TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Merging marketing pubs with tech pubs From:Elna Tymes <etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 28 Aug 1998 11:51:36 -0700
Beth -
Two pieces of advice:
1. Run, do not walk, to the director of engineering and do whatever you
must to keep technical writing under the domain of the engineering
group. While technical writing and marketing writing have some skills
in common, and while it's important to share information, their
audiences are totally different, and the mindsets of those who manage
these tasks are quite different. I've been manager of Marketing
Communications, where my responsibilities included all the technical
manuals, and it was only because of my (considerable) prior experience
with technical writing that we got the kind of technical attention we
needed.
2. Update and circulate your resume. It's been my experience that when
a company starts consolidating a writing group that way, it's not
exactly a stable place to work.