Let's hear it for technical writers!

[Lori Lathrop <76620 -dot- 456 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>]

I'm just coming up for air.  For the last few days, I've been working
around the clock on a last-minute double-rush project for a publishing
house that's one of my favorite clients.  The reason it's a last-minute
rush project is that the author had agreed to index the book himself;
however, the "index" he submitted consisted of several separate
super-skimpy indexes (one for each chapter)!  Of course, it was unusable,
and the publisher called me and begged me to rearrange my schedule so I
could write the index for this book (500+ pages) on computer network
strategies.

Ironically, although the author has no indexing skills and didn't seem to
realize the value of contracting a professional indexer, I was very glad
to see that he appreciates the value of technical writers.  In a chapter
on designing and implementing networks, he has a section on documenting
the network, and he says: "As with training, the documentation can be
provided to some degree by in-house systems personnel, but unless there
are trained technical writers on staff, this work should be contracted to
technical writers."

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Lori Lathrop ----------> INTERNET:76620 -dot- 456 -at- compuserve -dot- com
Lathrop Media Services, P.O. Box 3065, Idaho Springs, CO  80452
Office: 303-567-4011 / Home: 303-567-9533
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