King's On Writing is half memoir, half guide to music appreciation. It may have been written to help writers out but it's a better guide for people who enjoy reading to grasp why they enjoy reading. His instruction on how to write better won't hurt your writing, for sure, but is probably more intended for someone who is thinking of writing, not someone who has been at it and wishes to improve. Stein's On Writing is okay bitch, you want to get paid for this shit? Here's how. It's much less entertaining, much more ruthless and much more insightful. Unfortunately it's also contemporary to John Grisham's breakout (Stein hated the fuck out of Grisham) so it's paleoinstruction, a guidepost from an era where there were dozens of publishing houses, books came on paper and cassette tape and vanity publishing meant driving around with a trunkful of paperbacks to sell city-to-city.