Best Picks Archives

Renewal Notices Can Be Friendly

The other day we received a renewal notice from our web hosting service, IX Web Hosting. I want to share it with you as an example of a friendly, helpful renewal notice. Subject: Renewal Notice for Unlimited Pro Hey Lynn, How's everything going? Can you… continue reading

Book Review: A Good Laugh at Other People’s Mistakes

Just My Typo: From “Sinning With the Choir” to “The Untied States,” by Drummond Moir, provides lots of hearty laughs. As I read the book last night, I caught myself repeatedly snickering at the errors proofreaders had missed and feeling grateful that I had not… continue reading

What’s New in AP Stylebook 2014

The AP Stylebook 2014 just came out, and my copy arrived in the mail on Wednesday. I have studied it searching for changes you might want to know about (if you don’t subscribe to the AP’s tweets), and they appear below. If you are not… continue reading

Book Review: Advice on Clear Writing and on Life

I picked up a new book, The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead: Dos and Don’ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life, because of the promise of “clear writing.” The coupling of clear writing with living a good life made… continue reading

Congratulations to You and Me!

I am delighted to let you know that “Business Writing With Heart: How to Build Great Work Relationships One Message at a Time” has been named as a finalist for Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) awards in two categories. It is a finalist for the… continue reading

A Fine Example of Meeting Readers’ Needs

I am away on a writing retreat on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and I took myself to Doc's Marina Grill for dinner tonight. The menu included something I have never seen on a menu before, yet it makes perfect sense for this restaurant. Can you imagine… continue reading

Communication Webinars I Recommend

Webinars have gotten a bad reputation. Too many dense, slow-moving slide decks presented by long-winded speakers have caused people to think of webinars as snoozers. Not only that–plenty of them ooze sales and marketing messages that make participants feel used. That’s why I am here to defend and… continue reading

Book Review: Better Business Writing

At last! A book I can recommend to executives and to the human resource managers whose responsibility it is to develop executives: HBR Guide to Better Business Writing, by Bryan A. Garner. Garner is one of my favorite experts on usage, writing style, and legal… continue reading

Recommended Guide: “Caps and Spelling”

My latest reference book purchases are The Canadian Press Stylebook: A Guide for Writers and Editors, 16th Edition, and Caps and Spelling, 20th Edition, also published by Canadian Press. Although I have bought the stylebook before, Caps and Spelling is new to me, and I… continue reading

Book Review: Microsoft Manual of Style, 4th Edition

Because I loved the third edition of Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, I was excited to see that Microsoft had finally updated the 2004 volume. The new fourth edition, published this year, is titled simply Microsoft Manual of Style. I recommend the manual… continue reading