Customer Reviews

Hot Text: Web Writing that Works

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are only a few books about writing that I consider classics, and despite the relative newness of this one, it qualifies.

First, the advice on writing online text is on the mark, especially with respect to organizing your message and presenting it with impact. Much of the advice can also be effectively used in paper-based documents. I particularly liked the way the authors presented punctuation because in paper-based text a mark such as a colon is easy to spot, whereas on a monitor it's lost. I've since begun using a dash instead of a colon when developing online content and that small piece of advice works where a colon does not. Of course there are literally hundreds of other tips and advice that will combine to make your content readable and understandable.

Second, the way the authors show you how to organize your thoughts, distill them into a coherent and succinct message, and how to present that message is a strategy that anyone who develops online content needs to carefully read and heed.

Finally, this book covers much more than how to write - it also gives excellent advice on a full range of related topics, including search engine placement using meta tags, humanizing the technical nature of web pages (such as making URLs easy to read and remember for non-technical users), and how to structure your content to find items of interest. The latter extensively uses principles from Information Mapping©. One disappointment was the omission of any mention of Robert Horn, the inventor of Information Mapping©, from the extensive list of cited references and recommended reading because the authors' approach is closely aligned to much of Horn's work.

If you're developing online content you cannot afford to pass this book up. Mine is a constant deskside companion and is likely to remain so for years to come.

If you're interested in writing for the Web, "Hot Text: Web Writing That Works" by the prolific Jonathan and Lisa Price is the best and most comprehensive guide thus far published.

The book is at its best in the section aptly titled "Write Like a Human Being." Here, you'll find dozens of practical tips and techniques for Web copywriting. From "Shorten That Text" to "Write Menus That Mean Something," the Prices not only tell you how it's done, but demonstrate it in "before and after" samples. And each tip is evaluated in an "Audience Fit" grid that assesses how well it suits various types of site visitors. These five chapters alone (covering nearly 200 pages) are worth the price of the book.

Hot Text is much more than a style guide. Another 150 pages discuss how to write for the various genres found on the Web--help text, FAQs, marketing copy, PR and news releases, 'zines, e-mail newsletters and (yes) Weblogs.

Throughout, the book is extensively supported by a wealth of useful references (many of them available online) and pertinent callout quotations. And just when you think there couldn't be any more good stuff, you'll find helpful information on how to find a job as a Web copywriter.

I have two major quibbles with Hot Text. For a book that emphasizes clarity of expression, it begins on an odd foot. After a brief introduction to some general principles of Web-writing, it jumps into a discussion of object-oriented writing that is bewildering to novices. The normally crisp text slows to a snail's pace as they wax a little too theoretical. Don't get me wrong--this is important stuff, but it is the least successful part of the book.

Second, as an information architect and Web writer, I'm intimately aware of the strong connection between information architecture, user interface, menus and text. Attempting to draw clear boundaries between them is well-nigh impossible.

Unfortunately, the Prices cross those lines too often by assigning IA tasks--for example, menu structuring and user personas--to the copy writer. While I'm certain that many Web writers are indeed saddled with such chores due to budget limitations, IA activities are best left to those with the appropriate training and experience. Yet "information architecture" isn't even included in the index! The Prices' readers would be better served by a chapter or two on the makeup of Web project teams and the central role of collaboration in site development.

Keep these in mind and Hot Text will find itself a well-thumbed addition to your bookshelf.

Contents
This book examines the subject of writing for the web, and how it differs from writing for hard-copy media.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Part 1 - Catch The Net Spirit - Who Am I Writing For, And Incidentally, Who Am I?; What Kind Of Thing Am I Creating?; What Will The Web Do To My Text?; Attention!

Part 2 - Write Like A Human Being - Idea #1: Shorten That Text; Idea #2 - Make Text Scannable; Idea #3: Cook Up Hot Links; Idea #4: Build Chunky Paragraphs; Idea #5 - Reduce Cognitive Burdens; Idea #6 - Write Menus That Mean Something

Part 3 - Fine-Tune Your Style For The Genres - Writing In A Genre; Creating Customer Assistance That Actually Helps; Persuading Niche Markets, Individuals, And The Press; Making News That Fits; Entertaining People Who Like To Read; Getting A Job

Part 4 - Become A Pro - So You Wannabe A Web Writer Or Editor

Part 5 - Backup - Writerly Sites; If You Like To Read

Review
On the surface, you may think that writing is writing, regardless of the medium. You may think that if you can write a 2500 word article for a magazine, that you can successfully use that same style for web sites. And unfortunately, you'd be wrong. The mindset of online writing is completely different than for print, and this book will help you to understand that.

People read books and magazines for many reasons, but often it's to be entertained or to learn about a subject in depth. But when people visit web sites, it's usually to find an answer quickly. The reader wants to find the chunk of information they seek and then move on. If they don't see what they think they want, it's off to another site. The authors do an excellent job in this book breaking down the content structure of web writing. To successfully write for the web, you need to organize your information in discrete chunks that can be quickly linked to or scanned for applicable information. They show you how to effectively structure your writing by the use of shorter paragraphs, lists, bullets, external links, and a number of other techniques that will allow your ideas to flourish in an online medium.

The tone of their writing is conversational and easy, without the academic lecturing that often shows up in books where opinion and fact can blur together. They also use a lot of "before/after" examples to show you how the techniques actually work. I was actually surprised that I liked the book as much as I did. Many books on web site design go off on "expert rants" in which the author presents his likes/dislikes as expert opinion. Although some of the information in this book could fall into the same category, there wasn't the strident tone that often happens in other books.

Conclusion
Writing for the web entails different skills than writing for print medium. This book will help you understand the issues involved and to make a successful transition to online authoring. Recommended.

I grow weary of reading the books on this subject. So many are poorly written or have very little to offer. This book is one of the better ones. It combines some useful copywriting advice with usability advice. And the two really do go together. You can't know one without learning the other or you only do half your job as a creative.

I do think, however, that the book is written in a style that is rather confusing and unappealing. I think this comes from the authors trying to be all things to all people.

But this book hits on topics that the lesser books such as Net Words fail to cover. In their zest to get to market and gain new clients, those authors write lots of puff and little meat.

Hot Text offers the meat. So if you only buy one book on online copywriting and usability, make it this one. It doesn't cover everything but it gives you the basic background and the knowledge to do a good job on creating a useful Web site.

This book is suited for beginners or more experienced people who write for the web or would like to. But it is better suited for those with very little experience or who want a reminder of what works and what doesn't.

Those with a lot of experience will quickly do a read-through and pick up a few good ideas and be done with it. But even that is worth the cost of the book.

I highly recommend this book to those people who need the information the most.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Owner and Executive Copy Director
Powerwriting.com LLC

Hot Text is a veritable gold mine of brilliant information for the web content professional. It is very comprehensive and full of practical tips and focused advice. As I read it I had my pen out and was underlining lots of quotes that I have since used in my presentations.

Hot Text is written in a warm, friendly and direct manner. I always hate it when people try to be pretentious in their writing, but Hot Text is the very opposite. Jonathan and Lisa Price are passionate and extremely knowledgeable about what they do - and it shows!

As the number of web sites with extensive textual content continues to contract, it is time for all content providers to reevaluate their creative policies. Web users are the most impatient of people and no extra words are tolerated. In most instances, you have one or two sentences to get your main point across and keep your reader interested enough to read beyond that.
As someone who has written a great deal of material for the web I found the advice in the book to be accurate and wish that many content creators would read it and apply it. There are many before and after examples of how text should be written and edited when the target is the web. Many of them are in the category of obvious after the fact, as the before segments often seem fine before the after is read. Chapter 18 is a list of websites where you can get additional information as well as sites that publish web content.
The web is really no different than any other mass medium in that the key currency is attention sufficient to create retention. The difference on the web is that you have less time to create the attention and this book is packed with advice on how to do that. I have recommended it to others who write for the web.

I read this book immediately after reading Krug's "Don't Make Me Think," which is fantastic. In comparison, "Hot Text..." was mediocre. Krug's book--although presenting a bigger picture of the world of websites--truly synthesizes the nuts and bolts for writing for the web. "Hot Text" had a lot of what I felt was extraneous information and text (ironic, because really, what writing for the web is about is brevity and conciseness).

If you haven't read Krug's book, "Hot Text" will be a good starting point for you. It contains a lot of information, it also contains some good resources.

I also have to say that I agree with an earlier reviewer--the photographs (which look like poor black & white photocopies) are strange. Example: Chapter 8, Idea 4: Build Chunky Paragraphs! The photograph shows a middle-aged man holding a small bowl or cup up to his mouth. He's looking off-camera; his right hand is by his mouth but I'm not sure why. Maybe he's eating some chunky soup? But what does soup have to do with paragraphs? It's a small detail, these photographs, but they detract from the overall professionalism of the book for me.

This manual for online writing has it all--and more.

1. Detailed instruction for every conceivable page of Web site content.

2. Super tips and insight on PR content and dealing with editors and publishers.

3. The history of HTML (very cool!)

4. All sorts of useful style tips.

5. How to write your resume.

6. How to get a job.

7. Hundreds of online resources.

The writing (needless to say?)is clear, concise, and conversational. Had the book been written in 2006 instead of 2002, I'm sure the authors would have thrown in much more about blogs. Other than that, the material seems to be up to date.

This book is worth every penny!

Collaboratively written by webmaster experts Jonathan and Lisa Price, Hot Text: Web Writing That Works presents easy to understand style guidelines based on quantitative research and practitioner lore about what works on the Web, what flops, and what looks like leftover newsprint. A highly recommended "how to" manual for anyone charged with the responsibility of building an effective, practical corporate or entreprenurial website Hot Text: Web Writing That Works shows how to apply those guidelines to many common Internet genres such as customer assistance, product descriptions, distance learning, marketing emails, or webzines. 528 pages.

An excellent book that points out the differences between digital media and paper media. I especially learned a lot in Chapter 3 - What Will the Web Do to My Text? But there is much throughout the entire book. You'll learn about writing in general and writing for the web in particular. And from the web you'll go to email, ezines, enewsletters, weblogs and the gamut. If you're going to write for the web you need this book.