Customer Reviews

Web Word Wizardry A Net-Savvy Writing Guide

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Writing for the Internet is very different from writing a novel or an article. A reader tends to skim the page looking for words of interest and if they don't find what they want then it is easy to just click an link or hit a search engine and go to another page that might be of interest. In Web Word Wizardry the author leads the reader through the snares and pitfalls of writing for the Web in a style that demands attention and is directed towards a goal - getting the reader to actually examine the page.

By far the most comprehensive book that I have seen on this subject, Rachel McAlpine works through not only Web Pages but also writing and style for Ezines, writing for Search Engines, using Keywords and similar items. She ends the book with a checklist for Meta Tags, Title Tag, Description, Body Copy, Links, Optimization, Micro Content, Skim-Reading, Clarity, Adapting for the Web, Credibility, and Profitability. The checklists are well worth the price of the book by themselves.

With plenty of examples throughout the book it is clear and concise and a valuable reference to onyone designing a web site, Ezine or other Internet communication medium. If you want your site to be professional and user friendly then use this book as a magnifying glass to evaluate your site. Highly recommended.

The book's title and editorial review are terribly misleading. This book is not about writing copy or online content, contrary to how it sounds.

Nonetheless, the book is clearly written, and might even prove helpful to the right audience. The right audience would be anyone "brand spanking new" to the ways of the web, with little to no knowledge of page design and usability. Yes, page design and usability--like I said, this book is not about writing content.

I was hoping for a "best practices" guide with some examples of good and bad text. There are 30 to 40 pages of text devoted to this topic. Another 40 to 50 pages are devoted to usability concerns--please note that these have been adpated directly from some well-known usability authors like Jakob Nielsen and Steven Krug, known to be at opposite ends of the usability spectrum!

Another 50 to 60 pages were devoted to search engine placement. Again, nothing earth shattering. If you've been exposed to the web, and have some basic knowledge about the innerworkings of engines, the tips won't add any value. Anohter 20 to 30 pages on misc. topics like what businesses might do well on the web. About 50 pages of pure fluff--I guess a sub-200-page book wasn't acceptable?

At the end of the book are some useful checeklists. All-in-all, the content of the book is good for newcomers to the web, but I'm thoroughly disappointed that the text matches neither the title nor the description.

I purchased this book with the intention of improving my ability to write for the internet. I was disapointed to discover there was very little coverage of writing copy for the web. Much of the book covered outdated search engine optimization techniques. Avoid this book if you want to learn how to write online copy.

This book helped shape my view of how to write online, and it's done wonders for the web site I manage. The site has boasted about a 50% increase in customers, and I feel a large part of that can be traced back to principles learned in this book.

Of special importance is the weight McAlpine places on being International-sensitive, because though it goes without saying, the Web is accessible to the entire world economy. And there are people who speak English in nearly every country in that world economy. So, of course, everyone is taking advantage of this fact, right? Don't count on it.

Read this book, and enlighten yourself.

I've been writing for the Web and ezines since 1996, and thoroughly enjoyed and learned from this book. Rachel's personality and gentle humor shines through; and, although her helpful tips are often things I already knew, they're still awfully good reminders.

No this is not an encyclopedic guide to e-copywriting or online journalism persay. It is, however, a very good baseline guide for communications professionals (and hobbiests) who may be good writers in print and now have to take that skill online. It's also a great friendly reminder guide for those of us who've been doing this so long we've forgotten some of the rules... :-)

My favorite part of this book are all the examples and screenshots. Yes, some of the stuff Rachel points out is obvious. But if it's so obvious, why do so many, many Web sites and email newsletters *still* make these dumb mistakes?

Avoid the dumb mistakes. Enjoy the author's warm voice and jokes. Check out the useful samples. Buy the book.

I'm about half-way through the book and love it! It's filled with practical advice that those responsible for Web content or design can put to use immediately. After a few hours, I have a checklist of changes I need to make to the site I manage. I also appreciate the author's witty style, which makes the book enjoyable as well as educational.

Buy this book. With so much free information available now via the web, I expect a book author to inspire and entertain as well as inform. A writer owes a reader a duty of care, to create the greatest possible change in the shortest possible time with the highest possible level of fun. Rachel delivers. Energetic, sassy, mischievous, she explains why content is just as important to your website as to a book, periodical or brochure. Then she trains you to write text that is useful, appealing and available, tailored to its audience, matched to its medium. The section on optimising web sites for search engines alone is worth the purchase price. What would a book that increased your site's hits, your sales or contracts, your transaction value and your industry profile by 10% be worth to you? Don't settle for less expert advice -- get what you deserve.

Although my copy from the first printing of this book had a lot of typos--which I know she fixed--I found this book to be enlightening and helpful. This book not only covers tips for writing in online media, but advice on other aspects of online writing that a typical writer might not think of or even know exist. Rachel's writing is approachable--I highly recommend this book to those who are thinking of venturing forth into this writing frotier (and it is still that after "all these years") and especially for those whose jobs depend on these kinds of skills.

If you're just starting out in the field of writing for the web, this is a good place to start. However, if you're looking for specific SEO (search engine optimization) writing, this book ain't it. It covers the SEO topic pretty well for people uninitiated into the field. I love the layout and design of the book though. It's easy to read and follows a good, coherent line of thought.

In conclusion, I would recommend the book to people new to SEO and copywriting but not to those who are looking to hone their skills.

When looking for something to help with writing articles for the web, I came across Web Word Wizardry here at Amazon. Behind every great website of any type needs content or there is no traffic. Web Word Wizardry is a older book from 2001 but the information was helpful in its ideas of how to do it. If you don't know how to correctly write ezines, articles or blogs this book would be for you. This book was written before blogs became big news but the ideas will work for them as well.
Its more for beginners but as someone who has been writing for the web for over 4 years now even I found helpful tips. Its easy to read and easy to follow its tips and tricks.
Its not just writing articles, there is helpful tips for search engine submission and optimizing web sites.
Its a good book all the way around and worth adding to your collection of books for writing anything for the web today.