Monday, December 27, 2010

What's up with the word "up?"

Have you noticed the two-letter word with the seemingly unlimited number of meanings? It keeps coming up in our writing and speech.

At a meeting, why does a topic come up? Why is it always up to a committee to take up an issue? And why, after due consideration, do fair-minded people make up their minds? Why are a slate of officers up for election? Why does the secretary write up the minutes? And does going to a meeting leave you with an up feeling?

Why do we call up someone we know? Why does a fresh coat of paint brighten up the place, or freshen it up?

Why is it that when it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding up, and when the sun comes out we say it is clearing up. After the skies open up, why do we say the dry earth soaks up the rain? But when it stops raining, why do we say the earth dries up?

When we are ready for bed why do we say we are all washed up? And when someone is unsuccessful in business, why do we say he or she is all washed up?

When we cannot hear what others say, why do we ask them to speak up? Why do we warm up food and clean up afterwards? And why do we lock up when we’re ready to go home?

Why does one team manage to get up on its opposition? Why do we climb up the ladder of success? And why do we stand up for our rights? Why do we wake up just about the same time the sun comes up? And when we are angry with someone, why do we get up on our hind legs? In the fall, why do we put up preserves? And given these tough economic times we all face, why are we all up against terrible odds?

To be properly informed about the proper uses of up, look up the word in an unabridged dictionary. In mine, it takes up nearly a page and the number of definitions adds up to 69. If you just get up and going, if you are up to it, you can make up your own list. Doing so will take up a lot of your time but if you do not give up, you might wind up with a hundred or more uses for the little word.

Myself, I have had it up to here with this little word, so I am going to quit, but you can up the number of definitions as much as you like without me. You can even make up some of your own. Go ahead. There is no way you can show me up because I give up. Now do not get uppity about it! Down, Boy! Down!

See you next month.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

More Sound-alike Words.

The verb to lie is a homonym, two words with the same spelling but with two completely different meanings.

One of those meanings is to tell an untruth.
The conjugation of that verb is straight forward.
Today I lie.
Yesterday I lied.
Often I have lied. (Well, let's amend that to say: I have never lied. That's a lie.)

The second word of the same spelling is to lie as in ''to lie down.''
Making matters worse, that second word to lie is often confused with the verb to lay.
Here's the correct usage: You always lie your own body down and you always lay something else down. But this second lie gets a little tricky on the past tense:
Today I lie down for a nap.
Yesterday I lay down for a nap at 2:00 p.m.
Often I have lain down at that time; it suits me.
Notice lie/lay/lain is always intransitive; it is never something you do to something else.
Lay is always a transitive verb when used as a present tense verb; it is always something you do to something else.
Today I lay the book on the table. (It's something you're doing to the book, so it's transitive. That's the meaning of the term, ''a transitive verb.'' The verb carries the action.)
Yesterday I laid the book on the table.
Often I have laid the book on the table. (This ''Today... Yesterday... Often...'' thing is a verb-conjugation format I grew up with in elementary school. The third one is a way of indicating repetitive action in the past. Did you grow up with the same format? I wonder. It's actually quite strange. Stranger still if we all grew up with it. Even stranger if I made it up without knowing I made it up. That would be really strange.)

You can memorize these verb conjugations if you like, but I don't recommend it. It seems more important to me that you remember which verbs can lead you astray so you can look those up and make sure they're right whenever you use them. (Or you can choose to avoid using them like a lot of us do. I put the book down. I took a nap. Look, Ma! Perfect!)

Some people mix up Sit and set, particularly when writing in past tense.
Sit is something you do, usually on or in a chair.
Set is something you or someone else does to something else. Just as with lie and lay, sit is always intransitive; set is always transitive.
Using sit is easy enough:
Today I sit down.
Yesterday I sat down.
Often I have sat down.
But set can trip you up on the past tense:
Today I set down the book.
Yesterday I set down the book. (Not sat down the book.)
Often I have set down the book.

Here are some others to round out this month's selection:
A dollop is a lump or blob of some viscous liquid like jelly or grease.
A trollop refers to a slovenly or wanton woman.
A polyp is a tumorous growth.
A solipsism is a theory that holds that the self is the only thing that can exist.

Forward means advanced or ahead.
Foreword is a preliminary in a book

Wait means to serve or, as a noun, a length of time one stays in one place.
Weight is a measurement of how much something weighs.

Heard is the past tense of hear.
Herd is a group of animals.

Later is something that comes after.
Latter is something that comes last in a series.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Still More Sound-alike Words.

Homonym refers to one of two or more words that are pronounced and spelled the same that have different meanings. Example: as a noun quail refers to a kind of bird, but as a verb it means to falter or to go into decline.
Homophone refers to one of two or more words that sound alike but have different meanings. In recent issues of my EWA, I've been covering homophones.

Teem is a verb that means to abound or swarm. The forest is teeming with wildlife.
Team is a self-identifying group with a unifying mission or objective.

The word there has many different meanings and uses. Most often it refers to a place, as in He stood there, or Take it from there.
Their is an adjective that relates to a plural possessive. It is their property. It belongs to them.

Jeans are pants.
Genes are basic units of genetic material that make up hereditary traits.

Retro means backwards. Retro-rockets are fired off to slow down the forward motion of a rocket. Today we talk about the retro look of a building to indicate it contains references to formerly current architectural styles.
Retrofit means to furnish an airplane, a computer or some larger system with parts that weren't available when it was manufactured.
Retrograde means moving backwards, or to go into decline, or to quail.
Retrogress means to move back to a simpler state or to revert.
Retrospect means to consider the past. In retrospect...

Conscious refers to an awake state. He made a conscious decision.
Conscience refers to one's sense of morality. When it came to ethical behavior, he let his conscience be his guide.

A weak end refers to a football player whose performance is not up to par.
A weekend includes Saturday and Sunday.

A tale is a story.
A tail is the appendage at the end of an animal.

Preternatural means exceeding what is natural, e.g., exceptional or abnormal. Outside the realm of nature, for example, supernatural.
Natural means the opposite, existing in nature. It also means having the usual powers of reason and understanding.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

More Sound-alike Words, Otherwise Known as "Homophones"

Mown is an adjective referring to something that has been cut down with a scythe, a sickle or a machine. For example: New mown hay.
Moan is a sound made by people who are in grief or pain.

Tenant is a person who lives in an apartment.
Tenet is a principle or belief.

Fowl is a bird of any kind. For example, waterfowl is a category of bird.
Foul means offensive to the senses, loathsome, as in ''a foul smell.'' In baseball it means being outside the foul lines, ''a foul ball.'' It also means ''entangled.'' The verb we often come across is ''afoul,'' as in: ''He ran afoul of insider trading laws.''

Cite means to quote an authority. He cited many sources in his research paper.
Sight is the ability to see. The word also is used to refer to something worth seeing while you are on a tour. We saw the sights.
Site is a place. Typical usages include an architectural site or a building site. We never hear a detective use the phrase ''the site of the murder.'' The word ''scene'' is preferred. Why is that? Scene implies that drama took place. A ''site'' refers to just a location.

Secular is a word with radically different meanings.
A secular change refers to a change that lasts for centuries or is permanent, as opposed to a temporary change.
The same word also refers to worldly or temporal concerns. It means ''non-religious,'' as in ''secular music.'' In some religious institutions ''seculars'' are non-priests, meaning laymen. (Thanks to my brother, Marty Lustig, for bringing this word to my attention.)
Sect is a religious body or break-away group often thought to hold extreme views. The term sectarian refers to an adherent of a sect or a narrow or bigoted person. Some years ago, we began hearing about ''sectarian violence'' far too often.

Isn't it strange that the words secular and sect sound so much alike yet have nearly opposite meanings? As best as I can determine, the two words have completely different etymologies. Sect comes from the Latin secta, an organized ecclesiastical body. Secular comes from the Latin serere which means ''to sow.'' Strange but true.

Bare means naked.
A bear is an animal. Used as a verb, it means to carry or support, for example: The column bears the weight of the building.

Next month: more sound-alike words.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sound-alike Words: Affect/Effect

This month we cover two little words that drive people nutso. (That's an erudite word related in etymology to batso.) Affect and effect confuse so many, people often avoid using them for fear of making a mistake. Fear not! Let ExcitingWriting be your guide.

Let's begin with the most common confusion between these two words.

Affect is a verb meaning to cause or influence an outcome. Thus, ''The poor employment market affected the housing numbers.''

Effect is a noun describing the result of a cause. Thus, ''The after-effects of the drug lingered.'' Or, ''The long-term effects of running a large deficit cannot be ignored.''

I know you are already confused so I'm going to give you a model you can easily memorize or refer to. It cuts through all the confusion:

It is thought that an overabundance of carbon dioxide affects global warming. The effects of global warming are everywhere around us, from polar icecaps to equatorial jungles. Note: ''effects'' usually takes ''of'' after it. It's a noun.

Is that clear? Affect is the ''influence'' verb. ''A'' affects ''B.'' Effect is the ''result'' noun caused by the influence. If you can memorize that, you've got the problem more than half solved.

The trouble is these words have some specialized usages:

Affect

As a noun, affect means a feeling or the projection of a feeling. Psychologists and psychiatrists routinely use the word to describe the feeling a person puts out. ''He had a depressed affect.''

As a verb, affect means to put on airs. He affected an air of being above it all.
He affected an upper-crust accent.

When you think about it, both these uses are sort of related. They both have to do with appearances.

Effect

As a noun, effect means to make an impression or give an appearance, to have a basic intent. That painting gives the effect of floating.

Effect can be used to describe when someone does something for show: Her histrionics were designed for effects. After all, that's where we get the term sound effects.

Now we come to a very specialized usage: Effects can mean belongings when used in the plural. Before leaving jail, he picked up his personal effects.

If you cannot memorize all this, carry this issue of the EWA with you at all times! You never know when you will need it.

Next month: more sound-alike words.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Sound-alike Words: Do You Hear What I Hear?

Elicit, to draw out, evoke. Her impassive manner elicited rage from her husband.
Illicit, illegal, as in illicit drugs.

Factious, given to forming parties or factions in opposition to governments. Factious politics in Washington, D.C.
Fractious, tending to cause or make trouble. Fractious behavior.
Facetious, jocular or witty in an inappropriate or silly manner. He was by turns silly and facetious.

Complacent means pleased or satisfied with the way things are, with how they affect one's self. It also means self-satisfied or smug.
Complaisant means attempting or eager to please or satisfy, obliging or affable. For example, sycophants are so complaisant.
Compliant means to be submissive. The regulatory world uses the word to indicate that a person or a company is in compliance or is compliant with certain governmental requirements. If we file our income tax on time, we're in compliance with IRS regulations, but does that make us submissive? Ask a Tea Party follower.

Thus, complacent refers to a satisfied state of mind. Both compliant and complaisant refer to a disposition to behave or conduct oneself in a way that pleases or satisfies others, not yourself. The second two words almost have an opposite meaning from the first, yet they all sound alike.

Discrete means separate or distinct. The scientists isolated five discrete viruses that they believe are responsible for causing the medical condition.
Discreet means showing good judgment, especially in terms of holding one's tongue. The best butlers are discreet. It can also mean modest and understated. For example, the discreet elegance of an interior decor, or a discreet neighborhood where no one puts on airs (affects an upper crust accent). The word discretion means displaying the quality of being discreet. Everyone confided in him because he was the height of discretion.

Allude means to hint at or refer to in passing. He alluded to the effects of a strong Euro and a relatively weak dollar. She alluded to the wide-spread aspirations created by a burgeoning middle class.
Elude means to escape, get away with. He went through security with more than an ounce of water and somehow managed to elude detection. The trio managed to elude police despite a high-speed chase.
Illude is not a word.

Gorilla is an ape.
Guerrilla (1 U, 2Rs and 2Ls) is a kind of soldier or warfare.

An eminent person is someone who is well known. A cardinal in the Catholic Church is sometimes called his eminence, meaning someone who is revered or well known.
Immanent means staying within, inherent. It also means taking place only in the mind, not outside it. This word also has a theological meaning, dwelling in the universe or dwelling in time.
Making matters more complicated, imminent means something that is about to happen. The attack was imminent.

Abstract means difficult to understand, theoretical or detached. It also means a short synopsis or summary of an article's main points. Oddly enough, abstract also means ''to steal,'' as in, ''He abstracted the attention of the professor.''
Abstruse means difficult to understand or dense.

Next month: Affect/Effect. Are there others that you would like me to cover? Send me a note and allude to your favorites.

If for any reason you would like me to drop your name from my list, just tell me. No hard feelings.

Close but no Cigarillo, II

Last month, I wrote: ''Words can be spelled similarly and sound alike when read aloud, yet they can have very different meanings. These are called homonyms.'' To be perfectly accurate, sound-alike words with different meanings, such as we discussed last month and will continue discussing this month, are called homophones. By contrast, homonyms are two or more words spelled and pronounced the same that have different meanings. Example: the noun, quail, which is a kind of bird, and the verb, quail, which means to falter, wither or decline. Another example: the verb, withers. Example: Talent withers on the vine at that company. And the noun, withers, which is the ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse. Example: Having no reins, he held on to the withers for dear life.

Now for some more homophones. I ask you: Have you ever been caught on the horns of these homophones?

To rein means to control or direct with straps fastened to a bit. To reign means to exercise authority like a monarch.

Accept means to receive willingly. Example: Accept no substitutes. Except means to exclude. Example: Open daily except Sunday.

Assent means to give one's approval, or agree. The court gave its assent. Ascent refers to something going up or rising, for example a balloon ascent, or a slope of some kind, for example, a steep ascent.

A principle is a high-minded value you might believe in while a principal is either a part-owner of a business, s star, or the administrative head of a school.

You write on stationery but when cars in a traffic jam don't move, they are stationary.

You might make an allusion to a work of art or literature as an indirect reference, but when you are flat-out wrong about something you hold an illusion.

Entomology is a branch of zoology that deals with the study of insects. Etymology is the study of word origins, tracing roots and meanings of words from one language to another through history.

To means towards. Too means in addition to. Example: I want to go, too. And two is the number that comes after one.

Loose means not tight. When you lose something, you misplace it.

The word then marks time. Sometimes it means next. Example: Then he walked away. Than is a comparison word meaning compared with. Example: This is larger than that.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Close, but no Cigarillo. (Homonyms 1)

Do workers office in a cubical or a cubicle? Does a company give service to ensure or insure customer satisfaction?
Words can be spelled similarly and sound alike when read aloud, yet they can have very different meanings. These are called homonyms.

Ensure means to make more certain or to help in an outcome. For example, ''The structure ensures many years of use.'' Insure refers to a contract in place and pay-offs in case of non-performance; it implies a warranty. (Be careful not to confuse these two words or you may be unwittingly implying a legal obligation when you do not wish to.) Assure has a similar meaning as the other two words, meaning to give confidence. It implies actions that could later be given a legal context. Today we often see assure used as a noun. ''Before she began the job, she was given certain assurances which failed to materialize.''

We office in a cubicle. When we want to describe a blocky sculpture, we might call it cubical.

Ambiguous and its cousin ambiguity refer to ''having more than one meaning, open to different interpretations.'' It often refers to an unexplained or unexplainable mystery. Ambivalent means ''having mixed feelings'' about something, for example, a love/hate relationship or, to dress up the language, having attraction-repulsion emotions. One way to think about it: An artist with ambivalent feelings may create art that expresses ambiguity.

Augur and its cousin, augury both refer to a sign that foretells something, for example, an omen. An auger is a tool you use for making a hole, i.e., a bit. The words have separate etymologies.

Egotism ''means 'excessive conceit or self-absorption,' while egoism is a less common and more technical word for an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality.''

Don't confuse loath (''reluctant, unwilling'') with loathe, ''dislike greatly.'' So, you can be loath to partake in something because you loathe it, but not the other way around. Of course, the words have identical etymologies.

I think many of us forget that luxuriant and luxurious are two different words. Luxuriant means ''rich and profuse in growth.'' Luxurious means ''extravagant,'' of course. So a mink coat may be luxuriant and luxurious but for two different reasons. Both words share the same etymologies: from the Latin ''lux,'' meaning ''light,'' or ''to shine.''

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Elevating the Common Comma.

Commas are to writing what blooming flowers are to a spring walk. They give reason to pause, take a breath and see things in a new way, as opposed to rushing through a sentence.

I use plenty of commas sparingly. I've found that usage varies widely.

If you glance at a theme written by a high school student who follows all the rules, the number of commas sprinkled among the words might resemble teenage breakouts. Result? Many unneeded, but technically needed, commas. By ''unneeded,'' I mean unneeded for clarity's sake.

On the other hand, if you pick up some best-selling non-fiction and some fiction, you would think editors were under strict orders to use as few commas as possible. (They may be.)

Let's review some of the rules:

1. Use commas when listing a series of things. This is called ''a serial comma,'' which is different from a serial killer, for example, the unforgettable Hannibal Lecter played by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs.

We place serial commas between a series of things, for example, ''I like A, B, and C.'' Or: ''We covered X, Y, and Z.'' Notice how I used a comma between the next-to-the-last item and the conjunction ''and.'' The rule calls for that comma. The AP Style Guide and other style guides recommend dropping the final comma in order to save space, as long as the meaning is clear. I think some people are uncertain whether to put in or leave out that final comma. My opinion: unless you're writing a document that has to pass muster with the AP Style Guide or a similar style guide, leave it in.

A few years ago, when I last covered this subject, someone wrote in to say that a single comma was the deciding factor in an inheritance worth a great deal of money. The will dropped the final comma when listing those who would receive inheritances from the estate. It said proceeds of the estate would go to ''person A, B and C.'' Because there was no comma between person B and the word ''and,'' the judge gave 50 percent of the estate to person A and split the other 50 percent evenly between person B and person C. In that case, person B and person C could appeal to a higher court, pleading, ''a kingdom for a comma.''

If the items in a series are complicated, never omit the last comma. For example:

The issues in the campaign are the value of the dollar, the rule of law, the failure of foreign policy, and the separation of church and state.

2. Use a comma after introductory clauses and phrases. Some people say you only need a comma if the introductory phrase is more than five words. I've heard various numbers. However, as I understand it, the rule is clear. Use a comma no matter how short or long the introductory clause. However, in the case of short introductory clauses or phrases, I think using a comma is unnecessary. For example:

Founded in 1898, the company now has assets of...

In my view use of that comma is not necessary, although most people will use it, particularly in business writing, and the rule says you should use it. Likewise, the following example:

With a full heart, I sit down to write this letter.

I say the commas in the two above examples are unnecessary because most people know those words to be introductory clauses.

With the ''full heart'' sentence above, I would rearrange it to read in ''normal order:''

I sit down to write this letter with a full heart.

When written that way, no comma is necessary, and it sounds better.

Following is the use of a comma after a short introductory clause that I think is necessary:

In the middle of the movie, he got up and passed right in front of me.

The comma makes it easier to read. Without the comma, I would have to do some thinking to understand the sentence. Not much, mind you, but some.

Note: In a high percentage of cases, a sentence with an introductory clause can be better written by placing the introductory clause after the main clause, thereby rendering the comma unnecessary. However, sometimes we purposely want an introductory clause for emphasis. That is what I did in the sentence just above that begins, ''In a high percentage of cases...''

3. Use commas between two sentences. When we join two sentences together with a comma and a conjunction, we call them clauses. So, technically, the rule reads: Use commas between two clauses. Example:

I wanted to walk the dog, but thunderstorms were predicted.

4. Never separate the subject of a sentence from a verb:

Examples:
The soldiers and the sailors, went for R&R. Never do that.

My friend, brother and sister, stayed away. Never do that.

5. Use a comma after an introductory phrase and before a quote:

According to the chief financial officer, ''We took a charge against first-quarter earnings due to supply disruptions.''

6. Set off explanatory phrases, called ''appositives,'' in commas:

The magician, also called a conjurer, works with sleight of hand.
The mountain climber, inspired by climbs of people who went before him, plans his next ascent next year.
Mark Twain, the once millionaire, was born with the name Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Here is something interesting I learned about commas:

Have you ever seen slashes used to separate lines of song lyrics? For example:

You are my sunshine/
My only sunshine

Back in the Middle Ages, slashes began to be used in English to make it easier for people to read sentences, to tell readers where to pause, and where to breathe when singing.

Commas are the modern-day vestiges of those slashes.

So, this month, every once in a while, look down and smell the common commas. Elevate them to higher place in your estimation. Pick some and sprinkle them on someone you love.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

How to Write a Headline.

Since I began issuing my monthly EWAs in May of 2002, my purpose has remained constant: to tell my readers everything I know about writing in bite-size chunks. I have considerable skill when it comes to writing headlines. Let me know if you find this EWA helpful.

Writing a headline is a easy as 1,2.
Step #1: Figure out what you want to communicate in a phrase or sentence.
Step #2: Type those words at the top of your page. That's your headline.
But wait! There is method to my facetiousness. All headlines begin with an understanding of what you wish to communicate. Whether you're writing a direct mail piece, a brochure, a landing page or an e-mail blast, the best headlines (or subject lines) contain appealing benefits. The best headlines dramatize. And the best headlines often work on a turn of phrase, for example:

High blood pressure:
Ignore it and you'll go away


There is a knack to writing headlines, a knack that you can acquire and improve upon with practice. Here are two best practices:

1. Write the headline early and often. Whether you are writing a news feature or a direct response piece, start out by writing just a phrase or sentence that sums up what you think the piece is about. Do not try to make the language pretty or clever. As you proceed, let your headline be your creative platform. Take chances. As I'm fond of saying: ''Give the reader something to get, so the reader can say, ''Oh, I get that.'' Your readers will think more of themselves and of you when they do. Sometimes playfulness will do the trick, for example:

The most convenient bank branch is one you never have to visit.

Sometimes you may want to bring out the drama in a story:

She did not know how much her husband loved her until he sent her a Tupperware container on her birthday.

This walks down the time-honored path of effective story-telling ads from days of yore such as, ''They laughed when I sat down at the piano.'' The Tupperware ad tells the story of a husband who placed a ring inside a Tupperware container.

2. Write a list of possible headlines. There is no substitute for sitting down and banging out a bunch of possible headlines for any given piece. This is not easy, but force yourself. Go into stream-of-consciousness mode. Turn off the inner voice that says, ''This is no good.'' You will be amazed by what you can accomplish in a short time if you choose not to censor yourself.

Those are two principal techniques I recommend. To reprise: Let the headline come out of what you want to say, and force yourself to brainstorm.

Here are some other tips:

1. Make sure you write a headline, not a title The title of a Gothic romance is Candlelight Ecstasy. The headline that advertises that book is: Once you have knownCandlelight Ecstasy you will never settle for mere romance.

Titles can be short theme markers, e.g., The Year of Living Dangerously, or Tender Mercies. Headlines contain benefits, or when taken in with the visual, create the impression of a benefit.

2. Do not think that a headline must be short and snappy. More great ads were never written for this reason than any other. The writer refused to consider a longer headline because the writer thought it was just too long to be good. One headline I wrote: A bill in Congress right now will let your pension go up in smoke unless you stop it in time.'' It was a very effective ad. Sometimes you need more than a three-word headline. Longer can be better if it taps into emotion.

3. Always use active verbs. Use hyperactive verbs, if possible. Do not go blah with passive voice. Use active voice for cut-through power. If you would like to learn more about active vs. passive voice, e-mail me; I will send you an EWA on that subject.

4. Beware of puns. Using puns in headlines is like opening a speech with a joke. You had better know what you're doing, and it had better be good. Consider an ad for a flat monitor: We flattened our prices on LCD monitors. No one flattens their prices. Stores cut their prices. The pun doesn't work. Avoid overreaching. Compare that to the Wells Fargo line. The next stage. That dog can hunt.

5. Practice truth in headlines Think of your headlines as promises to your readers. Does the body copy or the content of the e-mail or web page deliver on the promise in the headline? Once a magazine ran a celebrity cover story under the headline: What is Her Secret? As it turned out, the article never covered that point. The headline was a sham. Make sure you deliver the goods. If you don't, your audience will feel cheated. I really wanted to know that celebrity's secret.

There you have it: a few thoughts on how to write a headline. And what was the headline I used for this piece? How to write a headline. How-to books are often best sellers for a very good reason. They earn their keep by teaching, as I hope my EWA has earned its keep with you.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Writting for Twitter #3

How do you build a Twitter following? In this post, I describe a six-step method. By following these steps last summer, I built my Twitter following from 1 to 450 in three months. More importantly, I'll describe why I built a Twitter presence and what I hope to accomplish with it. First some background:

In the beginning there was e-mail. And it was good. If I wanted to send you a message, I would simply fill in your address and press Send. Done. I didn't need your permission to send you a message.

Then spammers came on the scene and spoiled a good thing. They sent out e-mails by the millions, clogged in-boxes and made themselves very annoying.

Then, in reaction to spammers, the opt-in concept was born. By law, senders of e-mail broadcasts needed to get permission from recipients before they could broadcast. My ExcitingWriting Advisories are opt-in e-mails that I broadcast to more than 2,000 people every month.

Along came Twitter, and turned everything on its ear. With Twitter, you, as a sender of short e-mail messages, have absolutely no power to send anything to any specific person. Twitter is opt-in on steroids. Twitter lets recipients, and only recipients, decide from whom they wish to receive short e-mails. In Twitter language: Users follow whomever they want. After they click on a "follow" button, they begin receiving the tweets that the person they're following sends out.

A businessperson who wants to use Twitter to drive his or her business is powerless to send tweets to anyone. Is that a recipe for effective marketing? Wait. I'll explain.

Last summer, I decided to see if I could build a Twitter following. I attracted 430+ followers in about three months. My purpose: To learn how Twitter works so that when the novel I am writing is published, I can use Twitter to turn what might otherwise be a moderately selling novel written by an unknown author into a runaway international best seller. The novel is not completed, mind you. I have neither an agent nor a publisher. Technically speaking, I have no idea if it will ever be published. I didn't let that stop me. Last summer, my objective was put Twitter through its paces, thinking of it as something between a workhorse and racehorse, to see what it could do.

Now for some background on literary pursuits: If you insist on thinking of a novel as only an artistic endeavor, please check that opinion at the door. Of course, writing it is the work of an artist, but, once completed, marketing it is very much a business enterprise. And those of you who believe that marketing a novel should be left to the company publishing it, Oh my, how times have changed. Today authors of non-fiction books are expected to develop and execute their own marketing plans. It would only be considered a plus by a publisher if a novelist did that much or more. First novels are rarely afforded marketing budgets. The typical first novel spends only seven weeks on the shelves of a bookstore before it is remaindered. Hey, everybody: A novel is a product. It's a product of the entertainment industry. If it's promoted, and if it provides satisfying entertainment to its readers, it could catch on nationwide and, subsequently, worldwide, translated into 17 languages. If it is not supported with marketing, it could die an early death. A lot is at stake because it takes years of sustained effort to write a novel. (And as I said, it only gets to be in the bookstores for seven weeks.) If it flops, you can't just come back next year with another. Many novelists have difficulty getting their second novel published if their first one doesn't sell. So here's the deal: I'm not waiting for a publishing company to kick in millions of marketing dollars. I intend to actively engineer a bestseller using social networking platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn and Face Book in a coordinated, strategically focused campaign. I'll only have one chance and a seven-week window.

Not having a published novel to market last summer, my fallback position on Twitter was to see if I could attract a community of artists, including writers of all stripes, singer-songwriters, literary agents, editors, book lovers, readers, fine artists, etc. Who would be more open to talking about an interesting novel (once it came out) than writers, artists and readers? Or so my thinking went. Luckily, I had the content of my ExcitingWriting Advisories to attract them and turn them into followers. Typically, writers appreciate someone who sends them witty140-character writing tips. All I had to do was slice and dice the content of my EWAs into 140-character pellets, not that difficult a chore. So, last May I began tweeting helpful writing tips to my one-and-only follower at the time, John Wise, who encouraged me to get started with Twitter.

Within a few weeks, I began to build a following and a method that worked for me. Just as importantly, I began to follow many Twitter users who had thousands of followers and were highly experienced. They gave me excellent advice.

(By the way, I found the Twitter community highly collegial. If you're helpful to the people I affectionately call "twits," they will bend over backwards to be helpful to you. Two ways they can be helpful: RT and FF. RT means they "retweet" your tweets to their followers, which spreads your thoughts across Twitter Nation. FF stands for "Follow Friday," a ritual where each Friday Twitter users list the people they follow that they like and admire as a recommendation to all the others that follow them. You can pick up a lot of new followers if you're "FF'd." It's no small thing in the Twitter world.)

Here's the six-step formula I created that I believe can work for anyone wishing to attract any focused following on Twitter:

#1. After you set up your profile, issue 15 tweets. Don't worry that you don't have any followers at this point. Make sure your tweets are hitting all the brand attributes you want to cover. (Remember what I said in Writting for Twitter #1: Your tweets are your brand, and Twitter is all about branding.) In my case, given my ExcitingWriting brand, I made sure my tweets were helpful to writers—covering grammar issues and higher-level writing issues:
• How to get started
• How to manage large writing projects
• How to take criticism
• Principles of writing
I developed about 50 tweets. I tried to make them sound like aphorisms. Example: "Sentences that begin with the word 'There' are usually weak. Revise." Within the tweets, I put in plenty of links back to my blog so folks could read more.

#2. Ask someone you know, a friend who is on Twitter, to go to your profile and follow you. When they do, you'll get an e-mail message that that person is now following you. That's your first follower. Congratulations!

#3. Use the "Find People" button to search for people you know who might be interested in following you or in receiving your tweets. These may be people you know personally and who know you, or people you just know of.

#4. When you find those people, click on their profile and read their stream of tweets. If you like what they're writing or find it useful in some way, follow them. Click on their "Follow" button. You'll start to see their tweets in your stream.

#5. Once those people are notified that you are following them, typically they will click on your profile and look over your stream. They are looking at your brand. Even if you issued those tweets when no one was following you, that doesn't matter. If what they read in your stream is interesting, quirky or attractive to them in some way, they may follow you back. When they do, your follower count on your profile will increase by one. You're on your way to building your following. But here's the trick: It's not about the numbers. It's more about building a community of like-minded people. In my case, I built a community of writers, artists and readers.

#6. Use the # mark to dip into tweets of people that have something to do with your interest. In my case, I searched "#writing" and "#books" to find people talking about these topics. I went on their profiles to examine their tweets. If I liked what I read, I followed them. And once I did that, most followed me back because when they looked on my profile, they saw a brand that was out to help them.

Does this sound like work? It is in a way, and believe me, while I'm using this six-step method, I run into plenty of Twitter users who do nothing more than talk about last night's Grammy awards show with other folks who are searching on #Grammy to find what's being said, and then following those people. And there are plenty of users who tweet their #Grammy opinions to their followers. That works fine for them. It's a lot less work and a lot more fun, I suppose, for them to build a community of like-minded people. But then, think about my larger purpose in building my Twitter community. What's a bestseller worth?

To use Twitter for business, you will need to attract a defined audience by supplying them with information that is useful to them. Thus, my approach of giving writing tips to attract writers.

Here are some other examples:
• A home improvement specialist can give tips on insulation
• A personal trainer can give tips on how to avoid getting injured while exercising.
• A physician's assistant can give tips on how to avoid getting the flu.
It's pretty obvious. The deeper wisdom is this: People who are out to sincerely help others do well on Twitter and get what they want in exchange.

Now here's the kicker for me and Twitter: I am not currently using Twitter. As I built my following to 400+, I lost interest. I learned everything about Twitter I was able to at this point. Until my novel is about to come out, I've decided I have better things to do with my time. Note: With more than 80 million Twitter users, 85 percent post less than one update every day. (That's me!) Also, 73 percent of all Twitter users joined during the first five months of 2009. (That when I joined.)

Why am I not currently using Twitter to promote my freelance writing practice? I'll answer that question next month. I'll also describe practical ways you can use Twitter to drive your business. And I'll reveal methods anyone can use to help turn a published novel into an international bestseller that Hollywood then turns into an Academy Award winning film staring George Clooney. (Thinking big is not my problem, folks.)

And when I accept that Academy Award for screenplay adapted from a novel, I'll thank John Wise for getting me started with Twitter. I may mention my mother and Gina, as well. Oh, and also...

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Writing for Twitter #2

As I wrote last month, I am not a Twitter enthusiast, but I have made my peace with it. Twitter is about influencing others to your way of thinking, or, at least, getting on other people's radar, making connections, etc. That's why it's a social networking platform, and why I believe that it's all about branding. The assumption is that Twitter users influence their ''followers.'' What are followers? Think of Twitter as a specialized e-mail application that lets you send out very short messages to a select opt-in list. What is an ''opt-in'' list? Each month, I send this content in an e-mail newsletter to an opt-in list, to people who have chosen to receive it. My opt-in list is now 2,000+. In the Twitter world, your opt-in list comprises all those who have chosen to receive your tweets. Those are your followers.

While you have followers (people receiving your tweets), you also have the people you're following. Those are the people whose short messages, or tweets, you're receiving. Just because you choose to follow someone doesn't mean that person will then follow you.

Generally speaking, Twitter experts say you don't want to follow more people than follow you. There are plenty of exceptions, for example, someone who follows Hollywood celebrities who never follow them back. That's a perfectly valid way to use Twitter; however, if you want to use Twitter for branding purposes, you should balance the number of your followers and the number of people you are following, or, better yet, have far more followers.

If everyone who you followed was following you back, you would have a closed loop. You would develop a community of followers, which would promote branding. If you make a point of thinking about the brand attributes you wish to project as you write your tweets, you are more likely to be successful with your Twitter campaign. Followers will re-tweet your tweets to their followers. Your reputation could spread. That is how Twitter works.

There are nifty applications that look at your followers and the people they follow and let you ''un-follow'' those who are not following you. The reason they're popular: People use them to help balance those two numbers I mentioned above. The application I've used effectively to do this is Huitter.

I covered reciprocity in a past EWA. If someone does something nice to you, it's only human nature to want to return the favor. Many Twitter marketers depend on that: ''If I follow you, you'll follow me back.'' I recommend that you be very picky about the people you follow back. The numbers of Twitter ''marketers'' are legion. They will follow you expressly hoping you will follow them back so they can then clog your ''stream'' (your ''stream'' is the list of tweets on your home page) with commercials for ''business opportunities,'' nutrition drinks, weight-loss regimens, or the like.

Two dirty little secrets about Twitter:

#1 While the fantasy about Twitter may be that of celebrities using it to communicate with thousands of fans instantaneously, the reality is that even if you have 20,000 followers, only a fraction are online at any given time. This accounts for Twitter scheduling applications, which let you load up plenty of tweets at one time and then tweet throughout the day at regular intervals, thereby increasing the likelihood of actually influencing your followers. If you're interested, google ''Twitter scheduling applications.''

#2 Tweets have a life span of about five minutes. That is, within five minutes after you send it out, everybody online at that time has seen it. After that, it's toast. Ancient history. There's one important exception to that: If your followers are passionately interested in what you have to say, they can do a search on your Twitter handle. You can fill any Twitter user name into the search box and click on the magnifying glass. Every one of that Twitter user's recent tweets will come up. The follower can browse through them at his or her convenience. (In fact you don't have to be a follower of that person to do that. Anyone can do that search on any Twitter user, if they know the handle. If they don't, they can look it up by clicking on ''Find People'' at the top of the page.

Next month: the six-step method I used to build my Twitter following from 1 to 450 in three months, and why I chose to do so.

Note: Last month's EWA drew plenty of positive reviews and thank-yous. I appreciate them all.