Do you love concise? I mean, really short bursts and bites of copy? Seth Godin’s advice to write a 6-word classified ad is a good start on how to nail the message you want to send. For Generation Y members, write a Craigslist posting. You may have never seen a classified ad.
Here’s another fun way. [...]
If you’ve ever been in the dark hole of a writing project, you’ll appreciate a pop quiz. Which author said this?
“I sometimes think it’s important for writers to have an unhealthy obsession. Besides writing, that is.
A. Carl Hiaasen
B. J.K. Rowling
C. Ernest Hemingway
D. F. Scott Fitzgerald
E. None of the above
Writing, said now-deceased newspaper [...]
This cautionary tale in the NYT may be a little over the top, but it illustrates the downside for bloggers trying to publish technology scoops.
I remember when news radio was a major player in the San Diego market. The competing stations — and their reporters driving from story to story — would get the headlines, [...]
Seth Godin, popular blogger, author and guru of marketing, is striking the word “just” from his vocabulary. Same for “sort of.”
We get into habits. We use certain words more than others. “Just” is not that bad (when used sparingly). There’s no harm in it. Seth wants to use it less.
Imagine if Nike had taken the same tact. Just [...]
Q: Why would a major publishing house print a memoir without checking basic facts?
A: Intense competition to sell books.
News this week of the bogus biography of a woman who claimed to have run drugs for a Los Angeles gang as a kid is yet another reminder to publishers that non-fiction must be vetted and fact-checked. Magazines work to do it. Newspapers work [...]
If you work in marketing, PR or journalism, you’re reading constantly. Email. Websites. Text messages. Blogs. Project briefs. Ad copy. Scripts. Court filings. Government documents. Speeches. Talking points. Press releases. White papers. Case studies.
Time permitting, you probably read books and magazines. Possibly you groom your screenplay or novel (the most ambitious of you out there).
Words come at us through pixels, [...]
Formulas and advice for successful blogging are rampant. Most of it is friendly and proof that the Internet is a place where people can help each other. However, there’s a hint of snake oil to some of the messaging out there: Monetize your content! Make six-figures! Master search algorithms! Link-baiting!
It’s enough to make a non-geek blogger feel inadequate.
What we need is humor. William Zinsser, who wrote [...]
Have you visited your local Borders magazine racks lately?
More words are written in printed publications than ever before. Finding the good stuff in isn’t hard. Magazine’s done right leave their mark on you with stories that favor depth over speed. Nuance, scene, and human texture get a chance in the hands of great writers.
Among magazine brands, I recommend these — which like the [...]
Writing is too often minimized in marketing projects.
Images, visuals and eye candy make us notice.
But writing makes us believe.
Writing is no easy gig (even though the business world relies heavily on e-mail). Without good writing, marketing project briefs need too many clarifications and re-clarifications. Without good writing, full meaning becomes half. Without good writing, television executives air re-runs and comedians grouse about weak material. A-List actors [...]
David Simon is a great storyteller. His first non-fiction book, “Homicide - A Year on the Killing Streets,” is a 599-page tour de force for any student of real police dialog and sublime reportage. The book slapped me with a realization that newspapers and their limited news columns and budgetary pressures seen in full flight today could never truly capture the depths of human struggle.
Better known as the creator [...]
