Re: TW Perceptions (long reply)

[Rebecca Phillips <rebecca -at- QRONUS -dot- CO -dot- IL>]

Steve Fouts said:


>I tend to believe that the way to get people to treat you like a
>professional is to act like one.

I have gotten reasonable to good treatment as a technical writer at most of my jobs.
A lot of it has to do with having pride in my work and confidence in what I do. When I
finish a book I am proud of I make sure people know about it. That is not to say that I
go around bragging. But, for one thing, I always order enough copies to give one to
every engineer and project manager who participated significantly in the project.
Somehow having a book to put on your shelf _looks_ like an achievement more than
some code running in a computer.  I also "hang out" with the engineers more than with
the other technical writers, whether during lunch time or just in the hallways. Sometimes
I listen in on technical discussion about implementation, and throw in a couple of comments
that show I know what I am talking about. (This isn't as hard as it sounds after you hang
out with engineers for a while.)

I am also realistic about my goals and I make an effort to write good quality documentation.
You'd be surprised at how much respect you can get if you act as if you deserve it. (You do.)


Rebecca M. Phillips
Documentation Manager
Qronus Interactive Ltd.
Automated System Testing
http://www.qronus-int.com
rebecca -at- qronus -dot- co -dot- il