One of my readers sent me a thought-provoking email asking "why do good writers (occasionally) produce bad copy?" I thought about it for a while and here are a few suggestions.

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I was a cocky, sure-footed 29-year-old when I sent my Godmother a tear sheet from one of the celebrity magazines I wrote for. I was proud of it, in that Los Angeles, I'm-so-important-now kind of way. I was a writer working in the entertainment industry. It just didn't get any better than that. I was hob-knobbing with teen idols, movie and TV stars, rock 'n' roll bands, and had access to any backstage area I chose. Life was good.

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Wait! If you do care if "I could care less" is a phrase misused -- or not -- then check out the Grammarphobia Blog. The site is run by a couple of authors who were once newspaper editors and who now weigh in on "hang" verses "hung," "one fell swoop," another grammatical conundrums. Care to check it out? Please click here.

The Visual Thesaurus is very excited to support WNYC New York Public Radio's The Leonard Lopate Show, part of our commitment to sponsor public radio across the country. For those of you outside of Gotham, Leonard Lopate is a radio legend, a masterful interviewer who holds captivating on-air conversations with eclectic guests -- actors, writers, artists, sports heroes, chefs, even ex-presidents. We thought it would be fascinating to turn the tables on Leonard: Interview him about the art of interviewing. Here's our conversation:

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Early in my marketing communications (marcom) career, my supervisor gave me a pretty typical writing assignment. "This datasheet needs to be written pronto. Here's some information -- it should give you everything you need." I looked over the material and thought, "How am I supposed to write a datasheet using this? I don't even know what this product is!" Being new at the job, I didn't want to appear "dumb" by asking too many questions.

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Marketing communications expert Dianna Huff, who contributed this week's "Candlepower" feature, recommends these books on copywriting and grammar:

The Elements of Copywriting "This is my favorite, and most referred to, "Bly" book on copywriting. It's concise, well-organized and a great resource for experienced and "newbie" B-to-B copywriters alike."

Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay "Does the thought of reading grammar rules make your eyes glaze over? Me, too. That's why I like this book. It's a fun read plus you'll learn something."

Write on Target "If you don't have a clue what a "buck slip" is or want to get more from your direct response campaigns, read this book. It covers everything from "anatomy of a direct mail package" to "TV, Radio and Telephone Marketing."

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Dianna Huff, this week's "Candlepower" contributor, reads these marketing blogs and websites:

Web Ink Now

Blogging for Business

MarketingSherpa (Dianna also writes for them)

Marketing Profs

ClickZ