Survival Writing (How to write letters, resumes, pitches, invoices, emails, articles, reports and everything else you need to know how to write)
Okay. Here it is. The ultimate How To for anyone who’s entering or reentering the job market, starting a small business, or working freelance. Crammed with information, both technical and strategic, about everything listed in the subtitle (and more), this is sure to be the one and only writing book you’ll need.
Based on a college course she taught in New York City at the School of Visual Arts, and on years of successful experience in business, Scrivener has penned a handbook that’s lively and conversational, and embodies her basic premise: That business writing, too, should have a conversational tone.
Answering tricky questions about grammar and punctuation, about sharpening thoughts to a point, about marketing, strategizing, handling stuff you hate (The 10 Most Horrible Letters You Have to Write), dealing with sticky contracts, and protecting your ideas, this engaging little volume is a reference book classic that readers will find useful throughout their careers.
‘A must for job seekers…Practical, comprehensive and great fun to read’ Jaime Adams, The Adams Agency.
‘Smart, insightful approaches to get results…Should be required reading for anyone who wants to communicate effectively’- Caress Kennedy, President, Career Blazers
‘Survival Writing with its do-it-yourself exercises, shows you how to write your own ticket to success. It’s a reference book you’ll turn to for many years to come. Get it, read it, use it!’ - Robert Masello, author of Robert’s Rules of Writing..
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Survival Writing
“Survival Writing” is an excellent reference work. I’ve used it to kick start new projects. Given the economic times, I’ve most recently written five resumes. Scrivener’s directions are clear, concise and often amusing… hardly a ponderous book.
As a professional writer and editor for more than 40 years, I found her chapter on tone, rhythm and punctuation outstanding. New writers will benefit from her commentary.
This is an author I’d like to know. I rather imagine it would be very entertaining to sit down over a cup of coffee and chat.
5 Stars Useful and Fun
I wish I’d had this book earlier in my career because it taught me what’s been wrong with my business writing and how to make it right, or, to use Scrivener’s words, how to make it “clear, exact, natural and brief.” The trick, she tells us, is to “write it the way you’d say it,” not impersonally and stiffly, or “as though business writing is a foreign language in a literal translation.”
I also appreciate her business savvy. She really understands the inner workings of business and shows you how to psych out and target your readers, whether with a letter, a resume or a pitch. I even learned a lot from her informative sections on grammar and punctuation. All that and this book is really fun to read. Writers would do well to copy Scrivener’s warm and very human tone of voice.
A reader
Filed under: Resume Writing Book Reviews