Re: Proofreading Everything Under the Sun-- A TWs responsibi

[David Warren <David -dot- Warren -at- NEXTEL -dot- COM>]

     Howdy!

     I'm afraid you already know the answer to your own question.  If the
     business process of your company demands approval and archiving of all
     pubs., make the business case that you need more resources.  Sounds
     like a good editor or two would be the most help.  If you get two
     technical editors, one need not have a heavy IT background; you'll
     save some money that way.  Consider bringing in a freelancer or a
     contractor or two to prove your point.

     Hope It Helps!

     David T. Warren
     Publications Manager, Nextel


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Proofreading Everything Under the Sun-- A TWs responsibility
Author:  Gina Hertel <Ghertel -at- ALPHA88 -dot- COM> at INTERNET
Date:    5/22/98 9:49 AM


Hello, All.
Our company does consulting work for migrations, upgrades, installs, and the
like.  Some people think that every server configuration, site survey,
conceptual, logical, and functional design, disaster recovery procedure,
etc. etc. etc. that is  written by a consultant should be "proofread" by a
technical writer before delivery to the client (even if the TW isn't listed
as a resource on the project).  What do you think? Do other companies do
this?  Then they want the TW to archive the documentation too.

I see the following problems:
1.) We have 100 consultants and 2 writers.  Can you say "bottleneck"?
2.) If the TW isn't listed as a resource, the client isn't paying for
his/her services, which devalues them.
3.) TWs are also responsible for Proposals, Courseware, the Corporate
Intranet, Any Internal Communication (from the EE handbook to Creating Forms
for Sales), User Guides, Presentations, Production, and any and all dirty
work.  Where are the priorities?  How much more can we throw into the mix?
4.) Who wants to do nothing all day but be a wordsmith, cleaning up after
consultants and filing their papers electronically?

I am in desperate need of feedback here.