Susan B. Weiner's Blog, page 42

Write your book on multiple devices

A reader asked, “Do you know a of a good, simple book-writing software or app that sits in the cloud that I could use on my desktop and mobile device?”

Some of my friends suggested using Scrivener (which you can use on multiple devices) and saving your file to Dropbox. You could also do the same with a Word document.

If you have other tips for people writing books, please let me know. If I ever write another book, I may join the multi-device writers club.

 

 

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MISTAKE MONDAY for Feb. 26: Can YOU spot what’s wrong

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment.

I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

This mistake in The Wall Street Journal reminds me that everyone makes mistakes—even companies with professional proofreaders on staff.

Don’t beat yourself up when mistakes slip through. However, please do resolve to do better. That’s what I do.

If you enjoyed testing your skills on this example, visit my blog next week for another Mistake Monday item.

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Writers, eat your greens!

Eat your greens! For many people, that means eating foods that they don’t enjoy, but which are good for them. In the writing world, I think a comparable challenge is proofreading your text and checking on fine points of grammar. Here are some steps I suggest to help you eat your metaphorical greens.

1. Finish your drafts early

When you finish writing something before its deadline, you can approach it with fresh eyes for a final review. With fresh eyes, you’re more likely to catch errors of reasoning, grammar, or other areas.

2. Use tools and people to help you proofread and copyedit

It’s not easy to proofread or copyedit your own work, as my husband reminds me when he proofreads my monthly newsletter.

Online tools that check your spelling, grammar, and wordiness can complement your work. My recent post on “The compelling white paper that wasn’t” includes links to tools.

However, online tools won’t catch every mistake. For example, it won’t catch the investment professional with the title “portfolio manger” instead of “portfolio manager” with the additional “a.” That’s why it’s good to get a colleague or professional proofreader to review your work. Also, consider using the tip I describe in “Why I love Adobe Acrobat Pro for proofreading” to catch errors that eyes tend to gloss over.

If organization—not grammar—is your stumbling block, use my first-sentence check.

3. Have reliable references handy

You can’t buy or find online one of the most powerful tools for catching your errors. That’s a customized checklist that lists your most common errors. For example, if you often make “Bloggers’ top two punctuation mistakes,” add them to your checklist.

My favorite online resources include:

Grammar Girl
Purdue Online Writing Lab
GrammarBook
Google—Check the credibility of the source before you act on information you find on Google

If you have a budget, you can subscribe to online resources from AP Style or the Chicago Manual of Style. I have mixed feelings about AP Styleguard software.

You can’t find all of the answers online. That’s why my library includes “My five favorite reference books for writers.”

The result?

If you follow these three tips, you’ll produce cleaner, better organized writing. That’ll make your writing more compelling and effective.

Tip for bloggers

Bloggers sometimes ask me where I get my ideas for posts on this blog. Today’s post was inspired by the image that accompanies it. When the image appeared as a free download from Depositphotos, a website I use to source some of my photos, it made me think about how many people don’t like greens. My mind quickly bounced to the tasks that writers don’t like.

Images can be a great source of blog post ideas. For more ideas on how to find inspiration in images, read “Photo + Mind Map = Blog Inspiration.”

Learn more about my financial blogging class!

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MISTAKE MONDAY for Feb. 19: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

 

Believe it or not, this mistake appeared on the AP Stylebook website. I imagined that website would have a rigorous proofreading process. The moral of the story is that everyone makes mistakes. (I know I make plenty of them.)

I tweeted to @APStylebook about the problem. Although no one responded to me, I see that the mistake has been corrected.

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Continuous vs. continual

My clients always strive to improve. That makes me face a word usage challenge. What’s the difference between “continuous” and “continual”? I thought about this when reading Harold Evans’ Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters. Here’s what he wrote:

“Continual interruptions” says it all, meaning the speaker resumed his argument after the interruption. The speech was not continuous, as a river is, because the flow was broken.

That left me a bit confused about whether my clients are continually or continuously improving.

In “‘continual’ or ‘continuous,'” Oxford Dictionaries says the two words overlap, but “continual…typically means ‘happening frequently, with intervals between,’ as in ‘the bus service has been disrupted by continual breakdowns.’ ”

Wikipedia refers to “A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process.” It looks as if many people are confused about the distinction between the two adjectives.

My bottom line? I’m leaning toward continual improvement.

Disclosure:  If you click on an Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I only link to books in which I find some value for my blog’s readers.

Learn more about my financial blogging class!

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MISTAKE MONDAY for Feb. 12: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. (Sorry the type is so small. If you’re on a PC, try pressing CTRL + to enlarge the image. If you’re on a phone, perhaps you can rotate your screen.)

I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

The image contains a classic mistake that you’ve probably seen many times. It’s not detected by any spell-checking or proofreading software that I’ve used. In addition to using Microsoft Word’s spell-checking feature, I use AP StyleGuard.

Aside from the blurb’s Mistake Monday problem, I like how it uses conversational language to discuss an economic term.

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The compelling investment white paper that wasn’t

If you’re like me, you don’t achieve all of your goals. What can stop you from achieving your goal of writing a compelling investment white paper? I see that three main problems that derail people like you.

1. You don’t start your white paper

Everybody is busy. Most people procrastinate about something. This is especially true for white papers when they’re not part of your daily responsibilities. Most subject-matter experts have other, time-consuming responsibilities, such as client work, travel, and face-to-face meetings.

Solutions

Outsource your white paper. Unload some of the responsibility by hiring a writer to write your white paper. You’ll minimize your load if you choose a writer who does the research, in addition to the writing. However, you run the risk that the writer’s views won’t reflect those held by you or your company. As a writer, I prefer working on white papers where you provide the views—through interviews and background materials—and the writer sticks to writing. That’s reflected in the writing process that I follow. I suggest that you avoid “Financial white paper writers who say ‘yes’.”  Here are some tips for “How to get a white paper written on a budget.”
Break your white paper writing into small steps. Smaller steps are less intimidating and easier to start. Ask yourself, “What’s the one step that will advance my white paper?” Start there, without worrying about the rest of the process.
Find an accountability buddy. Sometimes making a commitment to a colleague or friend makes you more likely to act. I’ve written about this in “How a blogging buddy can help your financial planning or investment blog.”

2. It doesn’t attract readers’ attention

Compelling investment white papers should be objective, yet opinionated. This is the bottom line from an investment white paper survey that I conducted and wrote about some years ago. If you fail to pose a problem that readers care about, or if you fail to offer a solution, you won’t have a compelling investment white paper.

Solutions

Learn what your readers care about. You can do this through talking with them or conducting surveys or other research. I’ve discussed some research techniques in “Financial content: Ask questions of your readers.” It’s important to appeal to your readers’ interests. Pay attention to WIIFM, which I discuss in “Focus on benefits, not features, in your marketing.”
Share robust research. If you work for a large financial firm, you probably have robust resources. You can conduct your own research, use research done by others at your firm, or use outside research. When you use outside research, make sure you don’t violate the researchers’ copyright, a risk I’ve discussed in “Legal danger for financial bloggers: Two misconceptions, three resources, one suggestion.” If you’re at a small firm, you may need to get creative. Perhaps you can write a compelling investment white paper that draws on survey research that you’ve conducted among members of your target audience. Or perhaps you can find and cite academic research that isn’t broadly known. Start a file of background information as soon as you identify a compelling investment white paper topic.
Spread the word about your white paper. People who don’t find your white paper don’t get a chance to judge whether it’s compelling or not. Spread the word about your white paper. Include it in your regular client and prospect communications, such as newsletters. Write teaser copy that incorporates keywords to catch people’s attention when they search online. Write tweets and status updates that will intrigue people who follow you on social media.

3. It’s not clear or concise

Like you, members of your target audience are busy. They lack the time to slog through white papers that are unclear or wordy. Also, they question your credibility if your paper is riddled with typos and other mistakes. A professional writer should be able to avoid these problems. But sometimes even professionals fall short.

Solutions

Edit and proofread the white paper yourself. Not sure where to start? Try techniques discussed on my blog, including my first-sentence check, Hemingway.com, or the Writer’s Diet. In my financial blogging class, I discuss how to use mind mapping to analyze a poorly structured piece of writing. To catch typos, use the read out loud feature of Adobe Acrobat or other software. To avoid data errors, follow my tips in “Investment commentary numbers: How to get them right.”
Hire an editor or proofreader. An editor who knows investments will do the best job, especially if your piece is aimed at institutional investors. However, even a recent college grad with a good command of the English language can catch blatant typos. Your choice depends on your budget.
Get a colleague, friend, or client to read your white paper. They’ll probably read and comment for free. The perspective of an outsider—especially one who knows you well enough to point out weak writing or mistakes—can be valuable. This is true even if you’re not on a tight budget.

YOUR tips for writing compelling investment white papers?

Do you have tips for how to write compelling investment white papers? Please comment.

Learn more about my financial blogging class!

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MISTAKE MONDAY for Feb. 5: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment.

 

I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.

 

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Financial blog topic: write a letter

A letter can be a great format for your financial blog. Writing a letter can help you tackle difficult topics or get a new perspective on an old topic.

I’m not thinking about the kinds of letter you usually write. I don’t mean prospecting letters, quarterly reports, or requests for documentation.

Instead, I am thinking about letters that tackle topics that you feel strongly about. Sure, you can write about those topics in a regular blog post. However, there’s something about a letter that makes it more personal.

Different letter recipients, different content

Imagine, for example, that you write a letter to one of the following people:

Your mom, whom you are grateful to for teaching you the value of saving and investing
Your son, who just started his first job with a 401(k) plan
Your client who holds no stocks in her retirement plan
Ted Benna, father of the 401(k) plan

Each of these letters might discuss retirement. However, your choice of recipient will affect the opinions you express, your tone, and the details you use to make your point.

Letter-writing benefits

The details that you use in a letter—especially a letter to your mom or son—are likely to deepen the reader’s sense of who you are. Are you a person like them? A person they can relate to? Your letter to a client will show if you can empathize, or you’re coldly logical. Your letter to Ted Benna may display your technical expertise.

I think that showing your personality, which I’ve written about in “How to add personality and warmth to your financial writing—part one”  is one of the strengths of a letter.

Another reason to use the letter format is to make your language more reader-friendly. I remember struggling with a topic in my essay-writing class at Radcliffe Seminars many years ago. To end my stilted language, my teacher suggested I write a letter to a classmate, telling her what I wanted to say. He hoped that would pull more conversational language out of me. Visualizing your ultimate reader always helps, as I discussed in “Your mother and the ‘fiscal cliff.’”

Have YOU ever written a blog post in the form of a letter? If so, please share a link in the comments.

By the way, this post was inspired by a book, Karen Tei Yamashita’s Letters to Memory, which takes the form of letters to historical figures and other people. It’s a provocative read about Japanese-American history that brings in Greek and Indian mythology and other diverse topics, thanks to her choice of letter recipients.

Learn more about my financial blogging class!

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MISTAKE MONDAY for Jan. 29: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment.

If you follow the Investment Writing Facebook page, you know what I’ve been testing everyone’s proofreading skills since I introduced the concept on my blog in November 2011. I post an image, then challenge people to respond by identifying the mistake(s) in it. I do this to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading. I also do it to remind myself to take proofreading more carefully. After all, some of the Mistake Monday items have been written by me. This week’s Mistake Monday comes from a major newspaper that must use professional proofreaders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting this week, I am experimenting with moving Mistake Monday from Facebook to my blog. Why am I doing this? First, it’s easier to schedule posts in advance using WordPress than through Facebook. Second, my blog gets more traffic than my Facebook page. I’m scaling back my attention to Facebook.

Meanwhile, I’d like to thank the Mistake Monday loyalists who’ve commented, liked, and sent outrageous Mistake Monday examples to me. I appreciate you.

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