The Writing Edge for Business Writers: 5/11/18

May 11, 2018 | Reading Lists

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. The posts are about the intertwined tasks of reading and writing. Some weeks there are more pointers than others.

This week I’m pointing you to posts on book marketing, power phrases, and a review of free tools for writers.

From Penny Sansevieri: The Best Book Marketing Tool You Probably Aren’t Using

“What if I told you there was an easy and effective way to network with big blogs and big industry names without ever having to leave your house? Maybe you’re thinking ‘oh, I’ll just follow them on Twitter’ and while that’s a good book promotion idea, it’s also passive. Good book marketing requires a more active approach. So, let’s explore how you can do that.”

From Deborah Grayson Riegel: 12 Phrases that Will Make Your Audience Put Down Their Cell Phones and Pay Attention to You

“No matter how topical, relevant or pressing your content is, you’re often fighting an uphill battle for the audience’s attention. Whether their distractions are an internal monologue (‘And just where am I supposed to find the time to teach the new guy how to use our Learning Management System? At midnight? Five in the morning?’) or an external dialogue (‘Those two sitting in the back row will not stop chatting, and I cannot concentrate!’), they need you as the speaker to help catch — and keep — their focus.”

Wally’s Comment: This article is aimed at speakers, but there’s a lot here that writers can use.

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Alexandra Cote: “Pros” and “Cons” of The Best 65 Free Tools for Freelancers

“Whether you’re a freelance designer, software developer, blogger, writer, or marketer, you’ll come across the need to use a diversity of tools to solve your problems. Most of these tools have paid versions too, but you should see for yourself if the extra features are worth paying for.”

Thanks to Dave Chesson for pointing me to this article.

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.

Alliance of Independent Authors

Ann Handley

Frances Caballo

Jane Friedman

IngramSpark

Jerry Jenkins

Joel Friedlander

Joanna Penn

Kindlepreneur

Michele De Felippo

Penny Sansevieri

Daphne Gray-Grant

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence