Writing to Be Understood

Writing to be Understood is a great resource! It covers handy topics such as, understanding your readers, writing for the tough audience, how to explain complicated ideas and using explanatory analogies, to name just a few. What is truly unique about this book is the inclusion of insights from a bestselling nonfiction author, a cognitive scientist, an economist and a comedian. You will find your own personal and effective writing style using the myriad of informative techniques outlined by author Anne Janzer. This book stands out among writing references. Five stars!

Fascinating look at nonfiction writing

I loved this book. I’m an avid reader of nonfiction, and I see certain patterns in the writing I like, such as humor and person anecdotes. And it is topics like this that Anne Janzer discusses in her book. While the book is directed to nonfiction book authors, I found it meaningful, and as I went along, I compared Janzer’s suggestions to the nonfiction books I’ve loved and I found that I agreed with her on almost everything. I recommend this book to readers of nonfiction for the insights it provides.

Writing to Be Understood takes the non-fiction writer behind the scenes so they can understand the science and psychology of writing. The book explored different techniques such as analogy, humor, metaphor etc. that can be used by writers to get your point across.

This book is a very good resource for writers. Anne Janzer took the time to ensure that the information being presented was clear and easily understood. She employed the techniques taught to show the readers how it could be used effectively.

I loved Writing to Be Understood! Anne Janzer has a terrific conversational tone which makes the book accessible, engaging, and fun to read. The organization of the chapters is sensible and intuitive, which makes it equally satisfying to read straight through or jump to the chapter that interests you.
Her central premise of audience-centered writing resonated deeply with me. Her advice and techniques to become better at this were excellent and easy to understand. I particularly like the short summaries of the most important things to remember that capped each section of new information.
Sprinkled throughout the book are words of wisdom from professional non-fiction writers from various industries. Seeing how audience-centered principles apply in different fields showed how vital they are in strong writing.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has to complete any writing, ever. Whether you are emailing a colleague or client, or are writing a major project, Writing to Be Understood will help you be a better, more effective writer.