01 May, 2006

On Writing Well

I was just reading in the book, "On Writing Well" by William Zinnser and had to pass on what I read regarding audience. The question posed is "Who am I writing for?" Here is Zinnser's reply:

"It's a fundamental question, and it has a fundamental answer: You are writing for yourself. Don't try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience--every reader is a different person. Don't try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don't know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they're always looking for something new."

Books on writing are fascinating. Did you know most published authors go through 5 drafts before a copy editor ever even sees a page?

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