I spend a considerable amount of time each week preparing articles on writing for Internet distribution, making posts on various writing blogs, responding to users on our discussion board, and writing new posts for our blog—basically trying to give away as much information about good writing as I can. When I am not working on clients’ documents or promoting our services, I am probably writing about writing.

From time to time, my Internet marketing specialist and I search the Internet to discover where the articles have been reposted and what feedback they have received. Sometimes this is quick and easy, such as for our article “Creating Sentence Transitions,” which has good content but seemed dull to many readers. Sometimes this takes a long time, such as for our article “10 Overused Words in Writing,” which was reposted several hundred times.

We look for the articles because we are curious to discover what is resonating with readers, what their needs are for writing instructions, and the like. We read the feedback for the same reason, and because we want to continuously improve our ability to connect with readers’ needs.

From feedback over the last year, I have learned 4 lessons.

1. Editors are arrogant, self-centered, snotty, ivory tower, out-of-touch, disrespectful, irrelevant, good-for-nuthin’ know-it-alls.

I figured I might as well start with the negative feedback. While most feedback is positive and, in many cases, grateful, some people will disagree with what we write and will criticize our expertise. Most criticism comes from people who don’t “get” what we do, meaning they don’t recognize the value of external advice and they confuse recommendations for improvement with personal insults and attacks.

Negative feedback is expected. We could mimic our critics and lash out in return. Instead, we try to do what we counsel our clients to do: 1) Accept that criticism is a part of being a writer, and 2) Learn how we can better address readers’ needs without compromising our integrity.

We have a purpose for our writing: help as many people as possible improve their ability to communicate in writing. If we are going to accomplish our purpose, we need to address the attributes and characteristics that hinder reader acceptance and understanding, which is good advice for all writers.

2. People don’t always read carefully.

Words get missed, sometimes entire paragraphs. This may cause a reader to misunderstand what we write and not understand how to apply the information we present. For example, one reader criticized our article “10 Overused Words in Writing” by writing, in paraphrase, “It’s ok to use these words sometimes. Telling people that they shouldn’t use them is not right.”

I agree completely. In fact, I said so in the article, which states, “We don’t recommend that you remove these words from your writing. Instead, we recommend that you become aware of how often you use them and that you revise your documents to limit their use.”

This is a case where a concept was clear to the writer (me) but not to the reader. However, the point I was making was important. Had the reader read and understood my statement, the reader would not have criticized the article and, perhaps, would have accepted what I was trying to communicate. I can’t change what my readers do; I can only change what I do.

Since that point was so important, I should have found a way to emphasize it, make it clearer, and make it easier to find. For example, I could have made this statement a paragraph by itself. I could have used bold text. I could have used very short sentences. The point is this: I needed to employ a strategy to help the reader find and understand what I thought was important. It was my responsibility, not my reader’s.

3. Reader’s needs differ according to the format.

People read using different strategies and for different purposes depending on the format. A person reading a printed novel will read differently when perusing an informative article on the Internet. A person reading a white paper has a different purpose than someone reading a blog post.

Reading online is harder than reading printed copy. Reading a long, long web page is harder than reading a 6” x 9” printed page. A writer needs to understand how these are different and make adjustments to meet the readers’ needs. Some strategies include:

1. Using shorter paragraphs;
2. Writing shorter, simpler sentences, especially for significant points;
3. Create lists;
4. Adding headings and other signposts; and
5. Using text formatting, such as bold text.

Fortunately, some things don’t change. Clear, concise, and direct writing is essential regardless of the format, as are logical organization and using an appropriate style and tone.

4. A niche market has the highest frequency of readers.

One of the analyses we perform when we find our articles and review feedback has to do with placement. “Placement” is a marketing term that refers to choosing where the product is displayed and where the buyer completes the purchase process. For our writings, placement has to do with where we publish our writing and where people are reading.

In the best case scenario, an article (or blog comment) is posted on a site where the readers are actively interested in the topic addressed by the article. Where the content and the readers’ interests are not accurately matched, the article receives very little attention. On the other hand, we can apply the marketing concept of placement to increase readership.

What I have learned to do is this. First, identify the specific ideas I am communicating. Second, identify the specific type of reader who will be interested in those ideas (the niche market). Third, find where those readers are making reading selections (i.e., buying). Fourth, present the ideas to that niche in that place. The number of readers and overall reader interest is much greater.

This is how we get readers when we publish externally. When we publish on our blog, the same concept applies. In this case, readers are coming to us because they are interested in our topics. However, if we don’t keep focused on that niche market (for example, if we start providing movie reviews instead of writing advice), we will lose readers. By responding to the specific needs and interests of our niche market, our niche readers, we can maintain a large, loyal base of readers.

In conclusion

The lessons we have learned from our readers are the same lessons we give our clients:

1. Use feedback to improve your manuscripts and achieve your goals.
2. Present information in a manner that is accessible to your readers.
3. Consider the reader’s needs and purposes.
4. Match the content to the appropriate audience.

For some time now, I have been hearing about how bookstores are struggling to stay in business, not only the small, local bookstores, but also the big chains, such as Borders. My perception is that Amazon.com’s success is partly responsible for these struggles. I like Amazon.com, and I also like “bricks and mortar” bookstores. Amazon.com’s future seems pretty secure at the moment, so I propose three strategies bookstores can use to remain in business and survive Amazon.com.

THE NEW MARKET ENVIRONMENT

Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy a book, you bought it from a bookstore. Book buying possibilities have changed. Now you can pay to download a book to an e-book reader or buy it from an online source (e.g., the author’s or publisher’s website, Amazon.com). Book buying behaviors have changed, but bookstores seem to be trying to maintain the way they do business. Other than adding a coffee shop, bookstores now look much like I remember them before Amazon.com made online book shopping practical.

In my opinion, one of the advantages Amazon offers book buyers that bookstores don’t is the breadth of selection. Amazon has a wider selection of books than bookstores. The second advantage is cost. The price to purchase a book online is often lower than the cost bookstores offer. Amazon doesn’t have to pay for store furniture, decorations, floor walkers, fancy buildings, etc. With lower operating costs per book and greater volume, Amazon can keep prices down. As my Aunt Irene used to say, “Ain’t pretty, but it works.” To attract book buyers, bookstores are going in the opposite direction. This doesn’t seem to be working.

Sure, I can buy books directly from bookstore’s websites. I can go to the Borders site, for example, look up some books, and buy them. However, if I’m going to buy books online, I’ll probably buy them from Amazon.com. Bookstores offer a very different experience than online shopping, and I want bookstores to succeed. Thus, the advice I have is for getting more people to buy books in bookstores.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOOKSTORES

1. Employ e-book and web-based technologies.
Bookstores need to use the new technologies, not resist them. I’m specifically referring to e-book readers. When I was at a Borders bookstore earlier this week, I checked out the Sony e-book readers they had for sale. I was pretty impressed. The sample models were preloaded with long excerpts from about 15 books. They were firmly attached to the counter, so I couldn’t pick them up, much less walk around with them. While playing with them, I glanced around the store. Against nearly every wall and in every corner, I saw people sitting in comfy chairs reading books. They could browse the shelves, pick up a book, carry it to a chair, and read. I couldn’t do any of that with the e-book readers being displayed. That got me thinking about sales possibilities and buyer behavior.

People in bookstores like to browse books, pull out a selected title, and read a few pages. If they like what they read, they will buy the book. Unfortunately, they are limited to the books on the shelves, which might not be what people want. For example, I wanted to look at books on building tree houses. None were available on the shelves. (I was referred to the local hardware store!) I wanted to flip through the 2009 Writer Watchdog. I couldn’t do it. I wanted to read a few pages of Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. Not available. Maybe I could look at Interpreter of Maladies, the first book by Jhumpa Lahiri. Same problem.

I understand that bookstores cannot stock every possible book in their databases. That’s a given. But shouldn’t I be able to look at them anyway, whether or not they are on the shelves? This is where e-book technologies can play an important role.

Here’s the scenario I envision. I check out an e-book reader (for free, of course) from the service counter. The e-book reader is connected wirelessly to the bookstore’s network. I walk over to the computer at the end of a bookshelf or the touch screen panel situated in a book rack. I search titles, check out authors, look at covers, and find a book that seems interesting. I punch in the number of the e-book reader I’m carrying, and the first 40 or 50 pages of the book are downloaded to the reader. I take the e-book reader to a soft chair, hook one leg over the armrest, and read. Maybe I find 10 books that look interesting. I download the excerpt from each.

(Why didn’t I just browse through the e-book reader? E-book readers are black and white—currently. I want to see color covers, so I use the color computer monitor or panel.)

Two of these titles are sufficiently interesting that I want to buy them. I pull up the menu on the reader and add them to my shopping cart. When I’m done browsing, I hit the purchase button. According to the displayed information, one of the books is in the store and will be waiting for me at the main counter. The other book isn’t available in the store, but it is in the warehouse. I can get it for a 10% discount. Would I like to buy it and have it mailed directly to me? Sure, I would!

(Why the 10% discount? First, if it’s not in the store, then the corporate office has determined that it is not a book that is likely to have high volume. It’s going to take up inventory space in the warehouse, and keeping inventory costs money. The discount encourages me to get it off their hands. Second, the discount helps justify the delay caused by shipping. Third, the discount also helps the store compete with Amazon.com prices. If I’m going to wait anyway, then the cost should be competitive. Otherwise, I will just buy it from Amazon.)

I can enter my credit card information and buy the two books through the e-book reader. If I don’t want to enter my payment information through the reader, or if I want to pay cash, I take the e-book reader to the sales counter. The clerk scans the number of the reader and pulls up my purchase details. The first book is, indeed, waiting there for me. The clerk confirms that I want the other book, too. I do. I make my payment, get the first book, drop off the reader, and I’m done. I’m another happy bookstore customer.

2. Improve book searching at bookstores.
I’m referring to new semantic mapping technologies. When I enter a book title or author name, I should not only get specific search results, but also I should get a list of books that are related. (This is similar to how Pandora.com creates online music stations for users based on the user’s musical selections.) If I am interested in a particular book or author, then the search engine should also recommend other selections. This will need to be far more in-depth than simple category searching currently available.

For example, if I enter the term “Sherlock Holmes,” I should see titles of other books in the Sherlock Holmes series, other titles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, other mysteries with a lead male detective, books written in the same style, and books written around the same period. Instead of just books about Sherlock Holmes, I can browse a broad selection of books that are related by a comprehensive set of identifiers. I can hit the “more like this” or “not like this” buttons to further refine my search.

Eventually I get to Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. I have never thought of reading this book, but it fits my interests; I just didn’t know it. “Ok,” I think, “I’ll check it out.” I download it to my e-book reader, read 10 or 15 pages, and find that it does, indeed, interest me. I buy a book that otherwise I would never have thought to buy. I’m another happy bookstore customer.

3. Use print-on-demand (POD) technologies.
Print on demand can increase available selections while decreasing inventory costs. As my former managerial accounting professor said, “Inventory is bad.” In the perfect world, a bookstore has no inventory. Exactly the right numbers of books are available, all the time, to meet customer demand. Of course, this is impossible. However, reducing warehouse inventory is possible by using POD.

Instead of warehousing 1,000 copies of a book in a central repository (or 25 copies for an independent bookstore), a bookstore only keeps enough books to meet expected demand for the next short period. This may be only 10 or 20 books if expected demand is low or unknown. The bookstore company (e.g., Borders) uses POD technologies to produce additional books as needed. Using POD technologies, short runs of books can be produced very quickly. Even 1 book can be economically produced using POD.

For large runs of books, over 1,000, for example, offset (i.e., traditional) printing is usually more cost effective. A new book by Stephen King should be printed with offset printing. The books will be on bookstore shelves, not in inventory, and will sell fairly rapidly. Inventory costs are not the same problem as they will be for less well-known authors or less popular topics. By using POD, bookstores can maintain a very small inventory (or none) of most books and have the books printed when they are demanded. Through POD, a book can be produced overnight.

Think about the first scenario above. I find a book I want, but it is not in the store. I can buy it and have it shipped to me. What I don’t know is that the book isn’t in inventory, either. All I know, all I need to know, is that the book will be shipped to me tomorrow. When I buy the book, the order is submitted, the book is printed that evening, and the next day it is shipped.

Bookstore companies can go about this process two ways. First, the bookstore company can license the right to print the books at its own facilities. The book will be the exact same book that the publisher would have printed: same ISBN, same cover, same everything. The bookstore is not the publisher—only the printer. This may be costly at first, but it will allow the bookstore to sell books efficiently without having to put in a buy order to the publisher or deal with “middle-man” costs and inefficiencies. The major costs will be incurred by the purchase and set-up of the printing technologies, as well as personnel to operate and manage the process.

The second way to do this is less expensive but also less efficient. Major bookstores can give preferential treatment to those publishers that employ POD, thus encouraging publishers to create this possibility. The corporate book buyer can then send an order to the publisher requesting 5 copies of a book. Normally, the publisher would laugh at such a request because it uses offset printing. However, a publisher that uses POD can do it, and the books will be ready tomorrow.

If the bookstore wants to keep books in inventory to reduce order and delivery costs, it can use a kanban system in conjunction with POD to keep books available while keeping inventory costs at a minimum. A kanban system uses a “pull” process to initiate the creation or purchase of a product. When only a specific number of books remain in inventory, an order is placed, and more books are printed. Here’s how this works.

Let’s say the bookstore anticipates selling 7 copies of a book per week, or approximately 1 per day. Some days, 2 copies are sold, but never more than 9 books in any week and never more than 4 books in 3 days. Let’s also say that books can be printed and delivered in 3 days, which is nearly impossible with traditional printing but simple with POD. Then, using the kanban system, when only 4 books are in inventory (the maximum that will be sold between the time of the order and the time of the delivery), the company places an order for another 9 books. This way, just when the inventory has no more books from the previous order, the next order arrives.

A bookstore can order 1,000 copies of a book. Some will be sold right away, but others will sit in inventory for a long time. Using print on demand publishing and a kanban system, many small orders are placed. Inventory is kept at a minimum, costs are reduced, and the books are always available when demanded. As the book shopper, I get the book I want, either right now or in a few days. I’m another happy bookstore customer.

LOOKING AHEAD

That’s it. Those are my recommendations for keeping bookstores alive and valuable to book buyers. My hope is that when I’m 80 years old, I won’t be heard saying, “When I was younger, we could go to an actual place where books were sold. It was called a bookstore. Gosh, I miss those days.”

Paragraphs can be written in many ways. In nonfiction documents, for example, a paragraph may first establish context for an idea, provide supporting information, and then conclude with an impact or action statement that leads to the next idea. In fiction or narrative documents, a paragraph may show a single action or provide a character’s immediate response to an experience. Some writers use long paragraphs to fully explore an idea, while others may prefer short, terse paragraphs.

In all cases, however, the purpose of a paragraph is to present one idea to the reader. The complexity of the idea and the reader’s need for explanation determine the length of the paragraph. A careful writer will balance the reader’s needs with his or her style preferences. This brings us to a question I have been asked occasionally. How many sentences should be in a paragraph? The answer I give is based on the “one idea per paragraph” concept: at least one.

If the precedingparagraphs have provided sufficient information for the reader to understand the idea, and if the connections between the ideas are clear, and if the value and implications of the idea will be obvious to the reader, one sentence may be sufficient.

Unlike paragraphs with multiple sentences, a one-sentence paragraph places heavy emphasis on the idea. It is a high-impact tool for telling the reader, “This is very important.” Very few ideas require this level of emphasis. Used sparingly, one-sentence paragraphs can be very effective for pointing out critical ideas or keeping the reader mentally focused on the content.

On the other hand, a document with too many one-sentence paragraphs loses this effect. The writer who uses too many, or uses them too close together, is telling the reader that many of the ideas are very important. As a result, he or she loses the ability to point out specific ideas as being the most important. This is similar to always shouting. If you shout everything you say, no single shouted idea has more emphasis than any other.

Another problem with documents that contain too many one-sentence paragraphs is that they are unpleasant to read. Each one-sentence paragraph creates an emotional impact. The reader will need time to recover, meaning the reader is no longer considering new information as it relates to the high-impact statement. If the effect of the previous emotional impact has not yet “worn off,” adding another impact places emotional stress on the reader’s subconscious. Eventually, the reader will become mentally fatigued, and the entire document will lose value.

In summary, here are three guidelines for using one-sentence paragraphs effectively.

1. Use them only for stand-alone ideas that do not need explanation.
2. Use them when you want to create heavy emphasis for an idea.
3. Use them infrequently.

One last note:
This does not apply to journalistic writing. One-sentence paragraphs are a common style for journalistic writing, especially in print journalism. For all other types of writing, however, these guidelines apply.