AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!! Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Amazon, and The Washington Post A Wired Must-Read Book of Summer “Gretchen McCulloch is the internet’s favorite linguist, and this book is essential reading. Reading her work is like suddenly being able to see the matrix.” —Jonny Sun, author of everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too Because Internet is for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from. It's the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language, why that's a good thing, and what our online interactions reveal about who we are. Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed. What's more, social media is a vast laboratory of unedited, unfiltered words where we can watch language evolve in real time. Even the most absurd-looking slang has genuine patterns behind it. Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with one another. She explains how your first social internet experience influences whether you prefer "LOL" or "lol," why ~sparkly tildes~ succeeded where centuries of proposals for irony punctuation had failed, what emoji have in common with physical gestures, and how the artfully disarrayed language of animal memes like lolcats and doggo made them more likely to spread.

Many books offer instruction on how to use software programs to build Web sites, podcasts, and illustrations. But 'Writing for the Web' explains when and why an author might choose an illustration over a photograph, motion graphics over text, or a slice of Beethoven's Fifth over the sound of a bubbling brook. Focusing on storytelling techniques that work best for digital media, this book describes the essential skills and tools in a Web author's toolbox, including a thorough understanding of grammar and style, a critical eye for photography, and an ear for just the right sound byte for a podcast.

This book takes a nuts-and-bolts approach to news writing for radio, television and the Internet, emphasizing the unique, first-hand experiences of the authors. Writing Right for Broadcast and Internet News covers the basics of writing for all three electronic media-television, radio and the Internet-from terminology and how stories should look on the printed page to determining exactly what to write. This book will also show you how to gather news and will get tips for conducting effective interviews and developing your own writing style. For anyone interested in launching a career as a news writer.

In a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy to forget that writing is the original Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. The Writing Revolution picks apart the development of this communication tool to show how it has conquered the world. Explores how writing has liberated the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters Draws on an engaging range of examples, from the first cuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese syllabaries, to the printing press and the text messaging Weaves together ideas from a number of fields, including history, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguistics and literature, to create an interdisciplinary volume Traces the origins of each of the world’s major written traditions, along with their applications, adaptations, and cultural influences

The first-ever resource guide showing all writers- traditional and online-how to sell their work to and get top prices from online markets. Online Markets for Writers is an all-encompassing database of submission guidelines and pay-rate and policy information for over 200 paying online magazines, electronic newsletters, and custom corporate online publications, plus advice from confidential writer surveys about specific markets. Designed for everyone, from the experienced journalist to the novice writer, it features exclusive interviews with the top editors of the major online markets as well as tips from the top online writers on how best to contact the editors, how to negotiate contracts, and how to get the highest rates-often up to two dollars per word. Readers will find: --authoritative advice on writing and selling freelance material online--tips on adapting your writing to the Web--how to write e-queries and negotiate electronic rights and rates --sample contracts--www.marketsforwriters.com, offering free updates to the book With support and contributions from the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Writers Union, this book is an essential resource if you want to make money by selling your writing on the Internet.

Captivate the hearts and minds of young adult readers! Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to: • Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. • Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. • Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. • Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords. Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career. If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.

Attention, Web writers! This book will show you how to craft prose that grabs your guests' attention, changes their attitudes, and convinces them to act. You'll learn how to make your style fast, tight, and scannable. You'll cook up links that people love to click, menus that mean something, and pages of text that search engines rank high. You'll learn how to write great Web help, FAQs, responses to customers, marketing copy, press releases, news articles, e-mail newsletters, Webzine raves, or your own Web resume. Case studies show real-life examples you can follow. No matter what you write on the Web, you'll see how to personalize, build communities, and burst out of the conventional with your own honest style.