RE: Getting a new writer up to speed quickly?

["Rene Stephenson" <rinnie1 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Thank you all for your interesting and thought-provoking responses. It's
been a while since I started out as a green writer myself, so it helps to
jog the memory! I should have explained in my original post that I would
instruct Newbie to direct questions about tools and processes to me first,
and that I was wanting her to read the digests to get a larger idea of the
tool and trade issues, with a caveat of what to expect from each list and
the value of searching the archives...especially before posting. And the
table of players, etc., would be a quick reference tool to jog her memory
*after* I had introduced her and explained how the folks interact (or don't)
with the writers. You're so right to point out that a lot of the job really
is successful relationship building. It's easier to get something you need
from someone (whether it's access or info or feedback or review, etc.) if
they know who you are and have a rapport with you.

I should also have mentioned that I already have some 90% completed docs to
hand her for starter work, that we do have established templates, and that
she'd have access to our tech writing lab full of the necessary equipment
and software. I shouldn't have assumed that you'd figure that out...it's not
like you know me or my setup. (Mea culpa.) I guess I forgot that such a
setup is a luxury at some places, a dream at others (we're a little lucky in
that regard). And you folks are right on target - nothing replaces the
experience gained by interacting directly with the product and fumbling
through your first project...with a "safety net." ;-)  I remember finding
online tutorials helpful, because they were quick, and I could select the
topics relevant to my current project(s).

In response to the poster who commented that the process flow wouldn't be
necessary unless our process is so much different than most places...
Unfortunately, Newbie hasn't been anywhere else to have anything to compare
and really has no clue what a typical process for writing about a product
would be...so even if it's pretty standard, she'd have no clue what comes
first or next or last without being told. She's totally fresh out of
college, with no experience in even a quasi-writing position. The editing
she did was freelance side-work as final edits for a friend, without ever
interfacing with the actual client or product or process.

I was a little surprised that the university classes on technical writing
apparently didn't offer even a chapter or two surveying some common tools at
a very high level gloss, much less a chapter about a common process for
writing in a team environment or a lone writer environment. As keen as the
textbook companies are on making sure to obsolete their material annually to
keep their sales up, you'd think they'd want to include something like tool
summaries that would require annual updates. LOL I think it would be
helpful, but what do I know? I'm just a worker bee. ;-)

Again, thanks for your invaluable ideas!

Rene L. Stephenson
Information Designer & Documentation Consultant
Stephenson Consulting Services
E-mail: rinnie1 -at- yahoo -dot- com <mailto:rinnie1 -at- yahoo -dot- com>


"Excellence is a lifestyle, a frame of mind."


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