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.
Nancy Allison wondered: <<I'm considering creating a web page with
links to pdfs of various docs I've written. Then, I can simply point
potential clients to the page and they can look at whatever type of
sample they want. What do you think of the issue of posting unedited
excerpts? Product names, etc., would pop up here and there. I'm
guessing I need to edit out product names and other identifying
terms. What would you do?>>
There are two main ethical considerations: First, do you have the
right to use the material you're planning to post? Second, will you
be taking steps to protect the reputation or confidential information
of your clients?
In terms of rights, it never hurts to ask. Some folks will be quite
pleased to have you show off work that they're proud of, and will be
glad that you asked. Others will say no, in which case you can't use
their stuff -- most often, this is treated as a work for hire, and
they own the copyright once they've paid you. (Unless your contract
states that you own the rights, it's safer to assume that you don't.)
If you don't hold copyright or other rights, that in no way stops you
from creating something (using the same skills you used for that
client's work) that shows your skills, how you used them, and the
results. In effect, you create something fictional based on the same
strategies you used to produce the real McCoy.
In terms of embarrassment, you need to be very careful not to make
your clients look like fools. Apart from any legal implications, a
potential client who sees your published example of "this is crap,
but look how good a job I did fixing it" may find themselves
wondering whether they'll be subjected to the same public humiliation
at some future date. So be very respectful of the client, even if you
have <ahem> issues with the quality of their product before you
applied your magic touch. In terms of confidentiallity, it's never a
simple question of deleting company or product names; unless the
client has lots of cookie-cutter-lookalike competitors, a canny
reader can quickly figure out who you're talking about.
A non-ethical (as opposed to "unethical") consideration would be how
to present something that makes someone want to hire you. Simply
presenting a before and after doesn't accomplish that very well
because that approach forces clients to figure out what you did;
that's a lot of work, and clients are every bit as lazy as we are. So
if you present samples, try accompanying them with a description of
the problem you were trying to solve, the approach you adopted to
solve that problem, and the results. Explain what you did and why and
how, don't just show it. And show only the important bits, not the
whole thing: why make them read the entire manual when they could
instead read just the good bits?
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com
