Re: STC Letter to the Editor

[Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

"Karen L. Zorn" <> wrote ...

> The entries I'm judging are all tech pubs, but in different *categories*:
> informational materials, technical reports (2), software guides, and books.
> There are many, many pubs categories, not just one huge melting pot.
> 
> I know none of the authors, I know very little or nothing about their
> companies, and really could care less. 

And hence you're not judging the communication. You're judging design, grammar,
layout, and if the material conforms to a set of rather arbitrary "tech doc"
rules. None of your categories for example ask questions like:

Is the reader walked through a complex concept and provided valuable insight into
the technology or product?

Is the material complete and accurate?

Can readers trust the material as authoritative?

Has the author taken the time to explain the value of these technologies and WHY
some things are important? 

These are the questions that are most important to readers. 

> Frankly, having been an entrant in different competitions, it takes guts and
> moxie to put yourself forward for someone else, most likely a stranger, to
> evaluate. When you spend as much time, energy, and emotion in writing
> (knitting, baking, training, etc.) as we do, putting your end result on the
> table for all to take a crack at is unnerving and in some cases cause for
> high anxiety. I may not have won to honors for most of my projects, but
> everytime I get a critique from a judge, I've learned something. Isn't that
> the purpose? Learning? If you win an award of some kind, that's just icing
> on the cake.

But its a hollow cake if you're winning something based on misleading
expectations. Telling somebody they are a great cook because they used pepper in
a consistent manner is misleading. You're only evaluating a tiny sliver of the
entire complexity of the work. 

> Instead of throwing stones, and in some cases here large boulders, put
> yourself on the line. Not everyone who writes, paints, bakes, or whatever
> places themself in a position to be judged. 

No offense, Karen but STC competitions are nothing compared to the open market.
Anybody who puts their work out in front of customers is being judged. And those
customers don't have a form from STC. They have a job and they need the data and
they don't give a crap about styles and fonts. 

Winning commercial praise is the toughest judgment you can ever endure. Because
the open market is more brutal than 1000 STC competitions. Try impressing
technology columnists, experts and the dorks on slashdot. You try throwing your
documentation up in front of literally the world's best of the best at a
particular subject. That's real judgment. 

I've done this. And when the world's foremost expert on computer security says
"you're docs are really good" that is a billion times the praise of some STC
judging form. 

That's the real test. Can you impress the people who know better. Can you impress
the audience and make them not only read your material, but like it. 

> It's difficult. Perhaps not as
> difficult as putting your work in front of an up-close-and-personal editor,
> but difficult. I learned long ago if I wanted to continue in the writing
> field, I must learn to grow a thicker skin and not fear red ink.

Fear, you must LOVE red ink. I adore people who slash me to bits. Because every
cut, every edit, every complaint is chance to improve myself and my work. Nobody
ever learned a damn thing from being right. 

Andrew Plato 

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