Whether writing a cover letter for a job application, a letter of resignation, a note to a colleague, or other professional communication, you want that letter to clearly put your best foot forward and not draw flaming red arrows to your weaknesses. In today’s post, I’ll offer tips to help you write great business correspondence.

It’s a good time to talk about formal vs. informal texting and texting vs. writing emails.

First, ghostwriting isn’t a legitimate practice when it comes to term papers or other formal work done for course credit or academic advancement, like published research papers. Sorry, guys, but you need to do your own research and writing for that. Same with articles for trade journals and the like.

Hiring an editor isn’t about getting someone to write your paper for you, and an ethical editor isn’t a writer for hire.

Your PDF may not be compatible with future versions of PDF reading programs. To ensure your document remains accessible in exactly the same format, you need to create a PDF/A version of the file. By following some principles of interoperability, your file will remain as you intended no matter what program you’re using to open it.

So if you’ve been asked to write a letter of recommendation, you’re in a pretty good place. You’re probably feeling flattered to have been asked, and you get to dole out some social rewards to a valued protégé or colleague. Here’s a double fistful of pointers to help you get started.

A written joke is immortal, and once e-mailed or messaged, it lives forever outside your control. You have no idea whose eyes may see it or in what situation your joke may suddenly appear.

The more work you put in before you submit your document, the better your document will look after the professionals finish with it.

Briefer is better. Executive positions, medicine, and academia use the CV format, which goes into extensive detail. But if you’re applying for the kind of job that requires a résumé, you can probably get it onto a single page.

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Having a client who is adept at em and en dashes is indeed rare. Usually we see the plain ol’ regular hyphen being used where an em or en dash would be more appropriate. Or we often see random hyphens in varying multiples scattered throughout a paper like sprinkles on a Christmas cookie.

Let’s face the facts: People judge you based on your appearance. When you need to impress a client, colleague, or boss, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. You want to communicate clearly, succinctly, and flawlessly. You want to demonstrate that you’re a credible source and a professional. What you don’t want to do is ruin a great business idea or lose an important client just because you failed to pay attention to the details.

Choosing the right business proofreading and editing service is essential. There are a lot of proofreading companies out there. It’s important to give careful consideration before choosing to trust one with your important documents.