I have a close friend, whose work I have helped edit for more than 20 years. He likes to say that my job is to review his writing, find the very best parts and then remove them. He is half joking. But only half.

In my defense, I will say that I am simply following the advice of British journalist, critic, and novelist Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, who said: "Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it — wholeheartedly — and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings." Continue reading...

I love the assonance in my name, the repeated long "u" sound in Julia Rubiner. Which isn't to say I haven't daydreamed that my name is Julia Jubiner (or for that matter, in the manner of Scooby Doo, Rulia Rubiner) because then I'd enjoy both assonance and alliteration, two of my favorite poetic devices, and, as I've learned in my copywriting work, two great tastes that taste great together (the writer who coined that phrase on behalf of Reese's to describe the relationship between peanut butter and chocolate clearly knew a thing or two about assonance). Continue reading...

My company, Articulate Marketing, helps big tech companies communicate better about their products and services. A large part of my work is writing editorial-style content for websites. My credentials are my work for HP, Microsoft, eBay and others.

In the past couple of weeks, several people have asked me for advice about becoming a web copywriter, so here it is. Continue reading...

Books to inspire young writers to tell their own stories.

The Young Writer's Companion

Writing Magic

What's Your Story?

Live Writing

A website is a strange beast — it is your reception area, your office, your shop, your brochure, your catalogue... And all without being able to walk into it, sit down in it, touch it. But just as you wouldn't want your customers to get lost on the way to a sales meeting in your offices, or to leave your shop in frustration because they can't find the goods they're looking for, so it is crucial that the visitors to your website can find their way around your website and get to where they want to go as easily as they can follow a sign, open a door, reach onto a shelf. The science of designing sites that work for visitors is known as usability. Continue reading...

Successful writers of fiction need to master the fine art of self-editing. Here are a few books to help you clean up your prose.

Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

Write Great Fiction: Revision And Self-Editing

The word said has an elegant, indispensable simplicity. It's a mainstay of the journalist's art: "Five out of five editors find the noun form of the word 'overwhelm,' currently in vogue among the nation's life coaches, completely unacceptable," said Dr. Carla Ridge, founder of SSOUON (the Society to Stamp Out the Use of Overwhelm as a Noun). And in that context, exclusive use of "said" is appropriate and welcome. Continue reading...