10 blogs I can’t live without–Writer’s edition

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You’ll learn the names of some useful resources for writers in this post. But first I must tell you why writing this blog post was so hard for me.

Blogs? What blogs?
“10 blogs I can’t live without” is a topic that participants in the WordCount Blogathon are supposed to post about on May 10. When I read the topic I thought “Blogs? What blogs?” I simply don’t consume blogs as blogs. I’m more likely to catch my favorite bloggers on Twitter. 

On the other hand, some of my readers probably don’t think of me as a blogger because they visit my blog through my monthly e-newsletter or my LinkedIn status updates. They might respond to the WordCount Blogathon assignment by saying, “I don’t read any blogs.”

People consume their online information in different ways. This  assignment reminded me that it’s important to make information available to readers in the format they prefer.




Online resources for writers 

Here are some of my favorite online resources for writers. They’re not all blogs. Nor have I limited my list to 10. 

B2B example 
If I were stranded on a desert island with such slow Internet connection speed that I could only read one e-newsletter or blog, I’d choose Michael Katz’s E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters. It has a charming style that sets a good example for business-to-business writers communicating. 

Attracting readers to your blog
Some blogs do a great job of showing how to write copy that captivates readers. When I began blogging I regularly read Brian Clark’s Copyblogger and Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger. More recently, I’ve found some good ideas on Nicholas Cardot’s SiteSketch. They’re worth reading, although I enjoyed them more when their creators wrote more of the content.  


Grammar, punctuation, usage 
When I’ve got a grammar, punctuation or word usage questions, sometimes I’ll just Google it. But I often don’t trust the answers I find. This is when I mosey on over to Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty’s Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing or the Purdue Online Writing Lab. By the way, remember how I mentioned delivering content the way that readers like to receive it? Fogarty has been podcasting her blog posts for awhile. She’s also on Twitter and Facebook. Plus she has published in old-fashioned print book format.  

Onlinestylebooks lets you search 42 style books at once. It’s a relatively new site, so I haven’t used it much.

For occasional tips, I follow APStylebook on Twitter. They’re the folks who officially changed the spelling from “Web site” to “website” earlier this year. As you may have noticed, I was ahead of them in using “website,” but I still respect them as a style setter.

Some other tweeps with useful style tips include EditorMark, Copyediting, and LawWriting. There are many more worth following. You’ll find them if you’re a Twitter devotee. 

Inspiration 
Jon Winokur’s Twitter feed, AdviceToWriters, is great for inspiration. I like his book, also called Advice to Writers. 

Humor 
For word geek humor–yes, there is such a thing–follow FakeAPStylebook on Twitter.

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Copyright 2010 by Susan B. Weiner All rights reserved

My best posts for financial advisors who blog

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If you’re a financial blogger who cares about well-written blog posts, you’ll find something useful in these posts.

By the way, if you’re struggling to crank out a steady stream of blog posts, “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read,” my 5-week teleclass for financial advisors, starts tomorrow, Feb. 25.

Five-Week Writing Teleclass for Financial Advisors: "How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read"

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Blogging has become a “must” for many independent and fee-only financial advisors. It’s a great way to connect with current and potential clients. Blogging also helps drive traffic to your website and cement your reputation as a leader in your field. But many advisors struggle to crank out a steady flow of compelling blog posts. That’s why you need to enroll in “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read,” my NEW five-week teleclass for financial advisors.

You will learn how to
o  Generate and refine ideas for blog posts that will engage your readers
o  Organize your thoughts before you write, so you can write more quickly and effectively
o  Edit your writing, so it’s reader-friendly and appealing

The inaugural class will be offered exclusively to my newsletter subscribers and to clients. Participants in the initial class will receive a 50% discount in return for participating fully and providing detailed feedback.

When you participate fully in this class, you’ll end up with one polished blog post–and a process you can follow to generate many more.

How you’ll get there
o Small class–limited to 12 advisors–so you can participate, not just listen passively. Research shows that people learn best when they act on new information.
o Classes will meet on five successive Thursdays–Feb. 25, March 4, March 11, March 18 and March 25– on a teleconference call from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
o Convenience because you can dial into the weekly phone calls from anywhere–and classes are recorded, in case you can’t attend “live”
o Guidance through a step-by-step process of writing blog posts, including
o  Generating blog post topics
o  Organizing your thoughts before you write
o  Positioning your blog post to appeal to readers
o  Editing your posts to boost their reader-friendliness      
o  “Hands on” practice through completing your weekly homework assignments
o  Resources for the future because you can download
o  Class recordings
o  Class handouts
o  E-booklet
o Feedback from a seasoned financial writer-editor whose clients range from the country’s largest asset managers to solo professionals to trade and retail publications

Register Now!

TESTIMONIALS
What advisors say about other workshops by Susan Weiner, CFA
o “I found this presentation very helpful because it focused on key elements to being an influential but understandable advisor.”
o  “Susan’s presentation brought to life the benefits of better writing.”
o  “Great tips for jump starting my client communications”
o  “Susan’s presentation made me want to go back to my office and juice up my emails and letters.”
 
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?
Contact Susan at learn@investmentwriting.com or 617-969-4509.

Register Now!

Quit being passive: A grammar tip

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If you reduce your use of the passive voice, your writing will become more powerful. That’s something I often tell my writing students.

If you can’t recognize the passive voice, check out the passive voice resources highlighted by Barbara Feldman in “Active and Passive Voice.”  Don’t be put off by the “Kids” in Feldman’s column title. She’s referring you to websites appropriate for adults.

According to the Guide to Grammar and Writing’s “The Passive Voice” page

In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be-er or a do-er and the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed (The new policy was approved).

In my opinion, the active voice has a couple of advantages compared to the passive voice

  • It shortens sentences
  • It clarifies the relationship between cause and effect

If you’re not sure you can recognize the passive voice, take the Guide to Grammar and Writing’s passive voice quiz, “Exercise in Revising Passive Constructions.” 

Some of the other resources mentioned by Feldman include

Thank you, Boston Women in Finance, for your feedback on my writing workshop

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Boston Women in Finance gave me great feedback on my workshop “How to Write What People Will Read About Investments.” Before I share some their feedback with you, I’d like to thank all of the participants. Your energetic participation made it a very enjoyable workshop for me, too.

Here are some participant comments.

  •  “A very practical workshop! You’ll get tips you’ll use as soon as you return to the office.“
  • “I truly learned a lot from this presentation. It was refreshing to have someone break down how to best reach people and to say it’s okay to write in simple short sentences.”
  • “It’s always good to hear these reminders to get you back to the basics of effective writing. This seminar was a great way to refocus.”
  • “The mapping technique was helpful. I will use this for brainstorming and helping with project plans and meetings.”
  • “Susan’s ‘how to’ approach packed dozens of indispensable tips into 1 1/2 hours. Incredible!”
  • “I believe the mapping exercise will help me organize my thoughts and overcome writer’s block and get past the first blank page or screen.”

Some of you said that you would prefer “More time; more opportunity for individual exercises.” I’m interested in creating longer, customized training sessions for corporate clients that would allow more interaction. I’m also for hire to present the one-and-one-half hour version I delivered to Boston Women in Finance.

May vs. might: It may matter, but it might not

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I thought I might have absorbed the difference between “may” and “might” after reading “I Wish I May, I Wish I Might” in Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips (a similar explanation is on the Grammar Girl blog). Grammar Girl, AKA Mignon Fogarty, wrote “If something is likely to happen, use may.” Might is for cases when the thing is “a mighty stretch.”

But the next day I read “Mighty Likely” by Jan Freeman in The Boston Globe. Freeman uncovered disagreement among usage mavens about which word is more optimistic. In her opinion, this distinction doesn’t matter much. It may be much ado about nothing. 

However, cautioned Freeman, it is important to use “might” rather than “may” when discussing past events.

For another perspective on this dispute, read “May, Might, Muddle” on The New York Times‘ “Times Topics” blog. It may help. Then again, it might not.

3Q09 vs. Q3 09 –which is better?

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You probably know that Q is the abbreviation for quarter. But what’s the proper way to abbreviate “third quarter of 2009”?

I prefer 3Q09 to Q3 09. It seems cleaner to separate the 3 of third quarter from the 09 of 2009. I worry that readers will get confused if the numbers in Q3 09 run together, as in Q309.

Looking for evidence to back up my opinion, I did a Google search. I found about 121,000 instances of 3Q09 vs. 10.9 million for Q3 09.

Wow–that’s quite a disparity! Q3 09 is the format that @BillWinterberg sees in regulatory filings. Perhaps that explains it. I wonder if the SEC requires the Q3 09 format. 

Please answer the poll in the right-hand column of my blog. I’ll track your answers with interest and will report on them in my November e-newsletter. Thank you!

Do you use “pride capitals”?

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If you’re in business, you probably use capital letters more than grammar geeks recommend.

I confess. I was guilty of overcapitalizing titles until Prof. Albert Craig, my Ph.D. thesis advisor, drummed the rules into me. I learned to write “Goto Fumio, home minister” instead of “Goto Fumio, Home Minister.” Titles should be capitalized only when they directly precede the titleholder’s name, as in “Home Minister Goto Fumio.” Goto Fumio, by the way, was the focus of my Ph.D. dissertation.

For a quick overview of the rules, see the Grammar Girl blog’s “When Should You Capitalize Words?” (Sorry, this post is no longer available.) The blog post, written by Rob Reinalda, who goes by word_czar on Twitter, discusses “pride capitals” to explain why “One mistake business writers often make is capitalizing words simply for emphasis or to augment their importance.”

You’re using pride capitals if your firm’s biographies refer to “Jane Smith, President and Chief Investment Officer” instead of “Jane Smith, president and chief investment officer.”

 

Note: edited on Feb. 11, 2016 to delete an outdated reference and again on Dec. 12, 2016.

Image courtesy of FrameAngel at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Six ways to stop sending emails with errors

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Everybody sends occasional emails with typos and punctuation mistakes. But some emails are more important than others. When you want to make your email perfect, follow these rules. 

1. Print out your email.
Somehow it’s easier to see errors on paper. 

2. Read it out loud.
This is good for catching missing words that your mind might otherwise fill in.Otherwise, you often see what you expect to see.

3. Get someone else to proofread it.
It’s easier for a third party to catch your errors. 

4. Let it sit overnight.
When you read with fresh eyes, you’re more likely to catch errors. 

5. Use a spell-checking program.
If your email program doesn’t support spell-checking, copy the email into your word-processing program, so you can check it there. However, remember that spell-checkers aren’t foolproof. 

6. Create a checklist of common errors.

Using a checklist makes you slow down and, so you’re more likely to catch the errors highlighted on the checklist. For example, let’s say you’re confused about “How to punctuate bullet-pointed lists.” Add to your checklist: “check bullet point punctuation rules” with a link to the rules. 

Have you got other suggestions for keeping emails error-free? Please share them in the Comments section.

“10 Easy Secrets of Good Grammar”

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“10 Easy Secrets of Good Grammar” by Martha Brockenbrough gives useful advice.

Many will be surprised by number 2: ” ‘I’ isn’t always the more educated choice.” But she’s got it right.


I don’t agree that “semicolons are easy to use,” even though I’m getting better at them.


But don’t rely on my comments. Read Brockenbrough’s article now!