Not many of us started off here. Although it seems that the field has been growing steadily for twenty years, there haven’t historically been a lot of technical writing programs, and thus most technical writers began their professional lives as…something else. Of the technical writers I heard from, only four had been through a dedicated [...] Continue reading ...
Conquering the Cubicle Syndrome
Tech Writer Today’s The Users’ Advocate column is brought to you by Adobe Systems, Inc. Download a 30-day free trial of Adobe FrameMaker here. Editor’s Note: The following piece by Geoff Hart is part of our collection of “classics”–articles that stand the test of time no matter how many technologies come and go. I’m going [...] Continue reading ...
Establishing and Building Mutual Respect with Technical Team Members
As a technical writer, are you finding yourself wishing for just a bit of respect from the engineers, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), or other technical people you work with? Are you finding that these folks seem to stonewall you on every question you have or every goal you’re trying to achieve? Are they obstreperous? Difficult? [...] Continue reading ...
Inspiring Reviewers to Review Your Tech Writing Documents
Tech Writer Today’s The Users’ Advocate column is brought to you by Adobe Systems, Inc. Download a 30-day free trial of Adobe FrameMaker here. Even the most skillful technical writers face the task of persuading Subject Matter Experts (“SMEs”) to review our documentation for technical correctness; after all, they’re the experts, not us. If pressed, [...] Continue reading ...