Category Archives: Editing

A great new way to benefit from “Writing to Make a Difference”

Have you found inspiration, support and practical ideas from Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact?

Hundreds of people already have, from many different walks of life: nonprofiteers, small business entrepreneurs, students, government agency staff, consultants, volunteers…the list goes on.

A few comments from readers:

“It’s as though I have a personal writing coach looking over my shoulder with a smile to encourage me to make what I’ve written more clear and more effective. I heartily recommend this book. It will give you confidence and the specific tips you need to make your writing sing.” — A reader on Amazon.com

Writing to Make a Difference is the best writing tool you could have for your socially responsible business. If you write event announcements, newsletters, fundraising letters,  press releases, business letters or any related writing, you need this book.  And don’t forget email, websites and posting online.  This is an organized and practical manual; it is easy to use and fun to read.  You will use these techniques every day.” – Diane Adkin, US Sales Coordinator, Canaan Fair Trade

Writing to Make a Difference is the most thorough, practical, compellingly readable, downright inspiring guide to nonprofit writing that I have ever seen. If you write or if you edit writing by others—this book will help you do a better job.” — Genevieve Richardson, Librarian, Dayton Metro Library

Writing to Make a Difference is a great balance of both instructional and interactive tips, tools, and exercises for those who want to effectively communicate the difference they are making in the world. Alandra L. Washington, Deputy Director, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

“This is one book I would recommend to every member of my team – grant writers, fundraisers, staff, and every board member.” — Johnson Hor, Esq, Board member, Art Endowment, Inspire to Do, Lawyers’ Club of San Francisco

“I’m very impressed with this book. Every progressive organization should have a well-thumbed copy handy.” — Susan C. Strong, Executive Director, The Metaphor Project

Writing to Make a Difference is a rare book of welcome mixtures, combining the accessibility of a “how-to” guide, rigor of an educational text, and practicality of a professional manual—all presented with the warmth of a trusted friend.” — A reader on Amazon.com

Now there’s another way you can benefit from the book! Just tell your friends about it by sending them to this link: http://bit.ly/c64ABf . Ask them to write in the purchase comments box:

“referred by (followed by your name and email address)”

and YOU will receive $2 (via PayPal) for each purchase they make. There is no limit to the number of referrals you can make, so go for it!

If you prefer to have your bonus donated to a nonprofit organization of your choice, just have your friends put the nonprofit’s name and email address in the comments box.

We all could use a little bonus here and there (especially in this struggling economy) so I hope you take advantage of this special offer.

New article in “Putting on the Polish” series

OpportunityKnocks.org, a leading website for nonprofit professionals and jobseekers, just published the final article in my “Putting on the Polish” series. Whether you are seeking a new nonprofit job or just recently got hired, you will want to ensure that your documents strike the employer as clean and professional. In this three-part series, I share some tips on how to polish up your work to make it stand out and shine.

The third and final installment, focused on proofreading (sometimes called light copyediting), gives you tips on proofreading your piece for more than just typos. The first two installments in the series helped you cultivate conciseness and eliminate sneaky redundancies.

Going through your piece one last time to sniff out little problems will help you project a professional, polished image to the world. This last step can make the critical difference between iffy and solid.

Final proofreading is actually harder than it looks. You have to keep in mind dozens and dozens of grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules. And you are still bound to miss things on your first go-round.

To get some tips on how to proofread like a pro, see the full article.

PS: Readers of my OpportunityKnocks column are eligible for a special discount on Writing to Make a Difference!

New online article: “Eliminating Unintended, Accidental, Repetitive Redundancies”

 

The second installment of my article series on Opportunity Knocks is now online. In the series, called “Putting on the Polish,” I share some tips on how to put that final touch on your documents to make them stand out and shine.

The first article was about how to cultivate conciseness. This second article is called “Eliminating Unintended, Accidental, Repetitive Redundancies” and starts out like this:

Did you notice that my title contains two redundancies (unintended/accidental and repetitive/redundancies)? Dramatic or humorous effect is the main reason that occasional repetition can be a good thing, if used well (more on that later). In most cases, however, purging your document of all forms of redundancies helps a lot.

There are actually several ways you can be redundant. Kind of ironic, don’t you think? As you might have guessed, this technique is another great way to cultivate conciseness….

Read the full article HERE.

 

Upcoming multi-session class in Oakland, CA: How can you improve your grant proposals?

Do you want to win a grant to fund your project, program or organization? Are you exploring grantwriting as a career? Start by sharpening your grantwriting skills to appeal to today’s funders!
I’m looking forward to working with new and intermediate grantwriters in my upcoming Great Grantwriting class at Media Alliance in Oakland, CA! It starts on February 29 and runs through March 21.
In this highly interactive workshop, you will learn to “sell” your work to foundation and corporate funders with a well-crafted grant proposal. We’ll focus on your readers’ interests and how best to tell them your story. The class will allow time for you to clarify your thoughts, commit your ideas to paper, and process lots of new information.
This is not just another cookie-cutter grantwriting class! Here, you will have the opportunity to learn from hands-on exercises and feedback on YOUR specific document.
This unique class features:
* An easy 4-step method for planning before you write
* Extensive handouts
* Class discussions and role plays
* Hands-on exercises
* Homework that gets read by several people
* Focused funding research training and practice
* Lots of personalized feedback from your classmates and me!
Check out this video sample of a grantwriting webinar I recently offered. The Great Grantwriting class at Media Alliance will expand on many of these concepts and help you take the next step.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

New Article Series: Putting on the Polish (Part I is now online!)

 

I just published the first installment of my 3-part series on how to polish up your work to make it stand out and shine. It appears on OpportunityKnocks.org, the leading website for nonprofit jobseekers. Whether you’re seeking a new nonprofit job, recently got hired, or just want to improve your job performance, you will want to ensure that your documents are clean and professional.

This first installment is about how to cultivate conciseness. The idea here is to make sure your reader can quickly find the most relevant information. Most people will “take a pass” rather than spend much time or energy trying to sort things out. And that’s the last thing you want!

One of my favorite phrases about writing is rather Orwellian: Less is more. But it is not doublespeak. It’s true! Concise statements are powerful. Accessible words and phrases get read. Your challenge is to keep your piece as brief as possible, without compromising meaning. See how tight you can write.

Believe me, I know how wordiness can infect your writing! Almost every client I have had fights this condition. In fact, I still often find myself wallowing in a circuitous, excessive, unnecessary, irrelevant, extraneous multitude of quicksand-like mountains of verbiage (like this). Word proliferation is an occupational hazard for all writers. But if you find ways to moderate that situation, your readers will reward you.

Read the rest of the article right HERE.