RE: Workplace issues

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

Yeah.  Unfortunately, non-writer-types, seeing the estimates worded that
way, tend to ask for "the hundred-and-eighty-seven pages you should have
done by now, according to the proposal/estimate..."

Then you have to explain that those pages are busy coalescing in your
head - but you can start a brain-dump-to-paper just for the requestor,
and it'll be ready in ... oh... about as many weeks as would bring us to
the scheduled release date.  Such a coincidence.

Kevin

Laura Praderio Lynn [mailto:lpraderio -at- alpineclimbs -dot- com] said:
> 
> hi kevin,
> these are for budget numbers; naturally the process varies according
to
> product and writer and resources available. in reality everyone works
> differently so some may build a skeleton of a document one week, then
> research for awhile, then write like mad...in any given order.
> again...i should have delineated more clearly...for budgeting
purposes,
> it's an easy way to ballpark doc costs.
> cheers,
> laura
> 
> McLauchlan, Kevin wrote:
> > Laura Praderio Lynn  had the nerve to say:
> >> hello,
> >>
> >> from many years ago i recall a statistic that a tech writer can
work
> >> about two thirds of the day doing "hard" tech writer work (writing)
> > and
> >> then the rest of the day doing administrative/other duties. this
> > equates
> >> to somewhere around two to three finished pages per day. i use
these
> >> numbers to build my budgets and project time/costs for tech
writing.
> >>
> >> so i agree that 100% tech writing every minute would be hard to
> > achieve
> >> given the focus required.
> >
> > I can spend _weeks_ working on a project without writing a single
page
> > of Help or Install Guide or SDK, etc.   It's research and
> > familiarization.
> > Sometimes that also includes run-throughs while I gather screencaps
or
> > create illustrations or take photos or... or...
> > Then, when I'm ready (and perhaps the product is, too...) I can
write
> > many, many doc pages and Help topics in a given day, and string
several
> > days like that together, and voila! a book. Or pronto presto, a Help
> > system.
> >
> > Kevin


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