Readwise: Writing Without Bullshit
Original: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A5CEKQM
SUMMARY
Book on how to optimize your business writing with useful and practice suggestions. The iron imperative if evergreen: Treat the readerâs time as more valuable than your own.
Sean Wheeler is one of my go toâs when it comes to writing. He recommended this book and of course all his recommendations are gold.
The Iron Imperative
The fundamenetal point of the whole book. When writing we can often go on tangets or write quantity because it helps mask weaknesses or boosts our ego. The point is that people can smell the BS and theyâll move on. You donât want to constantly ship BS in your org, thatâs likely a recipe for an unwanted career change.
Tight Writing
This fits the judge role I follow. Cutting your favorite lines hurt, but when the writing isnât for itâs important.
This follows the Inverted Pyramid format where you want to deliver your ideas as soon as you can.
This matches the Writing > Above the Fold idea that you have a fleeting moment to capture your audience. If they donât know what theyâre getting into, theyâre gonna close the tab.
This is especially true for business writing. If you think about executive summaries, they are all the distillation of complex efforts. Once there people can (in my most annoying exec voice) âdouble clickâ (đ€ź) into it. But the fact remains that a bullet point might suffice and your writing should convince as you go on.
Passive Voice
This one made me laugh and itâs one of my terrible habbits. Itâs one of the things I have my copy-editor skill look for.