Another "TW Gets No Respect" Story

[Daniel Wise <dewise -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Colleagues,

Let me hear the popping noises as you pull your heads out of the sand.
Getting into a fight with a manager over this cover business is a lose-lose
situation.  We can generously stand back and hold Beth's coat while she does
battle.  Sure, conehead.  Sure, Eric.  Give 'em hell!  Demand your rights.
Then go stand in the unemployment line.

I've had this type of thing happen to me more than once in my career.
Sometimes we were lucky enough to have enough margin so we could shave 1/8
inch off all around and get by without looking bad.  Sometimes we had to
give it the slight reduction mentioned by at least one other poster.  But
the writers were always *proactive* in seeking a solution rather than
fighting the windmill.

And if your printer for the manual innards is worth the money you pay
him/her, s/he will work with you to help you come to the best, least-cost
solution--which in probably *not*, by the way, redesigning the whole bloody
book.

Beth, earn your paycheck.  Get in there and look at *all* the alternatives
available.  Be prepared to tell your manager the costs and the benefits of
each alternative.  Be prepared to give your recommendation and back it up
with numbers.  But be the one who approaches the problem positively and
creatively.

Of course, if time permits, I would insist that the printer do the cover
over at his/her expense--assuming, of course, that it was really the
printer's fault.

Remember, the final score was windmills 6, Don Quixote 0.

Dan Wise
dewise -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com