online or paper....conclusion

[Jane Bergen <janeb -at- AIRMAIL -dot- NET>]

Thanks to everyone for such thoughtful replies. It's been very
interesting, but as I suspected, methods vary widely. Most of the
variations seem to be due more to environment than to audience. For
example, some responders mentioned that some writers at their company
write online, while others write the paper docs.

I am the ONLY writer at my small company and swimming as fast as I
can upstream without a paddle! It's all I can do to throw words
together, must less do any quality editing. I was hoping that someone
would have a magic solution, but it seems several of us have the same
situations. The main reason I prefer paper first is that our
engineers are constantly asking for "whatever you have....I have to
show it to a potential customer"  etc. I HATE doing this!

Many of the responses mentioned that working it out on paper helped
with organizing in the early stages. I have found that to be true,
also. And by beginning with installation, an introduction, etc. I
give myself a "warm-up" and develop a sense of cohesion before I
start chopping it up for online topics.

Thanks again for the responses. It's been helpful to see how it's
done at other places.

Jane Bergen
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 Jane Bergen    Technical Writer
 janeb -at- answersoft -dot- com   or   janeb -at- airmail -dot- net
    "The difference between the right word and the almost right word
     is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug"
     (Mark Twain)
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