Super Searcher, Author, Scribe: Successful Writers Share their Internet Research Secrets (in their Own Words – 15 Top Writers Who Use the Internet for Literary Research)

Citation

Cronau, D. (2002), "Super Searcher, Author, Scribe: Successful Writers Share their Internet Research Secrets (in their Own Words – 15 Top Writers Who Use the Internet for Literary Research)", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 521-521. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.6.521.8

The impact of the Internet on the writing profession is unprecedented, even revolutionary. Wired writers of the twenty‐first century rely on the Web to do research, to collaborate, to research, and even to publish and sell their work.

This book successfully illuminates the state of the art. It brings together a broad range of successful writers, including authors, writing instructors, and professional researchers, who discuss their tips, techniques, sites, sources, and success stories.

The featured “super searchers” are experienced writers of articles, columns, books, screenplays, and poetry: Sarah Wernick; Ridley Pearson; David Fryxell; Sheila Bender; David Weinberger; Reid Goldsborough; Catherine Coulter; Michael Gross; Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner; Bonnie Remsberg; Jodi Picoult; Gary Gach; Paula Berinstein; and Gregg Sutter – the researcher for Elmore Leonard’s mysteries.

The style of the book makes it very readable and suitable for a wide variety of libraries from secondary school through to public and tertiary. It is the ninth title in the Super Searchers series for information users. One of the best things about this series is that they contain advice from practising experts that can be put into immediate use by the reader.

The format of the book is clear and not overpowering, it invites the reader to a leisurely information pursuit. The table of contents lists the writer’s name and their area of interest. For example, the first one is Sarah Wernick – medical writer and Internet devotee!

The content is well spaced with bolded outdented headings in a larger font. Under each subheading there are only a couple of paragraphs meaning that there is no real information overload. General, topic based discussions conclude with Super Searcher power tips in point form and invaluable in quality.

An excellent appendix of referenced sites and sources and a lengthy, detailed index complete a book of very broad appeal.