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Everybody Needs an Editor

The Essential Guide to Clear and Effective Writing

By Melissa Harris and Jenn Bane
Edited by Mark Jacob

About The Book
Wedding toasts, website copy, social media posts, even holiday cards—you’ll become a sharper everyday writer with this witty and comprehensive guide to clearer, better communication.

You’ll never write an email the same way after reading Everybody Needs an Editor, a game-changing guide to sharp, attention-getting writing. The authors use their decades of real-life journalism and marketing expertise to demonstrate the WTFF technique: Writing, Topping, Formatting, and Fixing.

You’ll learn how to eviscerate your own writing—and enjoy doing so. You’ll learn to create must-click subject lines, cut jargon, and write emails that people will actually read and remember.

If you’ve ever felt nervous to hit a “submit” button, this book is for you.

About The Authors
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Melissa Harris

Melissa Harris is the founder and CEO of M. Harris & Co., a Chicago-based marketing agency. She spent fifteen years as a journalist at the Orlando Sentinel, The Baltimore Sun, and Chicago Tribune. She serves as an entrepreneur in residence at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago and on the governing board of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Allison Williams
Jenn Bane

Jenn Bane is an author, producer, and the creative director of M. Harris & Co. Her first book, Friendshipping, is a feel-good guide to making friends as a busy and anxious adult. Previously Jenn was the first-ever hire at Cards Against Humanity where she earned a Clio Award for Excellence in Advertising, a fact she intended to omit from this bio but added it because coauthor Melissa Harris ordered her to.

Product Details
  • Publisher: S&S/Simon Element (September 10, 2024)
  • Length: 256 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668017302

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Raves and Reviews

“Harris and Bane … present a concise and effective manual for improving writing in professional settings.” -Publishers Weekly

“ To write something that makes someone do something … is a magic trick, turning black marks into fluttering thoughts, real emotions and actions. Everybody Needs an Editor can help you do that." -The Chicago Sun-Times

"Tightly written. Every delightful page will make you a better writer". —Mignon Fogarty, New York Times bestseller and creator of the Grammar Girl podcast

“Clear-eyed and razor-sharp, this book is a must-have for any writer aged 17 to 70.”—Jonah Berger, Wharton Professor and Bestselling Author of Contagious

"This book is about more than how to be a better writer at work. It's about how to be a better human at work. It will stop you from making stupid mistakes that will get you fired."—Michael Muser, co-owner, two-Michelin-starred Ever, and host of the podcast, Amuzed: A Podcast for Geniuses

"This book will make you a more confident and compelling communicator, and it might just make you a more successful boss, employee, teacher, student, or friend. Everybody Needs an Editor should be on everybody’s bookshelf." —Tim Franklin, Senior Associate Dean, Professor and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News at Medill

"God I love this book. I've been teaching editing classes since the dawn of time. And one of the first things I teach my college students is how to write an email to a professor or boss. Writing professionally is such a valuable skill, and this book is the best tour guide." —Mike Reilley, journalism professor and author of The Journalist's Toolbox and Data + Journalism

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Everybody Needs an Editor

The Essential Guide to Clear and Effective Writing

By Melissa Harris and Jenn Bane
Edited by Mark Jacob