SEPT. NEWSLETTER: Advice from a powerful book agent
Success requires passion
To write a best-selling book, write about a topic you’re passionate about, advised agent Suzanne Gluck on the podcast “People I (Mostly) Admire,” episode #10. Gluck has represented almost 200 books on the New York Times bestseller lists.
Passion alone isn’t enough to create a bestseller. But without it, you’re unlikely to succeed, Gluck said.
Write better investment one-pagers
In “About Those One-Pagers,” Tom Brakke of The Investment Ecosystem says:
Most asset managers fail the test of communicating the essence of who they are in their one-pagers — theirs looks the same as all the others, so the reader naturally gravitates to the performance information, resulting in a wasted opportunity to tell their unique story.
Brakke suggests, due to the rise of machine analysis and artificial intelligence (AI), investment managers should stop arbitrarily limiting their information to one page. Instead, “Tell the story of who the manager is in a way that prizes brevity but not at the cost of quality in content and design.” I like this idea.
Rules for effective AI prompts
How can you create effective prompts for generative AI?
The Nielsen Norman Group recommends using a CARE—context, ask, rules, examples—framework. Learn more in “CARE: Structure for Crafting AI Prompts.”
For fans of the em dash
Lately, some sources have suggested that the use of em dashes suggests that something was written using generative AI.
Many writers disagree.
McSweeney’s is fighting back with a humorous essay, “The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations” by Greg Mania. I’m a big fan of a well-placed em dash, so this essay made me smile. I hope you enjoy it too.
Here’s an old post of mine on em dashes versus en dashes.
Bulgur salad
A bulgur salad is easy to make and works great for picnics during the summer. I recently made this “Bulgur Salad with Fruits and Nuts” by VegKitchen. I like that it’s made with ingredients that I often have at hand.
I love my roses
Here’s a photo of my ballerina roses in a Japanese mug.
What my clients say about me
“Fast, effective, insightful. I can think of no better resource for superior financial writing.”
“Susan has an exceptional ability to tailor investment communications to the sophistication level of any audience. She has an uncanny ability to make very complex investment and/or economic topics accessible and understandable to anyone.”
“Susan’s particularly good at working through highly technical material very quickly. That’s very important in this business. A lot of people are good writers, but they have an extensive learning curve for something they’re unfamiliar with. Susan was able to jump very quickly into technical material.”
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Boost your blogging now!
Financial Blogging: How to Write Powerful Posts That Attract Clients is available for purchase as a PDF ($39) or a paperback ($49, affiliate link).
