Re: DEBATE: Word-processing or DTP

["House, Barry" <BHouse -at- LRS -dot- COM>]

On Wednesday, July 22, 1998 12:37 PM, Bernie McCann
[SMTP:BernieMc -at- AOL -dot- COM] wrote:
>
> Personaly, and generally speaking, I prefer writers to do what they
ought to
> do best - write.  Their tool for this should be a word-processor.
Upon
> completion of that task, it should be finished by a really competent
computer
> operator using a dtp application (someone who would have no problem
with the
> difficult questions seen on this newsgroup .... and someone who,
probably,
> doesn't even read this).

Yeah, and when you do only what you do best, you often get labeled "JUST
a writer." After all, everyone learned to write back in grade
school--the rest of the world learned other skills while we slogged
along doing nothing else.

I've earned my living as a writer for nearly 20 years now, and even from
the beginning, when I was a reporter for a small newspaper, I also shot
photos and did page layout work. I handled basic page design in my first
couple of tech writing jobs, and during my years in marketing and
corporate communication, I was in on design, management, and
distribution planning--not to mention the strategic planning involved in
'shaping' the message to be communicated.

Now that I'm back in a tech writing role, my employer is looking to me
for ideas on format, organization, media (we may distribute on CD real
soon), and, yes, the actual writing.

What I've learned through all of this is, some companies may be willing
to hire a writer, but they will be happy to hire and pay someone (and
pay them well sometimes) to help them communicate effectively. I was
once asked to use MultiMate to write and lay out a manual; the company
eventually bought Ventura Publisher for me to learn. My current employer
is looking to switch from Word to FrameMaker. If we do, I'll learn that
software--and I will be more valuable as a writer/communicator for my
employer and for ME!

Never been just a writer and I don't plan to start now.

Barry House