The Complete Book of Grant Writing: Book Review

For a few years now, I've been interested in studying grant writing, but the books I tried to read on the subject were complicated and confusing. After looking around at what books and tutorials were out there to help me learn about grant writing, I purchased The Complete Book of Grant Writing by Nancy Burke Smith and E. Gabriel Works at my local Barnes and Noble store in Kingston, New York, and the price was $19.95. In my opinion, this excellent grant writing manual could be the only grant writing book you'll ever need.

The Complete Book of Grant Writing is unique in that it's co-authored by a grant writer (Smith) and a grant maker (Works), so the reader gets both perspectives on what makes a successful grant proposal. The book begins with an overview of the two types of grant seeking: reactive grant seeking (responding to "requests for proposals" or RFPs) and proactive grant seeking.

The Complete Book of Grant Writing then takes the reader through every step of writing grant proposals, from the planning stages before you write a word, through the five core components of every grant proposal. This handy grant writing book contains useful sections that go way beyond the basics of grant writing, and also has a chapter about starting a career as a professional grant writing consultant (not a bad idea for freelance writers, as experienced grant writers can command rates of $50 to $100 per hour).

Some of the most useful features of The Complete Book of Grant Writing are the many pages of sample documents, including actual grant proposals and letters. The use of detailed examples really helps the reader get a grasp on the whole grant writing process. If you're interested in this field, The Complete Book of Grant Writing is a book you'll want to read from cover to cover. It really helps demystify the grant writing and grant making process for beginners, and those with more experience will also find it a handy and detailed reference.

I have no material connection or relationship with the author, publisher or any marketers or sellers of The Complete Book of Grant Writing by Nancy Burke Smith and E. Gabriel Works and I received no compensation in any form for this review. I am simply a consumer who purchased this book in order to learn more about grant writing and possibly branch out into a grant writing career. The views expressed in this review are my own independent opinions as a consumer and they are based solely on my personal experience with this product.

I highly recommend The Complete Book of Grant Writing. If you've always been interested in grant writing but found it a bit daunting to break into the field, The Complete Book of Grant Writing, with its informative text and grant writing samples, is a great first step toward launching a grant writing career.

Source:

The Complete Book of Grant Writing by Nancy Burke Smith and E. Gabriel Works at Barnes and Noble:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Complete-Book-of-Grant-Writing/Nancy-Smith/e/9781402206672