Everybody Writes (2nd Edition): Your New and Improved Go-to Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

by Ann Handley

In the newly revised and updated edition of Everybody Writes, marketer and author Ann Handley improves on her Wall Street Journal bestselling book that's helped hundreds of thousands become better, more confident writers.

In this brand-new edition, she delivers all the practical, how-to advice and insight you need for the process and strategy of content creation, production, and publishing.

This new edition also all-new examples, tools, resources; an updated step-by-step writing framework; added and expanded chapters that reflect the evolution of content marketing (and evolution of Ann's thinking about what works today); the same witty and practical how-to approach; how to attract and retain customers with stellar online communication; how to choose your words well, sparingly, and with honest empathy for your customers; best practices and ideas for crafting credible, trustworthy content; and more.

Content marketing has evolved. Yet writing matters more than ever.

In this new edition of Everybody Writes, you'll find the strategies, techniques, tips, and tools you'll need to refine, upgrade, and (most of all) inspire your own best content marketing.

Genres: Writing, Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Communication, Professional Development, Personal Development

Audible Audio

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Ann Handley is the author of Everybody Writes (2nd edition, 2023), co-author of Content Rules (Wiley 2011), a speaker, and the world's first Chief Content Officer. More at AnnHandley.com.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the author has a very readable style and the book is broken up into easy to read sections, I found most of the information either repetitive or just plain tips I already knew. For example, the notion of "writing for one person" is pretty common, as were the tips for attention-grabbing headlines. I have already read such tips on Copyblogger and other writing blogs. Same for the social media tips --one can find the suggested length for a tweet or Facebook post almost anywhere. I would have also liked more case studies and examples. Plus, I think the book would have read better if it had focused more on specific kinds of writing, instead of being a master guide for everything.

A better and more informative book on writing is Gary V's "Jab Jab, Hook Hook," which, while I hated the title, went deeper into constructing effective social media posts. In "Everybody Writes," the resources for web images and important elements for newsletters and blogs were handy. Overall, I recommend this book to beginners only. More advanced folks should look to Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" and others for real inspiration.

[Richard Wu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite basic and repetitive at times. I'd wager most marketing professionals are already intimately familiar with the vast majority of the content presented here. If you're not a businessperson, don't bother - if you're a journalist, don't bother.

But:
1. If you don't work in marketing, or would like to hire a marketing person, this book can help you understand the day-to-day responsibilities of a content producer.
2. The guidelines on writing for different social media channels are relevant. Still, you can find everything you need to know about this online.
3. The resources at the end are also useful; developers have created all sorts of tools that can, for instance, parse through your text and identify uses of the passive voice or grade the reading level of individual sentences. Who knew?

On the other hand, if you're an actual writer, this book can be funny in the way that an algebra class for adults is also funny (nothing wrong with that of course). Just read through the first third of the book and forget the rest.

P.S. This is what happens when I read books I get for free, especially as a way to procrastinate reading weightier tomes. Don't do this.

P.P.S. I initially gave this book a 5/10, which is 2.5/5, which rounds up to 3 stars. However, I just remembered that Handley misquoted Yoda on page 85 - and this is NOT FORGIVABLE - so with great regret I had to dock the half-point.

[Erica Robyn Metcalf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a number of writing classes in school and none of them prepared me for writing in the business world. For my first few assignments for work, I found that I was spending far too much time drafting, just to have it be so reworked that I hardly recognized it by the time it was published. To be totally honest, I felt stupid trying to write in the business world.

Of course, writing takes practice. Lots and lots of practice! After reading Everybody Writes, I wished that I had found it much earlier because I have learned so much from it. So do yourself a favor and read this book. Whether you are fresh out of school, or just want to improve your writing skills, this is a great read!

[Patrick Rauland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I was a bit disappointed by this book. I think had expectations that this would unlock some secret writing ability within myself but surprise surprise it doesn't work like that.

I really liked the beginning of the book where the author focused on marketing / content marketing instead of fiction writing. She communicated over and over again why & how writing is important which I loved.

In terms of the tactics of writing it was a bit dry and boring. But I suppose that's to be expected with writing rules? I still learned something.

--- My notes ---

Writing is a muscle. The more you do it the better you get at it. The best advice to become a better writer is to write every day.

Content is the entire user experience. Tweets, blog posts, videos, images, etc.

If a visitor came to your site without it's branding. Could a user recognize it as yours? Would you stand out? You need to have a brand voice.

Writing with a narrative structure pushes people to think through problems within a fuller context. Good writing is getting inside the heads of other people to respect their needs & wants.

Quality content means content that is packed with clear utility and is brimming with inspiration and it has relentless empathy for the audience.

Utility means helping the customer.
Inspiration means it's inspired by data or creatively inspired. Fresh, different, well written, well produced, nicely produced, and it could only come from you.
Empathy means you care about your customers.

Quality writing doesn't mean writing like Hemmingway. The key is a relentless focus on your audience.

You'd think great writers would have very inspirational writing places.

"I'd love to say I have handmade Japanese paper and a 200 year fountain pen and every morning after making love for the 3rd time I go running for about 5 miles if I'm feeling lazy. At the top of our house there's an old cupola. And I watch the sunrise nude. And I write my poems longhand. I'm right handed but I use my left hand because I find it makes me more creative. And I write in latin because it forces my brain to work in a new way: backwards. Like Hebrew. But really I just sit in front of my computer"

Many writers keep regular hours to maintain the habit.

Hemming way did write standing up. And Maya Angelou kept a room in a hotel to escape the small chores of the day.

The best companies don't just churn out regular blog posts. Rather they put the needs of their audiences first. They regard the ability to create content as a privilege.

What is your business goal? What are you trying to achieve? Anything you write should be aligned with a larger business goal. Care about what you're writing. You could try to fake it but your users will know. You need to care what you're writing about.

Writing tips:

Trim word bloat. Sub in single words for phrases.

Although - "despite the fact that"
When / In - "When it comes to"
When / at time - "there will be times when"
Remains - "continues to be"
About - "In regard to"

Details are what make your words come alive. Specific details make your content vibrant. They paint a fuller clearer picture.

"Be specific enough to be believable. But universal enough to be credible."

In customer videos people often speak in buzz words and corporate lingo. If you want to make people look like humans don't shoot them in a conference room. Put them in a real life place.

Writing Group
- LinkEds & Writers - on linkedin.com
- Co-writers.com

NaNoWrMo - National Novel Writing Month - each November aspiring novelists commit to writing a 50,000 word novel by the end of the month.

Give yourself as a deadline if you want to get something done. Do the best work you can by the deadline you set. And then consider it finished.

Real words seem harder to come by than you think. Write in a way that comes naturally. Write for real people using real words. Avoid buzz words & jargon.
- leverage
- incentivize
- impactful
- ideated
- synergize

Avoid frankenwords
- solopreneur
- {word}geddon
- {word}pocalypse
- {word}article (ex. listicle)
- Chillaxin

Avoid nouns masquerading as verbs / gerunds.
- workshopping
- journaling
- incentivize
- bucketize

Avoid verbs / gerunds masquerading as nouns
- learnings

Avoid weblish
- don't have the bandwidth vs don't have the time
- let me ping you on that vs I'll get back to you
- you're my top resource vs I don't know what I'd do without you
- on your radar screen vs pay attention

Verbs are either active or passive. Passive meaning something is being done to something. Use active voice as much as possible.

Passive: Instagram has become popular among pizzerias and as a result many photos of people eating pizza are being posted.
Active: Instagram has become popular among pizzerias and as a result people are posting many photos of themselves eating pizza.

Use expressive words. They paid a vivid picture.

Minimize adverbs.

Avoid anti-wordiness. Choose brevity in your writing and use clear / simpler words.

Ways by which - ways
Continues to be - remains
In order to - to
There are times when - at times
Despite the fact that - Although
At which time - when
Inspite of - despite
When it comes to - In / When
The majority of - most
A number of - some / few / various
When asked - Asked
The same level of - as much
Moving forward - later
Centered around - centered on
Try and {verb} - Try to {verb}

Focus on how your products / services touch people's lives. Don't focus on the technology. Don't tell me who you are. Tell me why you matter to me.

Neil Gaimen said, "Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you."

Count how many times you use "you" and then count the number of times you use "us" or "we". Make sure "you" is crushing the "we's".

Your headline communicates your clear value.

All good content puts the reader first. Including the About Us page. About Us give you a chance to talk about yourself but in a way that explains how you help customers.

[Peg Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ann Handley's style of writing and she shares great tips for writers as well as content marketers and bloggers who write a lot.

I'd recommend this plus Content Rules, Ann's first book, for anyone that wants to blog and work in social media. Great read!

[Ammar Naaimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a LOT of useful concepts. My favorite concept (and the one I've been using at work recently) is identifying an audience and then excercising relentless empathy for them.

Everybody writes is a philosophy, guide and lisg of insights into writing content. It hinges on the premise that everybody has to write something at some point, so we might as well take advantage of a few basic ideas to improve our writing skills.

As mentioned above, my favorite concept was the idea of empathy for the audience, which leads to content tailored for you, instead of for my ego as the writer. I'm taking it far enough that I imagine a specific person reading my work. This is helping me at work (I write promotional and corporate content), but it's also helping with my fantasy books. I also enjoyed the explanation of direct writing and removing weak words from our writing.

The book disappointed me in was its own writer voice/writing style. It's clear and informative, buf personally I lean more towards fun voices in non-fiction. This is a minor issue, though, so all in all I'm happy to give it 3.5 stars.

[Anne Janzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Ann Handley's writing, so of course I got her new book when it was released recently. Even as a professional writer and former English major, I found the book valuable, in several ways.

First, validation -- here's someone who cares about the quality of the writing we read, even on webpages and in marketing materials. Thanks to Ann for that - I agree with so much of what she says.

Second, she has found ways to formulate some of the rules that I knew instinctively or intuitively - if nothing else, having her 'rules' helps me explain to others why I want to edit things or make the recommendations that I make.

Finally, I'm always learning, still. I didn't know about mondegreens or eggcorns. How did I miss those two words all my life? And her list of useful tools for writers is wonderful. I'm exploring many that are new to me.

Bottom line - whether you just do a bit of writing for work or make your living writing, you'll get something worthwhile from this book. And you'll enjoy the process of reading it.

[Asha Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

One-word review: Disappointing
.
.
Perhaps, meant only for beginners. If you are someone who has their basic grammar and writing rules in place, this book has nothing to add to your writing bucket.
.
.
Divided in five parts, this book only reiterates the same thing over and over again - write simple, avoid adverbs, use first person, use active voice and not passive, and some more of awfully insufficient information if one really wants to create ridiculously good content .
.
.
Ridiculously average, is what this was.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ann Handley does a great job of sharing many tips to improve writing skills, particularly when each of us are creating content daily on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and via email.

Her focus is on reader-centricity and really caring about your audience. Her formula is utility, inspiration and empathy equal quality content.

Short, pithy chapters filled with quotes, examples, and analogies make the book a fast paced read with the ability to focus on the chapters that mean the most to each reader.

[Brandy Cross · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're an experienced writer this book is 100% worthless. It was recommended to me at the end of a marketing course and I learned absolutely nothing reading it.

However, if you have never written for the Internet, it could be a valuable resource and guidebook for producing better content. It is well laid out, easy to read, and unlike the classics like S&W focuses more on creation rather than grammar rules.

[Paul Ince · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second edition, the second version, v2.0 - whatever you want to call it, the difficult second album this is not. Expanded, brought up to date, this is a go to reference for any writer out there, whether they’re a pro or someone looking to simply get better.

Read it as a reference book, or from cover to cover, the style of writing is accessible, living and breathing just like the author 😄

Fantastic read!

[Vance Ginn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Handley provides a quick, in-depth explanation of how to write everything well. Whether you’re interested in social media, blogs, or research papers, there are many good lessons in this book. Check it out!

[Addie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a phenomenal book!

Tons of tips, tricks, resources, advise and very funny.

[Alessandro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terribilmente americano.
Non mi servono citazioni pop ogni mezzo secondo per mantenere l'attenzione, anzi, il tutto diventa di un irritante che la voglia di leggere passa.
Per essere un "manuale di scrittura", oltre ai fin troppo abusati principi del marketing moderno (che si possono sintetizzare in essere concisi rimanendo umani, fine), il resto sono ovvietà scritte male.
Per mostrare che ho imparato la lezione del cap. 31, un'efficace considerazione finale: NAH!

[Elisa Doucette · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for the ultimate primer on how to create compelling content (especially in a marketing world) then this book is the absolute go-to. Part mindset and understanding, part theory and grammar, part messaging and "Why", Ann breaks down her decades of experience in writing and editing to give readers everything they ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

[Nixy Rigmarole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite possibly the best book I've read in years. The target reader writes content for his or her customers - marketing materials, website text, social media posts, etc. But the concepts here cover so much more. I'm thinking it's even helped my songwriting! I read it online, and I'll be looking for a hard copy soon. Great book!!

[Rajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is useful for content writers and general people as well. This will not make you a novelist but gives useful tips about writing on SM and web. This gives us confidence that anyone can write. Not only write but write well.

This is explained beautifully in the book:-

"In our world, many hold a notion that the ability to write or write well, is a gift bestowed on a chosen few. Writing well is considered a kind of art, linked murkily to muse and mysticism. That leaves us thinking there are two kinds of people: the writing haves—and the hapless, for whom writing well is a hopeless struggle, like trying to carve marble with a butter knife. But I don't believe that, and neither should you. The truth is this: writing well is part habit, part knowledge of some fundamental rules, and part giving a damn. We are all capable of producing good writing. Or, at least, better writing. As David Carr of the New York Times says, “Writing is less about beckoning the muse than hanging in until the typing becomes writing.”

What is content?

Content isn't limited to the text on our Web pages or product pages or blogs or e-mail newsletters. It's broader than the things we think of as marketing. Content is essentially everything your customer or prospect touches or interacts with—including your own online properties and Web pages and the experiences they offer, but also everything on any social channel (like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and so on)."

Book is divided into 6 parts dealing with writing rules, grammar and usage, story rules etc.

It gives sane advice like how to write naturally. First, forget about high school writing style and not using jargon. Put most important things first and so on.

This is a must read book for everyone who is interested in writing well no matter what is the purpose.

[Dave Rothacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the hardcover but I don't think the ISBN listed in the book brings up the correct version here at Goodreads.

Here is the best way that I can sum up Ann's work. I write. Ann's book is designed to help people write better. I will keep Everybody Writes within arm's length of my writing chair.

Towards the end of the book Ann says, "By this point in the book you and I are friends, so you know my position."

Truth be told I've known Ann's position for years (I do not know her personally though). But not more than fifteen seconds before I read this statement I thought, "man, I really feel like I know Ann better."

While that might sound corny, and the experience was over the top weird, that is exactly how I felt at that point in the book.

[Kirsty Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband was initially supposed to read this book for work but never did. I just happened to have a spare few minutes and started to read the first page...well that was it, I couldn't put it down. This book is not only a good read being funny and addictive, but its so educational; Ann Handley talks about writing in a sense that you want to start writing your self. She provides you with the tools to start writing in a way that schools never provided us with.

I've enjoyed it that much that it has joined my 'to buy' pile and I'm looking out for other books written by Ann Handley.

[Erin Brenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were going to write a book on writing for business, this is what I would have written. Only Ann is much funnier than I am! She takes readers through, step by step, sharing plenty of examples and making the process easy to understand. If you're doing more business writing or -- gasp! -- been charged with content marketing, Ann will help you improve your writing skills and become comfortable with being a writer.

[Steven Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

47 pages in and she's used the word "grok" twice. I'd no idea what it meant (ironic, as it's a 1961 coining meaning "to know immediately"). Is "grok" something any of you throw into conversation? If so, I'd love to know how it's used properly. "It was a gnarly problem but I had no problem groking the answer"? "She so groked it"? "He just looks at you and he groks what's on your mind"?

[Soheil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyvody Writes is easily recommendable to anyone who specializes in or is planning to work in content marketing. I can even go further and say this book is a must read for anyone who wants to write anything. From social media posts to emails and year-end annual reports this book covers it all. And in an understandable way.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to a colleague rather than to a friend struggling to write for a hobby. The Content Tools section at the end of the book has some great resources that I should look into in the future!

[NadiaN99 · Rating 2 out of 5]

چرا کتابی در مورد نوشتن برای بیزینس خوندم؟چون به خیال خودم قرار بود با خوندنش بتونم از این به بعد تشخیص بدم وقتی یه چیزی بهم تبلیغ میشه داره چه تکنیک هایی روی ذهنم انجام میشه
خوب بود؟آره اطلاعات خوبی داشت
آیا خوندنش لازمه و چیز جدیدی داره که با یه سرچ ساده نشه پیدا کرد؟نه

[Patricia Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could snap and post a photo of how I finished this book. I don’t think I’ve ever tabbed a book as much as I have here. I basically tabbed every chapter. You know this book is gonna be living in my backpack for a long while.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last book of the year! I love Ann Handley. She is so funny. And committed to very short paragraphs. This book was a blast to read which I never thought I would say about writing manual of sorts dedicated to marketers.

[John Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a worthless read, but a touch painful to slog through for me. Some good tidbits mixed with old ideas.

[Trang Ngo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blah blah guide to writing for brands.
Some good tips and tricks.
Can be used for reference but quite boring to read.

[Khadijah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I learned absolutely nothing from this (since it was so basic), found countless typos, and had to endure Handley’s consideration of Buzzfeed as a reputable source for writing style.

[Javier Lorenzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda repetitive towards the end, but had some good insights scattered here and there. Really enjoyed the first few "big ideas" sections, but the more specific tips sort of drag on after that.