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Rich de Vecchis reports: <<I need to establish a procedure with the SMEs so
that I can use my time more effectively and efficiently when receiving their
documents for editing and review.>>
Whatever else you do, make sure to spend some time talking to them so you
can develop a system that they will actually use. That means it has to
account for their needs, not just yours.
<<I'm being sent documents to edit which are in various stages of
development and I end up editing the same doc many times as the content is
updated. Many of the docs are incomplete to begin with.>>
If you're using Word, one thing that would make your life enormously easier
would be to set up a system based on revision tracking. That way, you'll see
at a glance what changes have been made since the last time you saw a
document and can thus focus on the changes rather than having to re-edit the
entire document. If you're using other software, this is more difficult;
you'll have to come up with some way of designating what has changed.
<<Does anyone have a simple set of instructions that spells out when to send
documents to the tech writer for editing?>>
Can't beat my system: "If you write something new or revise something old,
send it to Geoff for editing!" Even an engineer can understand that one.
<gdrlh> More seriously: Keep it simple. If you can develop the kind of
relationship in which your edits are seen as saving them time and making
them look better to their peers or bosses, they'll come to you without being
asked. Make it difficult for them or show no benefit to your work and you've
got an ongoing uphill struggle ahead.
<<Many of my coworkers have never worked with a tech writer.>>
This is your chance to ensure that their first experience is a good one.
Start off with the premise that your goal is to make their lives easier, and
behave accordingly. They'll gradually get the message and start working with
you rather than against you.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"Wisdom is one of the few things that look bigger the further away it
is."--Terry Pratchett
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