10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy: “Never write more than two pages on any subject.”

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10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy by Maria Popova

“Never write more than two pages on any subject.” How is your new year’s resolution to read more and write better holding better  holding up? After tracing the fascinati fascinating ng story stor y of the most influential writing style guide of all time and absorbing advice on writing from writing  from some of modern history’s most legendary writers, here comes some priceless and pricelessly uncompromising wisdom from a very different kind of cultural legend: iconic businessman and original “Mad Man” David Ogilvy. Ogilvy. On September 7th, 1982, Ogilvy sent the following internal internal memo memo to  to all agency employees, titled “How to Write” Wr ite” and found found in the 1986 gem The Unpublished David Ogilvy ( Ogilvy (public library ): The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and

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Good writing is not a natural gift. gift. You have to learn learn to write well. Here are 10 hints: 1. Read the Roman-Ra Roman-Raphaelson phaelson book on writing. writing. Read it three times. 2. Write the the way you talk. Naturally. 3. Use short short words, short short sentences sentences and short paragraphs. 4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize reconceptualize,,

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demassification,, attitudinally , j demassification  ju udg dgme men nta tall lly  y  . They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass. 5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.

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6. Check your quotations. quotations. 7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it. 8. If it is is something something importa important, nt, get a colleague to improve

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it.

9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do. 10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want. David

This, and much more of Ogilvy’s timeless advice, can be found in The Unpublished David Ogilvy: A Selection of His Writings from the Files of His

Partners, a fine addition to my favorite famous correspondence. The book is long out of print, but you can snag a copy with some rummaging through Amazon’s second-hand copies or your favorite used bookstor e.  via Lists of Note

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