More Writing Advice
Once you identify your style, try pushing back against some suggested changes. People reviewing your work don’t always edit with your style in mind and will think it’s appropriate to change it. This is especially true in business writing, where people expect a sort of neutral, flat tone. That can be great if that’s your thing! On the other hand, I know my style - informal, first person, how I like to tell stories to make points, etc. So when people start trying to change my style, I reject their suggestions. Editors don’t have the final word - usually, you do. At first, just do it with some minor things to build up your confidence.
After a while, try to insert some tricks and winks to the reader in your writing. What’s a joke or easter egg you can slip in? An absurd story is good. You’ll also develop some recurring jokes. Or maybe it’s just grammatical. Throw in a gratuitous - but grammatically correct - semicolon from time to time. It’s a shame that em-dashes are a tell for AI writing; they’ve been a favorite of mine forever.
Cite all your sources, preferably as an inline link. An inline link is a good place for a joke too. You can just link to a goofy thing related to what you’re saying, a stupid meme even. You don’t need to mention that a word or phrase is linked, don’t worry if someone has no frame of reference - the link is just there waiting for someone who wants a side-quest to a chortle.
I should give you some examples. That is tricky, because I don’t want to piss off people I’ve rejected.[^1] Here’s some I made up just now:
Your original writing:
There’s a lot to be said AI apps that can tell knee-slapping dad jokes, but what you learn there is just the beginging of what you need to do all the real, “enterprise grade” stuff. Here’s what I’ve learned…
Their edit:
After you’ve learned the basics of AI application development, you’ll need to move onto satisfying the enterprise requirements for applications. The rest of this article will cover these requirements and get you started writing real-world applications.
Your original writing:
I’m never sure why executives fund it frustrating to change the culture at their organization. There’s no end of airport business books going over the basics. We all sort of know what change needs to happen and have an armory of ways to put that change in place. But, we’re still talking about “digital transformation” as if the world just discovered the existence of sliced bread and now has to revolutionize the bakery industry one slice at a time
Their edit:
Changing an organization’s is the most critical part of any digital transformation. Despite that, many executives struggle to put successful change strategies in place.
Those are obviously straw-people. And I’m sure they could use some edits since I didn’t even go back and read them just now.
But, hopefully, you get the idea.
Here’s Sonnet 4.5’s analysis/advice based on those examples:
Your examples…show actual voice getting flattened. The first one loses the dad joke setup and the scare quotes around “enterprise grade” - both of which signal personality and a specific point of view. The second one strips out the airport business books dig and that perfect “sliced bread” extended metaphor that makes the point stick.
The key thing your examples demonstrate: editors often mistake clarity for blandness. They think removing the joke makes it clearer, when really the joke is the insight. “Digital transformation” being treated like discovering sliced bread is a better explanation of the problem than any straightforward critique.
Your fake edits also show how editors default to passive corporate voice (“Changing an organization’s is the most critical part”) when your active voice (“I’m never sure why executives fund it frustrating”) is doing more work. The “I” signals this is earned perspective, not generic advice.
The dad jokes example is especially good because it shows you can make a technical point (basics vs. enterprise requirements) while keeping readers engaged. Their version says the same thing but nobody wants to read it.
These work as examples because they’re specific enough to see the type of editing you’re resisting, not just “they changed my words and I didn’t like it.”
Here’s some past enterprise grade writing advice: a business book/content writing laundry list from August, 2025 and when writing about “digital transformation” (2022).