Writing for busy readers : communicate more effectively in the real world / Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink.

On jacket, the title is given as: "You are writing more than ever, competing for the attention of busy readers who skim." All of these words are crossed out, except for "Writing for busy readers."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-234) and index.

Part one. Engaging the reader
Get inside your reader's head
Think like a busy reader
Know your goals
Part two. Six principles of effective writing
First principle: less is more
Second principle: make reading easy
Third principle: design for easy navigation
Fourth principle: use enough formatting but no more
Fifth principle: tell readers why they should care
Sixth principle: make responding easy
Part three. Putting the principles to work
Tools, tips, and FAQs
Our words, our selves
Now what?
Checklist
Appendix: words and alternatives

"We were all taught the fundamentals of writing well in school. But how do we write effectively in today's hyper-interactive world? When The Elements of Style and On Writing Well were published in 1959 and 1976, the internet hadn't been invented. Since then, there has been a radical transformation in how we communicate. The average American adult receives over 120 emails and over 100 text messages each day. With all this correspondence, gaining a busy reader's attention is now a competition. Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink, both behavioral scientists, offer practical writing advice you can use today. They begin by outlining cognitive facts about how busy people read, then detail six research-backed principles for effective writing: Use fewer words, Lower the reading level, Use formatting judiciously, Make the purpose clear for skimmers, Emphasize value for readers, Make responding as easy as possible Including many examples, a checklist and other tools for the most effective writing, this handbook will make you a more effective communicator. Rogers and Lasky-Fink bring Strunk, White, and Zinsser's core ideas into the 21st century's radically transformed attention marketplace"-- Provided by publisher.