Scripts are out. Spontaneous is in. I recently came across a column by Ted Gioia, who calls himself The Honest Broker. He wrote that the recent presidential election showed that giving speeches from a teleprompter isn’t effective anymore and ”The word ‘scripted’ is now an insult. Plainspoken dialogue is considered more trustworthy.” Gioia then goes…
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Last week, I wrote about two things a ghostwriter can do to help build a brand. Here are four more: Develop a professional website. A ghostwriter can write the copy on the website, giving prospects a solid first look at your writing ability (and, yes, I wrote my website). Not only that, but your website…
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From my earliest days in journalism, I was taught to ask questions that begin with who, what, where, when, how, and why because they were open-ended and would lead to long answers (and better quotes). When I transitioned into ghostwriting, I found these questions still worked, but I recently learned that there is a better…
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Focus up, people! I recently had a prospect call me up and say, “My friends and family have insisted I write my story.” But when I asked him the obvious question, “What is the story?” he couldn’t give me a quick and succinct answer. Instead, he talked about a lot of things: being of service…
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I recently wrote about the importance of having a contract. That’s all well and good, but if you don’t know what to put in a contract, the importance won’t make sense. Since a contract’s purpose is to record rights, duties, obligations, responsibilities, collaborations, agreements, and payment schedules, among many others; and since a contract should…
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In my last post, I highlighted several typers of editing one could use to improve their manuscript. Today, I’m delving into more detail about line editing. As I previously wrote, line editors focus on more creative uses of language and how the word choice affects how clearly the story is communicated. Is the language clear,…
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One of my various ghostwriting services is telling the story of a company, product or service on its website. Too many company website product or service pages don’t tell the story of how the person reading the page will benefit from using that product or service. I have visited hundreds of small-business websites, and I’d…
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Continuing with my desire to help people use the right words so they sound professional, credible, remarkable, and compelling to the people they want to serve, today I discuss whether to use the word shut or close. The idea came from seeing a post on a LinkedIn group I belong to: “I don’t know if this is…
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I like to say I help my clients use the right words to highlight what makes them remarkable and compelling to the people they want to serve. To do that requires knowing what the right words are. From time to time, I will publish posts that spotlight issues I see people having with word choice,…
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I like to say I help my clients use the right words to highlight what makes them remarkable and compelling to the people they want to serve. To do that requires knowing what the right words are. From time to time, I will publish posts that spotlight issues I see people having with word choice,…
Read More