Copywriting
How to Avoid "Gender Ambivalence" in Technical Writing
© 2009-2011 Ugur Akinci One of the hardest things in writing English is to avoid using the third person singular pronouns, unless you are writing for an exclusively male or female group. Every time I see a document with a sentence like “the operator must configure his or her machine according to…” I cringe. Some…
Read MoreWriting an eBook? Consider These 4 Powerful Evergreen Topics
No matter how much information there is out on the internet on a particular topic there are always people looking for more. You only need to take a look at industries like health & fitness, or personal development to get a picture of what is selling. Every week new information is created on these topics…
Read MoreHow to Write Creative Transition Sentences
Creative writers and journalists sometimes have a problem with transitioning smoothly from one paragraph to the other, especially when they are changing the subject. Learning transition sentences is not really that hard. When we hop from topic to topic w/o a transition sentence, we “jar” the reader. While sentence transitions may be the last line…
Read MoreHow to Maximize the Life of Your Articles – Turn Them into Surveys
Calling all publishers, editors, writers, and freelance journalists. It is time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate, get closer to your readers, and engage their mind and soul – we’re talking revolution. As it was in the beginning Publishers have for many years relied…
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Poker Writing: A New Writing Niche
Introduction Poker writing is one of those writing niches that do not fit anywhere but they are fascinating. It is a genre that did not exist as a viable alternative just a decade ago. But now there are writers out there earning a living as a “poker writer.” So what’s “poker writing”? Is it technical…
Read MoreA Simple Way to Maximise the Impact of any Article
Calling all publishers, editors, journalists and freelance writers. It’s time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate, get closer to your readers and engage their mind and soul – we’re talking revolution. As it was in the beginning Publishers have for many years relied on…
Read MoreHow to End a Sentence to Communicate the Right Subtext
How you end a sentence makes all the difference in the world in your commercial and technical copy. Or rather, it makes all the difference in the world the way you end a sentence. (See the difference already? In the first sentence the emphasis is on “copy”; in the second it’s on the “end of…
Read MoreEnglish – Eliminate SIMPLY from your Technical Documents and Copy
Eliminate SIMPLY from your sentences for more impact and greater clarity in your technical documents and commercial copy. ORIGINAL: Simply enter your User ID into this field. BETTER: Enter your User ID into this field. – – – – – ORIGINAL: I have to remind you that this simply is not going to work. BETTER:…
Read MoreLegal Liability for E-Book Publishers – Are You Covered Legally?
Legal liability is an issue for all writers. Legal liability for writers is the legal responsibility of a writer for the accuracy and truthfulness of their work. A legal liability can come from an assertion that the writer has acted in some manner that violates civil or criminal law. It can also arise out of…
Read MoreFacts about Abbreviations & Acronyms
I just came across a great article on how to abbreviate titles and other things and what NOT to abbreviate. I think we all need a refresher like this from time to time, especially if English is your second language. Here is an excerpt from this useful article by M. J. Mardan: Titles before names: Mrs.,…
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