What's a good, affordable book that will teach me how to use softsynths (software synthesizers)?

Answer 1

A lot of it will depend on what sequencing software you use, so the best place to start with be the help section of the software, and look for books specifically for the software you use. I've listed a couple of on-line guides in the sources to get you started, but each sequencer does things in a different way so it's hard to recommend anything without knowing what you are using.