RE: Quote of the Day

["Gordon McLean" <Gordon -dot- McLean -at- GrahamTechnology -dot- com>]

"how long does it take them to stop referring to us as "scribes"?"

Forever. You won't change these people. Rise above them and make sure
everyone else understands the values you bring to the organisation.
Demonstrate it daily, and push back any "can you pretty this up" requests.

G

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+gordon -dot- mclean=grahamtechnology -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+gordon -dot- mclean=grahamtechnology -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
om] On Behalf Of Jim Barrow
Sent: 28 August 2007 15:23
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Quote of the Day

"Writing is not a profession, but a vocation of unhappiness." 
-- Georges Simenon 

If I had to boil the following rant down to a simple question, it would be:
How long does it take for a business to treat technical writing as a
respected profession?  More specifically, how long does it take them to stop
referring to us as "scribes"?

There are 70 people in our department.  Twenty-five of these know that a
portion of their success is due to the documents that the Tech Pubs
department has produced.  Forty of these people view tech writers as people
who take documents and "make them pretty" (dot this, cross that, use a
pretty font, etc.).  Five of these people refer to us as "scribes".  I can't
stand that term.  From Wikipedia:

"A scribe (or scrivener) is an ancient professional...usually involv[ing]
secretarial and administrative duties such as taking of dictation."
[shudder]

Four of the people who refer to us as scribes are developers who all but
have outright contempt for technical writers.  Their "scribe" comments used
to get muttered under their breath.  After a recent all-hands meeting, in
which a senior VP referred to us as scribes, these developers started
walking around snapping, "Hey, tech writer, go scribe; jot that down".

My manager is disgusted and wants to call a meeting.  He wants to spend an
hour extolling the virtues of the tech writers.  Uh...no, I can't subscribe
to this approach.

Personally, I find this demoralizing, especially when I see these same
developers getting praised for a job-well-done after creating
software...using the technical specifications that the tech writers
developed.  </rant>


- Jim


____________________________________________________________________________________________________
This email (and any attachments) is private and confidential, and is intended solely for the
addressee. If you have received this communication in error please remove it and inform us via
telephone or email. Although we take all possible steps to ensure mail and attachments
are free from malicious content, malware and viruses, we cannot accept any responsibility
whatsoever for any changes to content outwith our administrative bounds. The views represented
within this mail are solely the view of the author and do not reflect the views of the organisation
as a whole.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Graham Technology plc
Registered in Scotland company no. SC143434
Registered Office India of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland PA4 9LH
                                                
http://www.grahamtechnology.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.