What hasn’t been written about as much is Jobs’ human side—his driven personality that often set him at odds with coworkers, his abrupt management style…even rumors of firing employees in elevators only to have a subordinate contact them later to say they could keep their positions.

That’s not to say Steve Jobs was a bad person. But he was human, complete with flaws and prone to make mistakes, just like the rest of us.

Events like Jobs’ passing almost always have lessons that can be applied to the craft Trade Press Services practices: writing.

Like Jobs and every other great leader, great writing has personality. It inspires. It can be visionary. It can stake a course that others say will surely fail, only to succeed beyond expectations. Or it can fail miserably. It can be abrupt, insulting, offensive and sometimes too honest.

Do these statements sound like the people you admire? Like John Kennedy, whose words could drive mankind to set foot on the moon, but whose personal life included secret affairs and private liaisons with movie stars. Or perhaps Martha Stewart, whose business savvy took her to the top of several empires, but who was brought down by greed and scandal.

The lessons that writers can learn from Jobs’ death are not the obvious ones—the ones learned from his commencement addresses and interviews about striving and “going for it.” The lesson for writers is to make sure your writing is alive with personality. Like those who inspire and motivate us, writing must be full of character: frown lines, wrinkles, toothy smiles, unmanageable coifs ala Einstein and Twain, outrageous statements, lies, truths, humor, anger, fear, greed, hate and love. Like the people who inspire us, your writing should be human.

That’s what separated Steve Jobs from other CEOs, many of whom are widely disliked and distrusted in these bad economic times. Jobs was human and was never afraid to show it.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal on the impact of ebooks on writers, publishers and agents mixed genuine concern for the little guy with a lot of misplaced sympathy for industry fat cats.

The article describes how major publishers are signing fewer authors and offering smaller advances due to declining print book sales. The piece seems to want to point the finger at the ebook, rather than the recession or an overall decline in reading among Americans. After all, recent polls like the Harris survey I described in my last blog entry show that people who use electronic book readers purchase more books than their non-e-reading neighbors, and are a rare bright spot in the publishing industry.

The article doesn’t stop there. It quotes literary agent Ira Silverberg calling the digital media revolution “this digital disruption,” as if digital media were a bad thunderstorm that would soon pass.

More:

Much as cheap digital-music downloads have meant that fewer bands can earn a living from record-company deals, fewer literary authors will be able to support themselves as e-books win acceptance, publishers and agents say. “In terms of making a living as a writer, you better have another source of income,” says Nan Talese, whose Nan A. Talese/Doubleday imprint publishes Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood and John Pipkin.

Au contraire. “Cheap digital-music downloads” have opened the doors for thousands of previously unheard-of bands to reach new audiences. And has writing as a career ever paid well, except for the select few? And why are e-books to blame?

"Ping," part of Apple's iTunes, helps users discover new music.

Even more:

Unlike traditional bookstores, where a browsing customer might discover an unknown book set out on a table, e-bookstores generally aren’t set up to allow readers to discover unknown authors, agents say. Brand-name authors with big marketing budgets behind them are having the greatest success thus far in the digital marketplace.

The article fails to understand that social media and online reader reviews allow readers to discover unknown authors even more easily than stumbling across “an unknown book set out on a table” (that’s marketing?).

Perhaps it’s the raw deals e-book authors are signing. For example, the article says authors make about $4.20 on every $28 hardcover, and just $2.27 on a $12.99 e-book. Yet their work hasn’t changed. What’s changed is the publisher’s cost—close to nothing in terms of printing, binding and distribution, because it’s all digital. Any teenager with a computer can run an electronic bookstore from his basement for the cost of the electric bill. And perhaps it’s some authors’ world views:

(John) Pipkin, who has a Ph.D in English literature, says he cobbles together an income based in part on grants, fellowships and a partial advance he has received for his second book. “I’ve had to rethink my plans in terms of supporting my family full time as a writer,” he says.

His wife, a tenured professor, provides health benefits for his family. Mr. Pipkin, who teaches an undergraduate creative-writing class at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, receives no benefits. Although he has an IRA, he doesn’t receive employer contributions. Mr. Pipkin, 43, says his goal is to find a full-time teaching position with benefits.

“Unless you’re a best-selling author, I don’t see how it’s possible for an author to get together enough income to pay for health insurance, retirement and other things,” he says.

Welcome to the recession, Mr. Pipkin! Thank goodness your wife has full-time employment, and that you have several advanced degrees which should make you eminently employable. If only the rest of the estimated 15 million unemployed Americans were so lucky.

The articles bemoans the fact that Mr. Pipkin’s award-winning novel “Woodsburner” has sold just 359 digital copies, compared to 10,000 print copies. Maybe that has something to do with how people buy books. In a brick-and-mortar bookstore, browsers judge books by their covers and have to hope the book is worth the cash they lay down at the counter. Buyers are more susceptible to traditional marketing—quotes from book reviews on the jacket, employees’ “picks of the month,” and so on. However, on a website, browsers can read reviews and comments by other readers (social media), which greatly influence their buying decisions. And Mr. Pipkin, patrons of Amazon.com are lukewarm on your book—it’s garnering 3.5 out of 5 stars. That’s a “C” average.

The real problem here is three-fold: one, a continuing failure of the publishing industry to embrace digital media, regarding it as an enemy rather than the future. Jann Wenner pushes print magazines and chides the Internet in those well positioned “Power of Print” ads seen in many magazines, even as his employees down the hall at rollingstone.com lure thousands of visitors to the iconic magazine’s website every day. It must feel odd and come off as more than a little counter-productive to have your boss publicly demeaning your work every day.

The second part of the problem is greed on the part of publishers, who want to pay authors less for the same amount of work, simply because a book is being published digitally and not on paper. And finally, there seems to be a failure on the part of some authors to understand the depth of the recession and the nature of their profession. Writing novels is an art, and art is largely a discretionary expenditure that comes well after food, rent, clothes and many other needs on most families’ shopping lists these days. As in all things, the days of oversized bonuses and easy money are gone.

Overall, just eight percent of the 2,775 adults polled use an e-reader such as the Kindle or nook to read books. However, those polled who do use an e-reader read more books in a year than non-e-reader users, suggesting that reading enthusiasts have been the first to adopt this emerging technology. For example, 62 percent of those polled read 11 or more books a year, compared to just 38 percent of non-e-reader users.

A similar pattern was seen when respondents were asked how many books they purchased per year: 67 percent of e-reader users purchase six or more books a year, compared to just 38 percent of non-users. And 53 percent of e-reader users say they read more now than they did before acquiring an e-reader.

Growth in e-reader adoption rates appears to be in the cards as well—12 percent of non-e-reader users say they are likely to get one in the next year.

Compare these numbers to a September 2009 survey from the research firm In-Stat, which showed that just 5.8 percent of respondents owned an e-reader, and it’s clear the e-reader market is growing, if slowly. Recent price drops by industry leaders Amazon and Barnes & Noble have helped to fuel sales of the book-size electronic devices, which now retail for around $140. This is significant, because high cost of the readers, which once sold for $250-$300, was a reason given in the In-Stat poll for not purchasing a device.

To read into the numbers a bit, it’s clear that avid readers are the early adopters of e-readers, and a slim majority of them are now reading more as a result. Price drops are sure to help lure more casual readers into the fold, although they are probably more likely to read an e-book on another device they already own, such as a smart phone or netbook. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple and others produce device-independent e-reader software and apps that allow users who purchase a book to read it on the device of their choosing. However, e-readers, which are tailored specifically for reading with their e-ink, low-glare screens, will likely remain the device of choice for more enthusiastic bookworms.

—Steve Martin

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Storytellers and writers have a lot in common. They both need to get a point across. The best writers not only have a point, but they get to it quickly, reinforce it with examples or supporting logic, and reemphasize the point in their conclusion. In a world in which anyone with a computer and Internet connection can claim to be an author, you can make your written words stand out if you follow these tips.

1. Have a point. What are you writing about? Every piece of business writing should have an objective. If you aren’t sure what yours is, take a moment to identify it before you start putting fingers to keys.
2. Get to the point. Known in the journalism trade as “burying the lead,” writers who dilly-dally and don’t let their reader know what their piece is about risk not only confusing the reader, but losing them altogether. Don’t leave them thinking that your piece on emerging South American markets is really an anecdote about a guy from Guyana that you met on a plane, because the reader didn’t get beyond the first paragraph.
3. Says who? Reinforce your point. Today, everybody has an opinion, some of which are based in fact and some of which aren’t. Unfortunately, while “that’s the way it is” may have worked for Walter Cronkite in a simpler time, it doesn’t cut it today. If you can’t cite facts or reputable reports or quote respected sources, you’re really just flapping your digital gums.
4. So what? Why does what you have to say matter? What’s the impact on the reader or on the broader world? Give your writing context so the reader understands its importance. For example, “Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicks over lantern in barn” has no importance. “Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicks over lantern in barn, burns down Chicago” answers the “so what?” question quite effectively.
5. If it’s worth writing once… Advertisers claim that consumers need to hear a message as many as eight times before it connects with them. The least you can do is give yours twice. Conclude your piece with a restatement of your key themes so that the most important information resonates with the reader.

Distinguish yourself as a writer by remembering your point, getting to it, reinforcing it, contextualizing it and repeating it. And then let it go to the audience for which it is intended.

Books and book authoring aren’t immune from this wave of change that all media are experiencing. While writing a book used to involve drafting a lengthy and complex book proposal that included such components as market research, a  target market description, and a few sample chapters, and only then searching for an agent who would pitch the work to a publisher, book authoring today can be much less complex and much more rewarding, thanks to self-publishing. If you are thinking about writing a book, consider these five reasons to self-publish it:

1. Cost. Self-publishing houses typically allow authors a greater share of the profit from the sales of their book. And often, you can choose to print as few (or as many) copies as the publisher is willing to print.
2. Timing. Because there is no requirement for extensive market research or an agent search, books can go from idea to print in much less time.
3. Content. It’s your book—the publisher prints exactly the words you want to see published.
4. Design. Do you want a specific font or a certain photograph on the cover? When you self-publish, you control the look of your book.
5. Control. The bottom line is that you’re in charge. If you want to retain control of your “baby,” self-publishing may be for you.

Of course, all of this control and flexibility means that the author has a lot more responsibility, as well. If the book is poorly written, if the jacket art is dull and lifeless, or if the layout is hard to read and confusing, there’s only one person to blame – you. And, if the book is in your garage and is not being marketed, you’re not going to get the personal and professional recognition you seek. It doesn’t even matter your book is a good one if no one knows about it. That’s why a strong marketing and media outreach plan is essential.

Fortunately, the professionals at Trade Press Services can help you write a great book and develop a stellar marketing campaign as well. You’ll still retain control, but the experts at TPS will guide and support you along the journey. Get started today—give Trade Press Services a call!

Writes Jannot, “Every time I summon up the vision of a paperless PopSci, my enthusiasm for the prospect inspires a certain horror among some readers, who write to let me know how betrayed they feel at the very notion of us migrating away from the pleasingly physical product that you’re holding in your hands.

“That said, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what makes a magazine a magazine, and here’s my definition: A magazine is a periodically delivered package of stories carefully curated, written, and designed by an expert editorial staff centered on a topic of passionate interest for a group of readers.”

Jannot touches on two very important issues relating to the viability and importance of traditional printed magazines and journals in the 21^st century. First, he mentions a “pleasingly physical product.” The psychological aspect of this cannot be understated. The arrival of a magazine, newspaper or trade journal often evokes the same feelings we experience when we open a gift package or see a mystery unveiled.

The cover of the publication hints at the wonders within. As we begin to proceed beyond the cover, it brings back memories of reading our favorite books or magazines from start to finish, whether they’re Hardy Boys novels or the latest issue of Seventeen, Forbes or Manufacturing Today. There is a very physical ritual involved in turning the pages, scanning the ads, and reading one’s favorite sections over and over.

The other key point that Jannot brings up is the notion of content. The Internet is full of seemingly authoritative content, much of which is unreliable because there are few filters or barriers to entry. Anyone with a PC and an opinion can look as professional as Reuters with the credibility of the New York Post. But when readers open a respected magazine or trade journal, they expect that what they read and see will be factual and accurate. There are high barriers to entry in the production of a publication, which generally leaves it in the hands of professionals, or as Jannot says, “carefully curated, written, and designed by an expert editorial staff.”

All of this suggests that due to the powerful psychological power of the printed word and our cultural tendencies to regard high-quality printed content as expert and factual, the era of the magazine, newspaper and trade publication is far from over. And that’s true. What remains to be seen is how to translate these powerful characteristics of print media to the digital stage. As Jannot says, “A glossy printed page is a great medium—I certainly don’t deny that. But for me, a full-color tablet redefines gloss completely.”

Finding a solid answer to this question is not as easy as you’d think. Most of what you’ll find will either justify editorial coverage as “priceless” or claim that it has value that can’t be measured in the same way as the impact of a new piece of equipment or a more fuel-efficient delivery truck.

Still, where there’s a will, there’s a way. A Canadian industry group has come up with a comprehensive standard to judge ROI on media relations efforts: MR2P, the Media Relations Ratings Points system. Designed by the Canadian Public Relations Society‘s Measurement Committee, the program is described in a user manual available from the website:

The MRP (Media Relations Rating Points) system provides communications and marketing professionals with an easy-to-use tool that measures the effectiveness of any public relations campaign. The 10-point rating system can be used for any type of media coverage (i.e. print, TV, radio, online). The MRP system can also be used to measure crisis communications and unplanned media attention after the fact.

The primary objective of the MRP system is to create a standardized reporting mechanism that can be widely accepted and utilized with ease to measure coverage results. This system can be easily customized by Company or by project. MRP provides clear metrics to evaluate media coverage, track total impressions and cost per contact.

Each piece of media coverage is scored on a scale of one to 10. The first five points are for “tone” (with positive tone of the piece in question scoring higher), while the remaining five points are awarded for any of five criteria from a list, including such things as company or brand mention, use of a photo or image, a spokesperson quote, inclusion of the website, a call to action, and others. The total score of a media campaign is the average of the tone score plus the average of the criteria score.

Sounds impressive—but does the system really work? Canadian writer Ben Boudreau appeared satisfied with the system when he evaluated his own PR experiences as a finalist in a Canadian writing contest in 2007; he scored six out of 10 (60 percent). Brendan Hodgson blogs about his company’s use of MR2P when they rolled out a PR campaign for a large client. Their final score: 84 percent.

Hodgson was pleased with the performance, but only because the numbers matched what his clients told him: they were thrilled. My opinion? It’s great that there is a system to quantify PR and media campaign success and ROI. However, it is more important to meet the client’s expectations, whatever they may be. As Hodgson says of their expectations, “If this is how they define success, then run with it.”

–Inigo Montoya, “The Princess Bride”

Writer Suzannah Windsor Freeman posted on her blog in November 2009 several adjectives that have lost all meaning and sense of perspective in modern usage. One of the most common is awesome, which today means “very good,” as in breathtaking, amazing and awe-inspiring. In the past, awesome meant inspiring fear or reverence. Angels were awesome, as were earthquakes, gothic cathedrals, solar eclipses and so on. It’s safe to say that compared to those things, Lady GaGa is not awesome.

Another of Freeman’s example is the word incredible. In modern usage the word also has the connotation of “very good, fantastic, or fabulous” while traditional usage defines it as less-than-credible or lacking credibility. Flying elephants are incredible. Alibis can be incredible. Witnesses or newspaper reports can be incredible. Can brownies be incredible? (I’ve yet to meet a desert I didn’t trust.)

Here are some more:.

• Literally. “I’m literally dying of thirst.” You’re probably not, but you may be doing so figuratively
• Unique. Something is either unique or it isn’t. One singer can’t be more unique than another one. So saying, “Madonna was the most unique singer of the decade” is like saying someone is “a little pregnant.” The same goes for…
• Perfect. It’s either perfect or it’s not, and there’s no such thing as “more perfect.”
• Ironic. This misused word was made famous by Alanis Morisette’s song of the same name which, ironically, contained no irony, just a lot of unfortunate coincidences.  A circumstance is ironic if it is the opposite of what’s expected, not if it’s a bummer. “It was ironic that the ship survived the storm at sea only to sink in the harbor.” (although that’s a bummer, too…)
• Mad. As Chris Rock once said, “Whatever happened to crazy?” If you’re mad, you have poor mental health. You’re not angry, although a temper tantrum may make one look mad.
• Appalled. Appalled shares a root with pallor, which means a white, ghostly complexion. To be appalled is to be so affected by something that it drains the blood from your skin. I don’t think as many of us are as appalled as we think we are.
• Practically. This means the opposite of theoretical, not “almost.” This is correct: “While the military’s new jet plane performed well in computer testing, it was practically useless on the battlefield.” This is incorrect: “I was practically killed on the way home.”

These are just a few examples. Readers, feel free to post more from your own experiences!

However, if not handled with tact, comedy can backfire and ruin an otherwise fine piece of writing. Writer Suzan St. Maur penned an article a few years ago on using humor in business that makes several good points. She writes that it’s easy to get humor wrong, especially when communicating over the Internet, which is often devoid of context. Sometimes, it’s the body language or the inflection that turns a tasteless joke into a tasteful one. When that human element is missing, all bets are off as to how the recipient of the message will take it.

Still, humor can be used successfully if the proper precautions are taken. St. Maur advises writers to use jokes about situations, not people. All of us can relate to certain situations—a plumbing emergency, a toothache or a speeding ticket, for example—but we may take offense at jokes aimed at ethnic groups, minorities or public figures. St. Maur goes on to say that humor is best used like a spicy condiment in business communications: sparingly, and avoided altogether if one doesn’t know the tastes of one’s audience.

There are other ways in addition to those mentioned by St. Maur to inject a little levity into one’s writing. One is to be self-deprecating. While readers may be quick to condemn an author if that author pokes fun at someone else, they may be inclined to laugh along with the author if they’re poking fun at themselves. And the ability to laugh at one’s self and point out one’s own foibles can be viewed as a sign of wisdom, humility, confidence and a certain level of comfort in one’s own skin.

Another way is quote famous and respected humorists, whose work has gained a measure of respect and acceptance in general society. For example, Mark Twain once said, “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” A comment like that might offend if an unknown author made it, but coming from Twain, it is likely to make others smile.

Whatever approach an author uses, it’s always best to have respected co-workers (or two or three) review the piece before it goes to print. If it causes raised eyebrows in the office, it’s likely to do a lot more damage with a wider audience. As Shakespeare, himself no stranger to satire and the clever use of humor, wrote in Henry IV, “The better part of valour is discretion.” When in doubt, don’t.

1.Know what’s important. What is informative, controversial, unique, entertaining or other exceptional about the story? Write about that.

2.Tell the real story, not your story. Too many writers of non-fiction try to inject their own points of view, preconceptions or prejudices into a story. Approach every topic with an open mind, and let the facts guide the writing.

3.Quote (mostly) accurately and in context. You don’t have to quote someone verbatim as long as you’re close and convey the same meaning, unless it’s a famous quote. And don’t use quotes out of context.

4.Spell names correctly. The first question every journalist should ask someone they’re interviewing: “Please spell your name for me.” Even if it’s Glen Smith, it might be Glenn Smythe.

5.Don’t use clichés. This is so often advised, that “avoid clichés” is now a cliché.

6.Use short sentences. Most nonfiction is written at an eighth grade reading level. While long, complex sentences are fine for creative writing class, they don’t work when you’re trying to convey information quickly and accurately. Likewise…

7.Use short paragraphs. Nothing turns off a reader more than an imposing block of text staring them in the face. Three to four sentences, max. Then hit enter.

8.Be careful with your punctuation. There isn’t much room for the exclamation point in nonfiction (or in fiction, for that matter). Unless you’re being purposely glib to set a tone or be interesting, then stick with periods.

9.And speaking of being interesting, be interesting. No one says nonfiction has to be dull or boring just because it’s factual and not fanciful.

10.The last two rules are the same as Leonard’s: Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. You need to figure out what that is, and get rid of it. It may be pointless exhibition, or it may be a statement of fact that we all know (e.g., “The current recession has been tough for small businesses.”).

And Leonard’s One Rule to Rule Them All: If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.