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Too Many Words? Learn to Shorten Text
Shorter, it becomes clearer --
more powerful, too!
The fact is that
wordiness is a curable condition.
Wordiness is
curable.
Audiences today want you to
get to the point as quickly as possible.
But being pithy and concise comes naturally only
to Yankee farmers. The rest of us must learn
to say a lot in fewer words. My new
report, "Shorter," holds the keys to
the kingdom of brevity.
Discover procedures that help
you identify and remove excess verbiage -
unnecessary words, redundant phrases and
irrelevant paragraphs. Practice cutting
four passages, then compare how well you
eliminated the fat with my versions that slashed
away up to 50 percent or more. Detailed
explanations take you step by step from the
wordy original to a shorter, then even shorter
original.
Once you know the crucial
questions to ask as you edit, you become a
master of the red pen, whether you or someone
else wrote the text in front of you.
Order
"Shorter" (a PDF report) for
$39.95.
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"Shorter goes far beyond cutting extra words, with
dozens of practical tips on creating shorter documents with punch and style.
I have applied Marcia's strategies to my own writing, and I have also shared a few tips with my corporate clients. Through Marcia's expert commentary and examples, she shows that
concise writing is method, not magic. Thanks for this valuable
information!" - Lynn Gaertner-Johnston,
Business Writing Specialist and Founder,
Syntax Training, Seattle, WA |
Like all the testimonials
on this site, the customer comments on this page
were provided without compensation, incentives
or rewards.
Shorter = More Powerful
"Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in a few words." - Apocrypha.
Concise writing packs more
punch, conveys more energy and inspires greater
response.
Unless you overstep brevity
into inscrutability - and "Shorter"
helps you avoid that pitfall - shorter gets the
job done better.
This tool for
tighter writing teaches you in just 38 pages to
turn long- winded prose into terse, to-the-point content:
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Techniques that work for
business writers, journalists, copywriters,
grant writers, marketing communications
professionals, graphic designers, authors,
editors and more
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Three steps that ensure
you make your text more and more concise,
without wasted effort
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Questions to ask so you identify
repetitions, blather and fluff
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Ten formatting
adjustments that save space and that
most writers overlook
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Examples galore!
Nearly every tip includes at least one instance
of it
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"Marcia, your
style of teaching is refreshing.
You use plenty of real life examples
and provide a plethora of strategies for
writing concisely. Examples are all
clearly presented, and like a great
teacher, you stretch without
overwhelming the students. Thanks again
for always producing top-of-the-line
material. I always receive much
more value than the monetary outlay for
your materials." - Norman
Lieberman, Laguna Hills, CA |
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Macro-cutting,
micro-cutting and nano-cutting techniques,
showing how to chop out large sections
and make little reductions where every
sliver of space counts
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Conventional punctuation
and wording practices you can sometimes
effectively ignore
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Four you-try-it exercises
where you can see how I cut 30%, 50% or
in one case 75% - without losing any
essential points
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Which periodicals and
information formats provide the best
learning labs for further practicing
your shortening skills
Achieve a Smaller Word
Count or Fit Your Message into a Set Space
If you're writing grant
applications or working on articles for
magazines, you're up against an unforgiving word
count. If you edit a newsletter or design
ads or direct-mail pieces, space is your
enemy. Either way, with
"Shorter" you become more able to
reach your goal.
This report does not rehash
wordiness advice for students and professors
available free online. Some of its techniques you'd be hard put to find explained
anywhere, though you could find them in use if
you knew where to look.
"Shorter" also doesn't assume you
remember the difference between subordinate and
relative clauses or any obscure points of
grammar.
"So the writer who breeds
More words than he needs
Is making a chore
For the reader who reads."
- Dr. Seuss
In a lively, interactive
style,
"Shorter" conveys lessons I picked up from 25+
years of working with top magazine editors and
public radio producers and of creating word
magic for a wide range of business clients.
ORDER
NOW.
As with all downloadable
material from this web site, buy with the
protection of a money-back guarantee.
You're just $39.95 away from terser, punchier
writing.
ORDER
"SHORTER" NOW.
"Shorter"
was updated in 2021.
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Improve Your
Proofreading
Quick online course teaches how to
catch pesky typos. Whether you check
writing on screen or on paper, learn the
stakes for error-ridden copy, the five
best proofreading methods and the tools
you can or shouldn't use to identify
errors. Includes practice tests and
answers.
Proofreading Hacks course. |
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