Book Review: "Writing White Papers"

Thanks to Web sites and email newsletters, white papers have become a great way to market a product or service. A visitor can get a free white paper in exchange for signing up for an email newsletter or basic information. People can’t resist a free offer and white papers — when done right — can educate and inform.
Sure, a business wants to show how it has the solution to the problem identified in the paper. But a well-written white paper does more than market a solution. It also establishes a person or business as a thought leader, introduces a new idea or concept, and explains how something works. Too many white papers turn into infomercials and Stelzner walks the reader through the process of creating an effective white paper.
Stelzer covers everything including needs analysis, research, interviews, and other important steps in the white paper writing process beyond the actual writing. I’ve downloaded or received many white papers and few get my attention. For some, the title can scare a reader out of reading it. These titles sound like something written by a PhD for others in the field.
As a freelancer writer, I’ve written a few white papers and not with as much confidence as I would like. Writing White Papers gives me all the information I need to thoroughly and confidently write the next one without any lingering doubts or fears.
Writers who write few or no white papers will appreciate the chapters on “Interviewing,” “Researching,” “Writing the First Page,” “The Compelling Title,” and “Writing Tips and Strategies.” The advice in these chapters applies to various types of writing.
Most of the book’s contents focus on writing information technology-related papers — probably because they’re the most technical and difficult to write about — however, one of the examples is about personal accountability. The book doesn’t stop at the white paper writing process. Its last chapter focuses on marketing white papers.
The book demonstrates how to make a boring topic engaging — a problem that often faces the writers of white papers and contains two examples of white papers that retain my attention even though I’m not the prime audience. The book engages the reader making it a surprisingly fast read. Writers, technical writers, and marketing professionals will benefit the most from this well-organized, insightful, and clearly-written book.
FYI: Stelzner’s web site.
Title: Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged
Author: Michael Stelzner
Publisher: WhitePaperSource Publishing
ISBN: 0977716937
Date: October 2006
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 214
Cover Price: USD: $34.95 Amazon: $23.07