Interactions - May/June 2010

(P)REVIEW
EDITOR
Alex Wright
alex@agwright.com

to embed links in content or place them in a
block at the end of the text. Every writer will
benefit from her guidance on how to write
short, simple sentences that still convey per-
sonality with an appropriate tone of voice.
Letting Go of the Words differs from Sheffield’s
and Halvorson’s books in that the author is not
trying to evangelize the growing discipline of
content strategy—indeed, she doesn’t seem to
mention those words at all. She’s more con-
cerned with giving readers specific techniques to
improve their writing than she is with the over-
all process for managing content development on
large-scale websites.
For readers who are already familiar with
user-centered design techniques and with best
practices for creating usable websites, this book
might cover too much familiar territory. But for
writers and site owners who are less familiar
with tactics to develop a great user experience,
this book offers a helpful introduction to writing,
layout, and design for the Web.
Letting Go of the Words:
Writing Web Content
that Works
Janice (Ginny) Redish
Morgan Kaufman Publishers, 2007
$49.95
For an aspiring content strategist
(or web Project manager)
Are you currently working as a technical writer
or Web editor and want to know what additional
skills you would need to apply for a job as a
content strategist? Or maybe you’re working as
a project manager or Web producer, and need
to know how to fit content strategy into your
existing Web development process. Richard
Sheffield’s book, The Web Content Strategist’s Bible,
will give you the introduction and tools you need
to understand this evolving field of practice.
Sheffield builds credibility by describing his
own career transition from technical writer to
content strategist. His advice to job seekers on
how to position their skills and present their past
experience rings true, because he did it himself.
He supplements his own story with instructions
on how to search for a content-strategy job, and
offers advice about how to tailor a résumé to the
needs and wants of hiring managers. As the field
of content strategy continues to grow, there’s an
increasing need for experienced practitioners;
this book will be indispensable to people from
related fields like technical writing who want to
make a career change.
That’s not to say that only people who are
seeking to become content strategists would

the Web Content strategist’s
bible: the Complete Guide
to a New And Lucrative Career
for Writers of All Kinds
Richard Sheffield
Cluefox Publishing (Createspace),
2009
$25.99