Editorial Services

(Third in a series of articles about improving your writing.)

As a newspaper editor, I used to remind my reporters that there was a finite amount of space for their stories. If they could save one or two words per paragraph in a 20-inc story, it might mean the difference between having their work run intact or having vital information clipped out by a ruthless copy editor under deadline pressure.

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(Second in a series of articles about improving your writing.)

By fourth grade in my Catholic grade school, the good nuns had drilled into my head all the parts of speech, the punctuation rules and grammar regulations that were never to be broken, lest they show up on my permanent record. We diagrammed long, rambling sentences, marking the nouns with one red line and the verbs with two, adjectives with a diagonal and adverbs with a squiggly mark. By the time we were done, our diagrams looked like schematics for the Space Shuttle.

At the risk of getting a rap on the knuckles, I’m here to tell you to forget all those rules.

Writing is about communicating. It’s about making the reader feel comfortable with your words, about setting a friendly tone, about being clear and concise. It’s not about blindly following archaic rules that can get in the way of effective communication.

Here are a couple of rules I’m giving you permission to break without fear of an icy glare from the nun in the front of the room:

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(First in a series of posts about ways to improve your writing.)

The fact is simple words communicate better than big words. Some writers feed their egos by using pompous language to impress their audiences. Using big words when simple ones will suffice can annoy and distract the reader from what you are trying to say. Some examples:

Use help rather than assist.

Use live rather than reside.

Use help rather than facilitate.

Use small rather than diminutive.

Use use rather than employ. or utilize.

Use get rather than obtain or procure.

Use best rather than optimum.

Use buy rather than purchase.

Go back and re-read your latest piece of copy. I’ll bet there are at least a handful of instances where you can substitute a simple word and see a huge increase in the readability of your writing.

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Want the easiest way to get your news release noticed by editors and reporters?

Use one of the “est” words in your headline.

Oldest, newest, fastest, slowest, tallest, shortest, longest, fattest, skinniest, deepest, heaviest, lightest, thickest, thinest, smallest, largest, earliest, latest, messiest, neatest.

The “est” list goes on and one. First and last work pretty well, too.

Reporters and editors like to think in terms of extremes. They usually make for good stories. Use that to your advantage. Work one of those words into your next news release headline and I can practically guarantee you the easiest placement you’ve ever had.

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When my roof needs to be repaired, I call a contractor because I don’t like heights. When my car breaks down, I call a mechanic because I don’t have the right tools. When my refrigerator goes on the fritz, I call a repairman because I don’t know the difference between a compressor and a condensor.
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