Mimesis. The representation of reality in western civilization. Erich Auerbach. 1953. ISBN 9780691113364.   Aurebach was a

ctives

Book cover via Amazon

The First Five Pages. A writer’s guide to staying out of the rejection pile. Noah Lukeman. 2000. 9780684857435.  I picked this up as potentially a resource for us in editing compelling emails and white papers.  There is some very good info on that buried in this book. However, if you want to write for profit and publication, this is a terrific little all round resource. I admire books like this ( Strunk and White, Zinsser and Co) that are able to quickly, simply and so easily get to the heart of what could be a complex subject like editing/rewriting.  To me, it is the mark of true masters to make the difficult easy to understand. Lukeman is an agent who has also been an editor- he knows the business and lays out the goods. The book is organized from the easiest to fix to the most complex. You become sympathetic to the underpaid editors being crushed by piles of unread manuscripts.  Telling stat.  Only 11 books out of 50 000 published a year sell a million copies. I am now off to slay a few adverbs/adjectives.

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Kick-Ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps.  Build the buzz and sell the sizzle. Susan Gunelius. 2008. ISBN 9781599182537.  This is a very useful book. First she provides you with a  Copywriting Outline which immediately helps the small business person identify the holes in their approaches to copy.  She shows how and why writing copy is different from all other writing. (At Rocket Builders we run into this issue all the time with clients who get off on the wrong foot with their copy)  By reading this book you will obtain much better clarity about copy and an increased appreciation for how hard it is to write clear useful, consistent copy.  She has taken a small business B2B focus – which makes this book useful to a vary broad audience since the examples are simple, believable and in small enough chunks that you can learn from them. A long way back I learned that it takes a real expert to translate a complex process into simple steps.   She has made one of the clearest statements about why too much information slows your sales process, ” Extra words can confuse and slow down customers.  Write for those who have little time to read.”  This is one book every marketing manager should have on his desk, it will be well used.

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Literary reflections. James A. Michener.  1993. ISBN 0812550528.  Mitchener on Mitchener, Margaret Mitchell, Ernest Hemingway Truman Capote & others.   I am slowly building my collection of writer’s tools.   This one is a loosely organized set of insightful essays showing Mitchener’s growth as a reader and writer.  His life experiences are shown, but only briefly (giving me a desire to know more) He gives us some of his most useful writing tools and work attitudes. His thoughts on  writers that had great impact on him was what I found  revealing. Some writers I had read, but others I had not. He has caused me to want to read those ones too.   I am learning just how much homework these successful writers put into becoming skilled craftsmen.   This is an easy delightful read, well worth the few hours required (definitely not one of his “big” books).  Unexpected treats are his poems sprinkled throughout.

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Talking Your Way to the Top. Gretchen S. Hirsch. 2006. ISBN 9781591024613.  I learned from Hirsch much. For example.  Did you realize how much TV (American announcers ) is ruining good language habits?   Did you also know that only 15% of the 2 billion English users are natural English speakers?  In future  years Chinglish is not going to be the only mangled English example.

If you care how you speak and want to ensure that what you say is what you mean, this is the handbook for you.  I call it a handbook, because it wastes little time before jumping into the correct and incorrect (with explanations) use of common English words/phrases.  I remember many of these lessons from a diminutive grade seven teacher – she is nameless in my memory- but she was absolutely immovable on the use of proper English.  She pounded it fiercely into our tormented adolescent brains. Imagine my surprise and dismay to find that I was severely guilty of many obvious misuses of English that until I read this book , I had forgotten.  Its short, concise,  easy to pack and quite fun to read – you will be dumbfounded, I assure you.

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Subliminal Persuasion Influence & Marketing Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know. Dave Lakhani. 2008. ISBN 9780470243367.  Also Persuasion. the art of getting what you want. Dave Lakhani. 2005. ISBN0471730440. Taken together these are two of the bets books on persuasion I have come across . The author uses his well researched techniques throughout the book so you can experience how persuasion is not manipulation, its selling, marketing, seduction. all rolled up.  Lakhani is the guru in this space and his research is extensive and documented for the discerning reader.

You need to read these books to

1. recognize and be forewarned when techniques are being used and
2. learn how to apply them.

You will recognize the impact of these techniques through stories about Volvo (safe and boxy), The Sierra Club, the Organic Food movement (pay more for the same thing)  as well as the Natural movement.  Read about the most influential (and unknown) American ever, Edward Bernays who made it fashionable for women to smoke, promoted bacon and eggs until it was the American breakfast, stoked the fear of communism to “rally the population”,  and participated in the United Fruit Co /Guatemala/CIA led government toppling.  Bernays believed that the conformity of the masses made for a smoother “democratic” society.   Amazing yet serious stuff.

The authors take on Positioning:

• Positioning and packaging is creating a legendary message that meets the expectation of your target audience and gains persuasive compliance.
• We are leveraging storytelling.
• We are focusing on creating complementary models
• We are creating a persona that is easily identifiable with you, your company, and your product or your service you are leveraging.

Taken with Chip Bells work on customer loyalty, these persuasive techniques create a one two punch that would help you beat most opposition.  I believe that todays sales and marekting leaders need to become more familiar with Lakhanis work. They are easy concise reads, well worth the little effort to learn.

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If You Want To Write. A book about art, independence and spirit. Brenda Ueland. 1937,1987. ISBN 9781555974718. Carl Sandburg called this ,”the best book ever written about how to write.” I have eleven other “good” books on my shelf on writing, I monitor six blogs on writing yet, this is the first author who has really spoken to me on writing. If you strive for reality, truth and want to really communicate, this short and well written book is a must read for you. An example …”everybody in the world has the same conviction of inner importance… Therefore all should work. First because it is impossible that you have no creative gift. Second: the only way to make it live and increase is to use it. Third: you cannot be sure that it is not a great gift.” Her advice runs counter to all the “technical” improvements put forward and addresses our individual ability to tap into an “inner” voice, without guilt, timetables, or “the right way”. She is able to give you examples of incredible writing from very ordinary people. I loved her metaphor that great communication “infects” the reader with what you are talking about. Something like spinning a tale to a child and watching their eyes light up driven by all their senses and imaginations.

The Back of the Napkin. Solving problems and selling ideas with pictures. Dan Roam. 2008. ISBN 9781591841999

This a terrific complement to Presentation Zen . Roam tells you exactly how to use an empirical, tried and works-in-the-trenches approach to illustration and solving problems (Unpeeling the onion and then building something very powerful ) He then shows that there is scientific evidence on how we see and process info that follows the same models his solution uses. Lesson learned, following my reading on creating more insightful and powerful presentations he also adds the nugget that showing and telling are two different worlds. After you have created the very insightful image, it is important to build it in front of the audience using a thoughtful order. Thus, they can discover it too. This book would be great as a consultants handbook on clear communication. If need to communicate clearly, get this book. It is clear, well written and follows his use of images to also lead you to understanding.

Presentation Zen. Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Garr Reynolds. 2008. ISBN 9780321525659. This picks up from Turfte’s “Beautiful Evidence” book and more so. If you give presentations at all you need this book. It is so far the best book on Powerpoint (Keynote) I have read. The ideas are not just talked about, you walk through how to do it with plenty of before and after pictures. A very graphical and stunning book. If you have ever felt that your audience was just not getting your message, or you understand why Steve Jobs out presents Bill Gates, or you appreciate the Guy Kawasaki style, then this is the book for you. Buy it, read and use it and do not lend it!

On Writing Well. The classic guide to writing nonfiction. William Zinsser. 2006. ISBN9780050891541. On day 1 of my first university English Class, I met a book called The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. A slim volume, first published in 1917 it has prevented me from making many serious grammar and style errors. Zinsser first wrote his book in ´76, just after I stopped taking English classes. This is a book I wish I had met sooner. It is superb. He covers many different styles of non fiction including travel, memoirs, sport and family history. His major lessons for me was how to find your own voice and that the writing is for yourself, no other.