Comments on: Marketing 365: Your Monthly Strategy

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:01:19 +0000

I'd wager that most readers find "said" to be nearly invisible, like "the" or "of."

One editor I work with now and then seems to detest "said," and goes overboard in finding replacements. It's laughable. When I sit down to read the published copy I start by guessing which words she'll use this time. "He exclaimed," might work in fiction, but not in a business article.

I still try to mix it up a little, when appropriate. In really short, single source stories, I drop all but one or two "saids" anyway, since there's only one person being quoted.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:41:49 +0000

Ooo, that's intriguing, Anne! I use "said" because I think it doesn't overwhelm the copy. Having had a client go 12 rounds of edits with me over different ways to say "said", I grew fond of the simplicity of it. LOL

By: Anne Maclachlan

Anne Maclachlan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:30:55 +0000

Some of the best writing advice I've heard (aside from here, of course) comes from writer Ray Strait, who told us "Straitjackets" during his conference classes to "avoid 'said, was, did'."

I've found that counsel to be invaluable. It works for fiction, ad copy, and nearly everything else.

By: Lori

Lori — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:24:21 +0000

Thanks, Cathy!

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:58:09 +0000

Here's the link for the pdf list of Power Words. Thanks, Lori.

Power Words

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:04:52 +0000

Great resource, Cathy! Thank you for sharing it. Post the link here if you want.

It sure does, Paula! I remember having a "cheat sheet" of adjectives at the beginning of my resume-writing experience. Even then you tend to use the same ones. We just get comfortable with certain words.

Get a drink, Jake. LOL I have a Haley's client or two myself (and they both showed up recently). When I'd work on their projects, I'd shout to the monitor "Stop it with the friggin' cliches!" Didn't work. The monitor didn't care.

Wendy, amen! Why use a $20 word when a 50 cent one will do and won't confuse the heck out of everyone?

Anne, I can almost hear the foot stomp. :) Just change up one word. That's easy, right?

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:51:47 +0000

feeling swamped today and my first thought was "I don't wanna learn new verbs."

So breathe, Anne. Love the idea of one tip a month... great idea.

and great tips here too.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:25:31 +0000

Can I just say you should go casual in most cases? I've seen statements that are great standing alone. But the person writing it, apparently, isn't satisfied with the result, so they over-dress it. Now it's ruined. Do you really need the 5 exclamation points to get the message across? Is it necessary to scream it out with all caps? Think of those things.

By: Jake P

Jake P — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:06:52 +0000

Oh, man. I edited a site last week that required almost every single tweak on this list. He's a Haley's client (comes around once every 80 yrs), but a guy I really like, so I helped him out the best I could within the 72-hr timeframe he gave me. But I still threw up in my mouth a little when I saw the beta yesterday.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:15:35 +0000

Interesting timing, Lori. Yesterday I found two promising new trade pubs and a new custom title I wanted to hit up with LOIs. By the second one I realized I was using very similar sentences in letters two very different publications in two extremely different industries, so I changed it up. A lot. I didn't simply tailor my experience and clips to fit each market, I shook up the structure, wording and voice while retaining the basic information every LOI needs.

If nothing else, it kept me interested in writing the letters, and with any luck that energy will come through to the recipients.

I tell you, revamping résumés sure gives one a new appreciation for verbs, adjectives and adverbs.