How to Write It: A Complete Guide to Everything You'll Ever Write (Paperback)

by Sandra Lamb (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Whether you seek protocol on accepting a formal invitation, turning down a job offer, challenging your credit record, writing a condolence letter, or penning a collection letter, How to Write It can help. With precision and humor, Sandra E. Lamb provides reliable guidance on all forms of written correspondence; for each type of communication, she considers such issues as content, wrong messages (how to eliminate them), format, effective writing, and editing. What in other hands might have been a dry reference manual takes on its own personality in the hands of this competent stylist. Lamb's advice for writing a memo, for instance, includes "Don't use an autocratic tone," "Don't assign blame," "Don't whine," "Don't pad," "Don't hedge," and "Don't use officious, stuffy, or formal words." Lamb is part etiquette adviser and part good-business guru. Perhaps her guide's most important message is that the general decline of written communication both socially and in business actually benefits those who still rely on it, as its impact is even greater than it once was. --Jane Steinberg

Review
Chock-full of model letters for virtually every occasion, it¹s a must-have addition for your reference shelf. -- Jan Collins, editor, Business & Economic Review

I never thought the written word was started with a book. Don't miss the resume writing tools. -- Jeff Taylor, CEO of Eons.com and founder of Monster.com

This is an extraordinary book. A reference manual so comprehensive, yet so simple, it reads like a novel. -- Richard Nelson Bolles, author of What Color Is Your Parachute? --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580080014
• ISBN-13: 978-1580080019
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #585,495 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuff you won't find elsewhere, very handy, July 17, 2000

By	Susan K. Perry "Susan K. Perry" (Los Angeles, author of LOVING IN FLOW (BunnyApe.com)) - See all my reviews

How to Write It is written by an experienced writer who knows what she's talking about. It's especially worth seeking out for some of the templates it features, including several related to public relations projects (for example, how to write a pitch letter, press release, and backgrounder). Lots of social and job-search related guidance, for those whose skills in those areas are rusty from disuse. And for the young person or the beginner, plenty of help with how to write invitations, thank-you's, all kinds of things someone should have taught us, but probably didn't (or were we all absent the same day?). Easy to use.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put this book next to your dictionary, April 22, 2001

By	"lisasprice" (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of those books that is so incredibly useful and so easy to read, you have to wonder why no one thought to write one like it before now. I got the book to check out the email section, but was literally thunderstruck by all of the other fantastic writing examples and templates. I think this would be a great book to give a graduate, because it has examples for writing many of life's "must-to's", such as thank you notes, condolences, credit inquiries and a lot more. I'm a writer, but even I get "writer's block" sometimes. This book is a real gem.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, March 5, 2002

By	Miss Jane "book girl" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This book proves that even the most experienced writer can still benefit from outside guidance! I have written business correspondence througout my career, and have recently taken a position that requires almost nothing BUT writing. Being inspired 8 hours per day, 5 days per week can be a bit overwhelming, but in the first three weeks on the job I have turned to this book AT LEAST once a week, and have found wonderful suggestions for a sympathy note, employment candidate rejection letter, fundraising appeal, you name it! I am happy to have this book on my shelf! Don't hesitate to buy!