The AMA Handbook of Business Letters - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

JEFFREY L. SEGLIN is director of the communications program and a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School. EDWARD COLEMAN is the English department chair at North Central High School; and was one of fifty-two national Milken Educators honored by the Milken Family Foundation.

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PRAISE FOR THE THIRD EDITION:

“Of the countless books on how to write business letters, a thoroughbred emerges from AMACOM Books, the publishing arm of the American Management Association... [The book] covers virtually every business situation... For every business person who hates to write letters, this is what you want for your birthday.”

— Joyce Lain Kennedy, nationally syndicated columnist

“If dashing off a proper business letter is the bane of your existence, [this] is a great book.”

— Indianapolis Business Journal

Letter writing is crucial to professional success. But with everything you have to accomplish during the day, chances are you have little time to craft compelling business correspondence yourself. And if you’re one of the countless people who would like more confidence when it comes to writing a business memo or formal email, wouldn’t it be nice to have a compendium of already written, customizable letters at your fingertips?

Now with more than 25 percent new material and packed with model letters for even more situations than its classic predecessor, The AMA Handbook of Business Letters provides you with adaptable templates for any business circumstance. Available online so that each letter, memo, fax, and email is just a click away from modifying it for your own purposes, this long-trusted, authoritative guide is a comprehensive solution to all your professional communication needs. You’ll find:

• Customer service letters to resolve complaints and breed loyalty

• Human resources communications covering hiring, firing, and staff changes

• Sales, marketing, and public relations letters that get noticed

• Credit and collection letters that clarify account status and command immediate attention

• Letters to vendors and suppliers to place orders, request price quotes, resolve billing and shipping issues, negotiate terms—and more!

And the fourth edition gives you more than just a treasure trove of customizable sample letters. This indispensable reference also contains an easily digestible refresher course on techniques that will enable you to write your own crisp, clear, and effective letters. You’ll find tips and answers on grammar and usage, standard formats to use in different situations, strategies for establishing your objectives, and a brief rundown of the components of a well-written, persuasive letter.

When is it more appropriate to send communication via hard copy rather than in an email? What formatting and style should you use when sending an inquiry to a vendor? This book lets you flip to the answers you need, as you need them.

Expertly written letters can increase the quality of your working relationships as well as the quantity of business you attract. With the revised and updated edition of this trusted resource you’ll have the most effective letter-writing tools available—and more ready-to-use correspondence than ever for today’s business situations.

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Whether it’s in a formal letter or through email, it’s impossible to conduct business without clear written communication. A large part of how you present yourself—and your organization—is through correspondence. You may be brilliant at giving presentations or negotiating the finer points of a contract over the phone—but as accomplished as you are in other areas of your work, you’re not alone if you freeze up at the prospect of writing a business letter.

The AMA Handbook of Business Letters is here to help. Filled with more than 370 flawlessly written, customizable model letters—also accessible online—this invaluable resource puts words to work for you.

Now revised and updated, the book takes into account all of the developments in the business landscape since publication of the last edition. The fourth edition contains a wider range of letters than ever before, representing a broad spectrum of communications that professionals commonly use in a variety of industries. Covering every conceivable business scenario, the book provides you with ready-to-use correspondence for areas including:

• Sales, Marketing, and Public Relations

• Customer Service

• Credit and Collection

• Vendor and Supplier Relations

• Transmittal and Confirmation

• Personnel Issues

• And many more!

From appointment requests to contract re­newals, project status memos to letters to stockholders, price change notifications to job offers to new employee announcements, this classic reference supplies you with a pre-written letter for every situation.

In addition, The AMA Handbook of Business Letters offers guidelines and tutorials on the basics of letter writing, from addressing and formatting to style and grammar. You’ll also find helpful appendixes listing common mistakes in agreement, word usage, and punctuation. You’ll learn the components of the most persuasive letters, how to plan before you write, how to clarify your objectives, and how to avoid clichés and ambiguity.

The book takes you through every possible letter writing format and ensures that you select the appropriate appearance for every piece of correspondence you send.

Why spend your time writing hundreds of letters a year... when they’ve already been written for you? Arming you with the skills that can make any business person a better writer, as well as hundreds of models on which to base your own communications, this extensively updated edition of The AMA Handbook of Business Letters is destined to be the most important resource in your office.

Jeffrey L. Seglin is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard’s Kennedy School. He is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen books on writing, ethics, and business. He also writes “The Right Thing”, a weekly ethics column distributed by Tribune Media. He lives in Boston with his wife, Nancy.

For the past 17 years, Edward Coleman has been an English teacher at public high schools in Georgia and Indiana. Currently, he serves as the English Department Chair at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. In 2009, he was honored as one of 52 national Milken Educators by the Milken Family Foundation.