Managing Technical Writers by Wandering Around  

Technology has reduced the need for managers to act as communication conduits. Instead they must add more quality to the work of their employees by wandering among them. Effective wandering means forgetting the telephone, using bull sessions, becoming a fifteen-minute manager, giving employees a vision, and looking at their work.

Dicks, R. Stanley. STC Proceedings (1993). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing

Managing the Client: A Fairy Tale

Remember that a successful project has a measurable and positive impact on the client's business objectives. Set a time period to measure the progress toward achieving those objectives, and plan to measure progress on a regular basis. If you find that there are adjustments that should be made, or additions that can improve the project's functionality, do them.

Cliver, Sara. Digital Web Magazine (2002). Careers>Consulting>Collaboration

Managing the Communication "Process": The Emerging Role of Technical Writers and Documentation Managers  

Current trends in Corporate America are changing the traditional role of technical communicators and creating new challenges and opportunities. Re-engineering the corporation, Total Quality Management, ISO 9000 compliance, and the continuing onslaught of the Information Age are all bringing formally 'invisible' technical communications functions into the limelight. It's not just writing and editing any more! As communication professionals and managers we need to upgrade skills and re-focus our efforts to become 'information managers.'

Anton, Kathy and Teresa J. Tarwater. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Documentation>Technical Writing

Managing the Monster, Managing the Zoo  

Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.

Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>TC>Project Management

Managing the Monster; Managing the Zoo  

Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.

Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Management>TC

Managing the Monster; Managing the Zoo  

Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.

Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Project Management

Managing the Virtual Worker/Telecommuter  

Heikes presents guidelines for managers of telecommuters that suggest how to make the most of this increasingly popular work arrangement.

Heikes, Peter C. Intercom (2002). Careers>Telecommuting

Managing the Virtual Worker/Telecommuter  

Virtual workers/telecommuters are employees who perform assigned duties at an alternative site (usually home) during some or all of their scheduled work hours. With the number of full-time virtual workers expected to exceed 13.5 million in the U.S. within the next two years and 130 million worldwide by 2003, managers are more often being confronted with a new type of employee. As a result, we need to make adjustments in how we manage them, when compared to the on-site employee. We need to learn how to screen and select viable candidates, develop new guidelines (e.g., state expectations clearly, manage by results, communicate often, plan ahead for meetings, and consider special needs such as administrative support), learn what goes into a work agreement, and consider technology impacts.

Heikes, Peter C. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Telecommuting

Managing Today’s Commuters Across the Miles  

The Technical Communication Department at Allen-Bradley, a sustaining member of STC, is located in Highland Heights, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This reporting structure alone has forced telecommuting between the managerial and supervisory levels, with management located in Ohio and supervisors in Wisconsin. Additionally, the department has telecommuting communicators located throughout Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Bottoms, Charles W., Linda Gomez, Jean M. Jahnke and Greg D. Kroeze. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Telecommuting>Management

Managing Your Career  

We as Technical Communicators must take more control over our careers. This session provides a quiz to rate career management progress and then offers practical suggestions, specifically for to the Technical Communicator to manage a career effectively. Topics such as career plans, networking, increasing professional visibility and contact tracking tools are discussed. Activity includes writing a career plan.

Bailey, Cheryl and Gena Belcher. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>TC>Planning

Managing Your Customers' Expectations  

How many customers do you know who deliberately set out to make your life difficult? Not many, I’m sure. They probably don’t anticipate that adding three new chapters to a manual means that the project deadline needs to change or another writer needs to be hired. They may not realize that another round of reviews requires more (billable) hours of work. In most cases, good two-way communication prevents problems in the first place and provides solutions for the unforeseen issues that arise.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Project Management

Managing Your Productivity  

Offers tips for independent contractors on staying efficient and productive.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2000). Careers>Freelance>Consulting

Managing Your Publications Group as a Business  

All too often, publications and documentation groups operate without considering themselves as a business group and continue to view their role as simply a support function. This can result in an adherence to outdated processes that are inefficient and in place because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” This paper explains why it is essential for publications and documentation groups to establish business objectives that will ensure the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and productivity of their processes.

Currie, Cynthia C. and Thomas J. Vallone. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Management>Workplace

Marketable Skills for the Policies and Procedures Professional  

Changes in the economy and within organizations continue to require that demonstrated value be produced from the labor force. In order for policies and procedures (P&P) professionals to demonstrate how their work adds value to an organization, they need to develop and diversify their skill set to be more accessible and valuable in the services they provide.

Urgo, Raymond E. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Documentation>Policies and Procedures

A Marketing Checklist for Freelancers and Consultants

Marketing can be as simple as engaging in a one minute conversation with another person or as complex as a $3,000 direct mail advertising campaign. But marketing is more than selling a product or service or yourself -- basically, it's getting the person or prospect interested in what you're selling. And that's not so easy -- unless you know exactly how to do it.

Konradt, Brian S. Write Thinking (2001). Careers>Consulting

The Marketing of Technical Authors

In May 2004, I did a presentation to the London group of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators on the future for technical authors. This article expands one of the topics discussed - how to promote and market technical authors.

Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2004). Careers>Writing>Marketing>Technical Writing

Marketing the Wily Technical Writer

If the world really is run by C students, then you have to ask yourself a question: How do I market myself in an ocean of average? Today's competitive job market can be a hard nut to crack. How do you stand out in that crowd?

Knowles, Michael. Writing World (2001). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

Marketing the Wily Technical Writer

If the world really is run by C students, then you have to ask yourself a question: How do I market myself in an ocean of average? Today's competitive job market can be a hard nut to crack. How do you stand out in that crowd?

Knowles, Michael. Write Thinking (2002). Careers>TC

Marketing Your Web Business  

Leonard-Wilkinson presents several ideas for marketing Web businesses to appropriate audiences.

Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. Intercom (2002). Careers>Consulting>Web Design

Marketing Yourself and Your Business  

Marketing is what we do to get and keep customers. The best marketing is effective and efficient -- it delivers the 'best bang for the buck.' To create such marketing, you need to form a strategic plan from your knowledge of the product or service, the market, your competition, and the goals you want to achieve. Then you must develop and implement a creative plan, including specific tasks and products (ads or brochures, for example) to achieve those goals.

Brenneman, Judy Fort. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Management>Marketing

Marketing Yourself as a Marketing Writer  

Technical communication consultants may find that marketing writing makes an excellent second line of business. Technology companies, marketing services firms, and advertising agencies often use freelancers to write marketing documents. They particularly need good writers who understand technology. This paper discusses the business of freelance marketing writing and how it differs from independent technical writing. Topics include the kinds of projects that marketing writers work on, how development cycles typically differ from those of technical documents, and how to effectively market yourself as a marketing writer.

Massa, Jack A. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Marketing>Business Communication

Marketing Yourself as a Technical Communicator  

No matter what your current status—employee, looking for a job, or independent consultant—marketing yourself is necessary. Marketing is determining what your customers need and then showing how whatever you are selling meets those needs, i.e., provides benefits, and does it better than the competition. When you market yourself, you are basically doing the same thing. If you are an employee, how are you developing your skills so they continue to meet the changing needs of your employer? If you are looking for a job, how does what you bring to the table make you a better candidate than everyone else? If you are an independent, how do you benefit your clients so they turn to you over and over again?

Teich, Thea. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>TC>Collaboration

Marketing Yourself as an Independent Technical Writer

Some technical writers go into business for themselves as freelancers or independent contractors. A number of those become successful enough to form a writing company and hire a staff of other writers. In either case, the technical writer who is in business for him- or herself must continually perform marketing to maintain a steady income.

Kurtus, Ron. School for Champions (2000). Careers>Freelance

Measuring the Value that You Add to Your Company: Planning Your Own Case Study on Reducing Support Costs  

In this interactive session, we will lead technical communicators through a process of setting up and conducting a study to find out how much support is costing their organization or their clients’ organizations. We will also help technical communicators cost-justify their work by estimating reductions in support costs. We will help them plan case studies to show how highquality technical communications can reduce support calls and costs.

Ramey, Judith A. and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>TC>Quality