 |
May, 2007 |
Barbara McNichol EditorialTHANKS for bringing this ezine into your day. ENJOY! To make sure it reaches your inbox, please add Editor@BarbaraMcNichol.com to your address book. If you are unable to view this newsletter, you may click here to read it online.In This Issue …
Idea Sparker—If You Always Applied These 5 Writing Techniques . . . What elements make the biggest difference when you want to persuade readers with the article or book you write? When I asked that question seven years ago, I came up with 5 top techniques that constantly grabbed my attention. I still make unending edits as I strengthen the work I edit. If only writers would apply them–well, they'd have stronger pieces and I'd have less revising to do! Briefly they are:
Want a more complete explanation? This link to Five Top Techniques That Improve Your Writing takes you there . . . But wait, I'm sure we can name more than 5! What elements do you believe make your copy more compelling? Please send me your top writing techniques. On May 31, 2007, I'll award the reader who emails me the strongest techniques a copy of Dear Mom, I've Always Wanted You to Know . . . Lisa Delman's book featuring 50 heartfelt letters from daughters to mothers. I guarantee it will make a fabulous gift for you or the "mom" in your life–even after Mother's Day. Dream Maker—What A Book Can Do! 
I don't always get to meet the authors whose books I edit, so I was recently delighted to meet author/speaker/coach/consultant Lynn Telford-Sahl at a conference in Tucson. After wrapping up our conversation about her new book on addictions, Lynn gave me a novel she had written and published eight years ago. In The Greatest Change of All, she wrote about her character at age 15 (based on Lynn's life) placing her baby girl for adoption. In the Author's Note at the end, she told readers that the story line about placing her baby for adoption at birth was true. And with this book, she launched the search for her daughter. A loving angel who has expertise in locating adopted children read The Greatest Change of All and did just that for Lynn. "My hope was that this book would help me find my daughter," she said. With tears in her eyes, she added, "Nine months later, I met the young woman I gave birth to face to face. I stepped into her life about the same time her adoptive mother died. It's been a joy to get to know each other." Now I ask you, can books help make dreams come true? Word Wrangler—Keep Your Message Powerfully Simple By Patrice Rhoades-Baum I've been thinking about simplicity lately after a five-day backpack trip to Utah with a few friends. It's amazing how little we needed to live happily for five days: companionship, water, food, and shelter. 
following Churchill's advice to never surrender. While driving from Colorado to Utah, we listened to The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium, An Englishman's World by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger. The authors present fascinating insights into the development of the English language. They noted that an Englishman who lived 1,000 years ago would have understood nearly every word of Winston Churchill's 1940 speech to rally his nation. Why? Because Churchill delivered a powerful call to action using simple, forceful, compelling words. ". . . we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender . . ." What if we rewrote these famous lines using longer words? The following version may be more colorful, but it sacrifices clarity and strength. We shall skirmish on the shorelines. We shall engage in hand-to-hand combat on the airport tarmacs. We shall assault them in the farmlands and the thoroughfares. We shall exchange blows on the promontories. We shall never capitulate. While good writing can involve multisyllabic words, remember that clarity is the key to persuasive writing. Whether you're rallying a single website visitor or a large audience, keep your message simple, clear, and compelling. Let its power shine through, just as Churchill's stirring speech shone brightly in those dark days. Patrice Rhoades-Baum has wrangled with words throughout her 25-year communications career. She enjoys strategizing and copywriting websites, articles, and workbooks. Contact her through Barbara McNichol at Editor@BarbaraMcNichol.com. Creativity Kindler—Complain Your Way to Writing Success By Shirley Dunn Perry Do you mumble about the difficulty of writing your book? Have you ever groaned when you saw the new bestseller on a topic you wanted to write about? Get inspired by Barbara Sher who advocates transforming complaining into creative energy by keeping a complaint journal. In her book, Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want, Sher says to first believe that complaining is good for you–even though it goes against our "think positive" culture that pushes complainers out on the sidewalk with smokers. Then list your grievances in your complaint book and analyze them. Tactical problems like "I don't have a pen" are easily solved. Instead, focus on "Yes-but" problems like "I have thirty years of experience but no degree . . ." These need to be dissected with full compassion for the process. (If need be, call a friend or writing coach to help.) By doing this, you may discover that fear lurks behind your whining and interferes with your writing. Afraid of fear? Pick up Susan Jeffer's Feel the Fear . . . and Do It Anyway and Eve A. Wood's 10 Steps to Take Charge of Your Emotional Life: Overcoming Anxiety, Distress, and Depression Through Whole-Person Healing. Work through their exercises to work through your fear. When I saw that fear of failure was the root of my procrastination, I practiced making mistakes, which helped me become more productive in my writing. Will addressing your fear bring you success as an author? No guarantees, but I do know you'll enjoy the writer's path a lot more. Start a complaint-journal today and see where it leads you. Shirley Dunn Perry is a registered nurse, poet, and author of Ten Five-Minute Miracles: How to Relax. Believing that you can discover and express your true joyous self, she teaches self-discovery workshops and can be reached through Barbara at Editor@BarbaraMcNichol.com. Evoke, provoke- Evoke means to call up or produce memories, feelings, etc. or to elicit or draw forth. Provoke is more assertive. It means to anger, enrage, stir up, arouse, induce feelings, desires, or actions. "His shocking comment evoked protests from students who provoked a riot in the street." Evoke, invoke- "Evoke" means to call up (e.g., memories, feelings), to draw forth or summon. "Invoke" often has a religious connotation, to pray for or call in (e.g., a deity), also to declare binding (e.g., invoke a law). "Invoking God's help during tough times can evoke feelings of peace." Accede, secede- Accede means to agree or assent; to give in to a request, to become a party to an agreement, treaty, office, or rank. Secede is formally withdrawing from an organization or alliance. "After much heartache and debate, the president acceded to the demands of the members who had threatened to secede from the organization." Note: You can request 230+ Word Trippers in one easy-to-reference document. For the latest version, email me with 2007 Word Trippers in the subject line. Head Turner—Maximizing Success - May 18, 19, and 20 My clients Patricia Noel Drain and Debbie Allen are hosting a fabulous Maximizing Success seminar for 3 full days at the Phoenix Airport Marriott, May 18, 19, and 20. This event highlights 10 world-class speakers on building wealth and creating the life balance and financial freedom you deserve! Saturday night features an exclusive VIP celebrity dinner with John Gray, PhD, best-selling author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Full details at www.MaximizingSuccess.com. Register today while seating is still available. 4 Dynamite Resources for Authors and Speakers 1) How to Write and Deliver a Dynamite Speech A great speech feels like an intimate conversation. It appears effortless. Yet that effortlessness results, not from luck, but from diligent crafting and practicing. Speaking coach Doug Stevenson's 21-Step Dynamite Speech System helps speakers at all levels create their speeches. With it comes a great Bonus package with over $275 of value-added items. Doug has generously added a FREE consultation from me along with my Word Trippers ebook to his list of valuable bonuses. Check out Doug's systematic approach to learning in this 10-CD set with 80-page workbook. This link gets you all the details! 2) Beginning a Profitable Speaking Business 11 Experts Reveal Their Best Practices to Start and Grow a Lucrative Speaking Practice features excellent teleseminars from SpeakerNet News (www.speakernetnews.com). Taking to heart all this great information from these teleseminars can catapult your career. It also offers three package levels that include 3 to 9 consultations with experts. My bonus 30-minute consultation is part of all three levels–Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Explore the possibilities by enrolling in a free e-course today! 3) Turn Eye Appeal Into Buy Appeal by Karen Saunders This fabulous reference book features design shortcuts, tips for writing compelling copy (from me), and a free e-Course to get your started. Check out the details.
4) Website Wisdom by Kendall SummerHawk Click on graphic for full details.
Superb Service—"Try Before You Buy" Editing Action Plan Ask about my Try Before You Buy process for your next book project. At no charge, I will edit a portion of your manuscript and create a written editing action plan. Once you review the before/after text in the sample edit, you'll recognize more than a great match–you'll see that we can form a great team! FREE Editing Action Plan questionnaire! Want some guidance to help you determine if you're ready for the editing process? Ask for my FREE Editing Action Plan questionnaire, Getting the Results You Want from Your Editor. Send an email with "Getting the Results questionnaire" in the subject line and I'll send this helpful three-page tool. Ready to add polish and persuasion to your books, proposals, articles, one-sheets, and website copy? Connect with Barbara McNichol Editorial now! My promise to you: I respect your time and your privacy. Your email is strictly for communication from Barbara McNichol Editorial and will not be sold or used for other purposes. Copyright 2007: Barbara McNichol Editorial
|
Tell a Friend Share "The Door Opener" with friends. When they subscribe, they'll receive a FREE ebook, now expanded to 230 Word Trippers!
Quotation Corner “Words - so innocent and powerless as they are as standing in a dictionary; how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”
New to My Portfolio You Can't Take It With You So How Will You Leave It Behind? by Steven W. Allen To Sell or Not to Sell . . . Employer Retirement Plans by Tom Foster and Todd D. Thompson, The Hartford's Retirement Plans Group (Kaplan Publishing) Ending the Tobacco Holocaust: How Big Tobacco Affects Our Health, Pocketbook and Political Freedom, and What We Can Do About It by Michael Rabinoff Buy Even Lower: The Regular People's Guide to Real Estate Riches by Scott Frank and Andy Heller (Kaplan Publishing) Love Your Life and It Will Love You Back: 10 Lessons for Using the Power of Love to Succeed in Life by Sourena Vasseghi The Real Estate Investor's Online Toolbox by Todd Little (Kaplan Publishing) Press Pause . . . Press On: Bringing Balance & Perspective To Work & Life by Patricia Katz
Appreciation
"Your word trippers have been very helpful for my work and I appreciate getting the updates. Thank you for compiling these!"
"Thanks for having the belief in us to see us through the ups and downs of writing a book. You are a true professional and we will be forever grateful."
"Barbara worked with me on A Father's Abuse... A Doctor's Love and I could not be more satisfied. She was wonderful in every way. I would recommend her to anyone. Not only was she professional but she was always upbeat and enjoyable."
"Thanks again for the absolutely magnificent job you did on my latest manuscript." “Barbara gave a new life to my words and expanded my
message in ways I didn't even realize possible. She always took time to listen to my concerns and constantly allowed an open dialogue. I can't wait to work with her again!” “I had been wanting a speaker's one-sheet for years but what stopped me was thinking how I would ever be able to write copy for it. Then I found out about Barbara! She was a joy to work with and I am completely delighted with the result. She went above and beyond what I asked her to do!” “Barbara, thanks for being one of my beautiful editors on this book THIS TIME I DANCE! Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love. I always remember your suggesting different spacing to bring out its power even more . . .” “Thanks for all your
hard and thoughtful work,
and for helping us meet that
target deadline, too. I'd
work with you again in a
heartbeat!”
“Thanks for that Word Trippers ebook. It is such a
great help for me. Keep providing us with such wonderful
information. Hats off to you.”
“What a blessing to receive such helpful information -
scott free! May God reward you for your generous
spirit.”
“You did a great job ‘bringing to
life’ what I truly wanted to say on my web
site while bringing out the key points in a
strong, yet natural way.”
"I so look forward to your monthly eNewsletter. Great stuff, Barbara." "I can't see how any entrepreneur in the 21st
century can grow a small business without having access to a gifted writer
and/or skilled editor. Barbara is just such a person. She takes the stress
out of the project and brings in her clarity, her good sense of what works,
and her commitment. I simply don'’t want to do any writing without her support."
"You were able to take a long piece of
writing for my one-sheet and give it the punch
and flavor it needed. What a
difference!"
"You took my document and made it come
alive with laser focus, giving it so much more
impact and power."
"My previous book has been very successful,
and your fine editing has played a huge role in
that."
"Barbara, you are the woman with the golden
hand it seems! Thanks."
"I love the look of your new web
site. Classy! And as always, full of
great information."
"This ezine looks great-really a superb job on the articles and design."
"What a gift you are! I love to write and create, but
have little skill in editing. You have edited my
manuscripts, articles, and advertising material. Thanks to
you, the finished product is always something I can be
proud of."
"Thanks for all you GIVE to the rest of us
to be more competent, more confident
communicators! Your web site is great!"
"Am I glad I subscribed (to The Door
Opener). I can see usage (for Word Trippers) in
my Toastmaster activities and I look forward to
future issues with anticipation."
"Thanks for your support and your
incredible eye for detail. I appreciate your
skill and your partnership."
|
