Nobody owes us their attention

Especially not their time to read your writing, so let's do this

Harsh but true: nobody owes you, me or anyone else their time and attention. As writers, we might luxuriate in the long navel-gazing preamble with flowery language, and there is a time and place for that, I suppose, but also, when the stakes are high, you have to get to your point right off the bat.

Many of us are socialized to buffer bold statements with “throat-clearing” language, and “I think” and such, but, look: sooner or later, you’re going to have to get to your point, and if you don’t come out with it, you risk your reader not making it beyond the first line.

One rule I stress with a lot of folks I’ve edited or written for or taught is that in any non-fiction sort of writing, you absolutely must establish who the hell you are and why anyone should listen to you before and I/me/my/mine shows up in the piece.

That can be as simply tackled as starting a sentence with, “As a professor of X…” or “As a mental health professional…” or even, “In my two decades as an educator….” early on in your piece. Make your point and state the relevant high-level argument or info, and get your readers’ attention in your lede, then establish why we need to listen to you in order to help readers understand you are a credible person with something important to say.