Shape of Things

Editing is a lost art, or at least a misplaced one.  It used to be rare to see a typo or grammatical error in the New York Times; now, it’s almost a daily occurrence.

Although it might seem a bit anachronistic, good editing matters.  How many times have you left a website because of poorly written text or typos? Poor writing and editing often precede the sound of business walking out the door.

I could go on, but the importance of editing is something people get or they don’t.  For those who do, here’s a two-part primer.  It’s no Strunk and White, but it’s a start.  Much of this comes from a Folio magazine seminar taught by Peter Jacobi more than 25 years ago.  Jacobi is now professor emeritus in the Indiana University School of Journalism.

What is Editing?

Editing is selection – knowing what to put in, what to take out, and how to prioritize information.

What is an Editor?

·         A creative planner

·         A visionary

·         A procurer and selector

·         A researcher

·         A conscience

·         A utility person

·         An understudy

·         An enforcer

·         A protector

·         A big-picture person

·         An attention-to-detail person

·         A servant

·         A trench worker

·         A voice

·         A cynic

·         A learner

·         A benevolent dictator

·         An unsung hero

Editing: The Two-Headed Monster

Micro-editing – helping the writer by concentrating on words, meaning, style, structure

Macro-editing – serving the reading audience by setting the agenda, tone and image

10 Ways to Become A Great Editor

1.      Read

2.      Write

3.      Perceive

4.      Appreciate

5.      Analyze

6.      Study

7.      Practice

8.      Be curious

9.      Learn from mistakes

10.  Be helpful

Begin at the Beginning

Know your audience: who they are, what they do, what they know, what they want to know, how they want to find out.

What Every Reader Wants

·         Information – as succinctly and clearly as possible.

·         Interpretation – what does it mean and how does it relate to my world?

·         Entertainment – yes, even technically oriented material should entertain.

What We Don’t Want to Do…

·         Assume that the audience is captive and that the message is a must for the reader – no story has a divine right to be read.

·         Write for the masses – each story goes out to an individual; picture the lonely engineer in the windowless cubicle and bring some light into his or her day.

·         Get into a rut – give readers change before they realize they want it.

·         Bore your reader – stay unique, focus on being different, lively.

The 6 Cs for Success

1.      Clarity

2.      Concise

3.      Complete

4.      Constructive

5.      Credible

6.      Conversational

Oh, and a Couple More

Consistent

Captivating

Part 2:  What to avoid and what to embrace.

References:

The Art of Editing, Floyd K. Baskette and Jack Z. Sissors, 1971, The Macmillan Company, pp. 418-419

The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, Addison-Wesley Publishing.

Edit your copy as if you are a lecherous skeptic with a jaundiced view of the world.  I hope for your sake you’re not.

Good writing has rhythm and flow.  Read your’s aloud.  Does it swing like a pendulum do or like Duke would do?

Before finalizing, read over that press release, case study, memo or planning document as if you are a complete idiot in the subject matter.

Provide information before it is requested.  Turn things in before deadline. Clients, peers and supervisors will love you for it.

I’ve been away from a traditional corporate structure long enough that I get surprised when things I thought died with the fax machine pop up again like some strain of indestructible weed.

The latest is what I call the stingy expert.  You know this person: the genius with all the credentials from 10 to 20 years ago who can tell you exactly what is wrong with your business or strategy, but won’t offer any concrete information on what to do to improve things.  You are supposed to sign on to that five- or six-figure retainer based on the guy’s (and it’s almost always a guy) charisma and guile.

It takes a lot of nerve, chutzpa, to do that kind of high-end carnival barking today.  But, in the last week I’ve seen a couple examples of it.  And, intelligent people being swayed by it. The cult of personality lives, and evidently in some quarters it still thrives.

I grew up with this philosophy of “don’t give away anything unless someone pays for it,” but when I started my own business 20 years ago, I rejected that notion.  I figured I would have to prove – in very specific ways – that I can plan and execute a project for a potential client.

From the outset, I gave potential clients detailed descriptions of what I would do, how I’d do it, and what kind of results they could expect.  It might seem like giving away the store, but I’ve had very few cases of people stealing my ideas.  Those that did were not the kind of people I’d want to work for anyway.  And, of course, there’s always the fact of execution – let’s see them fulfill my plan after they’ve ripped it off.

If you’re good at what you do, ideas and plans should not be a limited quantity – something to hold close to your vest.  There should be more from where that came from.  If someone is trying to sell you secrets that can’t be revealed until a contract is signed, it’s probably for a very good reason: He has something to hide.

If you know you have good ideas, be generous with them to people you respect and trust. Give them out for free, and you’re likely to get more than your share in return.

Target is doing a remarkably effective advertising campaign based on a simple premise: Expect more, pay less.  The ads list examples of the diversity of products available at Target and how easy it is to shop in one stop.  Seems obvious, but they are the only retail store I’ve seen promoting this message really well.

My local wine retailer, Great Grapes, gets it.  They have more than doubled their selections in the $8 to $12 range, and increased the quality of wines in that price range by cutting deals with desperate distributors.  They are offering their normal case discount for 6 bottles and highlighting weekly two-for-one deals.  This isn’t window-dressing, but real value for money.

Three of my clients — Geomagic, Red Gate and Blue Ridge Numerics — do well in tough financial times because their technologies enable customers to do more for less.

Red Gate has the best “try before you buy” policy in the IT business.  Geomagic has just added a Geomagic Labs website where customers can test out new technologies under development.  Blue Ridge has a new HPC module that can generate 100x speed increases for upfront CFD simulation.

I don’t have any official “more for less” policy.  I’m just trying to make it business as usual to go beyond what is required for clients, friends and colleagues. At certain times, this is called value-added.  In today’s economy, I call it essential.

My brother-in-law, Jim Spillane, is a professional photographer.  He’s currently in Nepal, where he’s photographing people going about their day-to-day lives.

Today, he sent an email about his motives for photographing local brick workers:

“It’s the expression on their face(s).  They don’t hide their feelings.  If they’re sad, they show it; happy, you know it.  Unlike the business class I had left in Kathmandu with their masqueraded friendliness, they are not trying to sell you something.  The difference is so stark you notice it immediately.”

This got me to thinking about why I was uncomfortable when I first started in business and what still makes me itch when I see it today: People putting on a mask and playing a role.  In a world of greater transparency, I hope that business people can learn to become more humane and less deceptive – that feelings can be expressed and respected.

Call me a dreamer, but I’m seeing the best companies on the planet being founded on the premise of helping people – both employees and customers – get better.  It’s a fairly clear corporate choice: be a genuine company with a conscience, or a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Thirty years ago, Ian Dury and the Blockheads recorded a brilliant song called Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3.  Don’t know what happened to part 1 or 2, but this song always makes me smile.  With apologies and the greatest of respect to the late Mr. Dury, here are some of my reasons. I’d love to hear yours.

Smell of rain in Spring
Satch and Bing
New Elmore Leonard
Feelin’ unfettered

Smart tweets
Marinated meats
Sand on the beach
Squishing thru ma feet

Sugar-cane coke
Everyday folk
Live conversations
Adult libations

Career choices
Singular voices
Emotional intelligence
Witty irreverence

Better days ahead
Books to be read
Support of friends
Even tiny dividends

Greeting another day
Youngsters at play
Doing your part
To prop up art

Blueberry jelly
Cholly Rose on telly
More Nick Lowe
Paying off escrow

Dry martini
Black bikini
No tooth decay
Stayin’ in the fray

Fresh New Yorker
Pelecanos corker
Sunday Times
Brian Wilson chimes

Sharing excitement
The rare indictment
Something hilarious
Nothing querulous

Tortilla Flats
Porkpie hats
Paddling in winter
Finding the splinter

Reasons to be cheerful, part 1
Reasons to be cheerful, part 1

Parts 1 and 2 of this series covered preparation for writing a good case study.  This part deals with the hardest – and most satisfying – aspects of the process: writing and presenting the article.

When fingertips hit the keys

·         Follow your outline or don’t.  Your outline should be a guide, not a noose.  Often when you begin the flow of writing, you find that logic dictates a different sequence of information.  Let logic be your guide.

·         Try not to get stuck or hung up on one aspect or another of the story.  If you are having problems expressing something, leave a placemark and move ahead.

·         If you don’t have a strong lead, don’t fret.  Complete the bones and meat of the story and then come back to the sauce.

·         Stick with the basics.  Get your basic story down on paper first, then go back and fill in the blanks and fine tune.

·         Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.  Good writing is rewriting.  Nobody gets it right the first time.  Don’t fret; consider four or five rewrites part of the process of producing a great story.

·         Read like an idiot.  Read your story as if you know nothing about the product and the application.  Act as if you are learning-impaired when reading through any scenario described in your story.

·         Read like a cynic.  Make believe you are not sold on this product or this story.  Proof-reading with a sneer on your face might help.

·         Eliminate redundancy.  I won’t say it again.

·         Work and rework your lead(s).  Rarely does a great lead introduce itself to you at the beginning of the writing process.  Consider several different leads and analyze them according to relevance, level of interest, connection to the story as a whole.  This is when you wrack your brain for irony, coincidence, humor, comparisons, word plays on clichés, history, current events, or anything else (as long as it is relevant to the story) that will attract attention.

·         Feed your head.  The headline is not a label, it’s a miniature story.  While writing and rewriting the story, work over different permutations of the headline in your head.  Write down ideas as they come to you, wherever you happen to be.

·         Leave something for your fans.  End with a bang.  Or at least come full circle to your lead.  But, don’t end as if you were tired of writing.

Presenting the article

When you send the article for review, make sure the customer knows the audience for which it is intended.  Give a specific date for when you want to have comments and/or approval.  Thank the customer for all of his or her help in preparing the article; treat him or her like a partner or co-writer.

When comments are received, think about them from the reviewer’s point of view.  Make changes that are necessary.  If you think a change damages the story, talk to the customer about it.  Approach it as a partnership, telling him or her that you are afraid that omitting a key fact, for example, will damage the credibility of the story for the audience.  Try to work around problems, while maintaining the integrity and value of the article.

Use in good health

The guidelines presented here are from years of experience in writing case studies that have value to editors and readers.  They are based on many more successes than failures, but they are still guidelines, not rules. Your mileage may vary, but not by too much.