Manage Your Writing

This week: Sign on for Power Writing

I've just finished reading Daphne Gray-Grant's 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. It's a well-crafted and engaging book, genuinely fun to read.

Daphne's method for effective, efficient writing is much like mine. That's not surprising; we've both learned from years of experience as working writers. But her book has three unique features that make it a good complement to mine, and that will keep me returning to it, as well as recommending it to others:

• The best "capture" I've ever seen of an effective reviser's thought process
• Some great techniques for pushing the limits of what a word-processing program can do for a writer 
• A super list of tips for writing a book

This week, please visit Daphne's site: www.publicationcoach.com. You can, of course, order her book there. But at the very least, subscribe to her free e-mail newsletter, Power Writing. I learn something from it every week, and I bet you will too.

Thanks!

Daphne Gray-Grant, in her top-notch e-mail newsletter, Power Writing, has named my book The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Business Writing and Communication as one of "Five Books You Must Read."

I'm honored to be listed in the company of

• Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think
• Julia Cameron's The Right to Write
• Arthur Plotnik's Spunk and Bite
• Sam Horn's POP

Thanks, Daphne!

My favorite business book

My friend Brad Shorr, at Word Sell, has asked fellow business bloggers, "What's your favorite business book?"

Over the years, I've had the privilege of working directly with some distinguished business writers, including Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Tom Peters, Lyle Sussman and Sam Deep, and Denis Waitley. I've learned a lot from  their work. In the right column of this blog I list books by some of them, and others.

But my all-time favorite business book is The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger.  It changed the way I think about business writing. Specifically, it taught me the value of storytelling and of finding an authentic writing voice.

I read it in 2000, shortly after it was published. I've been recommending it to my readers and clients ever since.

A thank-you to India

Thanks, Express Computer Online, "India's Only IT Business Weekly," for reprinting a excerpt from my book The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Guide to Business Writing and Communication. I'm honored.

I'm on eBay

Please excuse this personal note, but I had a first today: a copy of my McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Business Writing and Communication is being auctioned on eBay.

My first reaction was "You mean someone who bought my book doesn't want to keep it forever?"

But then I read the seller's description of the book ("perfect for anyone wanting to brush up business writing or communications") and felt much better.