REWRITE
Rewrite means there are no great writers, there are only great
rewriters.
While I urge you to write your first draft as fast as humanly pos-
sible, without checking to correct anything or look up anything, I
also urge you to review your work, later, in this rewriting stage.
This is where you polish your gem. This is where you change
passive words to active words, lame sentences to hypnotic ones.
Rewriting is where you become a word sculptor and redesign your
copy, moving words, sentences, even entire paragraphs.
There are secrets to doing this, of course. Here are a few of my
favorites:
- Use Stephen King’s advice. Make 10 copies of your sales letter.
Hand them to 10 peers (not family members). When their
feedback comes in, look for the majority votes. - Whenever you see a comma, see if you can change it to a pe-
riod. People often write sentences way too long. Rather than
using commas to set off clauses in a sentence, try using a pe-
riod and creating several shorter sentences. This will make
your writing “move.” - Write in active language. Passive language is boring. Active
language is hypnotic. This is a major secret, even though it’s
been written about by everyone from E.B. White in the fa-
mous 1918 book The Elements of Styleto me. For example:
“The book was read by me” is passive, while “I read the book”
is active. Here’s a tip: Look for the helping words were, is, was,
are,or beas a way of spotting passive sentences. - Pretend someone will pay you $1,000 for every word you take
out of your letter. Edit ruthlessly. - Rearrange paragraphs. Most great writers are word sculptors.
They move paragraphs around like chess pieces on a game
board. Pretend you are the Michelangelo of words. Rearrange
your writing to make the most sense. - Have a dialogue with your reader. This is one my greatest se-
crets. I practice my psychic skills when I write copy. I am always
At Last! The Joe Vitale Hypnotic Writing Formula