Author: Andrew Spencer

The field of semiotics is one typically reserved for academics, though its applications are supremely important in every genre of writing. Briefly, semiotics is the study of the relationship between signs, signifiers, and signifieds. All of that is a fancy way of saying it’s the way that words convey meaning. For example, think of the word “tree.” You can see the word right there, you can read it, you know what it means. We all have experience with trees: tall, brown bark, branches, leaves. It’s a pretty standard thing.

The word tree, as you see it on paper or a computer screen, is a signifier. That signifier is represented in the physical sense by a generic image; in this case, the above description of a tree. However, things get a little more complicated when the concept of the signified is introduced. In this case, the signified is the picture in your brain that is the embodiment of tree. Maybe it’s a tree from your childhood home, or a majestic redwood from the Muir Woods of California, or Charlie Brown’s little tree. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. In my case, I always think of the Treaty Oak in Austin, Texas. What this all means is that when you see the word “tree,” you have a very specific association with that word, an association that is unique to you and your way of thinking. Whatever that tree is for you, your picture, is the signified.

Semiotics is a valuable tool in any writer’s arsenal, because virtually every word evokes particular images in a reader’s brain, and a good writer can use those images to elicit a particular reaction. But effectively employing semiotics in writing takes more than just a message. Getting that message across and evoking the right mental picture (and the corresponding reaction) requires a deep understanding of the subject itself, as well as strong writing skills. I’ve spent decades of my life in both professional and academic settings, deepening my understanding of the fundamentals of advanced semiotic theory and honing my writing skills, and I’m ready to help you get your message across so that it’s interpreted the way you intend it. So get in touch with me today and stop sending mixed signifiers.

In today’s world, the overwhelming majority of your potential customers find you through your website, and oftentimes it is the information they find there that drives their decision of whether or not to hire you. For a lot of us, the ubiquity of websites has led to an attitude that all we really need to do is throw up a few photos and a couple of sentences about what we do and leave it at that. But is that really enough?

The short answer to that question is no.

Your site is the window through which potential customers see you, and that means you have one chance to showcase yourself. But that’s not as easy as it sounds. Nobody knows your business better than you, and that can lead you to make some generalizations about your potential clients. Oftentimes we assume that our potential clients understand exactly what it is we do, despite the fact that the very reason they’re visiting a website to learn what services we offer and how we can help them achieve their goals. Flashy graphics and sleek layouts are all well and good, but if visitors don’t understand the fundamentals of your business, how can they make the decision to avail themselves of your services?

That’s where I come in. I’ve made a living out of explaining oftentimes complex processes in language that people without a comprehensive understanding of a specific industry can understand. Beyond that, I also have the search engine optimization (SEO) skills to ensure that your site doesn’t get lost in the mass of Google results, moving your website to the top of those listings so that people can actually find your site when they’re doing a general search. Whether it’s financial jargon, complex academic theories, or business-specific processes, I can help your website visitors get the facts about what you do in language that they can understand. And that can help you land more clients.

So whether your site needs a complete overhaul, some comprehensive editing, or just a refresh, I have the skills to make it shine. Get in touch with me today and we’ll work together to make sure that visitors to your site get the information they’re looking for.

You’ve spent late nights studying for tests. You’ve done the extracurricular activities. You’ve aced the standardized tests. The only thing standing between you and that college acceptance letter to your first-choice school is an essay. And if you’re not careful, that essay can be the difference between a thick envelope welcoming you to your dream school and a one-page letter that regrets to inform you that you won’t be attending.

In today’s hyper-competitive world of college admissions, it takes more than great grades and test scores to score that acceptance. You’ve got to stand out from all the other applicants with great grades and test scores. But how do you do that? The simple answer is your essay.

Writing a college admissions essay is not like writing a paper for your high school English teacher. It’s a very nuanced type of writing that requires you to shine a light on your accomplishments while conforming to an admissions committee’s expectations of what an essay “should” look like. And it’s got to be perfect, from content to grammar. 

Don’t let your essay keep you from your number-one school! You’ve worked too hard for too many years, made too many sacrifices and spent too many late nights to let a single essay come between you and your college dreams! Let’s talk about how to make your essay perfect so you can start planning how to decorate your dorm room.

Everyone of us has written something in our lives. At its core, writing is a pretty simple act that we’re all comfortable with. After all, it’s just speaking on paper. How hard can it be?

As it turns out, writing can be very difficult. Every different genre of writing, from short sales pitches to fully-developed academic writing to books to everything in between has its own style and formula. And each of those styles is radically different. There’s more to it than putting a period at the end of a sentence and dashing in a few big words compliments of a thesaurus. Writers have to craft their message to the particular setting, knowing how best to leverage the written word to not only accomplish their intended goal, but also to ensure compliance with that particular genre’s parameters.

Knowing how to incorporate those particularities while also following standard usage rules takes both education and experience. You can spend years learning how to properly write complex sentences and fine-tuning style, and you can spend an equal number of years learning the particularities of specific types of writing. Or you can rely on my decades of experience and education so that you can focus on other things. 

There’s a lot more to writing well than just stringing words together to make sentences. Wouldn’t you feel better knowing that your writing is in the hands of a skilled professional with the experience to make it perfect? Get in touch with me and let’s make it perfect together.

We’ve all heard it more times than we can count: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Oftentimes, our first introduction to customers, employers, professors, or college admissions committees is through the written word. Are you sure you’re making that introduction as flattering as you can?

As someone who has worked in a variety of professional and educational settings, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen otherwise great work marred by grammatical or spelling errors. Even worse, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen a compelling message get buried in less-than-compelling writing.

No matter what the shortcoming, the end result is the same: You are judged accordingly. That might mean not getting the acceptance letter to college or the grade you deserve, or it might mean not getting the job or losing the sale. 

Don’t lose out on what you’ve worked so hard to gain! It’s so easy to make mistakes that can cost you, but it’s also so easy to avoid those mistakes. Let me put my two decades worth of experience to work for you so that you can rest easy knowing that you’re making the best possible first impression you can possibly make. Get in touch today and let’s get started!