RE: Informal Poll - how many technical books do you buy?

["Domaschuk, Rob" <Robd -at- datalogics -dot- com>]

When I've been in a position to coach new- and non-tech writers, I've always
suggested buying, in addition to the ol' stand-bys, cookbooks. I usually
tell people to find a few cookbooks, including ones they really like and
ones that they don't. I never tell them how to judge the cookbook when
selecting it, I just tell them to go with their gut feeling. I then walk
through the books with them, and help them articulate what they like or
dislike about each. After a short while, they start picking up on patterns
and concepts. It's a rather experiential technique.

Invariably people tend to select "good" cookbooks for the same reason - they
are easy to follow, have pictures or illustrations, a list of ingredients
needed before you start, other things you need to have in place (oven set to
350 degrees), well thought-out instructions, etc. They also tend to place
cookbooks into the "bad" category when the cookbooks don't meet one or more
of the "good" criteria.

IMNHO, cookbooks are a great living example of technical writing. Few people
sit down and read a cookbook cover to cover, but skim it, remembering what
is available (generally) so that they can refer back to it when necessary.
When they do need it, they need it NOW, having to divide their time between
following the instructions and performing the action. When they go from the
action back to the book, they need to find their place again rapidly, or
else the food could be burned or ruined another way. The illustrations are
there to show you how it is supposed to look, so that you know you've messed
up when instead of a beautiful, brown cake, you end up with a green,
gelatinous mound of goop.

A good cookbook helps the cook get from the start of the process to the end,
and does so ease. I figure that that is the goal of technical writing, and
that's why I always suggest using the cookbooks.  The added advantage is
that after you are done with the cookbook, you have something useful that
you may well end up referring back to more often than traditional textbooks.

Just my $0.02


Rob Domaschuk     |  312.853.8337 - t
Technical Writer  |  630.430.4162 - m
Datalogics inc.   |  719.623.7431 - f


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