Mistake Monday

MISTAKE MONDAY for January 31: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This week’s mistake isn’t easy to identify. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

Simple language helps your readers, even when they understand technical terms

Plain language helps your readers, even when they understand technical terms. The Yahoo! Style Guide makes a great point on this topic: Even if more technical or sophisticated language is appropriate for your site, your readers will appreciate simpler language in the areas where their eyes are scanning to determine what a page is about. […]

Why I'm not using LinkedIn Creator Mode

Why I’m not using LinkedIn Creator Mode

LinkedIn Creator Mode is a great tool for authors, said a book marketing expert on a webinar I attended last fall. She didn’t go into details, so I was intrigued when LinkedIn expert Crystal Thies discussed Creator Mode in her article for the December NAPFA Advisor. What is Creator Mode? By default, you have LinkedIn’s […]

A portfolio manager's secret for regular blogging

Secret of regular blogging

In 2010, a portfolio manager told me his most powerful tip for blogging on a regular schedule: I speak my thoughts into Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This speech recognition software transcribes his words, so he need not type his first draft. This is a great time saver. Back then, Dragon software was your main option for automated […]

go from short to long

Go from short to long!

Rearranging elements of a sentence “from short to long, from simple to compound, increases the ability of the reader to understand them,” says Bruce Ross-Larson in Edit Yourself: A Manual for everyone who works with words, one of my favorite editing books. Ross-Larson has three related rules. First, count the syllables. This will let you […]