RE: Style Guide

Subject: RE: Style Guide
From: "Mike Starr" <mike -at- writestarr -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 11:22:43 -0500


Sounds to me like you're a tad light on experience to be creating a style
guide. If you haven't learned how to do page layout yet and you haven't
successfully done a manual yet, you haven't got anywhere near the
experience to know the sorts of things that your company's style guide
needs. Are you the only technical writer at a small company? If that's the
case, my recommendation is to just adopt another company's style guide as
your standard and keep notes as you find things that you need to do to make
it right for your own company. Five years from now if you're low on things
to do, grab your notes and put 'em together. When you're the only tech
writer at a small company, the style guide can reside in your own head and
you don't need to devote time that would be better spent doing company
documentation creating a style guide.

Mike

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Mike Starr WriteStarr Information Services
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Graphic Designer - Desktop Publisher - MS Office Expert
Office: (262) 694-1028 - Pager: (414) 318-9509 - Fax: (262) 697-6334
Home (262) 694-0932 - mike -at- writestarr -dot- com - http://www.writestarr.com

-----------------------Original Message-----------------------
>From: Tara Salman [mailto:tarasalman -at- netscape -dot- net]
>To: TECHWR-L [mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]
>Date: 4/27/2002 4:19:00 AM
>Subject: Style Guide
>
>
>I've decided to create a style guide for my company either after I get
> > the training to do page layout or after I've successfully done a manual.
> >
> > Any advice as to how I should go about it? Primarily concerned with
> > organization, length, and which software to do it in. Also, if you have
> > any good Web sites, books and examples of style guides, that would be
> > much appreciated.


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