Write It Well, a training and consulting company that helps people improve their business writing skills, has released a new edition of its popular book about writing e-mail, which now includes a section about instant messaging and using handheld devices.

"E-Mail – A Write It Well Guide: How to Write and Manage E-Mail in the Workplace" addresses a fundamental yet largely overlooked skill in every career level of business: how to write professional, effective email. The book's publisher says poorly written e-mail can sabotage careers, threaten productivity, and negatively affect a company’s image, while effective e-mail increases productivity and improves the workplace environment.

Poor e-mail can have legal implications and give a company a poor image. Even with so much at stake, more professionals are entering the workforce without the ability to express themselves clearly in writing, according to The National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges.

“E-mail writing is business writing,” said business writing expert and President of Write It Well, Natasha Terk.

E-mail has become the primary method of business communication, surpassing the telephone as our preferred communication tool in the workplace.