If you identify as a writer, people will ask you for feedback on their writing. These requests come in many forms: A friend’s son asks if you can look at a college essay A work colleague emails you a project report to review A relative shows you a memoir they’re writing Your spouse asks you […]
Business writing
Reviews Make You a Better Business Writer
If you write on the job, then you know that you’re not really done with a project until it makes it through reviews and approvals. A lingering review process can add weeks or months to a project, frustrating everyone involved. Many writers think of the review/approval process as the last hurdle that their work has […]
When Writing Is a Team Sport
When you think of a writer, what do you envision? Do you picture someone struggling alone in an attic, surrounded by crumpled papers, overflowing ashtrays and empty whiskey bottles? Papa Hemingway, perhaps? Or maybe you envision a cozy writing retreat, with scenic views and solitude. No matter what you imagine, it’s probably one person, working in […]
Killing Marketing: A Book Review
The title of the latest book by Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose really grabbed my attention: Killing Marketing: How Innovative Businesses are Turning Marketing Cost into Profit. That sounds like a manifesto – and manifestos are fun. I’ve been known, on occasion, to rant about “death to the funnel” and other topics. Yet, as any student of history […]
Writers and the Planning Fallacy
You don’t want to hear this, but I need to say it anyway: Your writing project probably won’t go exactly as you plan. The book will take longer to draft than you think. You will be surprised by the length of the revision phase or magnitude of comments from editors or early readers. Your blog post […]
Don’t Buy Into the One-Step-Writing Myth
“Before they hire you, the client wants you to come in for a timed writing test. They’ll give you a topic, then see what you can do in fifteen minutes.” This request came from a technology company a few years ago. The founders probably thought that they were cleverly optimizing the hiring process by making sure […]
