – And speaking of getting paid to blog, J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism at American University’s School of Communication will grant up to $25,000 each in start up funds over the next two years to eight hyperlocal community news projects. Winners of the New Voices grants were chosen from among 304 applicants. They include Oakland Local, a daily news Website and mobile service covering Oakland, California; and The Villager, a hyperlocal news site covering Coconut Grove West in Florida crerated by Kim Grinfelder, a University of Miami professor.

Using social media to build the Brand of You – Robin Broitman, an Internet and social media strategist and Web publisher for the National Wildlife Federation, has published the most extensive listing I’ve ever seen on using social media to build brand identity. What does this have to do with freelancing? Plenty. In a world where more writers are disconnecting from staff jobs, by choice or otherwise, having an identifiable brand is one way to stand out in the crowd. Broitman’s list is compiled from blog posts written by some of social media’s biggest gurus and covers everything from how to write more effective online network profile pages to why you should use your real name as your Twitter handle.

Freelance love – The folks at ODesk.com, a market for online teams, put together a list of 100 top freelance blogs that includes blogs on freelance writing, Web design, graphic design, software development, illustration and more. OK, so WordCount didn’t make the cut – there’s always next time.

This week’s Twitter tools:

• @APStylebook – The international wire service has created a home on Twitter for its venerable style guide for news reporters. Staffers manning the account will can’t answer AP style questions but will direct Twitterers to the service’s Website, APStylebook.com.
• TwitterSheep – A fun app that creates a Wordle-like word cloud based on your Twitter followers. Here’s mine.