Re: Quote of the Day

["Will Husa" <will -dot- husa -at- 4techwriter -dot- com>]

Hi Jim,

You said, "How long does it take for a business to treat technical writing
as a respected profession?"

That's easy! - When it impacts sales.

A few years ago, when I was a captured employee writing user manuals, I got
this tidbit from the sales force. At a company convention, the sales guy was
trying to convince a prospect to buy an expensive Point of Sale system. So,
in desperation, the sales guy presents the prospect with the user manual
that I wrote for the product. A week later, the sales guy calls the prospect
for follow-up. The prospect tells the sales guy, "If this system is half as
easy to use as this document was easy to understand, then you can sign me up
right now!" The sales guy made the sale based upon my documentation. At the
next company convention, there were plenty of user manuals on hand.

Be seeing you,

Will
=======================================================
Will Husa
Technical Writer of User Friendly Procedure Manuals and HTML Help
> Increasing Profits through Clear Communication <
Phone: 708.927.3569
Fax: 630-668-9283
www.4techwriter.com
==================
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Barrow" <vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:23 AM
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
>
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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

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