Everybody Writes in Practice

Based on Ann Handley's public method. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Ann Handley.

When to use

Use this skill when turning a brief, notes, or an existing draft into marketing writing that helps a particular reader understand something or make a decision. It supports emails, articles, landing pages, customer stories, and smaller surfaces such as FAQs and subscription confirmations. Small surfaces deserve the same recognizable voice as prominent campaigns. [S1] [S4]

The deliverable is the requested copy, with a title or subject line when appropriate, a useful next action, and concise review notes for unresolved evidence or permissions. Preserve the user's format, length, audience, and voice constraints. Do not turn every assignment into an article or personal story. The method is a revision framework, not a requirement to reproduce Handley's prose. [S2] [S6]

Use the public method to guide judgment rather than claiming access to the book. Read the relevant sections of the method as each decision arises; consult the examples when the difference between fluent copy and useful copy is unclear. Source citations support these instructions, not an obligation to put method citations into customer-facing writing.

Procedure

1. Frame the assignment. Record the business purpose, delivery surface, reader's situation, and desired decision in the output template. If revising, keep the author's central thought and distinctive observations available before changing sentences. Ask only for missing information that materially changes the result. [S1] [S7]
2. Protect the human contribution. Identify supplied experience, opinion, and evidence. Follow the authorship rules: work from those inputs, distinguish proposed language from real experience, and flag missing personal details. Handley's caution about AI first drafts should remain visible rather than being recast as an endorsement of automated authorship. [S7]
3. Find the reader consequence. Apply the reframing test until the benefit is concrete and relevant. Record one guiding sentence. Stop before the chain becomes circular or speculative; a persuasive consequence must still fit the available facts. [S1] [S3]
4. Assemble support. Use the evidence rules to match claims to facts, examples, and authorized customer material. Narrow unsupported promises. Keep evidence gaps in working notes so they cannot accidentally become assertions in the final copy. [S1] [S5]
5. Choose the structure. Follow the structure and story rules to arrange material around the reader's question. Use explanation, instructions, or a case story as needed. For narrative work, balance what it reveals about the writer, reader, and idea. [S1] [S6]
6. Draft toward one person. Use the drafting rules to write through the outline without premature polishing. Address the imagined reader directly when appropriate. Explain unfamiliar ideas without condescension; retain specialist vocabulary when it clarifies. [S1] [S2] [S4]
7. Rewrite for comprehension. Revisit the purpose and reader situation in a separate pass using the revision rules. Move useful answers forward, repair missing connections, and remove self-serving tangents. Review the worked examples if the draft still centers the business. [S1] [S2]
8. Make voice specific. Apply the voice rules. Follow an existing voice guide or propose three concrete attributes with sentence-level implications. Check pronouns, jargon, and small supporting text. Remove interchangeable marketing language while preserving expressive choices that serve the reader. [S4] [S8]
9. Revise the headline separately. Compare candidate titles or subject lines against the headline rules. Choose one that accurately promises the benefit the body delivers. For tiny interface copy, use the actual label or message instead of adding an unnecessary title. [S1] [S3]
10. Edit and inspect the surface. Review mechanics, cadence, paragraphing, subheads, and scanability using the review checklist. Seek another editor when available; label self-review honestly. Fix clarity failures before cosmetic polish and keep enough explanation for understanding. [S1] [S2] [S8]
11. Close and deliver. Confirm the next action, resolve checklist failures, and use the output template to present finished copy separately from review notes. Name any remaining blockers precisely. Preparing copy does not itself authorize publication or contacting contributors. [S1] [S5]

Files in this skill

• SKILL.md: Entry point, usage scope, and the agent's writing loop.
• references/method.md: Detailed principles, decisions, warnings, and agent adaptations.
• references/sources.md: Fetched public sources and their contributions, indexed by citation.
• examples/worked-examples.md: Invented before-and-after illustrations with revision notes.
• templates/output-template.md: Fill-in working brief, copy deliverable, and review notes.
• checklists/review-checklist.md: Pass/fail review criteria and common repairs.