Recommended Reading

 

 

 

cover

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

 

by William K. Zinsser

 

 

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If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit

 

by Brend Ueland

 

 

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The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

 

by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, & Roger Angell

 

 

 

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The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition

 

by University of Chicago press Staff

 

 

 

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The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage : The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper

 

by Allan M. Siegal, William G. Connolly

 

 

 

Writing a white paper is not rocket science, but it is not a walk in the park either. If you are a product marketer, engineer, or SE, and you are about to start a white paper project, these tips might help.

 

 

 

Tip # 1

 

Writing is a Process

 

No matter how well you write, and no matter how much you love writing, you will not write a good white paper in one draft. It is almost impossible.

 

Writing is a process. It begins with a first draft and progresses, through many edits and revisions, to a finished piece.

 

Rather than try to get everything right the first time, focus on writing down everything you know about the subject. Get it out of your head and onto paper - or laptop, desktop, etc..

 

At this early stage in the process do not concern yourself with structure and logic. There will be plenty of time to make changes during the editing process.

 

Outlines are often helpful. But, don't be afraid to throw it out if it doesn't work for you.

 

For excellent insight into the writing process, and a reassuring read when plagued by doubt, find William Zinsser's book "On Writing Well." You do not need to read the whole book. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 are short and a good place to start. After you have your first draft in hand read chapters 4, 6, and 7. And, as the piece begins to look like it is finished, read chapters 8, 9, and 10 - and 20 if you really start enjoying yourself.

 

 

Tip # 2

 

Writing Should Really be Called Editing

 

Now that your first draft is complete the work begins. Writing is 2% creative thought and 98% editing.

 

Expect to revise your paper upwards of 20 times before it is complete. If you want to track your edits try renaming your document each time you complete one revision cycle. Start at blah_blah_blah_D1.doc and increment as you make each pass through the document.

 

 

Tip # 3

 

Be Fearless

 

You may find that you get stuck, during the editing process, because you get emotionally attached to your words. This is not unusual but it is time consuming. When you find that you have spent hours, perhaps days, turning your paper upside down in an attempt to hold onto a cool phrase, a clever metaphor, or a witty joke, then you are here.

 

The answer is to be fearless. Delete anything in your paper that appears too clever, too funny, or extraordinarily literate. You can do it now, or several days from now. But, one way or another, those words will not make it to the final draft. So save yourself some time and be fearless.

 

As a rule of thumb, never use a metaphor that you have seen used before and avoid humor. It takes a lot of skill to be funny. It is worth remembering that a white paper is an educational piece. Your audience does not expect Hemmingway. They will be very happy if the writing is clear and concise.

 

 

Tip # 4

 

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

 

Ignore punctuation, spelling, grammar, and usage rules in your first few drafts. There is no sense spending time dotting i's and crossing t's when half of the paper is going to be thrown out and the other half completely rewritten!

 

 

Tip # 5

 

Keep it Simple and it Will be Readable

 

There are a couple of tricks that you can use to make things more readable. Zinsser's book is a great resource for this type of thing.

 

  • Keep sentences short
  • Avoid jargon. You can never be certain that the reader and you agree on the meaning of a jargon phrase.
  • Use simple, straightforward language. Your readers will not be carrying around a dictionary and thesaurus. If they don't understand something you've written they are likely to put your paper down and not pick it up again.

 

 

Tip # 6

 

Welcome Other People's Edits

 

Sending your white paper out for review is a necessary step in the process, but it can be traumatic. Although your paper will be returned with so many comments and corrections that you barely recognize it each comment is valuable.

 

You must keep in mind that the edits are not personal. Those red-lines and comments are readers telling you that they love your work, "but wouldn't it be clearer if you said it this way instead."

 

Don't get upset about the edits. They will make your paper stronger. Better that the marketing assistant correct a strained metaphor now than to have it staring at you from the pages of Computing - where that same marketing assistant managed to work a miracle and get it published as a vendor-neutral piece - for the rest of your career.

 

 

Tip # 7

 

Books, Books, Books

 

Now that we're getting close to the end you need to look at some reference material. Check out the recommended reading list on this page and find a copy of a good dictionary, thesaurus, and style guide.

 

Armed with you reference books, find a quiet corner, pour yourself a big cup of coffee, and work through every sentence in the paper.

 

  • Check punctuation - refer to Strunk and White.

 

  • Don't assume that you reader is smarter than you. If you are not sure of a word's meaning look it up and make sure you are using it in the right context.

 

  • Use the thesaurus to find simple words to replace anything that might be misinterpreted. And don't just pick the first word you see. Find words that match the context of your discussion.

 

 

Tip # 8

 

Reading Aloud

 

Here are a few tricks that can help root out problems that resists all other methods.

 

  • Read the paper through - in your mind - in the voice of your favorite TV news presenter (I use Morley Safer from 60 Minutes). Look closely at any wording that causes you to stumble.

 

  • Read your paper aloud. Again, any wording or phrase that causes you to read something twice means there's a problem. Figure out what it is and fix it.

    •  

  • Finally, to flush out some of those truly impossible-to-spot problems, change the font and read the paper again. This is a good way to spot echoes - words used twice in the same sentence, or in consecutive sentences.

 

 

Tip # 9

 

Online Resources

 

In addition to a good selection of writing books - see the recommended reading list - the sites listed below offer great reference material, and it's free!

 

 

 

  • The Dictionary of Storage Networking Terminology SNIA

 

 

 

 

Tip # 10

 

Don't Forget Product Positioning

 

Finally, a tip from that may save, not just time, but your paper. Stick with product positioning.

 

If you fail to take account of the "official" positioning messages when writing you paper you risk stumbling into a region of hell that exists solely for writers of white papers. Sending your paper out for review will prompt conflicting sets of edits from different groups within your organization, each with their own idea on product positioning messages.

 

It is not unusual for a sales team to use one set of messages - often tactical and eye-catching - the CEO to use another - strategic and philosophic - and product marketing yet another. Engineering, needless to say, will be the only group that really understands what the product does, and will have their own ideas about what is most important about the product. And customer support, based on actual experience with customers, will have a pretty good feel for what doesn't work, and, hence, what should not be emphasized.

 

At best, disagreements about positioning can lead to a thorough review of product messaging, and at that point you can continue with your project. At worst, unfortunately, it can mean that your paper is put on a shelf and never sees the light of day.

 

Getting positioning straight is a challenge. If a product positioning document does not already exist you might consider creating one, just to save time later on. 

 

If you think this is a lot of effort, and it can be, remember that your words will take on a life of their own once they leave the confines of your laptop. White papers have a habit of finding their way onto the desks of important people, like the analyst putting together a marketplace overview for some Fortune 10 company, or the CIO of that same Fortune 10 company, as he decides whether to spend a couple of million on your product or your competitors. With this in mind, it is perfectly understandable why so many people would want to influence how you describe your product.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy these tips and tricks. And I hope they help.

 

If you embark on a white paper writing project I wish you the best of luck. And if you need any help or support please feel free to drop me a line.

 

All the best,

 

 

 

 

 

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