Short Shorts

Who likes short shorts?

Short-form content has three advantages over long-form, says journalist and teacher Roy Peter Clark.

Power, wit and polish.

Short-form's brevity gives it power, as Seth Godin proves every day.

Brevity also lets writers be witty, as David Meerman Scott often proves.

And brevity lets writers polish words and expose their luster, as Dan Bailes does.

Among short-form gems, Clark includes the arresting (but oft-forgotten) photo caption.

Photo captions force readers to hit the brakes, says blogger Sean D'Souza, preventing them from "zooming madly from the start to the end" of your content.

Curiosity—our compulsion to "be right" and "be in the know"—compels us to slow down and read captions, D'Souza says.

We can't help ourselves.

Harvest Time

Salesman Ray Kroc was 52 when he asked the McDonald brothers to let him franchise their drive-in burger joint.

Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was 54 when he wrote Symphony No. 9.

Pharmacist John Pemberton was 55 when he started to sell his invention, Coca-Cola.

Actor Ronald Reagan was 55 when he first ran for public office in California.

Former slave Nancy Green was 56 when she was selected to portray the trade character "Aunt Jemima" by the Pearl Milling Company.

Philosopher John Locke was 57 when he penned An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises of Government, his magnum opuses.

Pamphleteer Daniel Defoe was 58 when he penned Robinson Crusoe.

Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was 59 when he directed Vertigo. 

Actor Sidney Greenstreet was 61 when he began his film career.

Gas station operator Harland Sanders was 65 when he opened his first fried chicken restaurant.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was 70 when he designed Fallingwater. 

Artist Grandma Moses was 78 when she first picked up a paint brush.

Even though I've worn out two dozen erasers in my Saturday afternoon drawing classes, I feel a thrill every time the marks resemble the thing in front of me.

Any gardener will tell you, patience and blind faith are the keys to an autumn harvest.

"Here's to the late bloomers, holding on 'til our time arrives," says songwriter and storyteller Korby Lenker.

Learn more about later bloomers from Dan Pink and Malcolm Gladwell.

"Autumn Leaf" by Robert Francis James. Charcoal on paper.

The Positive Side of Rejection

Washington, DC-based freelance writer Dan Bailes contributed today's post. His clients include the MacArthur Foundation, National Geographic, the Smithsonian and the State Department. Between assignments, Dan explores storytelling through his blog, The Vision Thing.

Whenever I present a creative project to a client, there's always the possibility they'll have problems, will want to change it, or just won't like it. No one wants to have their work rejected or sent back for fixes. Still, there's a positive side to rejection. After creating and presenting hundreds of projects for clients, here's what I've discovered:

1. Not everyone will "get it" or like it, whatever "it" is. You should expect that.

2. When you present your project for review or comment, people rarely say, "It's great!" It's more likely they'll say something needs to be changed or fixed. If you expect that, it won't upset you when it happens.

3. It's not personal. Learn to keep a professional distance between you and your work. Stay objective and keep an open mind.

4. Everyone has an opinion. Just because they have one doesn't mean they're "right." Even so, listen to the comments and try to understand what they are telling you.

5. Ultimately, you have to decide if the criticism is useful. That's why keeping an open mind is important. A comment may ultimately help you think about a problem in a new light.

6. When someone criticizes your work, listen to what they tell you, then repeat back what you hear so you both know you're on the same page.

7. Don't be afraid of criticism—it can help you improve the work. You should be focused on improving the work too.

8. Instead of trying to defend your work, ask questions until you are clear about what underlies the comments and criticism. Then you have an opportunity to find a solution that will work for everyone.

9. Stay positive and don't be discouraged. Follow these guidelines and you can turn rejection into an opportunity.

How to Turn Your News Releases into News Stories

Media and presentation skills coach Edward Segal contributed today's post. He has placed stories in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times, and is author of Profit by Publicity.

The news release is one of the most important and effective ways to tell the media and the world about you or your organization, what you are doing, why you are doing it, when you are doing it, and how you are doing it. These one- to two-page documents should:

• Answer the all-important question of “who cares and why?” 

• Include the who, what, when, where, why and how of your story (whether it’s an announcement about the hiring of new employees, the opening of a new office, or an important award or recognition your company has received).

The best news releases are self-fulfilling prophecies: the more they are written as real news stories and sent to reporters who will be interested in them, the more likely it is that they will become news stories. 

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all, fill-in-the-blanks news release. Rather, you should think of your news release as a custom-made dress or suit that must be carefully tailored to tell your own story in the most effective and attention-getting way possible. Here are 11 steps for preparing your own tailor-made news release: 

1. Include your name, phone numbers and e-mail, social media and Web site information at the top of the first page. This will make it as easy as possible for reporters to contact you if have questions about the release or want to interview you.
 
2. If appropriate, place your announcement in the context of relevant trends or developments.
 
3. Organize the information as if it were a pyramid, with the most critical information at the top and the least important at the bottom.
 
4. Summarize the announcement with an attention-getting headline.

5. Write a succinct opening paragraph that summarizes your story or announcement.
 
6. Explain the impact your story or announcement will have on audiences of the news organizations that receive the release.
 
7. Insert a short quote (no more than 35-50 words) by from company official about the announcement. 

8. If appropriate, include a call for action.
 
9. Include relevant facts, figures and background information. 

10. If necessary, include a picture that illustrates the announcement, accompanied by a descriptive brief caption (also called a cut line).
 
11. To signify the end of the release, insert -30- or ### at the bottom on the last page of the release and center it on the page.
 
In addition to writing your releases as if they were newspaper stories, be sure to abide by the same rules for grammar and punctuation that reporters follow when they write their articles. Refer to the Associated Press Stylebook for guidance.

While it is certainly not standard practice, if the release is well-written and meets the criteria of a legitimate news story, sometimes a news organization will simply run the release, or use major excerpts from it, exactly as you gave it to them.

Lost in a Daydream

One hundred years ago this month, Einstein stood before the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin and read his paper describing the General Theory of Relativity, "the most beautiful theory in the history of science," according to biographer Walter Isaacson.

Isaacson wants to use the centennial to celebrate daydreaming, as he says in a recent op-ed in The New York Times.

Einstein concocted the theory not by recasting formulas, but by daydreaming about light beams and billiard balls.

Isaacson argues we should goad kids to accomplish more than memory-work. "We should stimulate their minds’ eyes as well."

"Everything of value in our world started at some point with an idle daydream," writes marketer Mark Schaefer in Born to Blog. "Dreaming helps us connect the dots. Dreaming is mandatory for seeing the world as it should be, rather than how it is."

Take a few minutes today, grab a coffee or chocolate bar, and celebrate Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

But, please, don't interrupt your daydream.