The Fundamentals of Short Form

Hi there,

Something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time is help writers become better at the craft of short-form writing. This means more than tweets and blog posts (but includes those too, of course) and focuses on the importance of saying something powerful in as few words as possible.

Watch the video below to get the gist or keep reading.

As you may know, I got my start as a short-form writer, writing emails for a nonprofit organization—then, later, blog posts and longer works. What I learned from that apprenticeship was this: Before you can master something as unwieldy as a book, it’s best to begin with a few hundred words.

Poetry can be a great way to become more economical with your writing, but it’s often an intimidating place to start. Like my friend Marion taught me years ago, I recommend mastering the art of the short-form essay. Before you can say it in fifty thousand words, you should get good at saying it in 750 words.

Understanding the fundamentals of short-form writing will help make you better at sending emails, writing blog posts, and even creating copy for products, services, and other stuff you might want to sell some day.

It also makes you a better thinker, more convincing persuader, and eventually helps you write better books.

Next month, I am going to teach a new, live class on the subject of short-form writing—available for only 50 people (due to capacity issues on Zoom). Anyone who signs up for this class will also get an online course on writing better blog posts called Effective Writer, which I’m pulling out of the vault just for this occasion.

All the details are below, and if you sign up in the next few days, you’ll get an early bird discount plus some the warm and fuzzy feeling of not missing out. And for those who are feeling audacious, I’m opening up 10 one-on-one spots for anyone who wants direct feedback on a piece of their writing (no longer than 1500 words).

Option A: Live Workshop

In this two-hour live class, I will share my process for creating a piece of writing, why short-form can be so powerful, how to begin writing, and when to know if your piece is done.

I will also spend some time answering questions and workshopping some of the challenges writers tend to experience when working with a piece.

Below are more details:

• The two-hour live workshop, The Fundamentals of Short-Form, will be on Wednesday, April 24, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Central time.

• Only 50 spots available (first come, first served).

• Bring a piece no longer than 1500 words so that you can workshop it in real time.

• If you cannot make the live workshop, you can still submit questions ahead of time and get the recording later.

• Bonus: Included as an extra download in the live workshop is my digital course Effective Writer (a $197 value), which you can go through at any time.

Price: $199 through Wednesday, March 27 (goes up to $249 on March 28).

Sign Up for the Seminar

Options B: Live Workshop + Individual Coaching

For those who want one-on-one feedback, this bundle allows you to get all of the above plus one 45-minute call with me where we can go over your piece, answer any questions you have, and I’ll share some tips on how to make it better.

Here’s how it works:

• Attend the live workshop or watch the replay.

• Send me a piece via email you want me to review before April 30 (my team and I will be in touch with you once you sign up).

• Schedule a time to talk with me after sending me your piece before May 31.

• Only 10 spots available (first come, first served).

• If you cannot find a time to schedule a call with me, I will send you a short screen share video going over your piece.

• No refunds for those who do not send me their piece in time or schedule a call within the allotted time frame.

Price: $399 early bird through Wednesday, March 27, $499 regular pricing. I will need to manually change the price.

Grab Your Coaching Spot

I’m looking forward to this live class and coaching opportunity; if you have any questions, shoot me a reply or drop a comment on this post. I hope this is helpful, and if it goes well, I may do more of these sorts of things in the future.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff

P.S. If neither of the above is a good fit, you can also sign up for Option C: just the Effective Writer course. This is a short online video course that offers you a proven system for consistently creating great content. Included in this is:

• a scorecard to help you evaluate blog posts, articles, and email newsletters;

• a simple, proven process for outlining an article, writing it, and editing it;

• and a recorded live workshop on how to write a great article.

Price: $49 through Wednesday, March 27 (goes up to $79 on March 28).

Get Just the Course