Most client writing problems I encounter are actually thinking problems. The biggest problem is they haven’t taken the time to identify a point of view, i.e., decide what they really think about a topic so they can communicate that clearly to the reader. Instead, they “kitchen sink” it and assume the reader will sort it …
Helena Bouchez
Passive Voice Should Be Avoided Unless…
Avoid using passive voice unless…you know what you’re doing. Unintentional or careless use of passive voice bogs writing down and damages the reader’s experience. Used strategically, however, it can be super useful. A good example of this is in the blurb I posted on Thursday where I said, “The job of a business book is …
What’s Your Agenda?
One of the many objects I helped my second ex-husband purchase was a 1983 Honda Goldwing. It belonged to a Chicago cop friend of ours. This thing had been sitting in the garage for at least a decade and so needed to be completely torn down and serviced. Luckily, we had another friend who owned …
How to Work with a Co-Writer
You want to write a book but intuitively you know you’re never going to make it happen on your own. You probably don’t even know why, so I will tell you. You don’t have the 500 hours (or more) over 18 months (or more) or the inclination to devote that much time to turning your …
Five Things to Think About Before You Agree to Co-Author a Book
I’m having a fabulous experience right now helping two professors get out a book on AI and machine learning for marketers. They are both brilliant and personable and respectful, not just of each other’s expertise but mine, too. As you can imagine, given the topic, it’s a bit of a beast, but the book is …
Academic to Business Communications: Making the Jump
In academic writing, you offer a hypothesis, present all the facts in an objective manner, and then offer a conclusion. The objective is to get your thinking in front of other academics (people thinking about the same topic) who will then consider all of your facts and then either validate or challenge your hypothesis/conclusion. The …
Using Presentations to Develop Your Book Idea
There are many ways to write a book and one approach many of my corporate and academic clients like is to work out the book contents by creating a series of presentations and then delivering them to a live audience. What’s nice about this approach is that you can get immediate feedback on your ideas. …
3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Write a Business Book Alone
You’re at the top of the food chain now and it’s great but there’s more pressure than ever to drive business results because if nothing happens, all fingers are pointing at you. At the same time, you know a book would help you raise your firm’s profile with prospects and influencers and give your marketing …
You Don’t Have to Be the One to Put the Words on the Page
Listen, we both know you have no time to write this book and even if you did, is taking the time to put all the words on the page really the best use of your time? Maybe. Maybe not. Writing a book can be a transformative experience. The writing process allows you to discover things …
Ideas Are Seeds: When You Plant Them This Can Happen
Sometimes I miss my Michigan and Detroit and so last night I started Googling Detroit things and thought about the inimitable Russ Gibb, who I once had as a substitute teacher in the 7th grade. Rather than recite the lesson plan left by Mr. Westcott, our journalism teacher, Mr. Gibb perched on the edge of …