...then it's likely you don't deserve it. Respect is earned, not given. No one is going to respect you out of the box (so to speak). And not everyone cares about your mad skills with a serial comma or your ability to multi-channel publish with a single click. To many, these are just skills you bring to the table as part of your job.

And they're right.

If you want respect, you need to figure out, first, what it is that's truly respected in your organization. Some things are fairly common, like leadership or helpfulness. If you truly want respect, you need to first be the professional you know you should be, and then prove to them via consistent action that the professional you are is worthy of their respect.

Doing your job earns you a paycheck. Doing well for the organization (repeatedly) earns you their respect.

Bill Swallow
HATT List Owner
WWP-Users List Owner
Senior Member STC, TechValley Chapter
STC Single-Sourcing SIG Manager
http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
avid homebrewer and proud beer snob
"I see your OOO message and raise you a clue."

Changing the perception that Tech Writers are a waste of time and resources. Wow! Are we really seen as as useless dirtbags? I hadn't noticed, I was too busy:

Keeping clients appraised of application changes,
editing, storing, archiving, and maintaining documents,
talking to business units from all areas to fulfill needs,
translating Geek-speak into plain English (and dealing with myriad Star Trek references by default),
Supporting user guides, training manuals, online help, internal design documents, diagramming, product demos and simulations, and prioritizing every task that is "top priority",
Coordinating the general efforts of eight writers geographically dispersed from coast to coast and trying to standardize docs for 15 different products,
Oh, and proofing the VPs emails to keep him from looking like a babbling four year old armed with a crayon and a blank white wall.

Now, keep in mind, I did this to myself. I sought out every opportunity and talked to folks everywhere to put myself in this position. When one product was heading for a sunset, I made friends with the product managers for the next big thing. When my manager, director, vp ask for something, it's done that day. I rarely go over two weeks to produce a new guide or manual. I never tell them that I am performing user, task, or context analysis. Status reports include the following; "Documentation 75% complete". The work never waits on us. If the work is stalled, it's because somebody else is stalling it. In short, long hours, hard work, and lots of butt-kissing will help to break the illusion that Tech Writers are a waste.

Don't like it? Too bad. I don't much like unemployment.

Chris Kearney
Tech Writer
"If you close your eyes to fact, you are naive. If you close your eyes to faith, you are lost."

Gregg,
It's kind of a flip answer, but the easiest way is to simply earn the respect. It really does work. How? By adding significant value to everything you touch as a writer, and doing that in the context of the business and team needs at the time.

How do you add value? Darn good question--what do you have to offer that makes your contributions to your company worthwhile? Is it clear communications? Great visual design ability? Teamwork?

For me, it was clearly focused on the technical part of technical communication. See http://www.techwr-l.com/articles/gettingstarted/techiewriter
for my thoughts on that angle.

Eric