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Re: How to keep going once the honeymoon's over ....
Subject:Re: How to keep going once the honeymoon's over .... From:"Jo Francis Byrd" <jbyrd -at- byrdwrites -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 30 Sep 2002 15:19:07 -0500
Laura,
How supportive is your manager? My suggestion would be to go to said manager
and say, "I don't know if I'm writing documentation or Bad American Fiction.
I suspect the latter, and I would prefer to write documentation, but I can't
get anyone to explain the machine to me. I've done this, and this, and this
in an effort to get the information, learn how it works, etc. Do you have
any suggestions on how I can get the feedback I need to produce quality
documentation?"
Then go into all the reasons why a viable manual is essential - I mean, if
you can't figure it out, how is the user supposed to?
Sometimes the threat of you writing Bad American Fiction because you don't
understand the product/software, whatever produces the results you need to
get the feedback the documentation requires.
HTH
Jo Byrd
----- Original Message -----
From: <lpurcell -at- utk -dot- edu>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 3:08 PM
Subject: How to keep going once the honeymoon's over ....
I've been writing for a company for about 6 months now, and am running into
the biggest snag yet ... I am working to create a user's manual for a new
piece of machinery that has no documentation and no one who wants to be
responsible for explaining the machine to me. However, I just handed in a
rough draft last week and heard back today that I have a month to revise it.
Fine, but I have gotten no feedback! I guess I'm just not sure where to
begin, when told "this is awful, do it again" but am not sure what's awful
and where. Please feel free to respond directly to me or to post to the
listserve.
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