Managing Writers: A Real World Guide To Managing Technical Documentation
April 19, 2010 by BPELworld.com
Product Description
Managing Writers is a practical guide to managing documentation projects in the real world. It is informal, but concise, using examples from the author’s experience working with and managing technical writers. It looks beyond big project, big team methodologies to the issues faced by smaller, less well-funded projects. Managing Writers is for technical writers, both freelancers and employees, documentation managers, and managers in other disciplines who are responsible for documentation; anyone who may need to manage, full or part-time, a documentation project.
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Many variables ultimately contribute to the effectiveness of a manager; I believe one of the most important is the availability of a strong mentor. Many technical writers do not have access to a strong documentation manager, and even fewer managers have access to a mentor with documentation management experience. If your organization is fortunate to have one, use that opportunity to learn as much as you can from that individual. Whether or not you have access to a good mentor, there is much you can learn from reading Managing Writers by Richard L. Hamilton.
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Rating: 5 / 5
Richard Hamilton’s a must read for anybody who is managing or aspires to manage a technical communications book. Not only does it deal with some of the people issues involved but it gives a realistic view of where tech. comm. exists in a product development environment. Even managers who currently are not managing a tech. comm. department should read it to get a better understanding of how they can change some attitudes and processes to give the product a better chance of success with their customers as the information about the product is as critical to success as the product functionality.
Written in an easy-to-read style with a few engaging stories to drive the point home, Richard Hamilton’s Managing Writers is definitely the best book on the subject and will be a great point of reference for years to come.
Rating: 4 / 5
Managing Writers is clearly organized and a fast read. It often reads like a reference guide, a book you could keep on your bookshelf for years to come.
It is a reference guide in my view, because you can go straight to the table of contents and pick from the list of topics. Want to get your arms around people? Refer to many chapters on Managing People. Need to know insider information on projects before it spirals out of control? Stop the spin machine and go to the pages about Managing Projects. Wondering if the latest alphabet-based tossed salad of acronyms will actually solve your user’s information problems? Hightail it to the Managing Technology chapters. Each of his chapters offers the depth and detail you’d need when faced with a situation you hadn’t seen before. For example, if you’re new to Localization, the information offered will help you ask the right questions and help you get started while avoiding headaches and “time sinks.”
As I read through this book, I felt like I was having a nice long lunch with one of my favorite managers. It’s sprinkled with stories and phrases like “gold-plated Cadillac.” I enjoyed reading about his path to technical publications. It seems many people are eager to leave tech pubs once they start in it. Richard didn’t know much about tech pubs, and wondered if he was leaving the world of technology, but accepted a position anyway. He was willing to learn and stay with it. And stay with it he did, for many years beyond the first two he promised to the hiring manager.
Whether you’re already managing a handful of writers or just starting out, or if you’re hoping to move towards management in technical publications, I think you’ll find this book helpful. Even an experienced tech pubs manager will enjoy hearing another’s perspective and will find many familiar themes that match their own companies and product documentation.
Rating: 4 / 5
It’s all there in the subtitle: A Real World Guide to Managing Technical
Documentation. This book gives practical advice about how to advance your
team’s interests, for instance, and is also meant for those who aspire
to be managers or just want to see how things look from the manager’s
point of view. Plus, it’s a real page turner, far from the heavy,
research-oriented books I’ve come across.
Rating: 5 / 5