SEVEN RULES ON COLUMN WRITING

The late, great newspaper editor Gene Cryer used to say: "We're not a writer's paper. We're not an editor's paper. We're a reader's paper." That's true for columns, as you are trying to benefit your reader above all else.

We all need editors, and our first instinct is to draw attention to ourselves, our work, and our credibility as "thought leaders," rather than to what a reader might want to know.

So here, for your consideration, are seven modest rules for anyone trying to grow their business by getting out there as “thought leaders.” While this column was written mostly for lawyers, these guidelines can work for any of us:

1. Know your audience. What do they worry about most, and how can you help them? What’s coming up that they ought to know about? Extra credit if you are giving them the news first.

2. Know your destination. Is it an industry group? Or is it a legal publication? What are the rules, the audience and the likely concerns?

3. Ask: “So what?” and “How can the reader put this to use”? Establish why what you say matters and, if possible, how the reader or listener can put this advice to use. If you’re a lawyer or accountant, you’ll probably advise the reader to “call your lawyer or accountant,” hoping that it will be you. If you can, try to take it a step further, offering useful questions to ask yourself or any adviser. Readers feel more fortified when armed with knowledge they can use.

4. Careful with that “I” word. Your mother and friends may think you are great, but the reader just wants to know the answers to Question 4. You are there first to serve. The more service you provide, the better you are promoting yourself.

5. Respect the reader’s intelligence. Assume that the person reading your piece is as intelligent as you are and has no idea what you are talking about. Let's call it Knoblauch's rule. That's for Cy Knoblauch, now a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, and it's a great starting point.

6. Respect the reader’s time. We all seem to have less of it, don’t we? So nothing beats getting to the point and keeping the message clear. It is natural for many lawyers and accountants to wax pedantic, but you want to broaden the spectrum beyond that narrowest band of peers -- potential referral sources, after all -- into the broader spectrum of existing and potential clients.

7. Enjoy good writing! There’s plenty of good stuff out there on writing. I’m partial to two essays by George Orwell, each well worth your 30 minutes: “Politics and the English Language” and “Why I Write.” “The Elements of Style,” by W. Strunk and the great E.B. White is indispensable. Yes, you probably got it in college, but it’s actually a) skinny, and b) fun to read. Plus, it never goes out of -- well -- style.