“Cut off its head!”—An editing tip

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When editing your first draft, consider cutting off its head, in the sense suggested by Kenneth Atchity in A Writer’s Time: A Guide to the Creative Process, from Vision through Revision. Here’s what Atchity says:

When you clean a fish, the first thing that goes is the head. Generally manuscripts should receive the same treatment.

Atchity is suggesting that you throw out the beginning of your manuscript. Why? Because writers are often just “warming up” when they start writing. This may take the form of “overly long introductions that give the reader no credit for being able to figure out perspective or content,” says Atchity.

In financial services documents, I see introductions that go on and on about theories or processes without telling readers why they should care about the topic.

If you have a white paper or other document that doesn’t flow well, ask if you should cut off its head.

Winston Churchill’s lesson for speakers and writers

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Winston Churchill was an outstanding speaker. Here’s what he said about his preparation.

If you want me to speak for two minutes, it will take me three weeks of preparation, it will take me a week to prepare. If you want me to speak for an hour, I am ready now.

—Winston Churchill

The bottom line? To speak concisely requires more preparation than rambling. The same is true for writing that packs a punch in a small space.

I’d like to acknowledge Terri Sjodin’s Small Message, Big Impact: The Elevator Speech Effect for drawing this quote to my attention.

Image courtesy of the British Government / Wikimedia Commons

6 lessons from my book writing experience

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Thinking about writing a book?

Before you start, please consider six lessons from my writing experience with Financial Blogging: How to Write Powerful Posts That Attract Clients. They’ll make your writing process flow more smoothly. If you enjoy this post, I’ll follow up with posts about my book’s production and marketing.

1. Decide on traditional vs. self-publishing

Your decision about whether to seek a traditional publisher or to self-publish will affect your writing process. Historically, the traditional route requires writing a proposal, finding an agent, and then seeking a publisher. To attract an agent and publisher requires having a “platform”—a readymade audience of people who’ll buy your books—in addition to expertise and a strong proposal. The platform is important because today’s publishers don’t do much to market books they don’t see as blockbusters.

I toyed with the idea of going the agent-publisher route, even though I had a strong hunch that I’d self-publish because of my book’s niche. I liked the idea that someone else would manage the production process. Plus, it would be cool to say “I have an agent.” I signed up to meet with three agents at the April 2011 member-only pitch sessions at the annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Surprisingly, the agent whom I met—only one of the three meetings panned out—asked me to send him my proposal and sample chapter. I floated up to Cloud Nine. By the way, here’s a link to my 2011 one-pager.

Unfortunately, my proposal and sample chapter didn’t get results from the agent. He responded once via email, but then ignored my email and telephone follow-ups. I wish he could have said, “Sorry, your book isn’t right for me.”

Anyway, the reason I stress the traditional vs. self-publishing decision is its impact on your writing process. If you go the traditional route, you should wait to write your entire book until after you snare an agent—and probably after the two of you land your publisher. For advice on pursuing an agent and publisher, here are some sources:

If you’re self-publishing, you can start writing whenever you feel ready.

2. Test your concept

If you’d like people to buy your book instead of simply accepting it as a free giveaway, you should test your target market’s interest in your book idea.

If you write a heavily trafficked blog that’s narrowly focused on your book topic, that’s a good indicator of interest. You can also look at your blog’s statistics or run a poll on your blog (or in your e-newsletter) to refine the focus of your book.

Presentations and classes are another great way to test your book idea. My book actually grew out of a class that I taught. I figured that since advisors were willing to pay a three-figure fee to take a class with me, there’d probably be interest in a book, too.

3. Develop a plan

My plan was to take my class notes and write them up, paced by the need to provide drafts on the schedule of my creative writing group. To write your book as quickly as possible, you’ll benefit from starting with a

  • Outline or other structure for your book
  • Schedule for hitting milestones in your book creation process

Having a plan for your content before you write will allow you to write more efficiently and identify the focus of each chapter in advance. This will prevent the painful task of rearranging it later.

If you don’t have an outline, consider mind mapping your book’s structure. That’s how I figured out the structure of my blogging class, which became the foundation of my book.

Creating a schedule or some form of accountability will help discipline you to work on your book. You, like me, may find it hard to squeeze your book into your daily routine. A target of one chapter per X number of weeks may help.

4. Get support

Get whatever support you need to make your book project easier.

The Nobscot Niblets, the creative writing group that I participated in, was invaluable. At our twice-a-month meetings, they gave me deadlines, critiques, and encouragement. Without them, I would never have started my book. Nor would I have finished it as soon as I did.

You may be able to find a local writing group through MeetUp.com. That’s how the Niblets started, though I was brought in by a friend.

If groups aren’t for you, a writing coach or accountability buddy may help. I’ve discussed the buddy approach in “How a blogging buddy can help your investment or financial planning blog.”

5. Test your material

It’s hard for you to experience your book through your readers’ eyes, so ask others to read your book to give you feedback. This could mean reading individual chapters along the way and then reading the complete manuscript.

The Nobscot Niblets did both kinds of reading for me. They convinced me that I needed to add some topics, such as compliance, that I wasn’t eager to cover. Their reading of the complete manuscript prompted some changes in my chapter order, in addition to numerous tweaks.

I also enlisted a writing instructor and several members of my target audience to read my book. Their reading from different perspectives tested the effectiveness of my book.

6. Manage your images

Images, tables, and other graphic elements may make your message easier to understand, but they’re also a big pain when you format your book.

To minimize the pain, follow these rules:

  1. Only include graphic elements that contribute significantly to your readers’ understanding. I cut quite a few screenshots from my book during its production phase.
  2. Snap any photos at a high resolution. Unfortunately, I had no idea when I took the two photos in my book that I’d need them for the book. They look okay, but not great.
  3. Limit your use of computer screenshots because their resolution typically isn’t very good. Substitute typed text for screenshots when possible. Screenshots can work, but they may not look as crisp as the rest of your book.
  4. Keep your graphic elements small in terms of height and width if possible, assuming that you’re planning to make your book available in an electronic format. A table that looks great printed on 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper won’t display well on a tiny screen.
  5. Limit special formatting. In my book, the two-column formatted text that needed to line up was a royal pain during book production.

These are my best tips to help you complete a draft of your book.

Interested in learning my tips for turning your manuscript into a published work? Let me know.

 

How can you share a personal story, yet still draw in readers?

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I’m a big fan of showing personality in your blog posts. Sharing your stories helps you do that. But if you start off with “I,” you risk seeming self-absorbed.

I like how a Vanguard blog post tackled this challenge. It opened with “Do you remember when you first encountered the World Wide Web?” That’s a question that just about any adult can relate to. It took me back to memories of a clunky DOS PC. I imagine that even young adults today have a relevant memory, although that will be less true of kids raised with smartphones and iPads.

Only after raising that question did the author, Andy Clarke, dive into his own Internet story from 1993.

Clarke demonstrated how relating your topic to the reader’s experience can help you to draw in readers while showing personality. Of course, there are other ways to show personality without alienating your readers. I discussed some of them in “How to add personality and warmth to your financial writing–Part one” and “Part two.” Please chime in if you have ideas you’d like to add to the discussion.

 

 

Note: This post was updated in June 2019 to remove the link to Clarke’s “The adoption of a great idea,” which is no longer available online.

Quote of the day on keeping it simple

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I’m a big fan of writers using plain English. I urge people to keep their blog posts, articles, and white papers as short as possible.

However, I agree with the following quote from Michael Maslansky’s The Language of Trust.

Simple does not always mean short.

As Maslansky explains, “It is always better to use five words to tell a clear story than use two and keep people confused.”

For example, if you must use a technical term, explain it in a parenthetical comment. Replace “We invest in BRICs” with “We invest in BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China.”

Plain English and good writing

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Wordle image of Susan Weiner's MarketingProfs article about plain English and good writing

Words most used in “Seven Ways to Talk Your Financial Execs Out of Jargon and Bad Writing”

Have you ever struggled to get your colleagues, bosses, or clients to accept plain English and good writing?

You have lots of company. It’s not easy to win over people who are used to a different style of communication. This is what spurred me to write “Seven Ways to Talk Your Financial Execs Out of Jargon and Bad Writing,” which appeared on the MarketingProfs blog.

In that post,you’ll find my seven best tips for persuading your authors to rethink their writing style. My examples are tailored to the world of investment and wealth management. Check it out!

More talk about plain English and Warren Buffett

My discussion of Warren Buffett in my post on MarketingProfs sparked discussion. I like the following comment by Wayne Buckhout, executive vice president at CTC Investor Relations:

I’ve used Buffett many times in the ways you suggest. The usual retort is something like, “If I had Warren’s money and job security, I could write like that, too.” My rebuttal is usually along these lines: “Let’s assume, for a minute, you have both. What would you say that you’re not saying now, and how would you say it?” I’ve been amazed at how many of their candid, “If I were Warren” comments make it into the final product.

Buckhout also shared one of his techniques for managing the approval process  with an eye to supporting the use of plain language:

If you write in the name of a company, rather than an individual, one person in the approval chain is usually a far better writer and editor than the rest, and it’s often the highest ranking member of the group. I have learned through painful experience, however, not to try to short-circuit the process by slipping a first draft only to that person, even if it’s the CEO. What works, however, is to have a private talk with that person, acknowledging the relative value of his or her input, and telling them that you understand that collaboration is part of developing the others in the group. That gives you a strong advocate in their discussions that don’t include you, and more cooperation from the rest, which typically includes the person who hired and pays you.

I agree with Buckhout that the support of a senior executive can be invaluable.

 This blog post was updated on Oct. 28. I added new material.

Finding your article’s focus with Roy Peter Clark

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Identifying their focus is one of the biggest challenges for many of my blogging class students. I try to help them by asking “What problem do you solve for your readers?” I found additional helpful techniques in the “I don’t know what my story is really about” chapter of Roy Peter Clark’s Help! for Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces. I discuss some of them in this post.

1. “Write a six-word theme statement.”

If your idea requires more than six words, it may be too big. A six-word theme may still be too broad. For example, consider “More women than men reach ninety,” one of Clark’s sample themes. However, at least it provides a starting point.

My theme for this blog post is “Tips to focus your articles.”

There are two ways to use your theme. First, as inspiration for your article. Write to explain your theme.

Second, use it to narrow your article. Pare away anything that doesn’t relate to your theme.

2. “Cut the elements least supportive of your focus.”

Use your best material and lose the rest. As Clark says,

Not all evidence is equal. If you can identify the weakest evidence, what is left—your strongest stuff—can support a sharp focus.

The saying “less is more” often applies to articles, blog posts, and more. By deleting flabby evidence, you sharpen your main focus.

Clark lists eight characteristics that make evidence weak. Two of them often apply to financial pieces.

  1. “It will appear in the story only because of your interest in it.”
  2. “It is impossible to write it clearly and quickly for a general audience.”
The next time you read a poorly written post, ask yourself if it suffers from #1 or #2.
……  

3. Use the funnel

Putting your ideas through a metaphorical funnel may also help. As Clark suggests on his book’s back cover:

See your work in the form of a funnel. You pour everything in at the top, but as the funnel narrows, you must become more selective, reaching a point where you can leave things out with confidence.

Alternatively, think of yourself as a sculptor with a block of marble. Only by cutting away stone can you reveal your masterpiece.

How do YOU find your focus?

There are many ways to identify the focus of an article, blog post, or other written communication. What’s your favorite technique?

 

 

The “Be” test for writers

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“To be or not to be” is one of the most famous phrases in the English language, thanks to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Despite that line’s power, forms of “be” often indicate weak writing.

To raise the impact of your writing, go on a search-and-destroy mission for forms of “to be.”

For example, change “Our firm is using an algorithm” to “Our firm uses an algorithm.” As this example suggests, searching for “ing” will highlight text that will benefit from edits.

 

Image courtesy of Dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Quantitative easing for regular folks: 3 lessons from The New York Times

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“Quantitative easing” pops up regularly in economic and market commentary. The term conveys a lot to financial professionals who know the fine points of QE3 vs. QE1. However, it’s likely to make the average American say, “Huh?”

This is why I suggest that you learn from newspapers when you discuss quantitative easing—or other technical terms—in your communications aimed at ordinary folks. I found three techniques in recent articles.

Technique 1: Avoid the topic entirely

Sometimes newspapers avoid the topic entirely, even when it’s relevant. For an example of this, see “U.S. Economy Grew 1.7% During the 2nd Quarter, Topping Forecasts” in The New York Times, which simply refers to the Fed’s “huge stimulus efforts,” which, of course, include more than just quantitative easing. You should consider this technique, too, if the details of the Fed’s bond purchases aren’t important to your discussion.

Technique 2: Discuss the topic, but skip the technical term

Another technique is to describe quantitative easing in general terms, as in the following New York Times headline: “Bond Purchases by Fed Will Continue, at Least for Another Month.” The article described the Fed’s adding “$85 billion a month to its holdings of mortgage-backed securities and Treasury securities.”

Other references in the article included:

  • “Asset purchase program”
  • “Monthly asset purchases”
  • “Bond-buying program”

In many cases, these descriptions provide enough detail for your readers.

Technique 3: Use the term, but explain it

The term “quantitative easing” didn’t surface until close to the end of the Times‘ “Bond Purchases” article, with the following sentence:

Other economists, including Lawrence H. Summers, a leading candidate to succeed Mr. Bernanke, have expressed similar concerns about the purchases, which go under the label “quantitative easing.”

Because the article had described the purchases earlier, it didn’t explain them in detail in the sentence above. If this sentence were the article’s first reference, the author could have included an explanation something like the following:

quantitative easing, the Fed’s purchase of long-term bonds to help stimulate the economy by lowering long-term interest rates

What’s right for you?

Ask yourself whether your readers need to see the term “quantitative easing.” Perhaps it’s enough for them to be aware of “the Fed’s bond-buying program.

If you’re writing for a mixed audience of regular folks and investment professionals, you may choose to use “quantitative easing.” However, I suggest in that case that you define it on first use and put the term in context, as I did in my discussion of “Technique 3.”

What’s YOUR approach?

Do you use “quantitative easing” everywhere, avoid it entirely, or mix it up?

Need hands-on help with your commentary?

I can write your commentary based on interviews with your investment professionals or based on attribution analysis and other materials provided by you. I also edit commentary you’ve written to make it more compelling and reader-friendly.

If your budget is limited, hire me to evaluate your newsletter and suggest improvements that you can implement yourself.

Dear husband, please stop

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You can learn a writing lesson from my dear husband.

It drives me crazy when he says to a restaurant’s hostess, “You don’t have a table for two, do you?”

I nag him afterwards, saying “Ask a positive question, not a negative one! It’s easier for the listener to understand what you want.”

The “go positive, not negative” rule applies to statements as well as questions.

Here’s an example of a negative statement that sticks in my mind due to my having earned a Ph.D. in Japanese history.

“The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage…”

This is how the Japanese emperor announced in 1945 that Japan had lost the war. Did you understand that?

The Japanese prefer roundabout sentences. Americans do not.