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The Guide to Writing Online

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Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#11

Post by sha_r_roh »

aktuel wrote: post #4
camillomiller wrote: post #2

Quick guide to Americans writing for a European public (or who want to make business with Europe, especially Germany). Writing something like this: >“I’ve interviewed more than 70 of the world’s most interesting people on my North Star Podcast, built a weekly email newsletter with almost 10,000 subscribers, and my most popular articles, such as What the Hell is Going On?, have been read more than 100,000 times. I’ve…

I don't know if it's exclusive to us - I hope not - but I am German and that's pretty much what I thought. I'm aware that people have to make a living. I'm much more open for advertising at the end of an enjoyable piece, if I have developed an appetite for more.

I'm Asian (Indian to be specific) and yes I ignored that line as fluff. Marketing though influences a lot of our decisions, sometimes inadvertently.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#12

Post by mikro2nd »

I confess to having my confidence in the writer shaken when I read, "That’s when they’ll pour through the archives".

No, they won't. They might pore through your archives, though.

Offering a course in "Online Writing" and then making such a basic usage error did not inspire much confidence. Perhaps another pair of editorial eyes might help? For any writer (myself especially included!) editors and proofreaders are your friends. I've also misused words and had someone else point out my error, and I'm grateful to them for having taught me something.

Lesson: If you aspire to "being a writer" - online or anywhere - get editorial help where polish matters.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#13

Post by bachmeier »

friggeri wrote: post #3

One of the things I've been struggling with is that once I've mastered a topic enough to feel comfortable writing about it, everything I write sounds obvious to me, and from there there is an easy leap to "it's probably obvious to everyone", and I start questioning whether I should write at all. Anyone has dealt with this? Tips would be appreciated.

What's the problem with writing something obvious? Honest question. I don't see why that should matter. (I mean, sure, you don't want to write 1000 words about how you should blink your eyes so they don't dry out.) Try to think of one person you know that wouldn't already know what you're writing. Even if it's obvious, it's not literally something everyone in the world already knows or shares your perspective on.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#14

Post by camillomiller »

amatic wrote: post #9
camillomiller wrote: post #2

Quick guide to Americans writing for a European public (or who want to make business with Europe, especially Germany). Writing something like this: >“I’ve interviewed more than 70 of the world’s most interesting people on my North Star Podcast, built a weekly email newsletter with almost 10,000 subscribers, and my most popular articles, such as What the Hell is Going On?, have been read more than 100,000 times. I’ve…

He is giving some weight to his advice on writing online, not just boasting, is my impression.

“70 of the most interesting people in the world”

Then you get to check the list and it’s random professionals who are mostly unknown outside of their respective professional field.

Sure, that’s not boasting.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#15

Post by camillomiller »

camillomiller wrote: post #14
amatic wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is giving some weight to his advice on writing online, not just boasting, is my impression.

“70 of the most interesting people in the world” Then you get to check the list and it’s random professionals who are mostly unknown outside of their respective professional field. Sure, that’s not boasting.

Also, the other two bits:

10k subscribers to a mailing list. Oh wow! So impressive. I managed niche newsletters with up to 35.000 subscribers in the past, built by the company I was freelancing for. In Italian. I didn’t have the reach of English. I consider it a very average work and achievement, frankly. If I’d ever put that in a CV here in Germany, companies would LAUGH at me and even be upset about such formulation.

100.000 views. Again, So what? A column I wrote last month had 120.000 views and 800 comments. I also think it’s good but not impressive.

So now, the problem is either I can’t really market myself, (or I don’t care) or it’s just a very profound cultural difference here between America and the rest of the World.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#16

Post by Toine »

camillomiller wrote: post #2

Quick guide to Americans writing for a European public (or who want to make business with Europe, especially Germany). Writing something like this: >“I’ve interviewed more than 70 of the world’s most interesting people on my North Star Podcast, built a weekly email newsletter with almost 10,000 subscribers, and my most popular articles, such as What the Hell is Going On?, have been read more than 100,000 times. I’ve…

European here, you nailed it. I stopped reading because of this, unfortunately. Americans, why does everything have to sound like a cheap TV commercial from the 90s ?

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#17

Post by luckylion »

bachmeier wrote: post #13
friggeri wrote: post #3

One of the things I've been struggling with is that once I've mastered a topic enough to feel comfortable writing about it, everything I write sounds obvious to me, and from there there is an easy leap to "it's probably obvious to everyone", and I start questioning whether I should write at all. Anyone has dealt with this? Tips would be appreciated.

What's the problem with writing something obvious? Honest question. I don't see why that should matter. (I mean, sure, you don't want to write 1000 words about how you should blink your eyes so they don't dry out.) Try to think of one person you know that wouldn't already know what you're writing. Even if it's obvious, it's not literally something everyone in the world already knows or shares your perspective on.

> What's the problem with writing something obvious?

You're not contributing something useful if you're just pointing out the obvious. Yeah, you can write the ten millionth article on how to change the default slogan in WordPress, but unless that's the maximum extent of your knowledge, you're wasting your potential and everybody else's time. That's how I feel about it at least, and why I don't write stuff that's too obvious or has already been widely covered. In that case, I might give a small overview and some tips to newcomers and link to others that I think did a good job.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#18

Post by cutler »

mikro2nd wrote: post #12

I confess to having my confidence in the writer shaken when I read, "That’s when they’ll pour through the archives". No, they won't. They might pore through your archives, though. Offering a course in "Online Writing" and then making such a basic usage error did not inspire much confidence. Perhaps another pair of editorial eyes might help? For any writer (myself especially included!) editors and proofreaders are you…

No, they won't. They might pore over your archives, though.

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#19

Post by itronitron »

camillomiller wrote: post #2

Quick guide to Americans writing for a European public (or who want to make business with Europe, especially Germany). Writing something like this: >“I’ve interviewed more than 70 of the world’s most interesting people on my North Star Podcast, built a weekly email newsletter with almost 10,000 subscribers, and my most popular articles, such as What the Hell is Going On?, have been read more than 100,000 times. I’ve…

That sort of thing also puts off many Americans, but is expected from job applicants.

Do those same rules apply to writing cover letters for job applications?

Re: The Guide to Writing Online

#20

Post by mikro2nd »

cutler wrote: post #18
mikro2nd wrote: post #12

I confess to having my confidence in the writer shaken when I read, "That’s when they’ll pour through the archives". No, they won't. They might pore through your archives, though. Offering a course in "Online Writing" and then making such a basic usage error did not inspire much confidence. Perhaps another pair of editorial eyes might help? For any writer (myself especially included!) editors and proofreaders are you…

No, they won't. They might pore over your archives, though.

Touché. My point proven? ;)

Good catch. Sadly not one of the dictionaries I consulted go into usage.

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