Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and to reach a far larger audience than through face-to-face or telephone conversations. Improving your writing not only helps you to become a better communicator overall, it also improves your reading, which is another essential job skill. Here are some other reasons why good writing matters:

• Job applicants will probably have to send out a resume and cover letter. Job descriptions often require excellent communication skills. A poorly written cover letter guarantees that the resume will wind up in the reject pile without further consideration.
• Some people, either for business or pleasure, will want to write for publication. The more editing needed in a book proposal or magazine article makes it less likely a publisher will accept it.
• Anyone can write a book and publish it on Kindle. But who will read it if bad spelling and grammar get in the way of understanding? Or get in the way of the author’s credibility?
• No one, it seems, can escape receiving a lot of sales pitches, either through the mail or online. Who will buy based on a poorly written sales pitch?
• Even if someone’s job never requires writing for any kind of publication, it’s hard to avoid written communication, such as
  • Memos and other correspondence with co-workers
  • Annual reports to supervisors
  • Correspondence with customers
  • Correspondence with suppliers
  • In short written correspondence with people who might have a high tolerance for poor writing, but then again who might not.

Writing is serious business when its impact is important, but also remember that the process of writing should be enjoyable as well.