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Re: Reviewing and editing windows help files+finding a technical book publisher
Subject:Re: Reviewing and editing windows help files+finding a technical book publisher From:Valerie Jachimowicz <VJACHIMO -at- OMICRON-USA -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 14 Aug 1996 09:00:05 -0400
We always prepare the hard copy docs first, and then create the help
after the client has accepted the docs. That way, all of our proofing
and copyediting is complete before we begin to create the help. Most of
our clients, and many of our internal people, will not use Word's
revision marks, so we must still pass the paper around. If all you are
creating is help, or you are going to base the hard copy on the help
text, I think it is still easiest to print the topics and pass the
paper around. Although you can use tools like More Mark Help to collect
comments as annotations, I think it would be more work for the reviewer
to do so. And I don't think you'd want to pass the files around--if
you're using a Word-based authoring tool, your reviewer will have to
deal with all kinds of error messages, and I have found that leaving
revisions in a document when creating a help system creates all kinds
of sneaky little problems.
Valerie
vjachimo -at- omicron-usa -dot- com
----------
From: Michael Little[SMTP:Little -at- SIEMENS -dot- COM -dot- AU]
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 10:05 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list TECHWR-L
Subject: FW: Reviewing and editing windows help files+finding a
technical book publisher
Hello,
I am not sure whether I have asked this question before.Yet seeing a
recent question about proofing hardcopy manuals made me think of a
question close to my heart now:
What methods and techniques do you use to proofread windows help
projects so ensuring that your project is error free and grammatically
correct before handing it off ?
Any suggestions?
Regards,
Mike Little.
PS: On a subject not related to the above, I am starting to writing a
book about online documentation. I am in the plannig and research
phase.
Whay I would to know is:
After I have produced my outline/book plan, who are the publishers to
contact who handle technical publications on topics in technical
writing?
Although I am Australia based, through the Internet I can easily
deal with International Publishers.
Do you have an contact name and email address that I can contact?
What else do I need to provide them?
What pitfalls do I need to carefull of?
Are there any contractual issues that I must be carefull of?
If any of you have good suggestions I would appreciate it. As I develop
the outline of the manual, I might post some of my ideas for your
feedback.
Thanks in advance.
Mike Little
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