Bucks County, Pennsylvania
A letter is read before it is read.
This isn't a course about etiquette. It's about visual composition: the frame of white space, the rhythm of paragraphs, the placement of a date, the shape of an ending. Before anyone reads a word, the page itself has already spoken. Five short parts show you how to make it say the right thing.
Begin with Part One
Five parts.
The Frame
Margins, paragraph spacing, visual balance, and page rhythm: the white space that holds the words.
Begin Part OneThe Conventions
The date, the salutation, the closing, and the art of ending well, with the whole page mapped in one diagram.
Begin Part TwoShort or Long
Short letters, long letters, and matching the page to the message.
Begin Part ThreeBefore & After
The same letter shown twice: poorly composed, then improved. Nothing changes but the composition.
Begin Part FourThe Beautiful Page
The thirty-second planning habit that makes every page after this one better.
Begin Part FiveNobody remembers whether your margins were exactly an inch. Everyone feels whether the page was composed or crowded.