A basic book about writing. Short, sharp and to the point. One I may have to revisit as I get myself organised and writing. Full of common-sense it quickly explains most of the jargon associated with both writing and selling your work.

The piece that amused me most was in Section 5: In Brief
"Net Book Agreement (NBA)
"Controversy continues to rage (and doubtles will long after publication of this book [1991]) on the fairness or otherwise of the Net Book Agreement. This is a decades-old agreement between publishers and bookselleers that no book shall be sold for less than the price shown on the cover. (...)
"If the NBA disappears, almost certainly, it will mean that books will become, even more than they are now, mere commodities. They will probably be on sale at large discounts in supermarkets, next to soap-powder or sausages, as well as in bona fide book shops. Unfortunately, that might result in the demise of many of the small booksellers who wouldn't be able to buy in sufficient bulk in order to compete with their new rivals." ( )