It’s the letter or proposal of your career, or the presentation that’s going to showcase your business or skill to the entire planet. Don’t you want it to be right?
What impression do you get from poor grammar or misspelled words, or from awkward, meandering or just plain boring writing?
I’ve spent 30 years writing and editing in the news business, taking rookies right out of journalism school and helping them learn to find the resonating story line and tell it a compelling way that gets to the point – and without grammar, usage or spelling errors. I’ve worked with some of the most successful writers in Arizona journalism, and I’ve learned from some of the best teachers and editors. My forte is finding the story and telling it. I know grammar, style and how to skin useless and stilted words out of language to get to the point. Contact AZWritingCoach.
How can we help you?
News release: I’ve spent a career on the receiving end of a daily avalanche of news releases, most of which get tossed. While many great public relations professionals are enormously skilled at finding the nugget and distributing it, there also are many with little training or writing experience who don’t understand news organizations’ markets or how to get a story idea to the right person. I’ll help you find your story – or tell you honestly that you don’t have one different enough to warrant trying to use free media. We also can send your message/story out via social media and pitch it locally – with a targeted message that speaks to the specific audiences of the different media organizations.
Letter/resume review: Are your key points clear and concise? Can you keep it all to one page? Is it important enough to have it edited by a professional, or are one or two mistakes OK? We offer quick, professional and inexpensive letter and resume reviews. We also do Powerpoint or presentation reviews
Before you send it out, have your work edited professionally. We can do a quick edit for style, grammar and usage (which spell checks miss) or a full blown rewrite.
Honing your message, or the elevator speech (mistakenly called “mission statement”): What is it that you do that differentiates you from your competitors? Can you say that in 11 words in a three-floor elevator ride? Does everyone in your company know how to explain what you do best in one simple sentence?
We help you find your story and tell it well. (That’s our elevator speech.)
Writing coach: If you’re a decent writer but you’ve never had a mentoring editor, I can help you improve your writing. You will learn word economy, how to get to the point, grammar, style, usage and more. I don’t try to change your style or voice; I help you peel away the glitches, jargon and writing blocks that get in the way of it. You will learn to write with impact, precision and brevity.
Coaching can be for executives, teams or support staff, individually or in groups. If you want to train someone to produce newsletters, news releases and articles, we can do that. We also do training for PR and marketing agencies on what gets used and what turns off editors.
Website review: That’s the window through which the world views you. Don’t you want a professional editor as a backstop? Web designers, creative types and Spell Check all have their values, but their skill set is not grammar, usage, word economy and making sure the images, headlines and content all align. We review websites for content, consistency and clarity of message, grammar and style and much more. Don’t you want one last, experienced set of eyes on the website before the world sees it? Your name is on it.
Social media: If you are looking to boost your social media reach or create messages and articles that generate response and interest in your company/product/services, we can help you accomplish that. Social media isn’t going to deliver you automatic and viral business interest, but it is something you can do that will boost attention, and it can be focused or time-consuming. We help you work through that with focusing on what content works or how to capture followers. We also could manage some of this for you.
Other: We help with writing or editing for articles, stories, introductions, brochures, proposals and just about anything that involves language. We can help you craft responses for media stories or inquiries or train you in dealing with the press, in good times and bad.
Email AZWritingCoach or call 602-316-6863
