Re: Never Had to Index

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM>]

Nancy Walsh wrote:
>One of the most taxing editing jobs I ever did was for a 110-page benefits
>manual.  We were all set to go to the printers (and yes, I was under a strict
>deadline) when the authors added material to three pages in one section.  Of
>course, this knocked all the page numbers out of whack.  And it totally messed
>up the index.  At the beginning of the project I explained to the authors that
>all changes had to be done at a certain stage and I continued to remind them
>of that "stage."  They apologized profusely, but said that they still had to
>have these changes made.  Have other technical writers had this type of
>experience, and how have you handled it?  (BTW, the book was "late" by only
>two weeks.)

We've *all* had that type of experience at one time or another.
Sometimes I think that *every* project happens that way.

I interviewed with a doc manager once who said, "good ideas can
happen anytime, even at the end of the development cycle..."
He was right.

You get together with project management and the idea guy and
decide whether the feature is worth delaying the project for
(and you know, pretty much, for how long). You accomodate.
You put in a little overtime and you get the project out as
soon as you can. Then you take it easy for a while and bask
in the glory of a job well-done.  ;-)

Sue Gallagher
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com
     -- The _Guide_ is definitive.
        Reality is frequently inaccurate.

     Searchable archives located at http://www.documentation.com/
           ALL questions or problems concerning the list
      should go to the listowner, Eric Ray at ejray -at- ionet -dot- net -dot-