Shorter: Say It in Fewer Words
Eradicate wordiness!
Audiences today want you to get to the point as quickly as possible. But being pithy and concise comes naturally only to Yankee farmers. The rest of us must learn to say a lot in fewer words. The report "Shorter" holds the keys to the kingdom of brevity.
"Shorter goes far beyond cutting extra words, with dozens of practical tips on creating shorter documents with punch and style. I have applied Marcia's strategies to my own writing, and I have also shared a few tips with my corporate clients. Through Marcia's expert commentary and examples, she shows that concise writing is method, not magic. Thanks for this valuable information!" - Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Business Writing Specialist and Founder, Syntax Training, Seattle, WA
Discover procedures that help you identify and remove excess verbiage - unnecessary words, redundant phrases and irrelevant paragraphs. Practice cutting four passages, then compare how well you eliminated the fat with my versions that slashed away up to 50 percent or more. Detailed explanations take you step by step from the wordy original to a shorter, then even shorter original.
Once you know the crucial questions to ask as you edit, you become a master of the red pen, whether you or someone else wrote the text in front of you.
"Marcia, you use plenty of real life examples and provide a plethora of strategies for writing concisely. Examples are all clearly presented, and like a great teacher, you stretch without overwhelming the students. Thanks again for always producing top-of-the-line material. I always receive much more value than the monetary outlay for your materials." - Norman Lieberman, Laguna Hills, CA
This tool for tighter writing teaches you in just 38 pages to turn long- winded prose into terse, to-the-point content:
Techniques that work for business writers, journalists, copywriters, grant writers, marketing communications professionals, graphic designers, authors, editors and more
Three steps that ensure you make your text more and more concise, without wasted effort
Questions to ask so you identify repetitions, blather and fluff
Ten formatting adjustments that save space and that most writers overlook
Examples galore! Nearly every tip includes at least one instance of it
Macro-cutting, micro-cutting and nano-cutting techniques, showing how to chop out large sections and make little reductions where every sliver of space counts
Conventional punctuation and wording practices you can sometimes effectively ignore
Four you-try-it exercises where you can see how I cut 30%, 50% or in one case 75% - without losing any essential points
Which periodicals and information formats provide the best learning labs for further practicing your shortening skills
Achieve a Smaller Word Count or Fit Your Message into a Set Space
If you're writing grant applications or working on articles for magazines, you're up against an unforgiving word count. If you edit a newsletter or design ads or direct-mail pieces, space is your enemy. Either way, with "Shorter" you become more able to reach your goal.
"So the writer who breeds
More words than he needs
Is making a chore
For the reader who reads."
- Dr. Seuss
This report does not rehash wordiness advice for students and professors available free online. Some of its techniques you'd be hard put to find explained anywhere, though you could find them in use if you knew where to look. "Shorter" also doesn't assume you remember the difference between subordinate and relative clauses or any obscure points of grammar.
Your purchase is protected by a money-back guarantee: If it's not as helpful as you expected, simply request a refund and you'll receive 100% of what you paid.
In a lively, interactive style, "Shorter" conveys lessons picked up from 30+ years of working with top magazine editors and public radio producers and of creating word magic for a wide range of business clients.