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I love revelation. I want to know what food products really have the highest nutritional value, and which cars on the market get the best gas mileage. I can’t trust ads to give me the facts when they have a product or service to sell. When an expert releases data that refute deceitful claims, I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Remember when she found out what The Wizard was up to behind the closed curtain? Fool me once, fool me twice. After that… Listen up, writers. Can you back up your snappy slogan or clever ad with solid data? Can you honestly claim that the face cream you’re hustling removes wrinkles or that your client’s sewage plan can save taxpayers $2 million a year? And what about the political candidate whose speeches you write? Does the candidate have the credentials you were hired to promote? Oh, I know what you may be thinking: I just write the text; proving it's factual isn't my job. And besides, I don’t have time to do that. All this may be true. But your value as a nonfiction writer lies as much in your integrity as it does in your skills. For professional nonfiction writers, it pays to... Thoroughly research the topicbefore you write. Ask sources for proof to back up their claims. Point out any discrepancies you uncover. Warn clients against jeopardizing their brands with misinformation. Digging up as many facts as possible allows you to write with clarity and conviction. Your clients may balk at so much revelation. But they'll thank you in the end for heading off an embarrassing counterclaim or costly lawsuit. The lesson? Truth-twisting and fact-fudging have consequences in nonfiction writing. ©Valerie Bolden-Barrett

By Valerie Bolden-Barrett www.ContentCreation2020.com How many emails do you get a day? How many have subject lines that instantly tell you what they’re about? If you’re like me, you get at least three dozen emails a day – more than you could possibly open and read in the time you have. And unless the subject line cuts to the chase by clearly stating the topic, you quickly delete it. When you're the sender, do you know what will likely make the receiver read your message? It’s probably a subject line that … · Has fewer than 10 words. · Relates to the receiver’s interests or expertise. · Avoids ambiguous words. · Never starts with “Breaking News.” Here’s why: · We’re busy people. We want to know instantly whether an email is worth reading. Wordy subject lines that bury the email’s topic make that harder to do. · Getting an email on how to buy a saddle is useless if you can’t ride a horse. · Ambiguity causes confusion, a major turn-off for email receivers. · “Breaking news” is breaking for the sender, not necessarily for the receiver. Here are examples of actual no-nonsense subject lines: 1. Your Whole Foods Market order has been cancelled 2. 11 uses for baking soda will change your life 3. The tax rules you need to know this year Turn-off subject lines read like this: 1. Almost 30,000 Bitcoin millionaires wiped in the last 3 months 2. [Company name} releases software updates providing operations managers with the ability to define, plan and deliver hybrid working 3. Join us for our press conference in person or virtually… What kinds of emails agitate you? Let me know what you think.