Letting go of the words
by Janice Redish · first published 2012
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Practical, durable guidance on writing web and interface content so it is usable. It is an example-driven reference for UI writers, technical writers, and anyone making sites work better.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Learn how to have great conversations through your site or app. Meet your business goals while satisfying your site visitors' needs. Learn how to create useful and usable content from the master - Ginny Redish. Ginny's easy-to-read style will teach you how to plan, organize, write, design, and test your content"--
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…all boils down to one thing: usability. Gorgeous designs fail if they aren't usable and crappy designed sites who fit a need thrive. Now I'm just rambling... Here's a couple of book recomendations: * "Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works" by Janie Redish - fantastic book. It isn't about design/layout per se but it is, see? * "Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" by Steve Krug
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite / least favorite site layout styles?” ↗Letting Go of the Words by Janice "Ginny" Reddish https://www.amazon.com/Letting-Go-Words-Interactive-Technolo... It is practical guidance that is durable over time. The book is exemplary of the advice on the pages. Plain…
on “Ask HN: Any great books about technical writing?” ↗…boost of motivation and some interesting individual strategies that people used, but light on useful tactics or broad strategies that you can action. Not on the list, but I really highly recommend, is "Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works" - an absolute bible for how to get your words on a website to be read and remembered.
on “Secret Hacker Bookshelf” ↗…He shares his failures and successes in a humerous way. It's a real down-to-earth, eye opening book. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1461120705 OTHER I'm reading Lean Startup, and have read Made to Stick, Letting go of the words, Ignore Everybody, Spin Selling, and tons more. All good books, but the 3 above were the biggest impact for me on all levels.
on “Ask HN: Blogs/Books with an impact on a small business' success?” ↗…good/useful/worthwhile books to read, I would suggest considering UI/UX as well as technical writing topics - a couple personal recommendations: * Don't Make Me Think! (UI/UX) * Forms That Work (UI/UX) * Letting Go of the Words (interface writing / UI/UX) * Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors (technical writing)
on “A curated list of books on Software Architecture” ↗How about these: Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works: http://tinyurl.com/3ftxva Founders at Work:http://tinyurl.com/4cytwa (links are to amazon.com)
on “Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?” ↗