Powerwriting

Reviews / Votes

"...and there you were - the author of one of my favourite reference books. Your book on "Powerwriting" is brilliant. I bought it last year when I set up my business and refer back to it when my clients drive me crazy.

Gave up corporate life in 2001 to focus on writing (copywriting and feature articles mostly) so I regard you as a bit of a star. You're doing what I want to do. I'm still in transition....Just wanted to say all of the above, and thank you for your book. You are so damn good."

Katherine Trimble
Gaelkat Ltd



Power Writing is practical, good advice, for real business people.

The all too often overlooked element of writing (ie planning and setting objectives) is covered here in detail which is useful if you want to get the desired outcome from your communication.

As a copywriter, I found myself nodding to a lot of the things in here. I'd recommend this mainly to business people who are looking to do things like a professional, but there's still plenty in here to help you improve if you already are one.

Think First - Write Later, 26 March, 2003. Reviewer: Joe Gregory from England

I have to write a lot in my business - everything from press releases, speeches, company biographies and sales brochures, through to presentations and marketing reports. Most of my efforts are spent on making it "sound" good and I never really gave any thought to the next step down the line - making it "work". I think it's because we all get set in our ways, and the day-to-day problems we are constantly facing leave little time to step back from what we are doing, and try to gauge how the words we produce will be absorbed or understood by the customer.

In that respect I found the book's advice both sensible and pragmatic. For example, the need to explain - really explain - what you are saying, and not make the assumption that the reader is telepathic and understands/agrees with points you feel are self-explanatory. Once you've got the hang of it all feels so obvious.

Indeed, some of the advice given in the book is obvious. But the advantage of Powerwriting is that it shows you how to apply what may be obvious on to a real situation, like writing a CV, a company brochure or copy for a video. And that's where the book's strength lies - it's full of what ought to be obvious to anyone in business, but most of us never take a deep breath, stand back and see how and why we need to apply it to the everyday problems any businessman faces.

"Powerwriting" is the first book I've ever read which helps me understand the simple "rules" of making a message really work and not just add to the pile of wasted words passing across the recipient's desk. It's easy to use as a reference and I strongly recommend it to anyone who want to make what they write work more efficiently.

Making us think harder and write better, 1 November, 2002. Reviewer: Paul L, Marketing Manager, Vehicle Leasing Company from United Kingdom