Writing that Works http://tc.eserver.org/publisher/Writing_that_Works A listing of works published by Writing that Works in the field of technical communication (and technical writing). en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif Writing that Works http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Writing_that_Works Six Survival Techniques for a Communications Pro http://tc.eserver.org/31154.html http://tc.eserver.org/31154.html A top-level corporate communicator tells how to improve odds of survival and success. To Draw and Hold Readers' Attention, Apply a Hollywood Technique http://tc.eserver.org/30734.html http://tc.eserver.org/30734.html Find the one thing you want people to remember as you write a posting for a Web page, a subject line for an e-mail or a headline for a newsletter. Check Your Website's Usability Quickly and Cheaply http://tc.eserver.org/20802.html http://tc.eserver.org/20802.html Anybody who hasn't done a usability study desperately needs to. No one knows yet how to design the perfect user interface, so even simple do-it-yourself studies often show you serious problems. Choosing the Right Style Manual(s) http://tc.eserver.org/20798.html http://tc.eserver.org/20798.html Editors should consider at least four points in selecting, or reevaluating, primary and secondary manuals. Divide a Sales Letter Into Hook, Line and Sinker http://tc.eserver.org/20809.html http://tc.eserver.org/20809.html A writer/sales trainer tells how to structure effective sales letters and avoid common mistakes. Many sales letters fail not because of content but because of poor structure. For Good Media Relations, Treat Reporters Like Customers http://tc.eserver.org/20806.html http://tc.eserver.org/20806.html Know their needs, advertise your products, give good service, offer specials, educate and keep in touch. Go from Brochureware to E-Care http://tc.eserver.org/20805.html http://tc.eserver.org/20805.html Online brochures don't attract return visits or serve your customers, so turn your Web site into a customer interaction center. How Do You Handle Letters to the Editor? http://tc.eserver.org/20810.html http://tc.eserver.org/20810.html Letters to the editor can be a headache. Many editors play fast and loose with them, often under orders. Among the worst and most common offenses are choosing letters to bolster a policy and having staff members write letters under other names to influence or misrepresent readers' views. How to Control Interviews Even When Outranked http://tc.eserver.org/20794.html http://tc.eserver.org/20794.html Expect anyone you're interviewing to try to control the interview, says writer/trainer Thomas Hunter. Anticipate special difficulties if that person outranks you. You must make on-the-spot judgments during every interview, but Hunter suggests steps to take beforehand, alternative approaches to consider during interviews and techniques to use after unsatisfactory ones. Lengthen Your Planning and Shorten Your Text http://tc.eserver.org/20803.html http://tc.eserver.org/20803.html Writing for the Web requires your old skills, but you must change your approach and alter the writing process. Look at Common Style Differences in Choosing Manuals http://tc.eserver.org/20797.html http://tc.eserver.org/20797.html Style manuals often differ on important points, and one way to choose a manual is to compare them on some of those points. Measure Your Publication Program's Dollar Value to Your Organization http://tc.eserver.org/20801.html http://tc.eserver.org/20801.html Get no respect? Then do the math to prove how much money your publications save and make for your employer. Nourish Old Writing Skills, Add New Ones for the Web http://tc.eserver.org/20796.html http://tc.eserver.org/20796.html The Web requires many of the same writing skills as print, but successful writers develop new ways of breaking up and linking. Painless Ways to Improve Colleagues' Grammar http://tc.eserver.org/20799.html http://tc.eserver.org/20799.html Instead of confronting individuals, raise all staff members' awareness. Use humor to help people recognize errors and remember correct usage. Prepare Web Content and Organization For Your Audience http://tc.eserver.org/20804.html http://tc.eserver.org/20804.html Communicators must know whether the audience consists of viewers, users or readers before selecting, writing and organizing content. Quotations Give You Wisdom of the Ages http://tc.eserver.org/20793.html http://tc.eserver.org/20793.html Quotations allow you to tap a wealth of wisdom and ideas that have survived the test of time, or caught your attention amid information overload. They also give credibility to the speaker's points. But you must take care in choosing and using others' words. Strategies for Placing Stories in Top Markets http://tc.eserver.org/20807.html http://tc.eserver.org/20807.html Start by studying prime targets. Then write pitch letters showing editors how to meet their readers' needs with minimal effort. Use Metaphors to Communicate, Not Decorate http://tc.eserver.org/20795.html http://tc.eserver.org/20795.html Good metaphors emerge from the writer's experience and observation. They connect the readers' knowledge to new ideas or information through concrete images. Writing that Works http://tc.eserver.org/20792.html http://tc.eserver.org/20792.html Writing That Works is a monthly how-to newsletter on practical business writing, editing and communications. Writing, Editing and Designing: a Unified Process http://tc.eserver.org/20800.html http://tc.eserver.org/20800.html What's in it for me? That's what magazine readers must see at first glance, or they will flip on by. Winning their attention requires thoughtful blending of words and design from the beginning of the publication process.