Re: Conceit, or,How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Competition (long) -Reply

Subject: Re: Conceit, or,How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Competition (long) -Reply
From: Christine Wilcox <christine_wilcox -at- ALBERTSONS -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 13:38:14 -0600

Lisa Comeau wrote--
<snip>
I think that we have to understand (yet again) that techwriting is too
diverse to be labelled, and that maybe in *your* neck of the techwriting
woods, someone needs more than an ability to type to be a writer, but in
someone else's, that may be a good starting point.
<snip>

Sorry for jumping on the soapbox a little late in the discussion, but I
think Lisa brings up some good points in the diversity within the tech
writing field, and also the regional or company differences and
attitudes toward what it takes to be a technical writer. At a company
that I worked with in the past, the "tech writers" _were_ the engineers
and trainers, most of whom were hung with the job of creating internal
documentation simply because they could construct a clear sentence, for
the most part. As new projects came through the door that required
massive amounts of documentation, they were assigned to them so that
documentation could be created. This was years ago, and they have since
seen the benefit of tech writers, but the majority of their TW staff
came from the entry level positions within the company. They've only
hired one tech writer through external channels, and that person's
background wasn't in technical communication, but in English literature.
She's one of the best tech writers that I've had the pleasure of working
with. I didn't have any intentions of being a tech writer either, but
I've been doing it (regardless of job title) for the whole of my
professional career because the companies that I've worked for
recognized that I can communicate with diverse audiences clearly, and
when working with the appropriate SMEs, I can do so on a variety of
subjects. When it comes down to it, the people who are clamoring to tech
writing for the money and because someone told them that the can write
well probably won't last all that long as a writer IF they don't pursue
education to enhance their skills.

It would be interesting to poll tech writers and find out how many
pursued the profession through their education versus those who fell
into it, and then added on to their education while they were learning
the aspects of their job. Hmmm... maybe I'll dive into the archives on
that one.

I think as a profession, we're going to be seeing a lot more interest in
the field of tech writing because our society is relying more on written
communication than we have in the last few decades. E-mail and the
Internet have brought a lot of potential writers to the surface who
would have otherwise plugged away at their chosen profession quite
happily until retirement. In job situations, their writing skills
become displayed throughout the masses as e-mail messages are forwarded
or their web pages are accessed. An audience will always appreciate
writing that's clear and well done, and whether they realize it or not,
they seek it out. That's why some people publish successfully and
others don't. I think it's the responsibility of the long-standing tech
writers to help propel those people who genuinely want to pursue the
profession, and their education should increase their value as a writer,
not detract from it. Apprenticeships or mentoring programs don't need
to be formally recognized within any organization or profession to be
implemented. All it takes is the willingness to do so.

Christine Mocaby
Communications Editor
Albertson's, Inc.
e-mail: christine_wilcox -at- albertsons -dot- com

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