TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
-----Original Message-----
>From: David Loveless <daveloveless -at- gmail -dot- com>
>However, I am trying to say that we all could learn something from
>books like the "For Dummies" series. At the very least, we could spend
>the time to find out why so many people use those books.
They're usually written for products that have a hefty pool of potential users, and a good numer of that pool can be counted on to be inexperienced. While their approach is doubtless fitting if the masses are the target for your product, for many of us this is not the case. (People have occasionally wish-listed an O'Reilly book for our product, but never a Dummies book that I know of.)
Of course, lately it seems like they'll take any topic and slap a yellow cover on it, whether or not a Dummies book on the topic makes any real sense.
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today!. http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
