"On Writing" Has Style, but There is More to it Than Just That

Stephan King's "On Writing" has been out for quite sometime, and is an excellent read on the subject of great writing. Although I do not always agree with the man's views on this subject, I do agree with him that any writer that takes the "craft" seriously should pick up the newest edition, (at this time, the fourth) of the "Elements of Style" by E.B. White, and WIlliam Strunk Jr. It is important for writer's to find a style, and seperate themselves from the jargon that is vernacular in everyday literature. Their are rules to follow in writing, of course, but rules can be defined in differnt manners. A writier is sort of a Supreme Court Justice of writing, and has to interprete the laws according to what style they have developed. That is what makes writing so interesting, and makes people strive harder to learn. Nevertheless, there is still more out there to read that can indirectly help your writing skills.
Something else that you may want to read, and I hope to read soon is an essay written on Moby Dick called; "Call me Ishmael" by Merton M. Sealts Jr. Although this essay will not teach you how to write persay, it is an excellent example of how to write an essay, and if you are a fan of Herman Melville, you will enjoy Sealts take on the novel. I have yet to read this essay, but do know that is is worth the time to pick up and read. If you have read this essay before, you know what I mean, and if you do not like essays, I suggest you read this one, and see that essays to go further than high school/college.
A good book to pick up as well is a nice grammar book called "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. This book takes the "zero tolerance policy" to grammar, and is a benefit to anyone wanting to understand the language. Granted, we could all spruce up or grammar, and there are many ways of doing this, but I have yet to see a better read than this book. Besides the Elements of Style, this book is a must-have. In fact, I feel the two go hand-in-hand, and can contradict each other to some extent, but they are vital to developing your own style of writing.
Now I am one of those people who feels writers should learn on their own, but I also do feel like giving guidance is just as important to lead the way. Now if you want a book to help you out with what publishers want, and what freelance writers should do to gain money for their works, is the Writer's Market. This book has thousands of publishers across the nation, and allows you to see the requirments of the specific press, and to see who is eligble to work for that press. The 2005 editions, including a Deluxe edition, Poetry, and Short Story editions are out and about almost any bookstore. These reference books are pretty pricy, some go up to $200, but the cheapest one comes to about $54.00 with tax, give or take a dollar. This book is for serious, or already working writers to have their work seen by well-known, re recently-established printing presses.
Writing can be helped through other books, courses, and simply through experience, but if you do not find your own style along the way, then the journey can turn out to be a wasted one. Whatever you attempt to write, be sure to put your style into it, because it is the core of your writing, and the reason we want to read what you have to say.