There are those who assume that Jeff Herman"s Writer"s Guide is interchangeable with Kirsten C. Holm"s Writer"s Market. The two resource books are similar in size, heft, and appearance, but they are actually quite different beasts indeed. While Writer"s Market includes listings for publishers, magazines, journals (trade, technical, and professional), and scriptwriting markets, Writer"s Guide focuses exclusively on book publishers and literary agents (Writer"s Digest, publisher of Writer"s Market--confused yet?--puts out a separate book for literary agents, conveniently called Guide to Literary Agents). Whether you prefer one or the other depends on what you"re looking for. Because his focus is narrower, Herman--a literary agent himself--is able to give his listings more depth and a larger point size. He"s got room for a nice-sized entry for each publisher, describing the company and what it publishes, and listing its top acquisitions editors. In addition, Herman"s listings of members of the Association of Author Representatives and a few well-chosen other agents are both thorough and personal; one gets a sense not only of what an agent does and doesn"t look for in a client but also of what he or she likes to do after work. (Also available with CD-ROM.) --Jane Steinberg