Welcome, Fellow Storytellers, Editors, and Librarians!
As writers, our goal is to craft powerful fiction, drawing readers back to our stories again and again. To do so, we need to master a very critical aspect of writing: description.
Our bestselling thesaurus guides teach writers how to use show-don’t-tell description to reveal a character’s deepest layers and make readers feel more involved in the world, events, and undercurrents taking place in the story.
Often called the “gold standard” of writing guides, the Writers Helping Writers thesaurus collection has sold over 500,000 copies and is available in eight languages. These books are used in universities and by editors, agents, writing coaches & authors all over the world. Here are some of the things being said about our resources.
You can find our books at all major online retailers or visit The Book Depository for free worldwide shipping. If you’d like to support an independent bookseller or buy from us directly, see purchasing options below marked with an asterisk (*).
Signed Copies & Bulk Sales
We are happy to accommodate requests whenever possible. We distribute through KDP Print which, in turn, distributes to Ingram, so anyone who has an account can order at discount through them. If you would like to purchase a bulk book order (print, digital, or PDF) for your workshop, event, or to give as a gift to editing clients, we can help with this. And if you would like a signed copy, we can do that, too! Please email us for a quote.
Indies and Libraries
Local bookstores and libraries should be able to bring in our books. Just submit your request to them with the ISBN number (listed for each book below).
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If you are a fan and want to know when the next thesaurus book will be available, just add your email here. We’ll fire off a quick notification as soon as it hits the shelves.
The Occupation Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers
(Available in print and digital)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9992963-7-0
BookShop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate link)
Chapters/Indigo (Canada) ebook and print
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
Walmart (print and ebook) Coming Soon!
PDF* $5.99
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
The Character Trait Thesaurus Boxed Set
(Boxed sets are digital only)
Purchase an epub, mobi, or PDF file directly from us*
(Be sure to select the correct file for your device at checkout)
Purchase through the iBooks Store (ePub)
Please note this book is not available through Amazon. If you have a kindle, choose the mobi option. If you have another type of e-reader (Kobo, etc.) choose the epub format. Instructions for downloading files to your device will be included on your receipt.
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The Emotion Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression
(Expanded Second Edition, released Feb 2019)
(Available in print and digital)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9992963-4-9
BookShop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate links)
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
PDF* $5.99
Are you a collector? Information and purchasing options for the first edition of The Emotion Thesaurus can be found here.
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
The Emotional Wound Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to Psychological Trauma
(Available in print and digital)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9897725-9-4
Bookshop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate link)
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
PDF* $5.99
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
The Rural Setting Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to Personal and Natural Places
(Available in print and digital)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9897725-5-6
Bookshop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate link)
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
PDF* $5.99
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
The Urban Setting Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to City Spaces
(Available in print and digital)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9897725-6-3
Bookshop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate link)
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
PDF* $5.99
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
The Positive Trait Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes
(Available in print and digital)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9897725-1-8
Bookshop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate link)
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
PDF* $ 5.99
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
The Negative Trait Thesaurus:
A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws
(Available in print and digital)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
ISBN needed for bookstore orders: 978-0-9897725-0-1
Bookshop* (affiliate link)
Amazon print and ebook (affiliate link)
Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
PDF* $5.99
WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection Bundle (affiliate link) — Kindle ebooks only, Emotion Amplifiers not included
Emotion Amplifiers:
A Companion to The Emotion Thesaurus
(Digital only)
Full Book Description (including a free preview)
Amazon (affiliate link)
PDF* $2.99
Add this book to your GOODREADS To Read list
These books are also part of the largest description database available for writers.
One Stop For Writers
One Stop For Writers® is a powerful creativity portal which places one-of-a-kind story and character tools at your keyboard so you have what you need when you need it.
Becca and Angela know strong storytelling, and so they’ve spent years working with top developers to design One Stop for Writers, a web app that’s home to your favorite thesauruses…and a lot more.
Watch this video walkthrough and then activate a 2-week free trial to explore this game-changing site for yourself (HINT: make sure to check out the fan-favorite Character Builder tool). Writing can be easier!
To discover more about what One Stop for Writers has to offer, visit the Features and Tools page.
Did you know that Writers Helping Writers® donates a portion of our book sales to a charitable organization each year?
To date we have given $6000 to charitable projects. We’re able to donate to a worthy cause due to your kind support, so thank you very much!
~ Angela & Becca
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Angela and I were writing our latest thesaurus on occupations, we were researching the nursing career and stumbled over a term we’d never heard before: […]
[…] Angela and I were writing our latest thesaurus on occupations, we were researching the nursing career and stumbled over a term we’d never heard before: […]
[…] Angela and I were writing our latest thesaurus on occupations, we were researching the nursing career and stumbled over a term we’d never heard before: […]
[…] Angela and I were writing our latest thesaurus on occupations, we were researching the nursing career and stumbled over a term we’d never heard before: […]
[…] Angela and I were writing our latest thesaurus on occupations, we were researching the nursing career and stumbled over a term we’d never heard before: […]
[…] The Occupation Thesaurus […]
[…] Becca Puglisi are writing coaches, international speakers, and co-authors of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression (now an expanded second edition) and its many sequels. Their books are available in eight […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
[…] Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus and its many sequels. Her books are available in eight languages, are sourced by US universities, […]
I downloaded the seconded edition of The Emotion Thesaurus PDF and it doesn’t have any bookmarks like all the others making it difficult to use. Is there any way to fix this?
Hi, Kaylin. Thanks so much for getting a copy of the 2nd edition of The Emotion Thesaurus. I’ve checked that file, and the bookmarks are in place. I’m able to click all of the external links to other books, as well as internal links in the TOC and in linked fields within entries. I should note that the links in the TOC aren’t blue like the other links, but they’re still clickable. Would you mind checking to see if you’re able to click any of the entries in the TOC? Also, scroll through to any entry and try to click the entries located in the May Escalate To field. If you’re unable to click any of those, please email me at jaddpublishing@gmail.com and let me know exactly what you’re seeing. I may be able to do some troubleshooting that way.
[…] As a writer of books for kids and teens, most of my characters don’t have careers. But I’ve found other thesauruses in Angela and Becca’s collection helpful, so I wanted to check out this new one. For a full list of their thesauruses, such as The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and The Urban Setting Thesaurus, look here. […]
[…] am a HUGE fan of the ‘thesauruses’ written by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. I own all of them and keep them on my […]
[…] am a HUGE fan of the ‘thesauruses’ written by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. I own all of them and keep them on my […]
I love these books and would like to use them with my students, any project to translate them into Spanish?
Regards.
No, Nicolás. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the books. Our books have been translated into a number of languages and we’ve got an agent shopping them in other markets, but we haven’t had any luck with Spanish publishers. We are looking, though, so hopefully in the future :).
Hi! I just bought all of your books on Kindle. Out of all the books I’ve read, I would say that The Emotion, Positive Trait and Negative Trait Thesaurus are my favorites! It helps me try to think of how to create likeable, flawed and relatable characters.
I think The Emotion Thesaurus Second Edition can be helpful in reading body languages, due to how comprehensive your thesaurus was, especially when you describe internal sensations, and signs that the emotions are being suppressed. Those could give away nonverbal cues that reveal their true emotion.
Thank you for picking up copies of our books. Those trait books are close to our hearts because we poured into them so much of we had learned about characterization and character building. And The Emotion Thesaurus is our firstborn, of course, so it’s special ;). I’m very happy you’re finding the books useful.
[…] You can find all the books J.T. mentioned at the Writers Helping Writers bookstore. […]
[…] You can find all the books J.T. mentioned at the Writers Helping Writers bookstore. […]
Hello, I’m interested in buying several of your books, but I’d like to have the Conflict Thesaurus.
Hi Cyndi,
We’re so glad you’ve found your way to our resources. Unfortunately, the Conflict Thesaurus isn’t yet a book, it’s only here at this blog, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the one we convert next as it’s generating a lot of interest.
Becca and I create a lot of thesauruses on show, don’t tell but not all of them become books. The next book, due out this year is the Occupation Thesaurus. If you\d like to see what other thesauruses we’ve created in the meantime, we have them all as part of one big database here: https://onestopforwriters.com/
All the best,
Angela