Mar 12
When did fanfiction start being more professionally written than actual professional books?
Hm, let's bring cringe back, fanfic authors are stressing out from just writing one sentence wrong.
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When did fanfiction start being more professionally written than actual professional books?
Hm, let's bring cringe back, fanfic authors are stressing out from just writing one sentence wrong.
I think some people don't understand that people writing fanfic and people creating media that millions of people will pay money for have very different obligations.
A fanfic author isn't obligated to worry too much about canonical consistency or political themes or things like that, because fanfic is a hobby.
But a professional creator is creating something other people will have to pay money to experience. If their work is sloppy, they deserve to be criticized.
i'm curious to know what people prefer. i'm a computer person but i also take notes and write out my character information by hand (or at least until i get sick of it and move to a computer).
preferred method of writing? (whether it be fanfic, personal, professional, etc.)
computer
pen/pencil and paper
a typewriter
fancy notebook and writing utensils
clay tablet and chisel. sometimes i even make the tablet by hand.
i don't write.
one of those portable typewriter things (i.e., freewrite)
i use multiple ways listed
If money weren’t an issue, would you make writing your career?
Yes
No
Other / unsure
See results
Writing a Professional Email
I work in client services, which means that a frankly depressing amount of my job is writing emails, both for myself and for other people. There is an art and a science to writing professional emails.
The subject line
The subject line should be informative enough that somebody scanning through their inbox can tell what the email is about and whether they need to look at it any time soon. Depending on their job, some people get hundreds or thousands of emails a day, and they need to be able to tell at a glance whether an email is important to them.
When emailing someone particularly at another organization with a question, I will often use "Inquiry" or "Question" in the subject line. depending on industry standards, you may also use something like RFI (request for information).
If you want to be clear on why exactly you're sending an email, it is the standard in some industries to start your email with For Action: or For [Reason]: (e.g., For Review:, For Situational Awareness:). I generally only include that in emails staying within my organization, but depending on how well you know whoever you're emailing, you may or may not feel comfortable to do that outside of your organization.
You may not need to be that prescriptive in your email subject lines. if I'm emailing someone about tuition assistance, I might just use the subject "Tuition Assistance."
The salutation
How you address the person sets the tone of the entire email. A lot of this has to do with industry standards and the level of formality you're trying to convey.
At my organization, the explicitly-stated expectation is that you will address everyone, regardless of level, by their first name. If I got an email from someone at my organization referring to me by Ms. [Surname] I would be immediately confused and suspicious.
When emailing agents or addressing them in query letters, it seems like the expectation is often to use their first name--but you should always check, in case they specifically say they want to be referred to in some other way.
When emailing someone with an industry-specific title (professor, doctor, military or law enforcement) it's often your best bet to start with their title. You should make sure you know how to properly abbreviate them, if you do that--the same military rank, for example, is abbreviated differently depending on the service (e.g., Second Lieutenant is abbreviated 2LT, 2ndLt, and 2d Lt).
As you become closer to them, you may start to address them by their first name--but not necessarily.
Also some people/industries prefer "Hi" while others prefer "Dear". if you're really not sure, I've found that defaulting to "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" is often an easy workaround.
The body
Organize the body of the email so the most important information is clear, easy to find, and unambiguous. I frequently use bullets and/or tables in my emails. I also use strategic bolding and underlining, especially for due dates or specific asks.
If you don't know the person or they won't understand why you're the one emailing them about the thing, it can help to introduce yourself. If you're going to do so, keep it short and focus on the key info (e.g., "I am part of x team and am reaching out to you because of y").
If you think your email is too long, it probably is.
The closing
I recommend finding a closing that works for you and stick with it. What I see most commonly are Best, Regards, Best Regards, or Sincerely, but you have a good deal of flexibility here. (I use Regards.)
You should also consider whether to sign off with your first name, full name, or full name + title. I use first name because my signature has my full name.
The signature
Most (all?) email service providers let you set a default signature. My organization has a very prescriptive signature block, so for my work email I just use that.
If you don't have that, I recommend some version of
Full Name Organizational Title Organization
editing part 1:;;;
typing up this book right now
——now take your unique 1 of a kind hand written manuscript and type it up :;; edit as you type:;; putting in all the final details you wanted:;:
when done publish as an e - book.📕
A reflection
You may not know this, but I work a day job as a technical writer. This is probably the point where you're asking "what's a technical writer?" and for that, I don't blame you. Most people don't really know anything about technical writing; even I didn't really know anything about technical writing before I started doing it 8 years ago.
To rectify this, I've written a description of what it is I actually do, along with a list of things I've learned over the last 8 years (many of which are equally applicable outside the realm of technical writing).