Focus: One Key to Writing Text that Readers Want to Read

Think of the last fuzzy photograph you took. Did you keep it? Or did you throw it away? I'm betting you threw it out. Why? Because it was hard to know what the photo "was about," hard to just "get into it."

There's a metaphor here. Readers don't get into fuzzy writing either. To grab a reader, you have to be clear about your message, and get right to the point. Your writing has to pass the elevator test. That means it's got to hold your audience's attention longer than the few minutes it takes to ride the elevator between floors.

Bonnie Hearn's written a classic on this topic: Focus Your Writing. You can find it in your local library or on Amazon.com.

From Print on Demand (POD) to Traditional Publisher

"There are many books that have 'crossed over' to New York," writes girlondemand, a writer and blogger whose first novel was released by Penguin Putnam in 2004 and whose second novel will be released later this year. Girl's put together a list of 20 books that were self-published and then bought by major publishers. Details