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I agree with Buck. "Informational design," previously called "editorial
design" is an integral part of the writing process. It has to do with basic
layout. If you have a graphics department, let them handle the details.
Bill DuBay
Technical Writer
Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
email: bill_dubay -at- phoenix -dot- com
(714)790-2049 FAX: (714)790-2001 http://www.phoenix.com
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Original Text
From: Buck & Tilly Buchanan <writer -at- DHC -dot- NET>, on 6/14/97 7:31 PM:
Rene Seigh wrote:
>
> <The trend towards writers doing layout
I suppose that once again I am swimming against the tide, but...
Since 1984 and Ventura 1.0, I have been formatting as I write, and
despite the inconsistensies, cost, and difficulty of learning new
software, I STILL LOVE IT! I run the application that I'm documenting on
one computer (or multi-tasking on the same system) and do all my screen
captures using SnagIt, then import them directly into the book.
When I'm writing in this mode, using "hot keys" to tag paragraphs helps
me to see a book-like screen presentation. Seeing my writing already in
book form makes me more creative when I'm doing creative writing for
magazines, and more technically responsive to the needs of the target
audience when I'm Writing Technically.
Sorry, all you abused writers who prefer to have someone else format
your work, but my prediction is that you're a disappearing breed.
When I first became a Tech Writer, we were writing in longhand or on a
typewriter, cycling it through an Editor three or more times, then
passing the typewritten markup to a Wang Typesetter. I've watched that
system phase out to word processing-to-formatter and now I'm seeing
innovative and profit-hungry companies eliminating writers who can't
format.
Better get on the wagon, folks or ... who knows what you'll be doing a
few years from now? Even service stations don't need gas attendants any
longer.
--
Buck Buchanan
writer -at- dhc -dot- net
Arlington, TX
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