Re: Are you a writer?

[kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com]

Interesting points.

I'm curious: Could your philosophy (or a portion of it) be distilled down
to "If you're not an SME, you can't be a tech writer?"

For the tech writing jobs I've been hired to do, I've gone in and learned
the product, the industry, and worked to familiarize myself with the
underlying technologies.

Is that acceptable? Am I a tech writer?

Or do I need to know that stuff BEFORE I even apply for the gig?

It seems like you and your company focus on a certain niche, about which
you've become quite knowledgable (or already were quite knowledgable).
That's great - it works for you. It makes sense that you should hire in
your own image, so to speak.

But what of the freelancers, or even the looking-for-a-steady-job types?
Are we allowed to pass Go and collect $200? Or do we need to first master
a specific industry and its corresponding technologies before we dare go
to Muenster.com?

Not trying to pick a fight - I'm genuinely curious. 


-Keith Cronin
__________________________

I'm not a tech writer, but I play one on TV.

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