Lemonade from lemons for your writing
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That’s a well-known expression attributed to writer Elbert Hubbard, as well as to writer Dale Carnegie and businessman Julius Rosenwald. As you know, it means that you should make the most of adversity. You can even turn it into an opportunity. You can apply this message to your […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for August 26: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This one may leap out at you. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading. NOTE: As of September, Mistake Monday will only be published once a month, on the last Monday […]
Bad images hurt credibility
Words aren’t the only thing that matter in using publications to build your credibility as a financial expert. Visuals matter, too. If your publication’s images aren’t consistent with its text, they’ll sap your credibility. Examples of credibility sappers At the simplest level, the mistake could be an article that talks about a four-step process, but […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for August 19: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. Thank you, John, for sharing this one with me. I confess that I couldn’t spot the error at first. Sigh. That’s why I try to keep improving my proofreading skills. I post these challenges […]
Contractions: Use or avoid in formal writing?
Are contractions good or bad in formal writing? I’ve had several clients whose style guidelines don’t allow the use of contractions. For my part, I didn’t believe in contractions at the start of my investment writing career. That’s what I’d learned in my high school English classes. I remember “fixing” all of the contractions in […]