The Writing Edge for Business Writers: 11/6/15

Nov 6, 2015 | Better Writing

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Every week I point you to articles and blog posts that I think will teach you something or spark an idea or two. Some weeks there are more pointers than others.

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on storytelling to create employee engagement, things to ask a literary agent, and social media guidelines for newbies.

From Sharlyn Lauby: Use Storytelling to Create Employee Engagement

“One of the key ingredients to organizational culture is its stories. At this year’s WorkHuman conference hosted by Globoforce, one of the sessions focused on effective storytelling. The speaker mentioned four principles from Steve Denning that are essential to effective storytelling:”

From Chuck Sambuchino: When a Literary Agent Says Yes: Evaluating an Offer (or Offers!) of Representation

“Because literary agents have connections to the top editors of the world, writers can believe that getting an agent is the key domino to fall on their path to a successful writing career—so they may sign with the first agent who says yes. But that’s not necessarily the wisest move. The relationship needs to be a good fit to work well and last decades. Many writers and agents describe the partnership as a marriage, and you must make sure that you’re compatible in terms of goals and careers as well as each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

From Frances Caballo: Social Media Guidelines for Newbie (& Experienced) Authors

“So just because the neighbor’s kid seems to know all about Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, don’t worry. You don’t want to follow her or his advice. Kids come to social media as a way to connect in expanded ways with their friends. You’ll be using social media to establish your brand and market your books. See the difference?”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writing Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

Digital Book World

Frances Caballo

jeffbullas.com

Joel Friedlander

Joanna Penn

Men with Pens

Merce Cardus

Problogger

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

Sign Up For Blog Posts Via Email