Whatever happened to cookbooks?

Well lookee what the polydactyl cat dragged in: a stack of books that claim to be able to magically transform me into a Writer.

Gee.

I guess this is serious.

I'd like to hear your opinion on this:  How much can you learn about being a writer from books?

(I think my question may have been posed in a grammatically-incorrect manner.  But you get the point.)

I don't mean book books, of course, because I think that every good writer must also be a reader.  I mean books like the ones in this picture.  Books that tell you how to be a writer.

Would you read a book about how to be a sculptor?  Or would you just grab some marble and hack away at it?

Would you read a book about how to be a painter?  Or would you just go all Jackson Pollock on that canvas and call it a day?

I suppose that, like any other artist (oh God, am I an artist now?  Was that my Masters degree I just saw flying out the window?), I already know how to make my art.

What I'm hoping to learn from these books: How to market my art.  How to sell it.

Great.  Now I'm a sell-out.  Though I don't think you can be an actual sell-out until you receive payment for your work.

In which case, I guess I'm still an amateur.  Phew.  Now I can compete in the Olympics.

Read well.