Five reasons to get that freebie on the right

When you write well, any of several good things happen.

• People tend to respect you and consider you an expert.
• They keep reading.
• They might even enjoy reading what you write.
• They trust you.
• Most important, they are more likely to do what you tell them.

And if you write poorly, any of several bad things will happen (not might happen, will happen). Would you exert any effort to prevent these?

• Some readers will look down their noses at you.
• Some will misunderstand you, perhaps with disastrous results.
• You will bore, frustrate, irritate some readers.
• You will lose some readers—they’ll stop reading.

There you have a carrot and a stick. Take a look at those five tips. If you already do them all, hand it off to someone who doesn’t. You’ll be doing them a big favor.