We believe that every working woman deserves to know how to negotiate to #askformore. It can be difficult asking for what you deserve, but we’re here to provide you with the negotiation skills and information needed to get a raise with confidence. Recently, we published articles discussing common negotiation mistakes to avoid, as well as an interview with Mika Brzezinski on why she is passionate about helping women “know their value.” We also released a series of personal essays from real women who asked for more in different aspects of their lives.

It’s your time to ask for a raise in 2015. With the continuing wage gap in our country, we need to start negotiating for ourselves if we want to see any progress. The best book for negotiation can help you get started and ensure that you receive what you deserve.

1. The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance — What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman

It’s normal to feel scared and anxious when negotiating for a raise, especially if you don’t yet feel confident in your abilities. After all, how can you expect to convince someone else of your worth if you can’t even do it yourself? The second book from the authors of Womenomics, The Confidence Code was released to great fanfare last year. Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles praised the book, saying: “The Confidence Code belongs in the bag of every woman in America. It combines groundbreaking scientific research and firsthand accounts from the world’s most powerful woman.” If you need a boost of confidence, look no further.

2. Perfecting Your Pitch: How to Succeed in Business and in Life by Finding Words That Work by Ronald M. Shapiro

The next step is to create a pitch and refine it until it’s perfect. It’s crucial to be mindful of your language in situations like this, and Shapiro will assist you in sounding just right. Daniel H. Pink, the author of To Sell is Human, said it best: “Perfecting Your Pitch covers a staggering array of life situations, from salary negotiations to personal relationships, in which a wrong word or an inept phrase could mean the difference between success and failure. Sometimes you only get one chance to ask for what you want or express how you feel—and these top books on negotiation are the perfect guide to help you make the most of those opportunities.”

3. The Global Negotiator: Making, Managing and Mending Deals Around the World in the Twenty-First Century by Jeswald W. Salacuse

Until I read this book, I never considered negotiation on a global level. Jeswald W. Salacuse, a professor of law at Tufts University and Harvard Program on Negotiation executive training sponsor offers a broadened perspective through his academic lens. Library Journal called The Global Negotiator “a unique, outstanding guidebook that breaks down the intricacies of international negotiations into understandable segments and provides the tools to ensure success in the creation, management, and remediation of international deals.” If you’re looking to take your negotiation skills global, this guide can give you a few pointers.

4. Getting To Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents by William Ury

Ury’s bestselling book, Getting to Yes, was published over thirty years ago and is still used today. The step-by-step guide walks readers through how they can reach a mutually beneficial agreement in any conflict situation by using the methods of the Harvard Negotiation Project. In his years of coaching, Ury found that we are usually the reason negotiations fail--not the other person. With this new book, he asks an even more thought-provoking question: “if we can’t get to ‘yes’ with ourselves, how do we expect to get to ‘yes’ with others?” Don’t miss out on reading it!

5. Negotiating at Work: Turn Small Wins into Big Gains by Deborah M. Kolb with Jessica L. Porter

We love Negotiating at Work because it was wholeheartedly endorsed by one of our favorite people, Mika Brzezinski. “Deborah Kolb continues the important message of Knowing Your Value in her latest book by providing specific tools and tactics that have the power to reshape a woman’s trajectory at work,” Brzezinski said. “I recommend Negotiating at Work to every woman, leader, and organization that is truly invested in ensuring quality and diversity at the top.”

6. Persuasion Equation: The Subtle Science of Getting Your Way by Mark Rodgers

Get confident and determine your value, then it’ll be time to get persuasive. Persuasion Equation is loaded with useful tips that you can begin using right away, like a seven-step persuasive action plan, a “moment of yes” dos and don’t, and 10 emergency actions to take when things start going downhill. Adding this book to your “to buy” list is the final step you need to take before asking for something big.

Learn how to #ask4more: Do your homework, practice, get inspired by influential women’s stories, and ask. 

Photo: Thomas Barwick / Getty Images

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