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John P has a point, that you may need to take a step back and see if you are mixing preference with fact.
However...
Your manager has to set expectations on both sides. If the boss says, "you fix it" to you, without laying the expectation on the other two writers that you are the voice of authority when it comes to editing, you won't get anywhere, regardless of how right you are. If you haven't been given that authority, then your ability to "fix" anything is going to be limited. If you have been given the authority and it's not communicated, it needs to be. If it's communicated and not enforced, then you have a management problem as well as a performance problem.
It's simply unreasonable to put 100% of the responsibility for a relationship on one person in the relationship. Tell us more. Are you responsible for the quality of the documents? Do you have any ability to go back to your manager and request additional support?
I realize that these aren't concrete suggestions, but without a motivation to change (and that motivation likely has to be provided by the authority figure) I'm not sure what to suggest. I'm guessing chocoloate doesn't work in this case. I've always said that one of the things a writer needs to learn early on is how to take feedback and criticism. I am at a loss too for how to deal with one who simply won't listen.
Lisa
-----Original Message-----
From: "Wright, Lynne" <lwright -at- positron911 -dot- com>
Sent: Dec 1, 2004 11:51 AM
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: RE: Usability study?
So what do you do in a situation where the document you are reviewing is totally sub-standard in every way.... unclear/confusing/grammatically incorrect writing, diagrams that don't make sense, document has no logical organizational structure, and its full of technical mistakes and contradictions?
This is the problem I've had with two "veteran" writers here... they resent/resist/ignore my editorial comments because they think their work is wonderful. My boss has put the onus on me to fix a sour relationship by providing a list of positives with my negatives, but try as i might... i can't find ANYTHING to complement them on!
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